Come on, follow me

‘Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will grant you the desires of your heart. Set your heart on the Lord and trust in him: he will act, and he will bring your righteousness to light like the dawn, and your justice like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord, hope in him; do not fret because of those who prosper, because of the man who acts with cunning’ (Ps 37:4–7). God loves us. He is the first to love us. My very existence today is due to his love for me. God loves us so much that he willed that nothing should be able to separate us from him. ‘Nothing can separate us from the love of God’ (Rom 8:39). Even when we sin, we are asked only to acknowledge our sin humbly and sincerely.

The season of Lent helps us to grow in this mystery. It is an opportunity to acknowledge honestly that we do not always do what Jesus expects of us, and to ask him for forgiveness. The tax collector left the temple justified. Our God is a God of forgiveness. And if Jesus asks us to forgive 70 times 7 times, it means that he himself forgives just as much, and even more. Whilst it is true that when we sin and ask God for forgiveness, he forgives us, let us recognise that sin wounds us, causes us pain, and that there are consequences which follow us right up to death. Jesus comes to heal and set us free. That is why he asks us to follow him.

When a patient is discharged from intensive care, they are told to collect their personal belongings and go home. They must take this step, leaving the place where they were lying, getting up to return to their home. I must get up and push myself during Lent. I must make a little more effort.

When Simon Peter realised, during the miraculous catch, the great quantity of fish they had caught, he knelt down and said: ‘Go away from me, for I am a sinner’ (Luke 5:1–11). Jesus does not call the most intelligent, the richest, the most charismatic or the most gifted. He equips those whom he calls. Like the apostles, we may feel unworthy and incapable. We may even recognise that we have betrayed him, that we have failed to live up to the tasks entrusted to us, or that we have not been faithful to our vocation. We may feel like hypocrites. But we rely on his mercy, his grace and his strength. That is why, like Saint Paul, we do not lose heart, for we know in whom we have placed our faith (2 Tim 1:12).

Following Jesus is our vocation. It is a matter of life and death. Do not remain passive during Lent. Do not let the devil dull your spirit. Do not let the world and its temptations lull you to sleep. Have you ever been so ill that you thought your time was coming? During Lent, reflect on the same thoughts you had at that moment. You were no longer thinking about trivial matters. Indeed, you were ready to forgive everyone.

Jesus knows the desires and longings of our hearts better than anyone. ‘Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart’ (Ps 37:4). No other love must take first place in our hearts. No other love is worthy of its place. With Him, it is an irreplaceable, exclusive love, yet one that generates a volcanic outpouring of love for others. No other love can truly quench the thirst of our hearts. That would be an illusion, a mirage. The proof lies in the number of times those whom you thought loved you have let you down or hurt you. That is why our love for Him must take precedence over all possessions and every other being. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Jesus said to Levi, ‘Follow me.’ And leaving everything behind, he followed him. Love for Jesus must take precedence over love for one’s family, one’s work and even oneself. ‘Whoever does not leave father, mother and children and follow me is not worthy of me.’ When we discover such a treasure, we sell everything to follow him. EVERYTHING means everything that prevents us from loving him. He then becomes the Absolute. Let us strive during this Lent to grow a little more each day, to advance a little further in our love for God.

Henri Bayemi