Follow Me and Go.

I was catching up on the fan-favorite "The Chosen" the other evening and it accomplished what it set out to do: it moved me to read-over one of the stories that it depicted. You know those Bible stories that always strike you as kind of confusing? A little bit strange? The ones that elicit just a general sense of “huh?”

That’s how I feel about one of the most common, well-known, early healing miracles of Jesus. The healing of the leper. And I guess to clarify, I’m not as confused by the actual healing as I am by the words Jesus tells us the now not-leper after he is healed: 

“See that you say nothing to any one; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to the people.” (Matthew 8:4)

And in reality, it’s actually one word that strikes me every time. 

Go. 

Why? Because at first glance it can almost feel dismissive. Like get out of here. Don’t hang around. But there’s also a lot of action implied in a word like that, just maybe not the type of action that I expect. 

At first glance it can feel like such a stark contrast to other similar stories in the Gospel. After all, many other times when Jesus performs miracles for people in the Gospel, He concludes by saying the opposite of “go.” He says something along the lines of “Follow Me.” For example, when Jesus performs the miracle of the great catch of fish for Peter in Luke 5, and then immediately following Jesus invites Peter to join the gang. To join Him. To follow Him. To get even closer. I love that. That resonates with me. 

So why does “go” irritate me?

I’ve learned that it’s probably because it’s what the Lord is trying to speak to me too. 

If any of us are truly Christian, are truly trying to live a life of virtue, are truly on fire for God, it is because He has performed a miracle in our lives. Planting the seed of conversion within our hearts is a miracle. Setting the scene for us to encounter Him is a miracle. If any of us have experienced Jesus in our lives, and have walked away different, He has performed a miracle in this current age! Even those of us who are “cradle-Catholics” can normally pinpoint a moment or a season in which we decided to make the Faith our own. The moment that any of us have chosen Him is all because of His grace. 

He has done miracles in our lives. And then what does He say to us after?

Here’s the thing. He does say, “Follow Me.” That’s what being His disciple means. Literally the word “disciple” means “follower.” But if I lived in the days of the Bible, I’m pretty sure He would’ve said “go.”

This is what I mean. There were only twelve capital A Apostles. Twelve. There were only a select few called and chosen to live that particular vocation. 

Figuratively speaking, most of us are not capital A Apostles. Most of us are not being asked by God to be world-famous renowned popes, catechists, speakers, authors, etc. Most of us are not going to found enormous ministries, convert thousands of souls, or become “Catholic famous.”  For some of us that might be the calling, and don’t shy away from it if the Lord leads you there, but most of our discipleship journeys will never be that public. Most of our calls will never be that visible, or seemingly glamorous, land us with the next hit Podcast or a keynote at Catholic conferences. 

And sometimes that’s a hard pill to swallow. The temptation can be to believe the lie that “those people are holier,” or “that I’m not living up to my potential,” or “that what I’m doing isn’t as important.” Doesn’t the visible feel more valuable? Doesn’t the hidden, humble following of Christ seem kind of bleh in comparison?

But what would happen if all of us tried to be the twelve apostles? What about the seventy-two that are also mentioned in Scripture? What about the hundreds of other disciples and saints and followers of Jesus?

Sometimes, when Jesus calls us to follow Him in our lives, He’s also asking us to go. Go back to our homes, back to our work-places, back to our families, back to our communities, and bring Him there. Maybe we won’t bring Him to people on a stage, or on Youtube, or on a foreign mission trip, but can we bring Him to the people and the places that our vocation is calling us to? The people and the places that He has so purposefully given to us? Can we bring Him along in the faithful living out of our day to day lives and tasks, however mundane and unimportant they may seem? 

After being healed, the leper walked away forever changed. His life would never be the same. Jesus had worked a miracle in His life, and that required a response. At that turning point, He was called to follow Jesus. But his individual call of following Jesus looked different than others. He wasn’t called to drop everything and pick up after Jesus. But He was called to go.

In reality it’s not mundane. It’s not unimportant. It’s not a lesser call, but a different one. Every saint had a mom. Every famous speaker had a youth minister. Every person that the Lord has called to serve Him in a public way had someone that witnessed to them the love of Jesus in a private way. They had different random people in their life that influenced them and inspired them to be in the position they are now. 

Has Jesus performed miracles in your life? Has He called you to follow Him? Then go.