June 20, 2004

What’s in a name?

If we are ‘clothed in Christ,’ we should take on his strength and fearless attitude.

June 20, 2004, 12th Sunday in ordinary time
Zechariah 12:10-11 and 13:1
Psalm 63:2-6, 8-9
Galatians 3:26-29
Luke 9:18-24

When the disciples answered Jesus’ question “Who do the crowds say that I am?” their answers revealed more than we realize. John the Baptist, Elijah, and a risen prophet have a lot in common that sheds a great deal of light on what Jesus might have been like.

John the Baptist feared no one. He defied the powerful with impunity. He left the commercial world behind to live off the land. His fiery speech and message of repentance attracted many to his desert surroundings and changed the way they viewed the world. That’s what the name John the Baptist meant.

Elijah was the last prophet to hold out against King Ahab and his notorious wife Jezebel. She had almost succeeded in wiping out the religion of Moses and replacing it with the worship of Phoenician gods and goddesses. Elijah challenged the newly imported priests at Mount Carmel and, after winning, killed 450 of them. He it is who was spirited away in a flaming chariot. That is part of what the name Elijah meant.

The concept of an ancient prophet risen from the dead speaks for itself. Anyone who has already died has lost all fear of death. The ancient prophets drew fierce opposition. One who has come back from the dead would be impervious to that resistance. Presumably such a one would have miraculous powers. In the first reading, one of those ancient prophets, Zechariah, predicts a Son of David would come to purify Israel. Purifying a nation is a superhuman task that takes an inspired instrument of God.

Put those all together and you get the picture that Jesus was not as soft as people tend to depict him. We know Jesus made powerful enemies. Weaklings and those with an acceptable message don’t encounter much opposition. They would easily cave in if conflict arose. No. The Christ the apostles knew was strong, spirit-filled, and fearless to the point of accepting crucifixion.

From all of this we get a strong picture of Jesus in the flesh. This picture ought to be a self-portrait. Paul tells the Galatians that they are clothed in Christ. Even if you are Greek, slave, or female, you are still in Christ Jesus. If each Christian is in Christ, should we not also be described the way the crowds described Jesus?

Let the campaign begin

To join Jesus on his mission, we must answer his call immediately.

June 27, 2004, 13th Sunday in ordinary time
1 Kings 19:16, 19-21
Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11
Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Luke 9:51-62

Campaigns come in many different types. There are political campaigns, sales campaigns, military campaigns, fund-raising campaigns, and advertising campaigns, just to name a few. From the sound of those examples, it would seem to be a good idea if the world could ban all campaigning. In a sense, no one likes a campaign except those who think they need to begin one.

Still, some people have a vision that no one else has or is able to bring to fulfillment. A company, for example, has a new product that may make our lives easier and better. The executives immediately call their advertising people to start an ad campaign to create demand for the product. At first no one knows or cares about the new invention. The campaign, if successful, will change minds. For any campaign to succeed, it must have leaders who are courageous enough to put their money, their reputations, and perhaps in some cases their lives on the line.

Religion attempts to accomplish a similar goal. Look at the Old Testament reading. God directs Elijah to recruit Elisha for the campaign to renew true worship of God in Israel. Elisha realized what he had to do to become a worthy leader in this campaign.

He had been a big-time farmer. So what he did was slaughter his 24 oxen and burn them with his plowing equipment. This would be the equivalent of a Midwestern farmer’s blowing up a dozen of the most up-to-date John Deere rigs. That’s a whole lot more than most people’s life savings. But Elisha knew what it would take for him never to look behind. He had to keep his focus on the campaign if people were to believe he was sincere.

Jesus demands the same of us if we are to follow him on his campaign. In today’s Gospel Jesus is “on campaign.” He brooks no opposition. When one village won’t let him in, he just heads on to the next one. There’s no slowing him down. He does not rest. He continues to call people to follow him. Our answer must be immediate. He does not wait for us to make up our mind. The campaign must go on.

How to rejoice

Jesus puts his early followers’ success in proper perspective.

July 4, 2004, 14th Sunday in ordinary time
Isaiah 66:10-14
Psalm 66:1-7, 16, 20
Galatians 6:14-18
Luke 10:1-12, 17-20

Even the greatest victory can provide lessons in humility. Today’s Gospel provides a prime example of this principle. Jesus sent out 72 disciples to 36 towns in Israel. They were to announce to those villages that the Messiah had arrived and would come to them if they were ready. That was a huge task.

Each pair of disciples had to travel to a strange town, find a family to take them in, persuade them that the kingdom of God is at hand, prove it by curing the sick, and finally arouse in the populace a desire to invite Jesus into their midst. They had to be highly motivated just to start out.

At the completion of their mission, all 72 came back reporting their unqualified success. Their spirits must have been sky-high. For the first time they had preached, healed, overcome multiple obstacles, and drummed up enthusiasm for the coming of the Lord into those towns.

In the process they had made friends and disciples of their own. What a joy-filled reunion it must have been when the 72 returned to Jesus.

Then Jesus gave them their lesson in humility. He warned, “Do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven.” They did not produce the astounding results of their mission. They were merely instruments in the hand of God.

The distinction Jesus is making is that between active and passive. The danger is that the 72 would think the fantastic success was the result of their own efforts. In that case, their victory would be hollow. Egotism would open themselves to temptation and then to disaster. Rather than encourage them to exult in their own talent, the Lord reminds them the power to succeed is given them from heaven.

That lesson was not lost on the primitive church. Paul knew apostolic success. Knowing Jesus’ principle, he wrote to the Galatians, “May I never boast except in the cross of Christ.” There is the source of his power. It not only brings him success in the ministry but also allows him to bear with all the disappointments.

We would do well, in all our endeavors, to take this lesson to heart. We are the servants and handmaids of the Lord. Only then can our souls truly rejoice in the Lord.

Father Brando is pastor of St. Thérèse of Lisieux Parish in Cleveland.

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