One of the characteristics and the genius of the Gospel writer is how succinctly he can be. In just a few short, twelve verses, Matthew indicates some dynamic changes in the people of today’s Gospel. Jesus calls for repentance, expects Peter and Andrew to drop their nets and follow him, and calls James and John to leave their Father Zebedee in the boat without so much as a “so on, see you later” And with some of our New Year’s resolutions already broken and gone, isn’t it a little presumptuous to believe that we can turn our lives around in such fundamental ways as repentance, renunciation, true obedience and discipleship? The reality is that only with God’s grace – His presence in our life – can we accomplish such tasks. How do we define each of these four areas of life? Repentance is deep sorrow or compunction, or contrition for a past sin, wrongdoing, or the like. Simply put, it is regret for any past action. And who of us have not had such regrets? Renunciation is an act or instance of relinquishing, abandoning, repudiating, or sacrificing, something. That takes a strong and confident person to welcome the choice of sacrificing. Obedience is the act or practice of obeying; dutiful or submissive compliance. True obedience requires us to listen intently. Authentic obedience is not blindly submitting to another or direction without some proper reflection or assessment. It requires us with some opportunity to reflect on what is being asked or requested. Finally, discipleship is a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; a follower. Again, because of whatever assessment we have done, we choose to accept the direction or teachings or example of another and make it our own. Wow! That seems a lot to ask and to integrate into our life! But again, with the help of God, it is all possible. The other element that oftentimes is lost is that the choice for these directions is not just a one-time-deal. Like any choice, it is a daily occurrence. Every day we have to say, “I do”, to each of these because any choice or decision we make in life is lived out one day at a time.