10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Bishop of Lake Charles
Homily for the 10th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception
“He said to him, ‘Follow me.’ And he got up and followed him.”
Matthew 9:9
People have asked me when did I first think of becoming a priest. That is a difficult question to answer, because I think the question does not fit the answer. The question makes it sound as though I thought it up. However, the experience of feeling a call is exactly the opposite. When it comes, you cannot resist it. When the thought of becoming a priest entered my mind, I could not resist it. Such experiences rarely if ever are of our own making.
It is in this context that the call of St. Matthew in the Gospel today fascinates me. Jesus walks up to a tax collector, whom we can only presume Jesus has never met, and says to simple words, “Follow me” (Matthew 9:9), and Matthew rises and follows. No questions are asked. No explanations are given. This has been the experience of many who felt they were called. The call “hit them like a ton of bricks”, to use the old expression.
The nature of a call is profound but not complex. The most impressive stories in the Bible involve a call from God. We can only think of God calling Moses from the burning bush. Exodus reads, “When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it more closely, God called out to him from the bush, ‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am’” (Exodus 3:4). How simple, yet how majestic! Or the mystical call of the prophet Isaiah. Isaiah has a vision of God, with angels singing “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts!”, which acclamation Catholics enshrine in the Mass. Then a seraphim angel takes a burning ember and touches the mouth of Isaiah, thus purifying him of any wickedness. Then, and only the, does God speak these words, “’Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?’ ‘Here I am,’ I said, ‘send me!’” (Isaiah 6:8). How sudden, quick, and irresistible is the call of God! Once God has chosen, He will tolerate no resistance, as when the prophet Jeremiah complains that he is too young to be a prophet. “’Ah, Lord God!’ I said, ‘I know not how to speak; I am too young.’ But the Lord answered me, ‘Say not, ‘I am too young.’ To whomever I send you, you shall go; whatever I command you, you shall speak. Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you’” (Jeremiah 1:6-8). In all of these calls and so many more, God is seen for what He is, majestic, powerful, and mysterious, and man is seen as he is, fearful but generous, able to resist or to respond.
God calls in the Old Testament in burning bushes and with angelic visions and dreams, and Jesus calls in the New Testament. Jesus calls constantly. The call of God is made flesh in the person of Jesus Christ who issues the constant call to come and follow Him. Jesus first calls the twelve. The Gospel of St. Mark reads, “He went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve…” (Mark 3:13-14). Then, He issues the call to His disciples. “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me’” (Matthew 16:24).
Jesus issues a call to all Christians to follow him. They are simple words, “follow me.” Our calling as Christians gives us whatever worth we have. This is what St. Paul says to the Corinthians, when he writes to them, “Consider you call. Not many are wise in the eyes of men” (I Corinthians 1:16). The Christian calling is a dignity. Our call to Christ is a mark of distinction. This is why our conduct must be in keeping with the call, hence the necessity of a moral life. In that call to follow Christ is the call to be part of His Body, the Church.
The Church is the community of those who are called. The very word in Greek, “ekklesia”, translated “church” in English, means “the called.” The word “ekklesia” is related to another Greek word, “eklekte”, meaning “the one chosen”. St. Paul will write, “Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it. Some people God has designated in the church to be first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers” (I Corinthians 12:27-28). God has summoned His Church to be one in His Son, Jesus Christ. St. Paul writes, “And he put all things beneath his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of the one who fills all things in every way” (Ephesians 1:22-23). Those called to Christ are called to be one in His Body, the Church, the “ekklesia”, the very name that means “the called.” St. Paul speaks eloquently of this call and unity that it inspires and that must be its chief attribute. “One body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Once the Christian realizes this call, he cannot resist. Jesus calls the Christian to an inseparable bond of unity with Him in the Church. In that Church, the Body of those called, there are many gifts and vocations. The priesthood is one of those priceless vocations. When one has come to know his unity within the Body of Christ, the Church, then he cannot be deaf to nor can he resist the words, “Follow me.”