Verbum Domini

No Excuses

Posted

So, what’s your excuse? What’s my excuse?

In this Sunday’s gospel we see people who are willing to follow Christ, but on their own terms. Jesus encounters three people on his journey to Jerusalem. The first tells Jesus that he will follow him, but the Lord tells him it’s not going to be easy; Jesus calls the second to follow him, but he puts his family first and then says he will follow the Lord; the third says he will follow Christ, but again puts his family first.

In each of these circumstances, these would-be disciples seem to be willing to follow Jesus, but as we look more deeply, they’re not really willing to follow him wholeheartedly. They have excuses; they want to follow Christ on their terms. They want it their way.

Sunday’s gospel also tells us that Jesus resolutely determined to journey toward Jerusalem. He knew what awaited him in Jerusalem. He knew that in Jerusalem he would be crucified; but he also knew that he would save us by his death and resurrection. So, despite the suffering he would endure, he fulfilled his mission to save us.

The point Jesus was trying to make to these would-be followers was that if we decide to follow him, there are going to be struggles; if we decide to follow Christ, we must realize that he invites us to a conversion of our lives. There can be no half-hearted following of Jesus.

Many Christians want to follow Christ on their terms:

“I’ll go to Church when I feel like it.”

“I’ll uphold this Church teaching, but this one…forget about it…it doesn’t fit my life.”

“I’ll pray when I need something.”

Jesus says, rather strongly, “follow me.” He tells us, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Being Christian is not about following Jesus on our terms; it’s about being a faithful disciple of the Lord, taking up the cross and following him.

G.K. Chesterton once wrote, “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.” Following Christ is not easy. But when we give ourselves completely to Jesus and follow him on his terms, we experience a tremendous amount of peace and freedom.

Following him also means allowing ourselves to be formed by the Church, our Mother and Teacher. The Church seems to be the sole voice on so many important moral issues today. Are we willing to follow Christ on his terms? Are we willing to humble ourselves to accept the truth of Christ’s teachings? Are we willing to allow ourselves to be conformed to living Christian moral truth? Or is it really more about our convenience than it is about true discipleship?

Father Michael Najim is Spiritual Director of Our Lady of Providence Seminary, Providence.