LUKE 9:51-62
WHEN I WAS IN MEDICAL
SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA, THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT TOOK HOLD. THEY WERE
PRETTY THICK IN SAN FRANCISCO, JUST NORTH OF WHERE I LIVED. AND OVER
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN BERKELY, THEY WERE ALL OVER AS
WELL. ANY TIME YOU WENT ON THE CAMPUS THERE WERE PEOPLE WITH
CARDBOARD TABLES TRYING TO GET YOU TO SIGN PETITIONS – END THE WAR,
IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT, SAVE THE FOREST OR OCEAN. IT WAS AN
INTERESTING TIME, AS YOUNG PEOPLE TUNED IN, TURNED ON, AND DROPPED
OUT. IT WAS A TIME OF COMMUNES GROWING MARIJUANA AND INVENTING NEW
RELIGIONS. IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT EXPERIMENTATION IN ART AND MUSIC.
AND THERE WAS A SMALL SUBSET OF THE HIPPIES – THEY CALLED
THEMSELVES “JESUS PEOPLE”. THEY WERE DISTINGUISHED BY THE LARGE
CROSSES THEY WORE, THE LONG HAIR, AND THE CLOTHING WHICH RESEMBLED
WHAT THEY IMAGINED JESUS WORE. AND THEY WENT AROUND IN BANDS
PREACHING AND PRACTICING, ACCORDING TO THEM, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE –
ALL THE WHILE BEGGING FROM PASSING STRANGERS.
ONE MAN SAYS TO JESUS, “I
WILL FOLLOW YOU” AND JESUS TELLS HIM IT WOULD MEAN GIVING UP A
PLACE TO LIVE AND WANDERING THE ROADS OF PALESTINE. HE COMMANDS
ANOTHER TO FOLLOW HIM, AND THAT PERSON WANTS TO WAIT UNTIL HIS FAMILY
OBLIGATIONS HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED. AND A THIRD SIMPLY WANTS TO GO
BACK AND SAY GOODBYE, AND TO THAT ONE, JESUS SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF
YOU HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW HIM AND LOOK BACK, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY
OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I HOPE JESUS IS SPEAKING FIGURATIVELY,
BECAUSE I LOOK BACK, I MAKE EXCUSES, I DON'T REALLY WANT TO STEP OUT
OF MY SECURITY, AND I CAN SEE MYSELF IN ALL THREE OF THESE MEN WHO
WANT TO FOLLOW JESUS BUT ONLY SO FAR; THEY ARE EACH UNWILLING TO
LEAVE BEHIND THAT TO WHICH THEY ARE ATTACHED, AND THAT IS JESUS' CALL
TO EACH OF THEM. I THINK WE GET THE MESSAGE – IF YOU ARE GOING TO
COMMIT TO JESUS, REALLY COMMIT. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A CATHOLIC,
COMMIT TO THE CHURCH AND HER TEACHINGS.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER
QUESTION HERE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS? DOES IT MEAN TO
BE LIKE ONE OF THOSE JESUS PEOPLE, TRYING TO IMITATE THE WAY JESUS
LIVED, OR AT LEAST HOW WE IMAGINE HE LIVED, RIGHT DOWN TO THE
CLOTHING AND THE SANDALS? AFTER ALL, SAINT FRANCIS WAS PROBABLY A
JESUS PEOPLE. BUT I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT
WHEN HE ASKS US TO FOLLOW HIM.
A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK
THAT FOLLOWING JESUS IS GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD. WORKING IN SOUP
KITCHENS, MANNING THE PICKET LINES FOR ABORTION CLINICS, VISITING THE
SICK, FEEDING THE HUNGRY – ALL THE WORKS THAT JESUS DID AND JESUS
TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS TO DO. AND ALL THESE THINGS ARE GOOD, AND
CERTAINLY APPROPRIATE ACTIVITIES FOR CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. BUT WHO IS
TO SAY THAT THE PERSON ACTUALLY FEEDING THE HUNGRY IS SUPERIOR TO THE
PERSON WHO WORKS AT SOME SECULAR OCCUPATION AND PROVIDES THE MONEY
THAT BUYS THE FOOD? AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT CHRISTIAN MINISTRY IN THE
WORK PLACE, WHERE PEOPLE DO THEIR VERY BEST TO EXERCISE THEIR SKILLS
AND TREAT THEIR FELLOW MAN WITH HONESTY, EVEN THOUGH THEY GET PAID
FOR WHAT THEY ARE DOING? JESUS CALLS ALL OF US TO BE MINISTERS, AND
IF WE CAN BE MINISTERS IN THE WORK WE DO, WE AREN'T FAR FROM THE
KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD IS PROBABLY NOT THE
SAME THING AS FOLLOWING JESUS.
