7th Sunday after Pentecost 24 July 2022 True religion
Many Gospel passages put before us an ultimatum, that we must be decisive on the matter of being a disciple of Christ.
Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. (Mt 16,24).
No man putting his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. ...(Lk 9,62)
And today’s Gospel: it is not those who say, Lord Lord, but those
who do the will of God will enter the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt 7,21)
We might think these to be poetic exaggerations, but when taken together they convey a sense of all-or-nothing. Our Lord does not want us to be half-disciples, only giving to Him sometimes.
We would like to be able to respond to Him with the same certainty and enthusiasm that He asks from us, but we are often unsure of our ground, and want to have something in reserve. (like Ananias and Sapphira, perhaps? Holding something back cf Acts 5,1-10)
When God commands something He will always give the means of fulfilling that command. We will say it is too difficult but He will show us otherwise.
The key for us is to ask His help and then be ready to go wherever that leads, understanding that He will make it manageable.
With that assurance we can promise to give Him all rather than half, or nothing.
Imagine the Church if every baptised disciple made that commitment, retrieved their old promises still unfulfilled, and really exerted themselves!
It does not mean we have to sell all our possessions as for those first disciples. But it does mean that we put every aspect of our lives under God’s authority and providence.
We will be good trees bearing good fruit, or branches attached to the vine which is Christ (Jn 15,1). Attached to Him we can do whatever He asks of us.
How do we achieve this, or at least draw closer?
We are told it takes more than saying Lord, Lord. It has to be more than words, and more than ritual actions.
Whatever we give to Our Lord must be from the heart. The interior must match the exterior word or action.
It is still a good thing to do the external things, like kneeling down, bowing one’s head, taking part in Mass and other ceremonies.
These things remind us of the need to get the interior right, and also they go some way to helping us have the right dispositions. They bring grace upon us, and we become stronger each time.
Anything that promotes an awareness of what is required, or gains us some extra help will be welcome.
If we repeat the same things over and over, it must have some effect on our way of thinking.
This is one reason why it is important to come to Mass at least on Sundays. Each time there will be some reaction unless we are completely blocking the process.
We will be more inclined to turn away from sin, to be generous, forgiving, less self-centred etc.
Yes, we will very likely still stumble. But we are working our way towards the perfection that Our Lord asks of us.
One minute we say Yes, I will follow.
The next minute we ask for forgiveness for some lapse, and for generally falling short of the ideal.
We do not then dismiss the ideal but call on more strength. We can then give the ‘all’ that Our Lord is asking from us.
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