Come, Go With Me!

“Come, stay, go!” ~ retreat leader today

I went on an Advent retreat today and the speaker summarized something that Vanier says are the invitations from Jesus: Come! Stay. Go!

We looked at the invitation that Christ extended to Peter both at the beginning of his mission and the end: Follow me. These are two simple words that most of us never are able to do whole-heartedly. I keep thinking about a scene in Have a Little Faith that I watched at my brother’s home where one of the main characters says if he gets through the night God can claim him as his own.

His mother had instilled his faith in him as a child, and even behind prison walls encouraged him to remember Jesus. The boy strays and get seduced by money and drugs until he ends up in a predicament that almost ends his life. At this moment, he turns back to God. His fear is palpable. Like Peter, he is a young man full of bravado. Like Peter, he forgets and denies Christ before returning to the One who called him. The invitation is there for all of us. Come. Stay awhile. Then go to the other ones in need.

The pattern does not end there. For all of life it is played out again and again. Do you see that pattern in your own life?

Peace,

Suzanne