What pulling off a Band-Aid teaches us about the spiritual life

Matthew 9:9-13

We all know the best way to rip off a Band-Aid, you have to tear it off quickly and in one go!  More often than not we do not do this because we are a little afraid of the pain.  So we start tugging gently at the Band-Aid, thinking that it will hurt less or be easier if we take it off slowly.  In the end though, after hesitation and some false-starts, we eventually just tear it off quickly because this is simply the best way to do it.  This example of the Band-Aid illustrates an important general principle for our life: some things are best done quickly.

Sometimes we are slow to respond to what Jesus is asking of us.  In various areas of our life we know what Jesus wants from us, but we hesitate to do it.  For example we may be convinced in our heart that Jesus is asking us to give something up in our lives.  Perhaps it is a sinful behaviour.  Maybe it is something that is not of itself bad but is taking too much of our time and is leading us away from God. It could be that we know Jesus wants us to spend less time watching TV, surfing the web or gossiping with friends on the phone.  Or maybe we are convinced that Jesus is asking us to start doing some good activity in our life.  Perhaps we know we should spend more time with God in prayer, get involved in a parish group or give more money to the poor.  Though we know what Jesus wants us to do, we hesitate to do it.  It actually makes doing the thing more difficult and more painful in the end.  It is like when we take our time pulling off a Band-Aid instead of giving it one quick pull.  We are afraid to pull it off because of the pain but in the end it ends up hurting more.  For various reasons, whether it be fear, laziness or discouragement, we can often be slow to respond to what Jesus is asking us to do in our life.

Responding quickly to the call of Christ is usually the best approach.  Doing what Jesus is asking of us decisively and with determination is usually what is best for us in the long run.  In today’s Gospel we see this clearly in the life of St. Matthew.  We find that Matthew is a sitting at his custom’s post.  He is a tax collector, someone who was looked down upon by the other Jews.  Jesus passes by Matthew and asks him to follow him.  Matthew probably knew who Jesus was before, maybe he was drawn by his teaching.  At this moment Matthew knew exactly what Jesus was asking of him, that he become his follower.  He also knew the consequences of this action.  He was leaving behind a job and security for a risky, unknown future.  But Matthew takes courageous action.  He knows what Christ wants from him and he does it.  Getting back to our Band-Aid analogy, Matthew goes ahead and rips off the Band-Aid is one clean pull.  If he had hesitated, perhaps Matthew would never have left his post and followed Christ.  The decision to do what Jesus asked forever changed his life.  He came to know Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God.  He became an evangelist, helping to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Matthew is a great example because he teaches us that responding quickly and decisively to what Jesus asks of us is what is best for us.

Today let us look in our life and see if there is anything that we know that Jesus is asking us to do, but we are hesitating to do it.  Examine yourself to see if you have any Band-Aids that you are hesitating to pull off.  We all have areas in our life where we are reluctant to change or do some thing even though we know that Jesus is asking it of us.  After having done this, let us ask Jesus for the grace to act quickly and decisively in carrying out what it is that He is calling us to do.

From doubter to great missionary, the story of St. Thomas can be our own

John 20:24-29

Experiencing doubts about your faith is a common experience.  Sometimes people have difficulty believing in the existence of God.  Others are uncertain about whether Jesus Christ is truly God.  There are also those who struggle to accept various teachings proposed by the Church.  Today we celebrate the feast of St. Thomas, often called “Doubting Thomas”.  He is something like the patron saint of those who doubt.  By looking at His life we can discover an important lesson about the role of doubt in the life of Christians.

From the Gospel we learn that Jesus is there to support us when we experience doubts.  When we struggle with disbelief, Christ will always be there to help us, to help lead us back to belief in Him.  Initially Thomas doubted the Resurrection.  When the Apostles told Thomas that they had seen the Risen Christ, he doubts it. He says he cannot believe it unless he sees it with his own eyes.  The interesting thing is that Thomas keeps searching.  Though he has doubts he continues to spend time with the Apostles.  Thomas does not walk away. Because Thomas keeps searching, Jesus has an opportunity to reveal Himself to Thomas, to show Thomas the holes in His hands, feet and side.  Likewise when we experience doubt it is important for us to continue searching.  We should never give up when we experience doubts.  When we do this Christ will work in our life to satisfy our struggles with the faith.  He can do this in many different ways.  For example, if we have difficulty believing in the existence of God, perhaps through the beauty of a sunset we will be convinced that there must be a loving God who created this.  Or if we are struggling with a particular teaching of the Church, through a conversation with somebody or through a book that we may read, the issue may all of a sudden “click” in our mind, it may make sense like it never has before.  As long as we continue to search for the truth when we experience doubt, Jesus will eventually satisfy our doubts as He did for Thomas.

After experiencing struggles in our faith it is possible to become a great follower of Jesus Christ.  Once our doubt has turned to belief we can become a more fervent and effective follower of Jesus Christ than before.  In the Gospel we see this already with St. Thomas.  After Jesus appeared to Thomas, Thomas proclaims what is one of the strongest declarations of faith in the New Testament: “my Lord and my God”.  After the Ascension of Jesus, Thomas went on to become a great missionary.  Ancient tradition tells us that St. Thomas travelled through the Middle East and eventually settled in India.  All along the way Thomas spread the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Many Christians in India call themselves “Thomas Christians” because they recognize that their faith came to them through Thomas.  I think that Thomas was so great a missionary because he himself had first struggled with doubt.  This made him better suited to tell other people about the Resurrection of Jesus, people who would also experience doubt about the whole idea.  We find a modern day equivalent in Jacques Maritain, a great French philosopher who passed away in 1973.  As a university student, Maritain struggled to believe in God.  One day his life changed forever when he heard a lecture by the philosopher Henri Bergson.  He was convinced that absolute truth does indeed exist and eventually entered the Catholic Church.  Maritain went on to become a great philosopher, defending belief in God and the Christian worldview. Maritain was able to do such a great job defending the faith to those who were skeptical because he himself had first experienced doubts in his own journey.  His life shows that once our doubt has turned to belief we can become a more fervent and effective follower of Jesus Christ than before.

