Rev.
Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
The abundance of
evangelists, preachers, pastors, ministers, and clerics in an epoch when divine
call is held in high esteem, should sometimes be looked upon with some
suspicion. The proliferation of worshipping centres, ministries, and camping
and crusade arenas in an era when people are tended towards fanaticism should
sometimes be applauded only after great scrutiny. Following Christ demands a
lot, and ought to be devoid of ulterior motives. Whenever any epoch follows and
preaches Christ insincerely, the perceived vocations boom can only lead to
societal doom, whereby such society suffers greatly in the hands of the two
great monsters: social injustice and social vices. We are free to view the
Nigerian society under this optic to see what we shall discover.
The readings of today
bring out this idea of divine call (i.e. vocation). In the First Reading (1Kgs
19:16b.19-21), Yahweh instructs Elijah to anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat of
Abelmeholah to replace after he is gone. Elijah then arose in search of his
successor. He found him and had to cast his mantle upon him. This is a sign of
divine call; that God has chosen Elisha to replace Elijah. Elisha understood
the message immediately and pleaded for an excuse to go and do the necessary
acts of courtesy to the family and friends. He was not wrong; little wonder
Elijah permitted him. He bided farewell and even gave out all he had, and
coming back, he followed Elijah. Elijah thus begins to function as a point of
holy power to which Elisha is drawn and from which he will go forth.
Discipleship involves
the teacher and the student; and the student is expected to posses the virtue
of discipline. Both words ‘disciple’ and ‘discipline’ are got from the same
root discipulis (disco, discere,
didici –to learn) which point to the character of learning. Just as Elijah
encountered Elisha at the very point of making his livelihood, God expects us
to use our strength to work for our livelihood, and not lazing about claiming
to have been called. It is in our hard work that we are called. Remember how
the first four apostles were called at the point of their occupation. Let us
get to work and permit God to call us when He deems fit. Let us stop forcing
ourselves on God.
The Second Reading
(Gal. 5:1.13-18) tells us that our followership of Christ is that which is
guided by the law of love, not compulsion. No one is forced to follow Christ. God
allows us to make use of the freewill He has given us. That is why he continues
to liberate us and to set us free from anything that enslaves us. The Gospel (Lk
9:52-61) explains that the Christian life is a journey undertaken with Christ,
not outside of Him. One can say that the Gospel contains two pericopes; one,
concerning the rejection of Jesus and his followers by the Samaritans, and two,
concerning the cost of following Jesus. My interest lies on the second. In it,
we encounter three different insincere attitudes of followers in the three
encounters of those who wanted to follow Christ.
First
Encounter
The man approached Jesus
and said to him: I will follow you wherever you go. Jesus replied: foxes have
holes, and birds have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head.” He
desired to follow Christ without counting the cost. It is vivid that this man’s
request may have been born out of following Christ for vain glory; to belong to
the popular group and to be among the respected, since he may have thought that
Christ wielded much respect and admiration. This man represents Christians who
claim to follow Christ but have ulterior motives of selfishness and
self-enrichment. In this group are those who are inclined to classism. They
come to church in order to be recognized and honoured. They seek titles, and
demand that they be addressed honourably. If you deny them that or correct them,
they change Church immediately and will speak all sorts of evils against the Church
and her ministers. In the society, they want to be identified with the
happening class, fashion, ideas, experiences and people. Persons in this group
are inclined to marrying for what they can gain from their partners, not
actually for love.
At the words of this
man who had some selfish motives for coming to Jesus, Jesus admonished the man
that before he desires to follow Him, he should count the cost. It is not when
suffering arrives, the Christian flees. So we must be aware of this, for no one
can say that he was induced to follow Jesus under false pretences. There are
demands in discipleship. Our discipleship must cost us many things. Church membership
needs not numerous numbers who are insincere. All we need are sincere and
devoted members, regardless of the number.
Second
Encounter
To another man, Jesus
said: follow me. But he said: Lord, let me go first and bury my father. Jesus
replied: leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim
the kingdom of God. Jesus’ words to this man sound very unsympathetic. But we
must know that it is most probable that the father of this man was not dead already.
