Word to the Wise
Monday, July 16, 2007 - Fifteenth Monday in Ordinary Time [Our Lady of Mt. Carmel]
[Exodus 1:8-14, 22 and Matthew 10:34-11:1]For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one's enemies will be those of his hosuehold. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
There is a popular expression: "Get a life!" We use it for folks who seem to have no "life of their own," but seem to be overinvolved in other people's lives or over-concerned with trivial matters. Jesus proposes a life for our consideration as disciples, but it requires complete loyalty to him. Or at least, if there's a conflict of interests, he has to have the priority. Indeed, he may be the cause of the conflict. On a number of occasions I've had to deal with distraught parents whose son or daughter has become involved with a "cult" or "sect" and has made a choice that seems to exclude his or her family! Is this the choice Jesus is forcing here? Are "natural obligations" less important than "spiritual obligations?" The very nature that God has created makes natural obligations very powerful and important in no small part because it is necessary for the raising of young and thus the survival of a species. It is not the abandonment of such obligations that Jesus advocates. He does advocate placing those values or obligations in the context of one's loyalty to him and not side-by-side with loyalty to him. Indeed, when parents live their marriage in the light of faith, the overriding importance of faith makes their marriage an act of discipleship. When a person chooses celibacy as a matter of faith, their action is one of discipleship. When faith is just one of many options, Jesus is only that: an option. Christian identity should shape all options for us. When Jesus tells us that choosing him means "getting a life" he offers a difficult challenge. Unquestionably we lose certain "options" when we choose his way. Some of those "options" may even concern others who have a claim on our affections. Ultimately we wind up loving them for better reasons than before, but not until we make the choice of discipleship. AMEN
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