Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

Ruined for life!   Over the Jesuit Volunteer Corps 50+ year history, college graduates have paid attention to their hearts, to the tug they feel inside, to live simply, in community with like-hearted friends, in solidarity … in kinship with the poor, the handicapped, the “disposable” of our culture.  These experiences rub off over their year commitment and they are changed.  Ruined for life.

My friend, Andrew, would agree.  He serves at St. Charles Mission in Pryor, Montana:

“This is what Jesus calls us to understand and put into daily action – to be ruined for each other, to be ruined for love, to let nothing stand in the way of seeing God in the set of eyes staring back into yours. JVC has provided the space and time to allow my heart to be slowly transformed by Christ. through each and every person I encounter.”

And, what about Peter, Andrew, James and John?  Ruined for life, too! Although at the outset of it all, they really have no clue, and they certainly did not have their act together.  It was just another ordinary day, cleaning, mending, and packing up their nets; readying for another day of fishing, hoping for another great catch. Yet, on this ordinary day, Jesus broke their routine and offered them a deal that would change their lives – forever.  No easy road, though.  Along the way, each one slips up; encounters hardship, chooses the easy way, at times; and often lose faith.

Yet, Jesus did rub off on them over those 3 years.  They watched him console and heal the sick.  They walked with him on the wrong side of town as he welcomed outsiders.  They entered the homes of sinners, and ate with them. 

And, they certainly met challenge as Jesus called them to trust and feed the 5000.  They faced their deepest fears, and walked across the water.  They fell asleep when he needed them most; denied him, and he forgave them.  And, though it all, Jesus loved them, encouraged them.

His love over those 3+ years of ministry provided the space and time to open their hearts to be slowly transformed. Amazingly so, that by the time we meet these same disciples in the Acts of the Apostles, these bumbling fools are transformed into courageous, faith-filled disciples.  Ruined for life.

And, what about me? You?  Jesus calls and loves every one of us.  Loves us into who we are through our everyday circumstances – great and small; opportunities and challenges; life and death; successes and failures.  Sinners we are, yet Jesus gently forgives, gives us the grace to quell the fear inside so that we might use the faith we have to reshape our lives and our communities.

Yesterday I attended the diaconate ordination of one of my Jesuit brothers. 

The Archbishop mentioned that from this day forward Matthew’s life has changed, is transformed forever.  And, that transformation?  It didn’t just happen when Archbishop Sartain laid hands on Matthew’s head.  That transformation will happen over time, living into his diaconate and soon priestly ministry. 

So, the same is true for all of us in all of our commitments.  Jesus will rub off on us over our entire lifetime.  Feel the tug in your heart. Trust!  As Flannery O’Connor once said: “If we wait until our spiritual house is in order, we will be dead. Choose each day to follow the call, It will change us.  Ruin us for life!

Let me end with this story:

There was once a young man.  He was the untidiest person you can imagine.  His apartment was filthy. His clothes strewn all over the place, unwashed dishes, and crumbs everywhere. He never brought anybody home. One day at his work he met a young woman and they started going out together, and gradually they fell in love.

One day while walking in the park this young woman plucked a rose from a bush gave it to him as a symbol of love. He brought that flower home, and realized that this flower needed to be kept and treated with respect – after all it was given by somebody he loved.

He looked for a vase to put the flower in, and none he could find. He rummaged through all the unwashed dishes finding a moldy and grimy vase. He scrubbed that vase clean, and put the flower into the vase, and then he thought, "Where am I going to put this?  It needs to be put in a nice place."                                                                                

He realized he had to clean up the dining table, for that was the only place he could put the rose. So he cleaned up the dining table, and he put the vase in the center and looked back and it was beautiful, until he saw the pizza boxes on the floor and his dirty socks thrown about. He started cleaning that up until gradually he ended up cleaning the whole apartment.   And all because his beloved gave him that beautiful rose.

My friends, when we hear our name called, let us turn and follow. Trust!  In his company we will go and we will never be the same.
 

Mike Bayard, S.J.