“I will follow you wherever you go.” Saying “wherever” or “whatever” to God comes easily to the lips but is harder in practice. As Jesus found out when he would call disciples we tend to have certain conditions that are part of the seemingly unconditional desire to follow. Family obligations, financial concerns, health worries, entangling relationships can all cause us to fudge our “whatever.” St. Francis paid the cost of discipleship when the call of Jesus caused him to strip himself of his very clothes since they drew him back into the world he knew so well. Another great saint, Ignatius of Loyola, said that heeding the call demanded giving up our preference for a long life over a short one, health to sickness, honor over dishonor, poverty to riches. True discipleship happens when our one desire and choice is always and only what God wants. Maybe that is why, for most of us, we have to keep working at being disciples day by day.
