We all know the old saying, “You can lead a horse to water,
but you can’t make it drink.” My equestrian experience is limited to having a
horse, by the name of Babe, step on my right foot, many years ago when I was
out at Ruthie’s family farm for her high school graduation party. As such, I am
unable to attest to the validity of this saying. The closest I am able to get
to this saying would be “you can lead a dog to the backyard, but you can’t make
it pee.” Something that became very
evident to me last week when upon sticking her nose out in the bitter cold, our
family dog, Belle, gave me the look that said, “I don’t have to go that bad,”
and turned around and went back into the house.
The point of all this is if we are unable to even make a
horse or a dog to do something we want them to do, what chance do we have in
making another human being do something, even if it might be beneficial to them?
We cannot force anyone to do anything against their will. In giving us the
power of free will, God cannot force you or me to do something we do not want to
do. Only the individual alone has that power. This especially applies in
choosing to be a disciple of Jesus.
Note in the gospel today, that Jesus was not out actively
trying to recruit disciples. He was merely walking around, minding his own
business. It was Nathaniel and Andrew who voluntarily approach Jesus and ask
where he was staying. People voluntarily came up to Jesus and asked to follow
him. They came to Jesus from all occupations and walks of life. Jesus had a way
about him that awakened a longing within people for something more than the
mediocrity that this life offered them, and, they were willing to give up
everything in order to follow him. No promotions or ad campaigns, no coercion,
no intimidation, was used by Jesus to gather disciples. Not once in any of the
4 gospels do we hear Jesus say to someone, “Get over here!” or “If you know
what’s good for you, you’d better follow me!” They freely chose to be his
disciples and to follow his teachings. What was true for discipleship back then
is true for you and me today.
Thankfully, being perfect is not a qualification in becoming
a disciple of Jesus. As we hear and read in the gospels, the disciples of Jesus
were quite the motley crew. Criminals, cheats, cowards, traitors,
revolutionaries, and prostitutes were all among his entourage. His own intimate
and closest disciples abandoned him in fear when he was arrested, tortured, and
executed. When we read the passion account in the gospels, the only disciples
that gathered at the foot of the cross were mainly women, Mary Magdalene, Mary, mother of James and Joseph, Salome, and
Mary, wife of Cleopas. It is only in John’s gospel, we hear of the beloved
disciple, whom Church Tradition identifies as John, being present, along with
Mary, Jesus’ mother. Apparently, Jesus’ female disciples were the only ones
able to “man-up”, so to speak, when the going got tough. Were perfection necessary to be a disciple of
Jesus, the Church would have died out years ago.
I think that as Catholics we can fall into the trap of
thinking we are automatically members of the disciple of Jesus club because we
have received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion. Nothing could be farther from the truth. In my
20 years as a deacon, I have baptized many babies, probably around 300 or more,
given Holy Communion for the first time to many more children, and assisted at
the Confirmation Masses of many adolescents. I have often wondered how many of
these people have chosen to continue to be disciples of Jesus. It seems as if
the commitment of being a disciple lasts only up to confirmation and that upon
receiving that sacrament the commitment ends, many believing they have
graduated from “religion.” What folks don’t always understand is that sacraments
are not an end unto themselves, but rather the beginning of a way to grow and
act as disciples of Jesus, empowering us to serve others as Jesus did, to be
the living and breathing body of Jesus Christ in our world.
When I was first ordained, Archbishop Roach wanted me to
participate in a committee of permanent deacons and lay church ministers. The
purpose of the committee was to iron out some issues and conflicts that had
developed in the relationship of permanent deacons with lay church ministers. I
had the honor of working with Deacon Dick Barrett, who along with our own
Deacon Len, I consider among the most outstanding of permanent deacons in our
Archdiocese. I remember Dick speaking about a deacon’s commitment to ministry
at one meeting. The meeting have been a bit contentious. Dick addressed the
group saying, “As a lay church professional, you annually commit your life to
church ministry for a period of one year. You can leave church ministry any
time you want. When I was ordained a deacon, I committed my life to the Church
and to church ministry forever.” Dick’s
words really hit home to me. He was absolutely right. Prior to my being
ordained, I had worked for 17 years as a lay church minister. I could have, at
any time during those 17 years ended my commitment to church ministry by saying,
“I’m the heck out of here,” and quit. However, at my ordination I made my
commitment to the Church and to church ministry forever.
What Dick said of the deacon’s permanent commitment to the
Church and to church ministry can be equally applied to our commitment in being
a disciple of Jesus. Is our commitment to be a disciple of Jesus only temporary
as it was for some of his disciples who chose to abandon him when his teachings
became too difficult for them, or inconvenienced their way of life? Or is our
commitment to discipleship permanent? In a time, when people shy away from
making any commitment, are we willing to settle for mediocrity or will we permanently
commit ourselves to a life of discipleship that will satisfy our deepest longing?
Are we willing to ask Jesus everyday of our lives, “Rabbi, where are you
staying?” And are we willing to follow Jesus everyday of our lives when he
replies, “Come, and you will see.”
You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. You
can lead people to discipleship but not
make them follow Jesus. In the end, the decision to be or not to be a disciple
of Jesus is a decision that we all must make only for ourselves.
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