topleft05.jpg (18208 bytes)HOMILY
23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time (C)
09 September 01


 

Brian Lee, who has been my golf instructor for many years always reminds me that the "idea" of being a good golfer is very different from actually being a good golfer. According to Brian, what differentiates the idea from its execution requires visualizing what you want to do and, then, through patience, persistence, and practice (what he calls the "3P’s"), allowing it to become second nature. Or, so it looks to "wanna be" golfers who don’t have the patience and persistence and don’t take time to practice if they are to translate the idea of being a good golfer into the reality where it counts most, namely, on the links.

Reflecting on Brian’s lesson in light of today’s gospel, what he has been telling me all of these years doesn’t really differ all that much from any worthwhile human endeavor. Experience teaches us, doesn’t it, that the "idea" of being something is very different from the reality of doing it?

  • For kids: The idea of doing well in school, of having good friends, of enjoying one’s time growing up is very different from the reality of doing what it takes to perform well in school, of associating with people whose character is full of the virtues that make these people good friends, and of doing those necessary things one must do to grow up as a healthy and virtuous human being.
  • For young people looking forward to embarking upon a career: The idea of the "perfect job" is very different from the reality of having to deal every day with other people we’d rather not deal with, of doing things that we’re required to but would rather not do, and of feeling that---despite everything we’re is doing---all of this just isn’t fulfilling.
  • For couples contemplating marriage, engaged, or newlyweds: The idea of wedded bliss is very different from the reality of loving, honoring, and obeying someone other than yourself---day in and day out, week in and week out, and year in and year out.
  • For couples looking forward to being parents: The idea of being parents is very different from the reality of changing diapers, of seeing that the kids do their homework and complete their household chores, of setting boundaries and of upholding them, and of worrying about the choices that the kids are making and of challenging the kids to make good, sound decisions throughout their lives.
  • For any young man considering the ordained priesthood: The idea of being a priest is very different from the personal cost associated with fulfilling the expectations not only that Christ has but also that the Church and God’s people have of ordained priests.

 

In order to grow up as a healthy and virtuous human being, to enjoy a meaningful career, to have a loving and lasting marriage with one’s beloved, to have a family whose members cherish one another, or even, to be a good priest requires more than just having an idea. Achieving these meaningful outcomes also requires conviction and courage, that is, if we mere mortals are to do what is necessary by making the choices that translate these nice ideas into a virtuous way of life.

In today’s gospel, Jesus reminds us that it is much the same way with being a disciple. That is, the idea of following Jesus is very different from the reality of suffering courageously for one’s convictions, of taking up the Cross and bearing it, and of pouring out one's life upon it. Jesus minced no words about the "cost of discipleship." Namely, his followers must "hate" father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and their very own lives to wit!

This teaching, of course, should not comfort any of us who believe that Jesus is speaking about how we may feel about our siblings and relatives because Jesus is not talking about hate as an emotional reaction. No, Jesus is describing the cost his followers must pay, namely, not allowing anyone or anything to interfere with living and acting according to the Gospel. What it means to be a disciple, then, is to possess the conviction and courage that makes it possible to translate the idea of being a disciple into a way of life, especially as others challenge a disciple to allow other competing interests---as good and important as these may be---to take precedence to the Gospel. The cost of discipleship, then, is to suffer courageously for one’s convictions, to take up the Cross and bear it, and to pour out one’s life for others upon it...just as Jesus did.

Jesus taught this very hard lesson to the people following him on his way to Jerusalem and the Cross. For those "wanna be" disciples, the idea of walking in Jesus’ steps looked pretty good. But, they were only admiring Jesus, that is, appreciating the power of his convictions and courage, eagerly anticipating his triumph in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. What these admirers didn’t know---and where their idea would be put to the test---would come when they would witness the price that Jesus paid on Good Friday. The realization that they, too, would have to suffer and shed their own blood, interfered with the idea of being one of Jesus' disciples and so, many turned their backs on Jesus.

Because discipleship is more than an idea, Jesus tells his admirers to think their idea through very carefully---"to calculate the costs," he says---before professing something that they have neither the conviction nor the courage to be. And so, Jesus asks us today to calculate these costs:

  • It is much easier, isn’t it, to think about having good friends than it is to pay the cost of being a good friend by upholding the standards of morality and virtue in our interactions with others and suffering patiently ridicule when we do?
  • It is much easier, isn’t it, to think about the perfect job than it is to confront our co-workers and bosses about unethical and immoral behavior we notice transpiring in our workplace or to quit a job because it violates our duty as disciples?
  • It is much easier, isn’t it, to think about wedded bliss than it is to suffer with a spouse’s imperfections and to commit and recommit oneself to love one’s spouse when that person really does care for herself (or himself) more than she (or he) does for me?
  • It is much easier, isn’t it, to picture oneself as a parent than it is to suffer the pain that kids inflict upon their parents when parents demand what decency, morality, and faith require and their kids respond by treating their parents as if they’re aliens from some foreign planet or, even, by hurling hateful insults at them?
  • And, it is much easier to image what being a good priest is than it is to embody the person of Jesus by serving Christ, the Church, and God’s people faithfully when other things might seem more alluring.

 

As we calculate these costs, Jesus asks each of us: Are you an "admirer" and "wanna be" or do you possess the conviction and courage to be a disciple?  The cost of discipleship is total dedication on our part as well as an unflinching willingness to accept the suffering that is sure to come our way, even to the point pouring out our own blood on the Cross. No other relation, no other concern for personal preferences, or even one’s own life can take precedence. Jesus tells "admirers" and "wanna bes" to  calculate the personal costs that discipleship will extract before committing to the idea because there is no "wiggle room," no "fudge factor," and there are absolutely no "loopholes."

Many admire the idea and want to be disciples, but possess neither the conviction nor the courage to translate their idea into a way of life. Instead, they remain "admirers," "wanna bes," or even, fall by the wayside. For these people, the Kingdom of God remains a very nice idea. But, for those who muster up the courage to stand by their Christian convictions, who accept the cost---whether as kids growing up, as young adults contemplating a career, as spouses and parents, or as ordained priests---the "Kingdom of God is very near, indeed it is in your very midst," Jesus promises.

 

 

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