Sexagesima Sunday 16.2.20 Commitment
We are disciples of Christ. A disciple is one who follows
another for the purpose of learning. We follow Jesus Christ by listening to
Him, praying to Him, receiving what He chooses to give us.
A disciple must be disciplined. It requires that we remember whose team we are
on; to whom we owe our first loyalty.
Jesus Christ calls us individually: Come, follow Me. We have
to decide individually whether or not we will answer that call.
If we accept the call we have to renew it every day; otherwise
we will go off the boil.
So we repeat what we have already promised. In all the
various prayers we say, and especially in the Mass we ask for the grace to make
a full commitment to following, obeying, loving God.
When we repeat a prayer it is not a mechanical repetition
but a new statement; not new in content but in intensity.
Every day we have to do it all over again. The circumstances
of discipleship vary but the main point remains the same - we follow Him.
The time stretched out before us is an opportunity for
growth.
If we can get through all the challenges we will be in the
last category of the Sower parable; bearing a rich harvest.
The Sower parable brings out that a lot of people hear the
invitation from Our Lord to follow Him, but they do not last.
For some it is in one ear and out the other.
Others get further than that, but they drop out when
something - either offering happiness or threatening suffering - presents
itself.
No, we have to hold on to the end. He who puts his hand to
the plough does not look back (Lk 9,62).
What we say at one time we must be prepared to say again.
Why do we have to keep saying things that we already know
(such as the Creed). Because if we don’t say it we will stop believing it!
We have to keep close contact with the Master, or we will
fall away in one way or another.
There are a lot of ex-Catholics around, who used to believe
all this but they do not now. What changed? Not the truth.
We reaffirm the truth every chance we get. We engage
actively with it so that at any point we will be ready as disciples of Christ to
serve in whatever way, even if it means persecution and martyrdom. Or just
facing some new challenge.
This should mean steady growth, but if we stumble then we
repent, and reaffirm from that point.
It is not easy to be a good disciple; it takes application
and perseverance.
But it is not so hard if we take it in small bits. The
troubles of this day are sufficient for the evil thereof (Mt 6,34). We have to
do only what each day brings.
Nor is it so hard if we gradually come to think like a
disciple and less like someone out to serve only oneself.
That so many others have fallen away could be a
discouragement to us, but it really needs to be an incentive to work even harder.
We must guard against drifting away ourselves, and we exert
ourselves to re-invigorate those who have lost their way.
We become more resilient. People will see that our faith is
not just formalities, but real substance.
The Lord needs someone to take the lead, to bear the brunt –
people such as St Paul (see epistle - apologia for his life), if on a lesser
scale.
May the Lord draw forth from us the response that He seeks.
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