Lk. 9:51-62
Your decision not to look behind but carrying on ploughing will not be of regrets but of possibilities… If you intend to look behind it is for…
“Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Every vocation, be it married life or religious life or being single, it is a gift of God. Each of these life styles has its own joys and struggles. It is quite natural that when we are loaded with difficulties we tend to think that other life styles are better off. The most important factor in this vocational journey is perseverance. We should be able to carry on this journey in faith and hope. The act of ‘looking behind’ which is mentioned in today’s gospel, should not be understood as a physical act but a mental state wherein a person decides to give up his/her journey due to varied reasons. What could be the possible reasons for this? We could quote number of social as well as psychological reasons but when we reflect from a religious perspective there is only one reason that we are failing to recognize a God who called us to this way of life and now who stands above this problem. Unfortunately, we fail to look at the Lord but focus only on our problem.
It is the Lord who sustains us in this vocational journey. It is the Lord who strengthens us to face all the challenges of our life. Instead of relying on God, when we start depending on our own strength and not maintaining our personal relationship with one who called us, then slowly we are falling into the trap of anxiety or uncertainty about the future. In today’s first reading we come across the story of Elisha. When he receives his call from God, he kills the oxen and burns the plough and share his happiness with others. In fact, this oxen and plough are necessary for his survival. However, when God calls he abandons himself to the will of God, his entire wealth and surrenders completely to the loving mercy of God. For him future is not of fears and worries but that of possibilities.
One of my friends who made final commitment to the Lord shared with me her spiritual experience… once this person had an intimate encounter with Christ but later on what she had in store was the so called dark nights of the soul. After having experienced such a spiritual dryness with lots of mental agony, the time came for her to make the final commitment. Even though her mind was filled with the darkness – doubts and uncertainties, she decided to go ahead in her vocational journey. When I asked what inspired her to go ahead in this vocational journey, the answer was quite enlightening and revealing to me: “I made my final commitment hoping that one day God would bless me with his intimate experience and he would bless me with necessary graces that would sustain me in this journey.”
Difficulties should not be a cause for us to give up our journey… rather it should be moments of divine encounter of holding on to that man on the cross and his grace… The act of ‘Looking behind’ in our journey is not to give up not because of fear but to count our blessings and to recognize the God who is greater than our problems… Let us continue our vocational journey and spread the gospel of JOY.