Ordinary Time 3 - I Pledge Allegiance

 

Homily for Ordinary Time 3

January 21, 2024

I Pledge Allegiance

 

            Her life was marked with suffering from the very beginning. Her Mohawk tribe named her “Tekakwitha”, which means, “She Who Bumps Into Things” due to her clumsiness. When she was four years old, her parents and brother died from smallpox, and although Tekakwitha survived, she was badly scarred and disfigured from the disease. Her aunt and uncle adopted her but treated her badly, secluding her from others because of her disfigurement.

            During her teen years, however, every now and then a Jesuit priest would come through the village. She was intrigued by those “Blackrobes”, as the Mohawks called the priests. The message of the Gospel resonated in her heart, and when she was nineteen she asked for baptism, receiving the name “Kateri” (Mohawk for “Catherine”). But her aunt and uncle were totally opposed to her conversion – they accused her of betraying the tribe. Her former friends turned against her and accused her of sorcery. After years of suffering from her family, her uncle gave her an ultimatum – choose Christ, or choose the Tribe and her family. For her there was no choice – her life belonged to the Lord Jesus. Thankfully, the Jesuits had set up a small village for Christian Native Americans in Montreal, so they urged her to travel 200 miles through the rugged lands of upstate New York to the sanctuary, where she lived her remaining two years in peace, offering prayers and sacrifices for the conversion of her family. She is now the only Native American saint: St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

            If you had to make that choice between family and Christ, which would you choose? The Apostles had to make that choice in today’s Gospel. We gloss over just how radical this was – it was absolutely expected in first-century Judaism that one had to be completely obedient to one’s parents, working in the family job. And Zebedee had a comfortable job, too – he must have been fairly wealthy, for he employed “hired men”, as the Gospel says. But when Christ came calling, James and John didn’t think twice – it was Jesus, and He demands our entire allegiance.

             More than our own jobs, our own families, even our own lives, Jesus Christ deserves our total allegiance. Why? First, because He created us. We wouldn’t even have another day of life if not given from above. But if this wasn’t enough, He purchased our souls when we were condemned by our sins. If an innocent person dies to pardon a guilty one, I guarantee the guilty party would awaken every day with a fresh sense of gratitude, wanting to live their lives to honor the memory of the extraordinary gift they have received. Of course, Christ also demands our allegiance because, as St. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” Union with Him offers the joy, in this world and the next, that we long for.

            So that means we choose Him over even the good things. Here I want to speak of three places where we might have to choose Him despite a significant cost.

            The first is to choose Him over our family and friends. I was once working with a young man in middle school who was undergoing a spiritual conversion. He lamented to me that his parents wouldn’t take him to Mass. I asked why, and he told me, “Well, only my dad’s Catholic. My mom is Jewish.” I said, “So?” He shrugged and with a wry smile said, “Happy wife, happy life!” I understand the desire for peace at home, but your job is to get your spouse and kids to Heaven, and how can we do that if we choose them over the Lord? Even if your spouse disagrees with your religious fanaticism, even if your kids think you pray too much, we keep our eyes on Jesus Christ. So many saints became great saints despite families and friends thinking they’ve lost their minds – even Jesus had serious misunderstandings with His extended family!

            We must also choose Him over our work. During seminary, I did a year in hospital ministry, and I was always impressed that all of the Muslim nurses and doctors would stop what they were doing five times a day and come down to the interreligious chapel, where there was a prayer rug facing Mecca, and offer their prayers to Allah. I only wish Catholics were so dedicated to their relationship with God! If Muslims can pray during work hours, and Jewish employees can insist on the Sabbath off, then we as Catholics need to insist that our religious observances will be respected as well. We can tell our employers that we need an hour on Sundays to attend Mass. Frankly, if they refuse, that’s discrimination. Plus, it’s a very good witness to others that Christ is more important than even the money we earn!

            Finally, in Monroe the biggest threat to an active life with Christ is honestly our sports teams. We commit a lot of time and money to them, but even when we’re away at a tournament, we need to be clear with the coach that Christ comes first and make time to get to Mass. My brother, who was an excellent baseball player, was invited to play on an elite national team in high school…but their tryouts were Easter Sunday morning! My parents wisely forbade him from trying out, and indeed my brother was rather angry about it – but I remember it made an impact on me.

            Christ’s first words in today’s Gospel sum it up perfectly. Repent – repent for the things we have loved more than Him. The Kingdom of God is at hand – we pledge our allegiance to the Kingdom of God first, and allow Him to reign over every aspect of our lives. Some may call this fanaticism, that they don’t want to be a “Jesus freak”. But I think His death on a Cross is enough to demand nothing less than our entire lives for Him.