The Ever Present Cost of Discipleship

Jesus is still calling us to serve one another. He never seems to get tired of that task. He never seems to want to let us off the hook so that we can go about our lives the way we want to, without having to worry about taking care of other people. But he doesn't expect us to do all of this work by ourselves. He tells us not to be afraid. He will be with us as we try our best to bring some genuine caring into this world of ours.

How many times at work do we have opportunities thrown our way? Opportunities to listen more closely to someone whom we work with -- opportunities to gently but firmly stand up for what is honest and decent -- even opportunities to practice forgiveness and compassion. So many of us spend so much of our time at work. Isn't this a natural place to carry out our roles as followers of Jesus?

Some of this might come with a price tag attached. We all know that it is much easier to go along with the crowd. Who wants to be the one who is labeled as different or strange? Most of us would rather just blend in with others at work and not be thought of as a little weird, or even as a trouble maker. Being a Christian in the workplace is sometimes a very difficult thing to do. In extreme cases, it might even cost us our job.

And so it's not something we can take lightly. And yet, it's not something that we can avoid. Wherever we are, whatever we do, we do it as followers of Christ. And so whether we are at home, or on holidays, or in the workplace, we are still followers of Christ.

   Peace, Fr. John