Homily for Ordinary Time 13 - June 26, 2022

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 13

June 26, 2022

Fan or Follower?

 

            My Confirmation name is Peter, but I almost chose Michael. Not because I have any great love for St. Michael the Archangel – no, I was a huge fan of the Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Mussina. I had all of his baseball cards, I read everything I could get my hands on about him, and I even tried to mimic his style when I pitched in high school. One could say that I was a pretty big fan of the guy.

            But some people take fandom to a whole other level. I think of the Deadheads who used to follow around the band “The Grateful Dead” – they gave up careers, family, and decent living conditions to be groupies of their favorite band. In fact, one of Jerry Garcia’s biographers wrote that for the Deadheads, “Music was their sacrament.” Or those Green Bay Packers fans who are willing to sit in sub-zero temperatures for hours to watch their team. Or the collector who spent over $115,000 to purchase a lock of Elvis’ hair – that’s commitment!

            That’s the major difference between being a casual fan and a committed follower –are they willing to sacrifice everything for the one they follow?

            Jesus invites several people to follow him, but they make excuses – “Let me go and say goodbye to my parents…let me go and bury my father.” Those sound like good reasons, but it shows that Jesus Christ is not the number-one priority for them. They perhaps liked His message and His miracles, but weren’t ready to make the commitment to Him.

            So what about us? Are we casual fans or committed followers? Are we willing to embrace the demands of the Gospel, which are all-encompassing? That means that Christ is King of more than just our Sunday mornings: it means our vacations…our nights out with the boys…our internet browsing…our marriages…our shopping habits…even our thoughts. The call to seek holiness must permeate every single aspect of our lives, without exception.

            Some might say that’s extreme. A priest was telling me a humorous story that when he was in Italy, he got into a conversation with a man on a bus. The priest asked him, “Are you Catholic?” The man replied, “Si, certo! (Yes, of course!)” The priest then replied, “Wonderful. Where do you attend Mass?” The man replied, “Ah, padre, sono Catolico…non sono fanatico (Father, I’m a Catholic, not a fanatic!)” It seems radical to be an actual follower of Jesus, and not just a Catholic in name-only, but Jesus makes it clear that He expects us to live for Him alone!

            People often tell me, “My faith is very important to me.” By that, they mean that they like the rituals and sentiments of faith: lighting a candle, singing “Silent Night” at Christmas, ashes on our foreheads, a quick “Hail Mary” before a basketball game. Nothing wrong with comforting rituals and warm memories.

            But that’s all just window-dressing without the heart of faith: a real encounter with the Person of Jesus Christ who asks us to follow Him. To be a follower of Jesus demands something of us – it requires us to forsake our former way of life, to live for Him alone, and to put every last aspect of our life under His Kingship. It requires us to develop a prayer life, to forgive our enemies, to take up our Cross and die to ourselves daily. If we want to live our lives-as-usual with just a little prayer sprinkled on top, then we are missing the very heart of our Catholic Faith. Our Catholic Faith is a grand adventure, an epic quest for holiness, a battle for the eternal salvation of souls that demands a life of sacrifice, integrity, and a life lived for Jesus Christ. Don’t settle for just warm, fuzzy feelings…for being a “fan” of Jesus Christ…when He invites you to follow Him to the Cross…and the Resurrection. After He lived, and died, for us – how can we do any less than live and die for Him?

            I ask you to consider today: what aspect of your life is still yours, and not His? What part of your life have you not yet put under His Kingship? Make a resolution to live completely for Him, and ask Him for the grace to carry it out!

            In all, I’m very glad that I didn’t pick Michael as my Confirmation saint, because the following year, Mike Mussina signed with the dreaded New York Yankees and I stopped being a fan of his entirely…but that was the same year that I also stopped being a fan of Jesus Christ, and started becoming His follower.