Praise God. Praise be to Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
People can be stubborn. Have you heard the story about the family getting on the plane for vacation. The father was upset because one of his children was being stubborn. So he asked the gate attendant if he could check his little boy with his luggage? Or the father asked, “will I have to ‘carry on my wayward son?’”
If you are a fan of the group Kansas from the late 1970’s then you probably get the joke.
The song’s writer, Kerry Livgren was the bands guitarist and keyboardist had just become a Christian when he wrote that song. As a Christian, he felt a profound urge to “Carry on” in his search for relationship with God.
The message of the chorus is “there will be peace” at the end of the journey. The last verse of “Carry on my Wayward Son” is “surely heaven waits for you.”
I often wonder how many people that song gave hope and were moved to seek a relationship with God.
My friends, we are called to be Pilgrims of hope. But some of us are stubborn.
Moses was out tending the flocks. He saw a bush on fire, yet it was not burning. Moses said to himself – This I got to see.
From that burning bush, God called out to Moses, "Moses! Moses!"
Moses answered, "Here I am."
God sent him out as a Pilgrim of Hope. But, even though God spoke directly to Moses, he was kind of a reluctant pilgrim- stubborn.
Moses said to God, "But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is His name?' What am I to tell them?"
God replied, "I am who am. This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations."
It seems that in both examples the men embraced God and not the world. It’s like St. Paul says, “They drank from a spiritual rock and that rock was the Christ.”
They both had the choice like we all have a choice. We can chose to come closer to Him. We can chose to experience the love that is God reaching out to us and open our self to that love. Or we can go our own way, separate ourselves from Him to wallow in the cesspools of life.
Despite what most believe, God is not going to punish us for our bad behavior or choices; but, He will not save us if we do not want to be saved or do not cooperate. God never directly punishes individuals or the world around them. Yet, people see the results of their behavior and the choices in their life that is of this world and they blame God.
Their understanding of God is too much influenced by the world and the great deceiver. So people grumble about God. Instead of loving God, trusting God, and following God, most people in the world turn away from Him. Those who have chosen the world over God are suffering death by the destroyer. If you think you are standing secure take care not to fall to the influences and lies of this world. We in the modern world are no more guilty or innocent than those who came before us.
One of the greatest sins and the biggest obstacle for repentance is people really don't want to believe God loves them. God's love is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. Thus He is to be remembered through all generations."
That is the message of hope we are to bring. But, too many of us are like the fig tree in Jesus’ parable. We are alive but bear not fruit.
Christ is the one who cultivates us. The Holy Spirit gives us strength to grow strong in our faith and bear fruit. The fruit is hope. The fruit is the message that God loves us. It is the fruit that redeems our life from destruction and crowns us with kindness and compassion.
Our faith, the sacraments, scripture, prayer, and grace allows us be more fruitful. The fruit the world needs is hope. We are called to be Pilgrims of Hope. The choice is for each person. God's love calls to the stubborn child and the wayward son.
Be good, be holy and preach the gospel by the way you live your life and love one another.
Praise God. Praise be to Jesus Christ forever and ever. Amen.
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