In today's gospel, John the Baptist and his friends see Jesus walking toward them. John the Baptist is excited by Jesus' presence; he wants to see Jesus. If I saw Jesus walking toward me, I am not sure if I would have the same reaction. I might feel more inclined to hide out of embarrassment. I know I do not always do the will of God. God has a plan for each of our lives, a plan that seems difficult, and one I realize I do not always carry out perfectly.

This plan may seem difficult, but it is one that will bring about our total happiness. We must be eager to seek Jesus like John the Baptist, and we must reply to God's call as we do in the Psalm, "Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will." This total and complete surrender of ourselves to God can be hard. It is difficult to be like Mary and say, "Let it be done to me according to your word," or to be like Jesus and say, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You…not what I will, but what You will” (Mark 16:33-13).

By earthly standards, God's call may seem unpleasant and difficult. Jesus' surrendering of himself to God brought about death on a cross, something that we are not eager to face, but as long as we believe God is with us during our difficult times, we will have strength to endure whatever we meet.

St. Joan of Arc was tried and executed by fire as a heretic, but because she did everything for God she said, "I fear nothing, for God is with me!" St. Lawrence demonstrated similar strength as he was tortured over a hot grill saying, "Turn me over, I'm done on this side." With God, nothing is too painful, too difficult, or too tragic to endure. We should not be too quick to hide from Jesus, but like John the Baptist eager to see Him for we are "made glorious in the sight of the LORD, and my God is now my strength!"