How are you? Your “ora et labora” are certainly being put to good use. Keep them up, and God bless you! F. Philip, OSB (Priest 5/83, p. 26) The term most frequently used in the New Testament to describe the followers of Christ is “disciple.” It occurs almost 300 times in the four Gospels alone. A disciple is a learner. The Christian disciple learns not just from books but from life. He or she must be willing to follow The Master wherever He may lead. That is the common thread that runs through the sayings of Christ, which St. Luke has gathered together in today’s Gospel. They provide examples of different types of Christian discipleship and a variety of lessons. (America, June 21-28, 2010, p. 30) Threats from loggers and ranchers and their hired guns were coming more frequently. They wanted her to stop her relentless outcry against devastation of the Brazilian rainforest. But Dorothy Stang refused to leave the poor farmers whose livelihood was in peril. She trudged through almost impassable muddy roads to reach them, to read the Scriptures and pray together; to bolster their courage to stand up against injustice and to urge them to live in harmony with the rainforest, with God and one another. Her determination ended when she was gunned down on Feb. 12, 2005. James and John stand for those who made a conscious decision to follow Christ. Their discipleship is not merely formal. Their suggestion that the villages, which refuse to receive Jesus, should be wiped out by “fire from heaven” shows, however, how much these zealous disciples had to learn. Christ came not to punish but to save though He spoke often of judgment, He made it clear that the time was not yet. That is the lesson of Jesus’ parables about the wheat and the weeds, and of the net that gathered fish of every kind, both good and bad. Zeal in following Christ is good only if it reflects His command: “Be compassionate – ‘understanding’ as your Father is ‘understanding.’” The zeal of James and John violated this command. Examples of similarly misguided zeal today include Catholics who mount private vigilante campaigns to “defend the faith,” or who condemn their fellow Catholics who decline to participate in a particular form of discipleship, whether this wears the label of the Charismatic Renewal, the Blue Army or Christian pacifism. (Hom. Helps, 13th Sun 6/26/83) Today our American bishops are challenging us to come to grips with problems of nuclear disarmament. Some believe we should not support a government policy that could call down the ultimate fire from heaven to destroy our enemies. Others say we must maintain our nuclear capability to retaliate and to deter any threat by our own destructive potential. In Christ’s name, the bishops urge us to participate in this dialogue. We can’t sit idly by while others determine the future for us. We also have a responsibility to promote world peace by whatever means our consciences direct. We may study and discuss the relevant Scriptures, the Church’s teachings, the bishops’ peace pastoral. We may join Pax Christi or participate in prayer vigils. We may support a World Peace Tax Fund for the development of non-violent solutions to international conflicts. These could be called guided zeal. Misguided zeal (Priest 5/83, p. 26) is the failing of all those who, like James and John, act contrary to the mind of Christ. They try to take over activity, which belongs to God alone. On the other hand, the man who tells Christ, “I will be your follower wherever you go,” shows not zeal but impetuosity. Peter was similarly impetuous when he told Christ, “Everyone else may fall away but I will not.” He had to learn through his humiliating threefold denial of the Master only hours later, that he must trust in God and not in his own will power. Only then was he fit for the role of leadership in the Church for which Christ had originally called him. Elisha is an example of one whose call to discipleship is unexpected. He was called when he was busy plowing his field, not when he was romantically dreaming bout some stroke of fortune that would change his life. The twelve yoke of oxen indicated wealth. He had to give up much, on the spur of the moment.—It is sad to say, but must be said (Hom. Pas. Rev. 5/83, p. 45): Many Catholics have forgotten that to follow Christ means not only to share goods with the poor, not only to be detached from material possessions but, in fact, to live simply and even poorly. To strengthen the Church we must all alike live what the crucified Christ stands for in all good common sense and increasingly. We should, at times, very simply and humbly examine our life-style, our use of excess funds and our trust or mistrust in the Providence of our Father, as expressed through us. So we are guided by the Spirit in all things and succeed in being true disciples of Christ.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Jun 2013 08:47:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015