All in

This is my homily for today, the 17th week in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.  Today's readings are here.

The farm worker who buys the field with buried treasure in it.  The merchant who manages to obtain the pearl of his dreams.  Both had to sell all he had to obtain his treasure.  99 out of 100 people would say, How foolish!  Yet Jesus praises this as wisdom.  His disciples tell him they understand the point, and perhaps we do, too: to be in God’s kingdom, we have to be all in.  All in!  No halfway steps, no exit strategy, to escape clause.  No keeping one foot planted in God’s kingdom, and the other foot in the ways of the world.  Per Jesus, we have to be willing bet the farm, the house and the cattle on following him.  Perhaps even, for some of his followers in some places and times, willing to give their very lives as martyrs for the sake of the Kingdom.  We have to be all in.

I suppose this message makes some of us uncomfortable; most of us like to keep our options open.  Yet there are times in our life where we have to make an all-in decision: if I’m in, then I’m in all the way; otherwise, it’s best not to go there at all. 

One such moment is on a wedding day.  Getting married in the Catholic church is an all-in event.  When you stand before the altar and promise to be faithful to your spouse in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and honor him or her for the rest of your lives together, there is no fine print.  You’re entering a covenant without the right to terminate.  

And so, the church tells us, we shouldn’t make such a promise unless we’re certain.  If we’re not sure, it’s better to call the day off than to go forward with it half-heartedly.  

That’s the kind of commitment Jesus wants us to make in following him.  We have to be all in.

What does that mean for us?  How do we be all-in when we follow him?  Well, the classic, traditional Catholic way is to become a priest or join a religious order, to give up everything else, including any possibility of getting married, in order to follow Jesus.  In addition, those who choose a holy order typically must relinquish all their property and take a vow of poverty.  For some people, that’s a praiseworthy way of life.  We’re blessed to have such people in our life.  And let me just say: in case you've been feeling a tug in your heart to walk in that way of life, please don't try to shut down those promptings.  That could be the Holy Spirit leading you.  In order to be all in, the first step is to keep an open heart.

But not all of us are called to that particular way of life.  For most of us, our vocation is to live in God's Kingdom while living in the world, either as married or as single people.  

Well, what does that look like?  How does one be all-in on God’s kingdom while living out in the world?  Probably the simplest answer is: if you want to see what it looks like,  pause for a moment and look around.  Because there are people in this faith community who seem to be doing this already and managing just fine.

For example: there are people among us who are all-in on their marriages, keeping those vows I just recited, being faithful to their spouses, loving and honoring them.  Many of them have also lived out their all-in-ness by welcoming children into their marriages – a few have even been foster parents or have adopted children, which strikes me as exceptionally holy.

There are also people who live lives of all-in discipleship by striving to live personally holy lives.  They pray every day – multiple times per day.  They come to mass weekly, or even daily.  Their Bibles aren't covered with dust, because they open them frequently; and their rosaries are always at hand.  When they are aware of having sinned against someone, they try to reconcile with that person.  They try to be peacemakers in their families and in their communities.  They live holy lives.  Another path to all-in-ness is the path of living a holy life.  Such folks are beacons of light to us.

And then there are those people who live lives of service to others.  These are the folks in our parish who are working in the food pantry, or the prison ministry, or the bereavement ministry, or bringing communion to homebound members of the parish.  A life of service to others is another way of being all-in.

There are also the folks who proclaim the Good News to others.  Of course, that includes parents and grandparents who teach their children about Jesus.  It also includes the catechists in our religious ed program, and the folks who run our Alpha program.  And not to forget those who proclaim the readings at mass.  These folks are going forth just as Jesus sent his disciples forth.  Proclaiming the Good News is another way of being all-in.

Perhaps you can see that there are many ways we can be all-in.  I’ve mentioned four different ways: marriage, personal holiness, a life of service, and a life of proclamation.  Undoubtedly, there are other ways, too.  Some of us may do more than one of these things.  Each of us has to find our own way of living out a life of faith, a life of all-in-ness.  What’s important is that we commit, and commit all the way.  If we’re going to follow Jesus, we have to be all in.