HOMILY FOR THE 13TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, YEAR C
Rev. Fr Ezekoka Peter Onyekachi
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 him after he is gone. Elijah then went in search of his successor. He found him and cast his mantle upon him. This was the symbol 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 gave out all his possessions. He came and followed Elijah. Elijah thus began 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; God does not permit laziness. We are called out from our daily jobs and careers. Christian discipleship which has more to do with our spiritual mission does not encourage alienation from material jobs. The first four apostles were called at the point of their occupation. God loves hard-working people. His call is an invitation to which we are expected to respond. We respond to this call out of our freewill. The Second Reading (Gal. 5:1.13-18) provides the guideline of our discipleship. It is guided by the law of love, and not compulsion. No one is forced to follow Christ. God allows us to make use of the freewill He has given 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 notice 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 might have thought that Christ wielded much power, 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 like to belong to a particular renowned class. They come to church in order to be recognized and honoured. They seek titles, and demand that they be addressed honourably. If they are denied that, they might leave the Church and would speak easily against the Church and her ministers. As members of the society, they would 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, and 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 desired to follow Him, he should have counted 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. Our discipleship must cost us a lot of things. The Church might not need numerous insincere members, but might need sincere and devoted members no matter how few they are.
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 might sound very unsympathetic. But before we make a hasty conclusion, another meaning of this man’s reply could be: I will follow after my father has died. From this, it might then mean that the work of evangelization stands pending until the father passes on and is buried. The work of the missionary is to constantly make hay while the sun shines. Helping to bury the dead is one of the spiritual works of mercy and cannot be disregarded by Jesus. But what is corrected here is the postponement of the good work of witnessing to Christ which should be the primary focus of the Christian before personal interests. Jesus’ reply to him simply meant that no selfish condition ought to over ride the importance of the gospel message. Discipleship do cost us; even to get detached from our families. Christ 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 discipleship of Christ. We must know that in life, there are opportunities which when missed could not be regained. At the time of this call, Jesus was making his way for Jerusalem where he would die. And so, the urgency of the vocation needed no time to be wasted. He should have grabbed the opportunity. In this group are Christians who place their worries and work over worship. They do not find it exciting to go to Church and could concoct reasons why they are unable to go to Church. Persons here are prone to distractions that could 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 will 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 we could guess the consequence: the person who walks while looking back would stagger and fall. The Christian must march forward; forward ever and backward never. The difference too between Elijah’s permission of Elisha and Christ’s 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.
Today is a day we have a rethink on Vocations and discipleship. More seriousness too should be paid in the proper discernment of vocations; for without proper discernment, vocations might be understood as mere careers. In the seven sacraments of the Church, we have two sacraments that are regarded as the sacrament of Christian vocations: 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 ought to be our watchword. In all, when Jesus invites us to follow him, he calls us to leave all other attachments behind and to cling to him. This would enable the disciple to serve whole-heartedly. We should not allow our desires to serve God and to offer our lives to Him to be hindered by our attachments to sinful habits, attitudes, possessions and relationships. May we continue to find joy in serving God and loving him above all things. Amen. GOD BLESS YOU.
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