Father Nolan's Homily - September 5, 2010 |
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“Anyone who does not take up His cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Luke 26:14 Our liturgy today tells about the cost of discipleship – are we willing to pay the price? In the first reading from the Book of Wisdom we see how worldly things and values put heavy burdens on our spiritual lives. We only can discover God’s ways by allowing His Holy Spirit to guide us through it all. In the second reading from the Book of Philemon Paul was in prison. His commitment to Christ cost him his freedom. In today’s reading he pleads for the freedom of a runaway slave by the name of Onesimus to his master. Oesimus had become a Christian and friend of Paul. It reminds us that discipleship does not come easily. In our gospel we see that Jesus was not willing to make it easy for those who would follow Him. He wanted them to calculate the cost before signing on. Jesus tells us that His way demands complete self-giving. He tells us he is not interested in numbers. “I want quality not quantity.” He tells us. There is no room for Christians in name only, for drifters or casuals, for nominal Catholics, for just Sunday Mass Catholics. Christ today calls for authentic Christianity. In the short parables of the tower builder and the warring king He warns us that we must weigh up the cost of discipleship and see if we are willing to pay the price. He says “whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” He tells us we must be willing to give up even what is closest and dearest to us in order to be His disciples. He is talking about loving God more than anything else in the world. To be a Christian Christ must be first in our lives, everything else second. Jesus says to us that “There must be a pact between me and my followers that is not for sale, that cannot be compromised by anything or anybody. To be a disciple demands that basic sincerity.” To follow Jesus means wholehearted involvement, wholehearted commitment. TO be a Christian means putting Jesus and His cause first and everything else second. It means being prepared for a long and difficult life if necessary in following Jesus. If we his followers do not have that determination we have no business going by the name Christian. Christianity is first and foremost a relationship with Jesus Christ. It means a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, to catch His spirit, to share His values until the Christ life is lived again through us. Here is how St. Paul expressed it in his letter to the Galations. “I live now, not I, but Christ lives in me.” In his letter to the Philippians he simply states “For me to live is Christ” that is why in that same letter written from a jail in Rome with death an imminent possibility he could say “to die is gain” because he had lived for Christ. If we live for Christ then for us death too will be gain. There’s a story told about a congregation in Georgia who just when they had reached an emotional peak in their service a fellow dressed in a devil’s suit coming home from a masquerade party decided to scare the heck out of the congregation. So he jumped in through the open window and stood there up front leering at the congregation. It was all too much for them and they all began to exit as hurriedly as possible except for one old lady. She didn’t quite make it. In her haste she tripped and fell right at the devil’s feet. As he stood there towering menacingly over her she looked up at him and said “Now wait a minute Mr. Devil. It’s true I’ve been a member of this church for 75 years. I know I’ve sung in the choir, I’ve taught Sunday school, I’ve baked pies and more cakes than anyone else in this congregation but really Mr. Devil I’ve been on your side all the time.” Church membership doesn’t necessarily mean we are on God’s side. Many so called “Catholics” live very far from Christ’s teaching. My dear people we as followers of the Lord must be on His side in heart and action. Jesus says to us “not everyone who says to me “Lord Lord” will enter the kingdom of Heaven but only the one who does the will of my Father in Heaven.” He tells us it’s just not enough to be Christian in name but we must live Christian lives. Again he says “Anyone who hears my words and puts them into practice is like the wise man who built his house on the rock. When the rainy season set in, the torrents came and the winds blew and buffeted his house. It did not collapse because it had been built on the rock.” Christ must be the rock foundation of our lives. Today’s celebration confronts every single one of us who claims to be Christian and demands that we stand up and be counted. The world is full of people who call themselves Christian and followers of Christ but whose lives do not reflect that commitment. As you know in the early days of Christianity there was a different manner of becoming Christian than today. In those days people heard an apostle preach, proclaim the good news of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection and were won over, converted to him. Then they were instructed over a long period of time, then baptized, confirmed and given the Eucharist. Most of us modern Catholics are born into Catholic families and baptized as infants. We receive basic Christian teaching from parents, teachers and priests and enter into the life of the parish. It could well be that many of us miss the element of personal conversion to Christ that the first Christians experienced. In recent times though there is much more emphasis on personal conversion. A “Born again Christian” is one who has found the Lord and totally dedicated himself to Him. Let us today renew our faith in Jesus Christ and our commitment to Him. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, Amen. Or
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