WEBVTT 00:00:00.800 --> 00:00:03.759 There's a fascinating line from the first reading today. 00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:09.359 Most people read right past it, but it shows us how God actually works. 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:16.079 It says they had been prevented by the Holy Spirit from preaching the message in the province of Asia. 00:00:16.320 --> 00:00:18.719 The Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 00:00:18.960 --> 00:00:20.079 Think about that. 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:28.000 They're trying to preach the gospel, they're doing something objectively good, and the Holy Spirit stops them. 00:00:30.079 --> 00:00:31.679 What is that all about? 00:00:32.719 --> 00:00:39.280 We tend to think that if something is good, if it's holy, if it makes sense, then God must be all in. 00:00:39.520 --> 00:00:41.200 Well, not always. 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:46.240 Sometimes the holiest things you can do is to be stopped. 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:51.679 Sometimes the clear sign of God's guidance is not an open door, it's a closed one. 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.039 Paul is not wandering aimlessly. 00:00:55.200 --> 00:00:57.119 He's being redirected. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:00:58.960 And notice how it happens. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:05.680 Not with a full map, not with a five-year plan, just enough light for the next step, a vision. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:09.280 Come over to Macedonia and help us, it says. 00:01:09.519 --> 00:01:11.200 And immediately they go. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:15.120 This is what real discernment looks like. 00:01:15.840 --> 00:01:32.319 Not control, not certainty, but responsiveness, this awareness, this self-awareness, a willingness to move when God says move and to stop when God says stop, even when you do not fully understand why. 00:01:33.519 --> 00:01:45.120 Now, if we connect that to the gospel, because Jesus takes away an illusion about where this path leads, he says, if the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.680 There's no sugar coating here. 00:01:48.640 --> 00:01:56.239 If you actually follow Christ, not superficially, not culturally, but seriously, there will be friction. 00:01:57.680 --> 00:02:01.599 Because you have been chosen out of the world. 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:04.400 That does not mean you leave the world physically. 00:02:04.560 --> 00:02:07.519 It means you no longer operate by its logic. 00:02:07.760 --> 00:02:10.639 The world says, hey, protect yourself at all costs. 00:02:10.960 --> 00:02:13.919 Jesus says, give yourself away freely. 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:20.719 The world says, build your identity on success, on having material things, on image, on control. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:24.800 Jesus says, lose your life and you will find it. 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:28.560 The world says, avoid suffering at all costs. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:31.360 Jesus says, walk straight to it. 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.560 Walk straight onto that cross. 00:02:35.199 --> 00:02:38.960 And at some point, those two ways of living collide. 00:02:39.680 --> 00:02:45.680 And when they do, Jesus is very clear, do not be surprised when there's resistance. 00:02:45.919 --> 00:02:52.080 Again, he says, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. 00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:57.759 Now, here's where we have to be careful because this could be misunderstood. 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:00.800 Not every difficulty is persecution. 00:03:01.039 --> 00:03:05.919 Not every disagreement is a sign that you're being faithful. 00:03:07.280 --> 00:03:18.479 But if you're truly living the gospel, there will be moments where your life does not make sense to others, where your choices are questioned, where your priorities are misunderstood. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:29.120 And the temptation in those moments is to adjust, to soften, to blend in, to blend in just enough to avoid tension. 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:32.000 I don't want to ruffle any feathers. 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:35.599 But this is where the first reading comes back to us. 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.879 Paul does not choose his path based on comfort or approval. 00:03:41.439 --> 00:03:54.719 He chooses it based on obedience to the Spirit, even when it means being redirected, even when it means walking into the unknown, even when actually it will mean suffering. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:59.199 Because he knows that you have to decide if you believe. 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:04.879 That being aligned with God matters more than being accepted by the world. 00:04:05.840 --> 00:04:09.360 So here's a question that cuts through everything today. 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:12.800 What is guiding your decisions right now? 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:19.279 Is it clarity from God, even if it's a partial, even if it requires trust? 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:28.560 Or is it the desire to avoid resistance, to keep things smooth, same old, same old, to stay within what's familiar and affirmed? 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:31.120 Well, you can't have it both ways. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:36.079 If you follow the Spirit, there will be moments of uncertainty and moments of opposition. 00:04:36.240 --> 00:04:43.600 If you follow the world, there will be moments of ease, but a slow drift away from what actually matters. 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:52.560 And Jesus is honest enough to tell us, right there, up front, you have been chosen out of the world. 00:04:52.800 --> 00:04:55.360 This is not a rejection to the world. 00:04:56.399 --> 00:05:00.000 It is a mission into it, but on different terms. 00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:08.000 So, my brothers and sisters, as we wrap up this week, do not be surprised by closed doors. 00:05:08.399 --> 00:05:11.040 Do not be shaken by resistance. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:13.439 Pay attention to the spirit. 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:16.639 And when he says move, move. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:17.519 Why? 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:26.240 Because the path you, the path you would have chosen for yourself is never as powerful as the one God is trying to leave you onto. 00:05:26.959 --> 00:05:27.600 Amen.