23rd Sunday OT, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” This question is an important one and we can see that our whole education system is built around the idea of making a long journey to becoming someone. If you count from Pre-K to College graduation, it’ll take 17 years before you even start doing what you want to do, not to mention other training. I personally spent 25 years in a row in school before finally becoming a priest, and I can only blame two of those years on taking too long to join the seminary. A quarter of century in school… and many, many people are taking similar lengths of time to really start being the adult that they want to be. A considerable number of people never really settle into a single career and make significant changes to their life in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. If you want to be someone, if you want to do something with your life, it is going to take lots of time and effort to do it. That’s basically what Jesus is telling us.
Being a bad Christian takes very little effort; a baptism and one hour a week, if that. But being the kind of Christian Christ wants? That’s like trying to fight off two people at once. Indeed, that is what Christ compares being his disciple to a king with 10,000 men against a king with 20,000 men. We fight an uphill battle, 2-to-1, because we fight against the devil and against the world. But you know what? I think that might the underdog and most of us like to indulge in little rebellions – Why is that?
We have an innate sense that the world is not as it should be – that there is some injustice, grave error, or untapped potential out there and that it is wrong to leave it that way. We have an instinctual memory of Adam and Eve where the world was as it should be. But our world is not like that, it is fallen, broken, and chock full of corruption and evil. So, we want to rebel against it. Unfortunately, we often let this desire lead us astray and we rebel in the wrong way, as Adam and Eve rebelled against God, or as a teenager breaks all of their parents’ rules just to assert their independence.
Speaking of rebellious teenagers, what does Christ mean by hating your father and mother? No, it isn’t literal. As he often does, Jesus is using hyperbole to make his point. He is trying to get a reaction and to make people think. We can compare this to the Gospel of Matthew where he says more literally “he who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Basically, God comes first. In some cases, following Christ does in fact require a kind of rebellion against parents and other loved ones – as when they tell you to do something sinful or forbid you from doing what you know you have to do.
So why do we do it if it can cost us even the love of our parents? Why Mass or the teachings of the Church? Why do some people, like those in the Middle East, sacrifice so very much just to be a Catholic? Because there is something mysterious and powerful about the person of Jesus that we meet in the Gospels and in the Church. Because faith can give us a sense of purpose and meaning in a confused world and the hope it provides acts like an anchor that helps us to weather the storm of this life. You are here, at Sunday mass, so there must be something about the faith that brought you here.
Do you want to be here? Do you sense the value of what you are doing right now, and what you are about to do in the offertory and receiving communion? Are you a disciple? Not just a believer, a parishioner, a member. A disciple: an attentive, motivated, and careful student and follower of the person of Jesus Christ? Are you willing to do what it takes to act like one? You must carry your cross, that’s what he tells us. And do you know why you have to carry your cross? Because this world is not as it should be. Because we live in a fallen world and we have to rebel against that fallenness!
The world promises you comfort, but you were not made for comfort, but for greatness! In a word of selfish excess and indulgence, moderation, virtue, and self-control is the only rebellion left! Disciple and discipline come from the same word because they are rooted in the same idea: training. We spend 20 plus years training ourselves to be engineers, doctors, lawyers, and many other things because that’s what it takes. If there is something worth doing, it will take time, effort, and self-control. This is infinitely more true for being a Catholic. You first have to accept the idea that it will take sacrifice – be ready to carry your cross. It will take planning, just like it takes planning to build a tower. Then it will become a challenge, like fighting a battle. No matter what, being a good Catholic will take work, but notice what Christ says about making peace with the opposing king. If you know you can’t win the battle, then don’t fight it – that’s sound advice. Now, obviously, there is no making peace with the devil, so what is he talking about?
He’s talking about where and how you choose to live the faith. Living the faith is not optional – it is necessary – but, you do get some control over where and in what way you live that faith. Each profession has its own challenges for Catholics. Doctors have to face tough ethical questions about the medicines and procedures they use. Catholic politicians are supposed to never compromise on certain moral issues. Teachers have a serious obligation to hand on the truth, even when it is unpopular. This same logic can apply to all sorts of smaller decisions as well: places to go for vacation, social groups to be involved with, your choice of television shows and books. There are many things Catholics can do and many places they can go, but not every Catholic can face every battle. If you are faced with a decision that will put you in a place of temptation, consider whether or not you can fight that battle. Remember that you are fighting not only against the devil, but often against yourself or others. If you cannot win that fight, make peace with it and avoid it – do not be afraid to turn down a job, a college, or an invitation because it will tempt you – that is wisdom, not cowardice! Pray often for the Holy Spirit to guide these decisions, for “thus are the paths of those on earth made straight.”
Indeed, let that spirit transform the way you make your decisions, the criteria that affect your judgment. Christ warns us sternly “anyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.” Young people, if you are still wrestling with that question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” then start by renouncing especially the possession of your own future. The world tells you to take charge, do what you feel like doing, and forget the rest – rebel against that! You will become a slave to blind desires and hidden social forces. No, look first to the Lord. Listen when he says to “hate even your own life.” Priesthood, Religious Brothers, Religious Sisters, Missionaries – you should seriously consider these things as a possibility. God may not be calling you, but an honest look at these first is a great practical way to give him room to work on you, and you’ll be better in whatever you do even if its not one of these.
So which will it be? Are you just one of the crowd, or a disciple?