There is so much going on here at the parish that it is sometimes difficult to keep focused on what it is that I'm doing here (and have been doing here for nearly a year now). The mission trip has definitely given me some focus, however. Regardless of what happens in our lives or what society around us is trying to do to us, we need to stay focused on the "one thing", the bringing forth of God's Kingdom here on earth. God calls, we respond and the Kingdom appears. If one of those pieces is missing, the result will not happen. Let me guarantee you, God never fails to call. Let's open our hearts to hear him calling us once again!
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Homily:
13th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle C
One of the joys of Spring and Summer for me is that,
because the sun rises earlier in the morning than in the fall and winter, the
birds also “wake up” earlier and begin their daily routine. It is a joy because, even though I’m still
waking up earlier than I would prefer to most days, at least I know that there
is someone else who is awake with me.
One of the things that I notice in those still morning hours is that
there seems to be a pattern of communication among the birds. If you listen to the birds singing, you’ll often
pick up on an almost rhythmic “call and response” pattern happening. One bird will chirp out a couple of notes and
a second or two later another bird will repeat it, seemingly in response to the
first bird. I won’t venture to say what
that communication is all about, but what struck me about it is that this “call
and response” pattern seems to be a very natural form of communication.
Just think about how we communicate. When we want to speak to someone in the room,
we call out their name and when they respond we then offer our message. Even when we complicate our communication
through technology and various forms of media the same pattern applies. We send an invitation and we await a
response. We send an e-mail or a text
message and we expect a response. And
this is all very natural for us. One
calls out, another responds and communication, dialogue, and relationship happens because of it.
In our Scripture readings today, we find another lesson
about discipleship. This week, in
particular, the readings focus on how discipleship follows this “call and response”
pattern. In other words, they show us
that discipleship is a response to a call from God. Not only that, however. The Scriptures this week also show us what
the response of a disciple ought to look like.
Thus, if we are serious about being followers
of Christ (and not just professors of
faith in Christ), then we ought to pay close attention to what the
Scriptures teach us today.
In our first reading, we see how the Man of God, Elijah,
responds to God’s call to go to Elisha and, thus, call him to succeed him as a
prophet. Elisha’s response was
immediate. After Elijah threw his cloak
over Elisha, Elisha knew that he had been called to leave everything behind and
follow Elijah. Although his response was
immediate, he still had strings attached.
“Let me go say goodbye to my family”, he asks. Elijah’s responds somewhat harshly and says
“Go! Do what you feel you have to do;
but I’m not going to wait for you.”
Elisha then goes and literally destroys all of his attachments to his
former way of life by slaughtering the oxen and using the plow equipment to make
a fire to cook the meat over. After
leaving that with his family, he turns to follow Elijah and never looks back.
In the Gospel reading, we see how Jesus, when the time had
come for him to fulfill what God the Father had sent him to do, “resolutely
determined to journey to Jerusalem”. By
resolving to fulfill God’s plan, he responded to God’s call; and he would not
be deterred from it even when his way was blocked by his enemies (the
Samaritans who would not allow him to pass through their town). Instead of losing focus by engaging those who
wronged him, Jesus remained focused on responding to the call to go to
Jerusalem, where he would fulfill that which God had sent him to accomplish.
Then, when along the way Jesus encountered various
“would-be” disciples, he makes clear both the cost of being his disciple and
what the response of a disciple must look like.
To the one who was exuberant about following him Jesus replies “Beware! My disciples must relinquish everything, even
the security of a place to call ‘home’.”
And to the ones who wanted first to “tidy up” things in their former
lives before following him, he responds, echoing Elijah, “There is no time to ‘tidy
up’. The Kingdom of God will not wait
for you.” What these examples are
showing us is that when we receive the call to discipleship our response must
be immediate and total, leaving all of what binds us to our former ways so as
to be about the business of God, which is to bring forth his Kingdom.
But isn’t this “being about God’s business just a different
form of slavery? No! Saint Paul reminds us today that Jesus has
called us, and that he demands this total, immediate response from us, so as to
set us free from our slavery to sin and the things of this world. Perhaps an example. Who among you, upon going into your
refrigerator to reheat that delicious dish from the restaurant two nights ago
and finding it with mold growing on it, would still eat it? Wouldn’t you, rather, count it as lost and
throw the whole dish out? Thus, when
Jesus says “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind
is fit for the Kingdom of God”, this is what he’s saying. He’s saying that if you have dedicated your
life to following me, that is, to eating fresh, healthy food, but then turn and
maintain your desire for sin, that is, your desire to eat moldy leftovers, then
you are not fit for the Kingdom, because you are still tied to your disordered
desires from the past.
To be a disciple, then, is to respond to God’s call to
freedom: that is, to determine wholeheartedly and resolutely to fulfill his
call, which is your vocation. This, of
course, is not easy. Just as the
Samaritans obstructed Jesus’ path towards Jerusalem, so too does our modern
secular culture obstruct our journey.
When sports or work or projects around the house obstruct us from
fulfilling our third commandment duty to honor the Sabbath, that is, to rest
and give honor to God, do we resolve to find ways around them or do we give in
to their pressures and deny the gift of rest and regeneration that God has
offered to us? My guess is that, more
often than not, we give in; and, thus, that we often feel enslaved by these
“idols” that have arisen in our lives.
Now it’s no secret that our government is erecting barriers
against our ability to live out fully our response to Jesus’ call in the public
square. And even though, as our bishops
have said, we must speak out against injustice in our land and, thus, engage in
this political dispute, I believe that a more complete response is to maintain
our resolve in bringing forth God’s Kingdom here on earth. For when we focus on bringing forth this
Kingdom in our families and in our community, instead of focusing on winning political
victories or exacting revenge on the “Samaritans” of our day, then we will see
a change in our world, because God’s Kingdom, when it appears, cannot be
resisted.
My brothers and sisters, God has called us to be about his
business of bringing forth his Kingdom and Jesus has shown us that we must resolutely
dedicate ourselves to this work; for it is our only path to true freedom. Let us, then, stand strong in the strength
that we receive from this Eucharist and, thus, live by the Spirit, so that we
may be true followers of Christ - men and women who are truly free - and, thus,
make ourselves ready to inherit the Kingdom that God has promised us.
Given at All Saints Parish:
Logansport, IN – June 29th and 30th, 2013
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