Scripture Reflection, August 19: The "ordinariness" of Christian Discipleship

Scripture Readings:
Jeremiah 38: 4-6, 8-10
Psalm 40
Hebrews 12: 1-4
Luke 12: 49-53

Catholics on Call hosted 42 young adults from around the country last week at its August Young Adult Conference. It was a really wonderful week with a group of energetic and engaged men and women who are considering a life of service to the Church as members of a religious community, priests, or lay ministers. We were blessed with fine presentations by experts in a variety of fields of theology and ministry. The discussions were vibrant, and many of our participants shared their own experiences of faith and of service in the Church.

One theme that emerged in our discussions was that of being considered “exceptional.” Margaret Guider, a theologian from Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Boston, raised this topic in her presentation. In our society, it is very easy for people (young and old) to label young adult Catholics who are active in their faith as “exceptional” or “extraordinary.” While that may sound like a compliment, it may also be a way that other people pigeonhole believers and keep them at arm’s length. “I admire them for being such good Catholics. Isn’t that wonderful? But that is just not my thing.” In our discussion, participants were invited to witness to the “ordinariness” of Christian discipleship. Rather than being unusual or exceptional, living one’s life as a disciple of Jesus and an engaged member of the Christian community simply makes sense. It ‘fits” with what it means to be human. It represents, in fact, the fulfillment of human existence.

At the same time, in our society we do know that the effort to live as a committed disciple of the Lord and to give witness to one’s faith is often quite counter-cultural. Some of our participants spoke about the lack of support from friends and family in the practice of their faith. Because they are considering a vocation to service in the Church, some of their peers even consider them a bit odd. These young adults spoke about their efforts to accept their friends and other peers as they are in their own personal life journeys. An attitude of judgment or condescension is contrary to the spirit of the Gospel. Still, sometimes they experience a “disconnect” from friends and even family members because they take their Catholic Christian faith very seriously.

It seems to me that the Scripture readings for this Sunday speak to this experience of Christian discipleship as countercultural. They remind us that fidelity to the Gospel sometimes results in personal hardship. The prophet Jeremiah is a paradigmatic example of this truth. Called to speak the Word of God to the people of Israel during a time of rampant infidelity and impending disaster, Jeremiah struggled mightily with his own vocation. He was much too thin-skinned for the job.  He complained to God vociferously about the painful experiences of opposition he endured from political and religious leaders and from his own family. The context for this Sunday’s passage is Jeremiah’s prediction of the impending destruction of Jerusalem as a judgment from God. Leaders strongly reacted to this message and tried to silence him. Lowered into a muddy cistern by his enemies, it looks as if Jeremiah’s life is over, at least until he is rescued by a sympathetic court official.  Jeremiah must have prayed the words of our psalm response many times during his life: “O Lord, come to my aid! O Lord, come to my aid!” (Psalm 40)

The words of Jesus in this Sunday’s Gospel passage are shocking at first hearing. We associate Jesus with the gift of peace, and rightly so. We remember the Gospel stories of his bringing peace to so many tormented people and of his calming the storm that enveloped the disciples in the boat. We ask for and extend Christ’s gift of peace every time we celebrate the Eucharist. What could it possibly mean, then, when Jesus says, “Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division”? What could it mean when he speaks of families being divided two against three, and three against two?

The disciples of Jesus, as well as the Christians to whom Luke was writing, were well aware of the fact that the choice to follow him sometimes resulted in misunderstanding and rejection even by one’s closest associates. As the journey of Jesus brought his first followers closer to Jerusalem and the moment of the cross, they felt ever more keenly the risk and isolation that came from association with him. While we do not know the particulars of the lives of Luke’s Christians, the New Testament makes it clear that faith in the crucified and risen Jesus required a commitment characterized by courage and perseverance. In this Gospel passage, Jesus speaks with a sense of urgency about his own mission and that of his followers. He challenges us to a commitment suffused with the fire of the Holy Spirit. Jesus does, in fact, offer us the gift of peace, but it is a deeper peace that is able to carry us through experiences of misunderstanding and other hardships that ensue from our efforts to be faithful to him.

All of this means that we sometimes find ourselves walking a fine line.  The effort to be faithful Christian disciples does not make us inherently “better” than anyone else. It does not give us license to judge the moral or spiritual condition of others or to assume an attitude of spiritual superiority. The Church teaches us that the Holy Spirit is present and active in the life of every person in ways known only to God (Gaudium et spes, n. 22).  I have met some individuals who engage in no religious practice but whose personal goodness and love for others has put me to shame. At the same time, the Gospel does summon us to allow the fire of the Holy Spirit to burn within us. Jesus challenges us to grow in our commitment to follow him in ways that make a real difference in the way we live. He reminds us that fidelity to the mission that he entrusts to us will not always be easy, as it was not easy for him. He invites us to pray for the gift of courage when we have to stand alone in order to be faithful to the Gospel.

Jesus told his disciples, “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!” This “fire” is actually the flame of divine charity. Jesus was inviting people to accept the offer of God’s powerful, transforming love. Once accepted, this gift makes a person different. It burns within, providing a sense of security and peace that can endure amidst external turmoil. It leads us to see others not as a threat but as persons to be reverenced. At every celebration of the Eucharist, we are privileged to experience a touch of this flame of divine charity, as Christ offers his very self to us. May we allow this gift to change us from within – to set us on fire with charity.

Fr. Robin Ryan, cp