Homily
for September 9, 2007
Liturgical Year C - Cycle I
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Fr. John Carney Topic:
Disciple or Camp Follower
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“Great crowds were
traveling with Jesus, and He turned
and addressed them. ‘If anyone comes to
me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers
and
sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever
does not carry his own cross and come
after me cannot be my disciple.’” Hate is an extreme word.
Bible scholars understand that Jesus, of course, spoke Aramaic and
Hebrew, and in the Semitic languages, including Aramaic, there is a lot
of
extreme language. There was then, and I
assume there still is now. I read one
piece yesterday that said there is no word for like or dislike in
Aramaic or
Hebrew. You say love or hate. You elevate everything.
We do that to some degree. “I
love ice cream.” “I love green chili with chicken.” I just
got some the other day, thanks Ester. It was very hot. “I
hate Monday mornings.” Actually, I love Monday mornings.
However, it is important to understand that
Jesus is telling us something very important when He uses hyperbole or
extreme
language. Indeed, He is underlining the
message here. He is saying listen to
this. It is very important. Jesus is addressing the great crowds,
the people who are
following him, by the hundreds, maybe the thousands. He was not just
speaking
to His disciples, although they were listening too. The great
crowds were admirers of Jesus. They thought Him to be a great
teacher but
they weren’t disciples. They saw Jesus,
many of them, as a political, economical or possibly even a military
leader and
savior that would free them from the Romans and make them powerful,
wealthy,
and rich again. They thought Jesus was
going to do this all by Himself, without their involvement, and without
their
blood. Indeed, many Christians today are
much the same as these followers were 2000 years ago. They think
the Kingdom of God requires only
the blood of Jesus, not theirs. However,
the message today is that it requires your blood as well. We are called to be disciples, not
camp followers, not
admirers of a teacher. Discipleship is a
radical decision. Jesus tells us today,
If you are a true disciple, then nothing and nobody will ever get
between you
and Me. No possessions, no
relationships, no politics, no hobbies, no work, no other interest will
get
between you and Me. When it does, you
need to quit it. If you must quit a job,
then so be it. If you must say goodbye
to some friends, so be it. If you must
turn your back on a family member, so be it.
He is saying to the crowds and to us that no half-hearted need
apply. He is saying do not even start
something you cannot finish, or don’t start unless you intend to make
the
commitment to finish. That is why Jesus uses those two
examples of a king going
to war without thinking it through first, or the man who started to
build
something when he didn’t have enough money to finish it. Everyone
says he is a fool; they started
something they weren’t prepared to make the commitment to finish.
He’s telling the crowds today very clearly
that if you’re not with Me all the way then go home. Interesting, isn’t it?
So much of the Christian world today, so many Christian churches will
say and do anything to get members. It’s
like politics. “What would you like me
to say about that?” “Will you vote for
me?” I heard one advertisement recently
from a major denomination church in our country that said, in effect,
“Whatever
your walk in life, that’s fine. Come and
share it with us. Teach us how to walk.” They’ve got that
backwards! We follow Christ, not each other, but
Christ. The last several Sunday’s, I’ve been
asking you
questions. I know every time you point a
finger, there are three pointing back at yourself. I was told in
seminary once, never say “you”,
always say “us.” I don’t like that, its
nonsense. Take this personally and I will too.
It loses its effect when it’s “us.”
Because it’s like, “Oh, well.
We’re all blended together!” You! Answer these questions.
Are you a disciple or camp follower?
On the front line of what Christ is for, or do you just tag along?
Do you fight the battles or do you
watch? Are you willing to sacrifice, or
do you take no risk? Do you pay the cost
for victory, or do you just share in the spoils? Do you take an
active part, or just sit back
and criticize? Do you carry your share
of the load, or have someone else do it?
Do you give freely of your time, your treasure, and your talent for the
Kingdom of God, or are you non-supportive?
Are you a disciple, or are you a follower? Dietrich Bonhoeffer, someone I’ve
mentioned before, was a
philosopher and theologian, a Lutheran, in Germany. He left
Germany before the Nazi’s came to
power. He knew what was going to
happen. Nevertheless, he decided he
would return to Germany and speak out.
He knew it would cost him his life.
Indeed, it did. He was martyred
by the Nazi’s for speaking up for Christian values. Bonhoeffer
taught the same lesson that Christ
teaches us today in the Gospel concerning “Are you a disciple or are
you just a
follower?” He used different terms. He said, in effect, “Do
you want cheap grace,
or do you want costly grace?” He said,
“Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring
repentance,
baptism without church discipline, communion without confession,
absolution
without personal confession. Cheap grace
is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without
Jesus
Christ.” Cheap grace is being an
admirer, or follower, of the teacher.
“Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field. For the sake
of it, a man will go and sell
all that he has. It is the call of Jesus
Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows Him. It
is costly because it cost a man his life,
and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. Above
all, it is costly because it cost God
the life of His Son, and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.”
The way of the disciple is costly.
If you wish to be a disciple, Christ wants
all of your life. It is the way of the
cross. Jesus calls forth from His
disciples what He, Himself, gave the Father:
perfect love, obedience, and single-minded dedication. Jesus is
telling the admirers and camp
followers, “If you’re not willing to go all in, then go home.
Commit to me with all your heart, or leave
me.” I was reminded when I was putting
these notes together,
of the Frank Sinatra / Billie Holiday song. You young kids
won’t know this, because you
don’t have any music today. You
don’t. Well, maybe some, but not
much. I wonder if anyone can sing
this? Remember the song “All or Nothing
at All”? Fitz, you remember? “Half of love never appealed to me.
If your heart never could yield to me, then
I’d rather have nothing, nothing at all.”