I may have preached this morning on excuses as obstacles that we put up to avoid facing the real change to which Jesus calls us.* However, I really think these shoes will make me a better Christian (just a little humor for your Wednesday morning!).

*Today is the feast day of St. Ignatius of Loyola, author of the Spiritual Exercises, which encourage us to pay attention to where God is at work around us all the time. This exhortation to change in our perspective of life and our perspective of our circumstances is uncomfortable at best–exhibited in the Gospel text assigned for this feast, Luke 9:57-62, “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’ To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’ But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’”

How often do we tell ourselves–and God–that we need just this one more thing, or to accomplish that one other task before we can really commit to Jesus?