In our Gospel today, Luke 4: 24-30, Jesus tells us that no profit is accepted in his own native place. I think of this Gospel when I hear our Cursillo saying “bloom where you’re planted”. Often times when we have a conversion, and are on fire for Christ, we are sent right back to the environments we came from. If it is a radical conversion from the way we were before, it can be hard for people to accept the change in us.
After I made my Cursillo, I thought God surely doesn’t want me back at the construction company I work at, with all the un-Christian behavior, and that he would move me to a holier place. God made it clear that weekend that he had me exactly where he needed me, and I was to “Bloom where I was planted”. It wasn’t easy proclaiming my faith in that environment. I faced ridicule there, as I started to make changes in my life, and stood up against some of the bad behavior.
What got me through those times was I remembered in Matthew 5:11 that Jesus also predicted that his followers would be ridiculed for his sake. What got me through these times was the incredible joy I found by living my life for Jesus. When things got tough, I asked myself a simple question, who am I trying to please, the world, or Jesus? For me, the answer was obvious and easy!
So where has Jesus asked us to bloom in our “Native Place”? This place could be our family, our workplace, or in our community. How are we accepting his mission for us? One good way to know if you are making a difference, is if you are ridiculed and even hated for speaking the truth, just as Jesus predicted for us in the Gospel.
DeColores, Deacon Kevin
