Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
An object at rest stays at rest. This is Newton’s first law of motion. And it’s not only true for things. It’s true for people. A resting person doesn’t like to have to get active if at all possible. A few years ago I saw an ad for a belt that you put around your abs with little electrodes that shock you. The idea is that the electrodes would simulate exercise, and would strengthen your abs so you can get that six-pack look, rather than the pony keg that is all too common. Or I recently saw a reel that said if you just do this stretch for 30 days in a row, you will lose that beer belly that is so hard to shrink. I think if we spent as much time actually working on getting fitter as we do finding lazy ways to get fitter, we might actually see some changes.
But the struggle is real. Real change doesn’t happen on accident or without effort. And our readings today remind us of that fact. It would be nice if following Jesus meant everything goes well for you. But we all know that isn’t the case. In fact, the more we follow God, the harder some things seem to become.
Take Jeremiah in our first reading. God gave Jeremiah some tough messages to deliver. Jeremiah told the people they needed to abandon their false gods and their injustice, or else the temple would be destroyed and they would be exiled. What does Jeremiah get for this? He’s thrown into a mostly-dry well, but with mud at the bottom, so he starts sinking in. They do pull him out, but then Jeremiah is put under house arrest, until all that he says comes true. And even after all that he prophesies happens, the people still don’t listen to Jeremiah.
And in our Gospel, Jesus says that following Him will not always cause rainbows and lollipops. Families will divide over following Christ. Elsewhere He promises that those who follow Him will have to take up their cross each day, which meant real and humiliating suffering for the Gospel. Following Jesus will not always be easy because it means putting to death all that is fallen in us, and all that is fallen in us doesn’t want to die; it fights for its existence.
This does not mean we can go picking fights with family, nor that we should blithely say difficult things that people don’t want to hear. Our focus should be on following God, no matter what the costs, and let the consequences fall where they will. Our goal is to do what God wants in all circumstances.
And that takes perseverance. The Letter to the Hebrews talks about continuing to run the race. Our race is not a sprint; it’s a marathon. Or, to use the popular phrase from the Disney movie, “Finding Nemo,” “Just keep swimming.”
But we’re not in this alone. Christ never calls us to something without giving us the grace to get through it. The Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation give us an indelible mark, which not only claims us for God, but gives us a stream of graces every day so that we can believe in God (Baptism) and share the Gospel (Confirmation). Likewise, receiving the Eucharist in a state of grace each Sunday is so important because it is our spiritual nourishment which gives us the spiritual nutrition we need to run the race well. It’s like the Elven lembas bread from Lord of the Rings that provides super substantial strength to keep going. That is one reason why the Church has a precept that you have to go to Mass every Sunday and Holyday under pain of mortal sin, unless your sick or more than 30 minutes away from a church: we cannot follow Christ as He wants without the Eucharist. To absent ourselves from Mass means that we spiritually starve ourselves.
And, as the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us, we also have the saints to encourage us onward, the “great…cloud of witnesses,” that show us what it means to persevere in the faith even in the midst of struggles. In a few weeks, Pope Leo will canonize Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, who was a young man and a Third Order Dominican who lived the Beatitudes in a real way in the early 20th century. While from a rich family, he dedicated his life to serving the poor in Turin, Italy, where he grew up. He ended up dying of polio at the age of 24. His parents expected many noble people of Turin to come to help them mourn their son, but they were shocked when they saw the streets lined with thousands of mourners who were the poor that he had served on the streets, a service he did not trumpet to his family.
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| Bl. Pier Griogio Frassati |
Just like when it comes to exercising our bodies, many find it easier just to veg on the couch and hope that they will get fitter through new inventions and the least amount of work as possible. But that is not living, that is just existing. God has given us faith, has given us a patrimony to defend, has asked us to struggle steadily for the truth. That is the life God calls us to live, a heroic life, a life lived to the heights, verso l’alto. God grant that we may engage, even through the struggle is real, and not just remain at rest because it’s easy. Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, pray for us!!
