All the way in

This is my homily for today, the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.  Today's readings are here.

It’s not always easy to sympathize with wealthy people, but there is a part of me that really sympathizes with the rich man in today’s Gospel.   He wants to get something – eternal life - that costs a lot, but he doesn’t want to pay the price. 

He appears to be a good person. He is a pious man who strives to follow God’s commandments.  But Jesus challenges the rich man to do more than just follow the rules. It seems that following the rules isn’t enough.  He challenges him to give up the worldly thing that apparently matters most to him: his wealth.  And it appears that, for the rich man, that is an ask too much.  It is a bridge too far.  So he went away sad, because what Jesus asked him to do: it’s not that he would have been unable to do it, but it seems he was unwilling to do it.  He wasn’t willing to pay the price.  He wasn’t all-in.

Following Jesus promises wonderful things for us: eternal bliss, and blessings beyond the limits of our imagination.  But there is a price to be paid.  We must be willing to subordinate everything in our lives to him. Not just some things.  Not most things.  Not everything except for that one worldly thing that we really, really like.  Everything!  Even the worldly things that we prize the most.  We need to be all in for Jesus and his kingdom.

In the case of the rich man, that worldly thing was riches.  That’s not unusual; many of us arrange our lives around the pursuit and attainment of wealth.  Others of us may have other worldly values and desires which we’d have to relinquish in order to really commit to following Jesus.  It could be the desire to have illicit relations with other women or men.  It could be a thirst for power or fame.  It could be drugs, or gambling, or pornography, or other addictive pursuits.  It could be a particular hatred or envy or a desire for revenge against another, some grievance which we’ve nursed for years or even decades.  

I think many of us are like the rich man.  We are good people, and we do many good and holy things in our lives.   But we hesitate to jump all the way into the pool; we prefer to dip our toes into discipleship, while keeping the other foot firmly planted in our old way of life.

Following Jesus is an all-or-nothing proposition.  We must jump into the pool with both feet.  Mark hasn’t been shy about communicating to us the all-or-nothing-ness of following Jesus.   Let’s connect those dots: two weeks ago, Jesus told us, if our hand causes us to sin, cut it off!  If our eye causes us to sin, pluck it out!  That’s how radical the call to discipleship is.  

Then, last week, Jesus talked about one of the most difficult subjects in the New Testament: marriage and divorce.  His message to his disciples was that marriage is for life.  Those promises we make on our wedding day are for life.  Our marital promises are an unequivocal, all-or-nothing proposition.  When it comes to our marriages, either we’re in or we’re out, and if we’re in, we need to be all the way in.  Being only partly committed to our marriages is like trying to walk around with one leg in our pants and the other leg out.  Either we’re all the way in, or we’re out.  In this all-the-way-in-ness, our Christian tradition has recognized that marriage is a powerful image for discipleship.

And now, this week, the rich man goes away sad because he doesn’t think he can be all the way in.  He wants to have what Jesus offers, and yet hold on to his old way of life, too.  It can’t be done.  It would be like being married while still trying to remain single.  

If you’ve ever seen the play or the film “1776”, you know that the climax comes when our American Founding Fathers have to sign the document that Thomas Jefferson has drafted: the Declaration of Independence.  Each man who signs his name to that piece of paper publicly proclaims where he stands.  Once their names are signed on the document, there is no longer the possibility of half-commitment to rebellion against the British.  There is no turning back.  It’s the moment of decision: either they’re in, or they’re out.  And if they’re in, they’re all the way in.  Signing that piece of paper was tantamount to signing their own death warrants, because the British would seek to arrest and presumably hang anyone whose signature appeared on the Declaration.  Those of us who live here in the United States now, owe a great debt to those Founding Fathers who were willing to risk everything, to be all in, for the sake of our country.

That’s the kind of commitment the first Christians would have readily understood.  They died many different ways: on crosses; by being stoned to death; shot by arrows; devoured by wild animals in the arena.  Some were burned at the stake.  We think it likely that St. Paul was beheaded.  Many ways of dying, but all dying for the same reason: because their commitment to Jesus was so total that it transcended even their desire to live.  They were put to the test, and they chose Jesus.  We followers of Jesus owe these first martyrs a great debt, too.   An early Christian, Tertullian, wrote that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church".  

I hope none of us will be put to the test as painfully as the first martyrs were.  But all of us will die someday, and all of are asked to make the same choice: our worldly comforts and values, or life with Jesus.  

I try very hard to choose life with Jesus.  But it’s not always easy, is it?  I’m told that a recovering addict has to choose, every single day, to continue down the path of sobriety.  That’s what discipleship can be like, too: every single day, we have to recommit to being all-in to following Jesus.  Because every single day is a chance to slip, to backslide. 

That’s why I need the love and support of all of you.  And it’s why I’m here to love and support each of you.  Because commitments are easier to keep when we keep them together.

And we’re not alone.  Jesus has sent us his Holy Spirit to give us wisdom, and fortitude, and many other gifts, to help us along the way.  And Jesus himself is with us here today.   He told us that where two or three gather in his name, he is here among us.  Also, he continues to give his very self to us in the Eucharist, to give us the grace to face the difficulties of trying to live in his kingdom while we live here on earth.

Let us pray for one another that we can continue on this journey.  Let us offer one another our friendship and support.  Let us seek to sustain one another as we try to make the difficult choice to choose Jesus over all the sinful pleasures of this world.