Most probably, the man’s words simply meant: I will follow after my father has
died. So, it means that the condition for accepting to follow Christ was that
the father who was his responsibility must (having lived his complete life here
on earth) die. He can then be free to come and follow Jesus. Helping to bury
the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy and cannot be disregarded by
Jesus. Jesus’ reply to him simply meant that no condition should be attached to
the gospel message. Discipleship must cost us, even detachment from our
families. Christ had explicitly instructed us that discipleship does cost
wives, children, parents and wealth (cf. Matt 10:37-42). God must be first in
our lives. His mission must be paramount.
Nobody and nothing
should take precedence over our followership of Christ. We must know that in
life, there are opportunities which when we miss can never be regained. If the
man misses that opportunity to follow Christ on that occasion, he can never
have it again. Jesus was already on his way to Jerusalem where he will die. Hence,
no time to waste; he should grab the opportunity now. In this group are Christians
who place their worries and work over worship. They do not even go to Church on
Sundays to listen to Jesus speak to them. They will concoct 1001 reasons why
they are unable to go to Church: There was rainfall, I fell sick, I was
offloading my goods, I woke up lately, etc. Remember, God first; His mission
paramount. In the society, this set of people is inclined to be in tension concerning
marriage. They will love one sincerely, and yet allow their past and some
family hindrances to go ahead with marriage. They are prone to distractions
that can make them loose focus from their goals. Hence, following Jesus demands
concentration and focus unto Him that we are following.
Third
Encounter
Another man approached
Jesus and said: I will follow you, Lord, but let me say farewell to those at my
home. Jesus replied: no one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is
fit for the kingdom of God. This man was in a confused state. He does not even
know his priorities. He wants to go forward, but he has not left hold of the
past. He needs to get decided. It was as if Christ was telling Him: Until you
know what you want; until you become not confused about your need, I can give
you a reply. His eyes were not even focused ahead but behind. The difference
between him and the second one is that as the second moves ahead in a less
focused manner, the third moves with his eyes on the past. And you know the
consequence: he will stagger and fall. The Christian must march forward;
forward ever and backward never. The difference too between Elijah’s permission
of Elisha and Christ repudiation of this man is simply based on purity and sincerity
of heart and intention. Whereas Elisha was acting in zeal and readiness to
answer divine call, this man was placing those at his home more important than
his desire.
Many people are simply
wishful Christians or Catholics. They remain on the level of wish; and find it
hard to take actions and decisions. They continue to procrastinate: tomorrow, I
will go to Church. Tomorrow comes and goes and they are still not yet in the
Church. In our society, such persons are inclined to finding it difficult to
disentangle from that which they hold dear: their houses, cars, companies, etc.
I have a word for such persons: it is true that we do not know what we have
until we lose it, but it is even truer that we do not know what we miss until
it arrives. They find it difficult from forgetting and forgiving their fellows.
They can tell and retell the stories of all the wrong doings someone has done
to them. In marriage, they find it difficult to let go of the other’s mistakes.
Such a life only leads one to doom; to heartbreak and to marriage break-ups.
The richness and
abundance of vocations today should be praised; yes, but today’s message
challenges us to apply more caution in believing and canonizing people who
claim to profess Christ. It also challenges the preachers themselves to purify
their intentions for following Christ. Today is a day we have a rethink on
Vocations. More seriousness too should be paid in the proper discernment of
vocations; for without proper discernment, vocation boom may actually lead to
societal doom. In the seven sacraments of the Church, we have two sacraments
that are regarded as the sacrament of Christian vocations. They are the Holy
Orders and Matrimony. These sacraments empower the faithful to live and perform
their Christian duties either as chaste celibates or chaste married couples. The
celibates together with the married couples share in this vocation to follow Christ
more closely. We must be constantly ready to follow Christ in our vocation. Sincerity
of mind and readiness to serve must be our watchword. May God continue to make
His words alive in us as I wish all of us great week ahead. GOD BLESS YOU.
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