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There’s always a cost to starting something new. Whether you’re off to college, getting married, or even trying to break this Coronavirus pandemic, everything in life comes at a cost.
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In my case, I love to golf.
It’s a hobby that comes at a price. Before you can play, you need the right clothes, clubs, a few lessons… and, most importantly, lots of patience.
Ask anyone who’s played the game, you can have the best putt of your life on one hole and watch your ball fly into the water the next.
Golf is fun – but it’s costly, and at times, terribly humbling.
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In the Gospel, Jesus urges us to consider the cost of following him.
Like learning how to play golf, he lays out the expectations: we must “hate” our family, renounce all of our possessions, and take up our cross and follow him.
Taken at face value, that’s not difficult.
It’s impossible.
But we must clarify what Jesus means.
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In its original context, the verb “to hate” meant valuing one person or thing over another, meaning Jesus wants to be number one in our lives.
Never number two.
The earliest Christians felt the weight of this command, as many were disowned by their families – even killed – for choosing to follow the Lord.
It’s a position some Christians are still put in today.
A Turkish friend of mine, for example, married a serious Catholic – and has since come to believe in Jesus, as well. But her parents have made it clear: if she converts to Christianity, they’ll disown her.
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What would you do?
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Fortunately, most of us don’t have to face such a wrenching decision. But putting our faith first still creates tension in our families.
How many of us, for example, have a spouse, children, or grandchildren who refuse to go to church?
How many have watched their children drift from the faith in college, marry outside of the Church, or dabble in other faiths and spiritualities?
As parents, you want the absolute best for your children – a safe home, a successful career, a family of their own. How painful it must be when the one thing that matters most – faith – isn’t there.
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Faith moves us. It inspires us. It creates a sacred space in our hearts where we wrestle with life’s most difficult questions.
By our very nature, we want to share that experience with others, but we can only do so if another person believes.
As a result, faith can become like politics – it’s a topic we don’t discuss at home or in our social circles because we’d rather keep the peace.
Yet Jesus tells us today we must keep him as number one.
How, then, do we reconcile this burden of belief? And how do we hand on our faith without burning bridges?
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Follow Jesus’ example.
He never imposed himself. He never judged (unless he was condemning the religiously arrogant). He welcomed everyone, allowed people to question, and loved them regardless of their conclusions.
Though he didn’t change every heart, Jesus convinced many to follow him because of his example.
That’s key.
The best way to share our faith is to set an example; to love others regardless of another person’s race, politics, religion, or lack thereof.
As Pope Francis said recently, people won’t follow “Christian parrots,” those who talk about the faith, but don’t live it.
People are looking for witnesses; they want to see lives transformed by God.
Anything but a “Christian parrot.”
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Learning how to play golf is tough and expensive. But the expectations are clear: buy new clothes, a set of clubs, and stock up on patience.
In a similar way, Christ sets the standard for following him: He must be number one.
And when that decision creates tension in our lives, as it inevitably will, bear the burden patiently trusting that the Lord never wastes our efforts.
In Jesus’ own words, we who believe are the salt of the earth, the light of world.
Anything but Christian parrots.