At different times we will all probably struggle with doubt and uncertainty in our faith.  As long as we continue to search for truth in the midst of our doubt, Jesus will eventually make things clear to us.  Today let us commit ourselves to never stop searching for the truth when we struggle with doubts about our faith.

The uncompromising, extreme call of Jesus

Luke 9:51-62

Extreme things are very popular these days.  Extreme sports are all the rage.  Even food is extreme.  One manufacturer of Nacho chips has released a whole line of chips with extreme flavors.  If you are in the shopping aisle and the choice is between the extreme chips and the regular ones, you would have to take the extreme flavors.  I know I would feel pretty weak if I didn't  my ego would definitely take a hit.  Society’s obsession with all things extreme is more than just a marketing gimmick.

Many people go to extreme lengths in different areas of their life and we respect them for this.  We admire individuals that are radical in the way they pursue their career, hobbies or interests.  I once read an autobiography from a NAVY SEAL, a type of elite soldier, that explained in detail their training regimen.  It was shocking the see the commitment of these individuals: early mornings, constant work-outs, strict diet, and physical pain.  When I compared myself to these NAVY SEALS I couldn’t help but feel like a wimp. We could consider many other examples. Think of the sacrifices people in business often make in order to pursue their goals.  Or consider the endless training made by athletes to excel in their sport.  Even think of artists who often live a life full of radical choices for the sake of their art.  Many people go to extreme lengths in the way they pursue their career, hobbies or interests and we tend to admire them for this.

Though we see the need for radicality is various areas of life, we tend to think it is OK to accept a soft kind of Christianity.  Although we can appreciate that other areas in our life must be demanding, we can get uncomfortable affirming that following Jesus is likewise demanding. Let me illustrate this. Imagine for a moment that your goal is to become a great hockey player. If this is the case, you readily will go to early morning practices, spend a lot of money on equipment and make many other sacrifices.  Though we accept this is necessary to get good at hockey, we can become hesitant or resentful when the Church asks us to come to Mass each Sunday, go to confession and give money to the poor, things necessary to grow into a good follower of Christ.  We have grown accustomed to thinking that Christianity should be undemanding. Many have openly said that Christianity is something for weak people, a kind of crutch.  Karl Marx famously said that it was the “opiate of the masses”. Just look how Christians are represented on television.  There is the famous example of Ned Flanders, the Christian in the TV show “The Simpsons”.  This character always comes across as weak, a push-over, definitely no NAVY SEAL.  Though we tend to see the need for radicality in various areas of life, we tend to think Christianity is undemanding and soft.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that following Him is requires great sacrifice.  Christianity is not for the faint of heart but requires total commitment, it is radical and extreme.  We are called to love Jesus and follow Him without counting the costs.  In the Gospel Jesus is fighting against a kind of soft Christianity, one that does not demand much from us.  Someone says they will follow Him but only after they bury their father.  The person who said this did not just have their Father pass away.  It is a way of saying:, “ok Jesus I will follow you when I am older, now I am busy”.  A modern day equivalent are those who put off getting involved in the Church or Christianity until after they are retired.  Their schedule does not allow it at the moment.  Jesus is also clear that following Him is not for those who want a life free from difficulties.  Just as Jesus had “nowhere” to rest His head, we Christians need to accept a certain amount of risk, challenge and uncertainty in our life.  As Pope Francis has recently said, “the Church is not a health-spa”.  According to Jesus, following Him is far from being a crutch for the weak.  Christianity is demanding, challenging, something that takes our whole being and commitment.  The saints best understood this, they realized that Christianity was something extreme.

Today, perhaps more than any time, following Jesus is a very radical proposition because it means that we are often going against social trends. Being a Catholic today requires us to make sacrifices we will often be going against the current of popular opinion.  The extreme nature of Christianity is most clearly born out in the lives of the martyrs, those who have given their lives for Jesus. It is important to recognize that the past 100 years there have been more martyrs than ever before.  But what about the rest of us? For us too, Christianity needs to be lived in a radical way.  Jesus’ demand that we forgive our enemy is an extreme action, especially in a world bent on revenge.  In our busy and noisy world choosing to take time each day to pray to God in silence is a demanding proposition.  Striving to live the Christian vision of sexuality is a very radical decision.  As more and more families find their weekends busy and packed, making the choice to prioritize going to Mass and go each Sunday, even if it means sacrificing other activities, is a radical choice.  Working to build a world that is more just and peaceful rather than getting swept along in the flow of consumerism and materialism is an extreme thing to do. Following Jesus today demands dedication, courage and that we make sacrifices, it is by no means a crutch for the weak.

In Greek the word for conversion is metanoia.  Metanoia literally means “change of mind”.  Today I invite each of us to make such a change of mind.  Too often we think that Christianity is something undemanding, soft and unchallenging. We need to remember that the life Jesus calls us to demands total commitment and all our energies.  It is something extreme indeed.  Today let us make this change of mind.