You
may have listened to the music “No time for it” by Fantasia Barrino. “…I don’t
care for gossip, what they gonna say?... I’m strictly focused on commas, and
dollars signs in my pockets, …you can’t hang today … For the ones that’s
causing me problems; there’s no time for it, you wanna tell me how you feel,
But there’s no time for it…” We can look at this music in two ways: we are too
busy with our lives and so we have no time for frivolities; or from the point
intended by this reflection: the call to follow Christ cannot wait, Christ has
no time for our excuses. The call is immediate and urgent. We are to answer him
pronto, get up and follow.
In
the first reading Elijah threw his cloak over Elisha indicating that he was
called to a higher office, to take over from Elijah as a prophet. There was no
prior discussion with Elisha as to whether he would have chosen this calling.
All Elisha requested for was to settle his hired hands and then he was ready to
go. He broke from his past, left his wealth and family behind and followed
Elijah. There was no time to waste: Elijah would have had no time for excuses.
In the Gospel we encounter Jesus who was determined to answer the ultimate call
of his life as he embarked on a journey to Jerusalem. Christ had no time to
waste on personal comfort. He was committed to the will of his father: go to
Jerusalem where his death was imminent. On this journey he encountered four
sets of people who could have become his followers but were held back due to
ulterior motives. Instead of answering the call to discipleship they only had
excuses to give. They allowed excuses to suppress their desire for greater
things. “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else”.
Aren’t we all like that? Always finding excuses for everything!
The
Samaritans could not look pass their hatred for the Jews and so prevented Jesus
from going through their village; by so doing they lost out on the blessings
Christ could have brought to them. They were blinded by their hurts,
prejudices, tribalistic and nationalistic tendencies. Why did they find it so
difficult to forgive and let go of their past hurt? It is for the same reasons
that we hold on to grudges and refuse to forgive. We don’t forgive because we
are too attached to something or someone other than Christ. We allow our
pettiness to dwarf our vision of what Christ calls us to be; free individuals
who must let go and let God come in and transform us to be truly his disciples.
Following Christ should make us supremely free to be our best selves, free from
all attachments and addictions.
James
and John, Zebedee’s sons felt offended with the refusal of the Samaritans and
wanted Christ to call down fire from heaven on them (Lk. 9:54). No wonder
Christ rebuked them in Mark 3:17 and called them Boanerges, or “Sons of Thunder”.
“They were rough-hewn guys – amazing, colorful characters. They would not back
away from a confrontation. In fact, they might even have looked forward to one.
They could be very aggressive. And they also could be very insensitive”
(Christianity.com). “These men were just like us: hopelessly human and
remarkably unremarkable” (Sons of thunder” by harvest Ministries). But Jesus
had no time for unrestrained anger. This would be a distraction to him and his
mission. How do we react when we do not have our way? We throw tantrum and
threaten fire and brimstone on the object of our aggression. We at time refuse
to listen to reason and insist on our way or the highway. But Jesus
demonstrated that there is always another way to solve problems. We don’t have to
resort to war or violence. He came to bring us peace and love and love always
conquers a multitude of sins. Do not allow anger to distract you from your call
to discipleship.
To
the second would-be follower, Christ warned him that his followers must depend
solely on God. “Foxes have holes, … but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his
head”. Christ may have sensed that financial security was more important to him
than answering the call to discipleship. “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and
his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).
The third would-be follower wanted to bury his father first before following
Christ. Yes, observing the commandment to “honor your father and mother” is
indeed good but that should not prevent someone from answering the call to
discipleship. We cannot save discipleship for our retirement, or a deathbed
conversion, or a plan we have down the road after the kids are grown. If we
don’t follow Jesus at the time of the invitation, we are not following him at
all. It is time for us to consider how many of our excuses are valid. We must
make time for God or God’s time will pass us by. And finally, the last would-be
follower wanted to say goodbye to his family first before answering the call.
To him Jesus answered, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is
fit for the kingdom of God” (Lk. 9:62). The call of Christ should always
supersede family ties. “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is
not worthy of me…” (Matt. 10:37).
The
readings of today demonstrate that we cannot place conditions on following
Christ. We must find time for and be committed to him. Our readiness to follow
Christ must be borne by an absolute freedom from attachments. This inner
freedom is the focus of our second reading today. This freedom must be seen in
all vocations in life. Christ freely undertook the journey to Jerusalem to save
us from damnation. In all situations of our lives, we must freely choose to
follow or not to follow Christ. To be honest in our dealings with one another
or decide to cut corners. We must be determined at all times to make decisions
that will make us friends of Jesus or his enemies. And this needs inner
freedom. Jesus will not accept a second place in our lives. He will be first or
nothing. It is either we stand for Jesus or we fall for anything. Let us pray
that we may be free to choose Jesus at all times. May our choice of Him set us
free to answer his call to be his disciples, not only in words but in our
actions as well. Let us say with the Psalmist of today: “You are my
inheritance, O Lord.
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