I THINK THAT FOLLOWING
JESUS MEANS THAT WE TRY TO SEE THE WORLD THE WAY HE DID; WE TRY TO
RESPOND TO SITUATIONS THE WAY HE WOULD. IF THIS IS THE CASE, THEN
FOLLOWING JESUS IS OPEN TO EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF YOUR STATE IN
LIFE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, A
PRIEST OR A LAYMAN. AND IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN BE FOLLOWING HIM EVEN
WHEN YOU AREN'T OUT DOING A GOOD WORK, OR EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T AT
YOUR OCCUPATION. YOU CAN BE FOLLOWING HIM EVERY WAKING MOMENT. AND
THAT'S WHAT HE CALLS US TO DO – EVERY WAKING MOMENT.
SO HOW DO WE GET THIS
MIND-SET, TO PUT ON CHRIST, AS SAINT PAUL CALLS IT. TO LIVE, NOT
MYSELF, BUT CHRIST LIVING IN ME, TO PARAPHRASE SAINT PAUL AGAIN.
OUR BEST SOURCE OF
LEARNING ABOUT THE MIND OF JESUS IS THE NEW TESTAMENT, ESPECIALLY THE
GOSPELS. SOME OF US MAY THINK WE ALREADY KNOW – JESUS WAS WARM AND
FUZZY AND ACCEPTING, AND PATIENT AND KIND. HE WAS INDEED. BUT HE
ALSO WASN'T AFRAID TO CALL A SIN A SIN, TO CONFRONT GOOD PEOPLE WHO
WERE MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES, LIKE THE PHARISEES; AND HE
WASN'T AFRAID EVEN TO REBUKE HIS OWN FRIENDS WHEN THEY STRAYED – AS
HE DOES TODAY WHEN THE APOSTLES OFFER TO CALL DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN
TO PUNISH THE PEOPLE WHO WOULDN'T GIVE THEM HOSPITALITY. WE ALL TRY
TO BE WARM AND FUZZY, BUT VERY FEW OF US HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO THE
OTHER THINGS.
WE LEARN ABOUT THE MIND
OF JESUS BY LISTENING TO HIS CHURCH. AFTER ALL, IF WE ARE CATHOLICS,
AND SERIOUS ABOUT OUR FAITH, WE BELIEVE THAT WE BELONG TO THE CHURCH
THAT JESUS FOUNDED, AND SAID THAT HE WOULD PROTECT ALL THROUGH TIME.
IF WE REALLY BELIEVE THIS, WE AT LEAST OWE IT TO OURSELVES TO KNOW
WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES. IF WE DON'T MAKE THE EFFORT WE CERTAINLY
MISS OUT ON A MAJOR WAY TO FOLLOW JESUS.
THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE
THESE DAYS WHO BELONG TO NO ORGANIZED RELIGION. MOST OF THEM ARE NOT
ATHEISTS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME TELLING YOU
WHAT THEY BELIEVE; THEY ARE “SPIRITUAL” BUT NOT “RELIGIOUS”.
BUT JESUS WAS SAYING, “FOLLOW ME.” THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE IN ALL
PARTS OF THE WORLD, PEOPLE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT
RELIGIONS OR HAVE NO RELIGION AT ALL. THAT WAS TRUE IN JESUS' TIME
AS WELL, BUT HE SAID , “FOLLOW ME” AND “I AM THE WAY, THE
TRUTH, AND THE LIFE”, AND “NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT
THROUGH ME.” IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE GOOD, TO BE SPIRITUAL.
IN OUR CHURCH THERE ARE
MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONE FOOT IN THE CHURCH AND ONE FOOT IN OUR
SOCIETY, WHO SEE NOTHING INCOMPATIBLE ABOUT IGNORING WHAT THE CHURCH
TEACHES AND YET CONSIDERING THEMSELVES GOOD CATHOLICS. THAT'S NOT A
CONDEMNATION. BUT IT IS A REASON FOR EACH OF US TO ASK THE QUESTION,
“WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS?” AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, “AM
I FOLLOWING JESUS.” BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT TO BE JUDGED UNWORTHY OF
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
No comments:
Post a Comment