Early on in my faith formation, a spiritual director helped me understand the difference between being an admirer of Jesus and a follower. An admirer is someone who believes, but keeps his or her faith at the surface, not really letting it impact the way he or she lives. A follower, on the other hand, is someone who strives to put that faith into action, allowing it to guide his or her thoughts, decisions, and actions along the way.
In our own lives, most of us struggle at some level with how best to live our faith. At times, we vacillate between being a follower and being an admirer. The struggle is real. There are many competing forces in our lives that sometimes drown out God’s voice, that get in the way of our relationship with God. Without the support of a community, it is easy to lose our way, to slip into being simply and admirer of Jesus.
As the disciples were sent off two by two in our gospel reading this weekend, we too understand that we do not journey alone as disciples. We band together as a community of faith, a family of believers, so we can listen and learn from one another, sharing our faith and experiences, so we can together find the strength to continue our work of discipleship. We can’t do this alone…discipleship is a community effort.
When the disciples returned from their “mission work” they gathered together to share their experience, to learn from one another, and to recharge their spiritual batteries. We come to Mass, no matter where we are on our spiritual journey, so we can break open God’s Word and be nourished at God’s table as we recharge our batteries, finding the strength and courage to live our call to discipleship to the best of our abilities.
May God bless you and your loved ones today, tomorrow, and forever more.