14 July 2024 – 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

by Fr Crispus Mosinoh, OFM

So my dear brothers and sisters, good morning once again.

Life is full of different kind of journeys. And some like holidays, we choose with excitement and anticipation while others seems to choose us and calling us onto paths we might not have imagined for ourselves. And so during school break or semester breaks or festive seasons, families, friends, usually go for holidays and leaving behind familiar places to explore new places, new destinations.

So imagine if your parents or your spouse or even your boss at work says: This year, let us go for a holiday.

How would you respond to that? Happy? Sad? You all got emotions right? Have you watched ‘Inside Out’? Basic emotions: Happy, yes. Most of us would feel excited about it.

And for us Friars, we live in a community of brothers and we stay in a friary. So Friars stay in a friary and the person in charge of the house is called The Guardian. And so if the Guardian says let us plan for a holiday outing, my eyes would automatically light up with excitement because I would be the one who would be planning the outing.

In fact we make it a point to have at least once a year community holiday despite our busy schedules in the parish, in the Diocese, in the formation house as well as in the custody level. And last year I was tasked to plan an outing so I chose a place in Bentong, Pahang and we did glamping. So it is something new for us but it is a form of camping but a bit cheating because everything is provided there, with the facilities and all. So that was a new experience for all of us.

So this kind of journey like planning a holiday is exciting and we can get new experiences. However, there are other more significant journeys in life that we take, not because we choose them but because from a deep sense of calling or necessity.

And these important journeys can include transitioning into a new workplace. Perhaps you have just finished your studies and it is time for you to find a new work. Or navigating life after the loss of a loved one, moving on with life. Or committing to marriage, priesthood, or religious life or a missionary life. I understand that the Seeds Ministry, they have just did some celebration in Ipoh to become missionary.

And so these are not just trips we plan for fun but paths we feel compelled to follow because we sense that God is leading us and guiding us. And they require us to leave behind what is familiar, not just in terms of places but also in our hearts and minds and embrace this new life God is revealing to us.

And the story of Amos in the Bible shows this kind of journey. Amos was a shepherd who felt a strong call from God to leave his ordinary life and to go to the Northern Kingdom of Israel to preach. And this was not a holiday. It was a mission. Even though he knew it will be hard but Amos knew he had to go. And he explained this by saying:
The Lord took me from herding the flock and said: Go.

Similarly Jesus sent His disciples on missions and they set out because they felt called to do so. We might also feel called to journeys that we did not fully choose.

The Second Reading suggests that God has a plan for our lives. Yes, and wanting us to live in a certain way, following the example of Jesus. While we often plan our own paths, whether for holidays or careers, there is a deeper journey that God calls us to. And this journey requires us to discern, discern and respond to God’s direction, allowing God to move us towards certain paths and away from others.

And God chose this journey for us before the world was made, as Saint Paul says. But it also requires our active and ongoing choice. In the end of the day, we decide whether we want to follow or not.

And we are continually invited to choose this path, to surrender to God’s purpose and to follow our Mother Mary’s faith: Let it be done according to your Holy will.

When we allow God to move us to where He intends us to be, we enter into a journey into the unknown. And this journey requires trust, faith, willingness to be led by a purpose greater than ourselves. And this journey will transform our lives and impact all our smaller journeys that we take, guiding us to live in ways that are lifegiving, for ourselves and also for others.

And so we pray. We pray that may the Lord guide us on this journey, the journeys that He has chosen for us and may He give us the courage to follow His call, to trust in His plan and the strength to embrace the unknown.

May we always seek to live according to His purpose and find joy in the paths that He leads us on.

Amen.

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