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Following
Christ Today
December
9, 2007
Fr.
George Smiga
Matthew
3:1-12
Many
years ago when I was still in Seminary training, we were required
to spend a semester in jail ministry. It was a very positive
experience. Once a week we would go and hold a prayer service
for the inmates. Then we would spend some time afterwards
sharing coffee and talking with them. But before I began that
semester, I remember asking one of the older seminarians who
had already completed this phase of training, what his experience
of it was. He said: “Oh it's challenging, but quite important.
I think you'll learn a lot from it.” Then he looked at me
and said, “But get ready for a lot of old altar servers.”
Now,
I did not know what he meant by that comment. But I discovered
as I became involved in the ministry, that a remarkable number
of the inmates (perhaps one out of every three) would tell
me, “Father, (they always called you father) Father, I used
to be an altar server.” Now this perplexed me and I tried
to explain it. I wondered whether there was a connection between
being an altar server when you were young and ending up in
prison. I want to assure our altar servers here today that
I have not been able to substantiate that connection.
But
I was able to conclude that either the inmates were trying
to hustle me and impress me with their connection to the church
or they were sincerely sharing with me a moment of their life
when they felt close to God. In time I began to pray that
they were hustling me, because how sad would it be that these
men, many in their fifties and sixties, would have to go all
the way back to their childhood to locate a moment when they
felt they were serving God.
One
of the lessons that I learned from that semester was this:
The important question is not what have we done for God? The
important question is what have we done for God lately? That
seems to be the issue that John the Baptist has in today's
gospel. When some of the religious leaders come for baptism,
he insists that they must demonstrate their goodness by their
actions. He does not want them to presume their holiness by
saying that they have Abraham as their ancestor. Now, having
Abraham as your ancestor was a good thing and John the Baptist
certainly respected it. But he insisted that their pedigree
be accompanied with action. Or to put it in other terms, what
had they done for God lately?
To
be a follower of Jesus is not simply to collect a couple actions
of faith and love and then move on to other things. To follow
Jesus is a way of life. It is not enough to garner together
a couple religious experiences that you can point to when
the topic comes up in conversation. Being a disciple is living
today and every day as a person who is trying to build the
Kingdom of God . That is why Jesus asks us to follow him daily.
He says, “I know that last Christmas you were very generous
with that family that was experiencing financial difficulty.
But that was a year ago and there are people still struggling.
I am counting on you to be a sign of my love. I know that
you told your wife that you loved her and were thankful for
her on her anniversary, but that was months ago. Have you
told her that recently? I know that you have stood up for
someone who was being ridiculed at school or at work, and
I was proud when you did that. But that was some time ago
and they are still people being abused today.” Each day Jesus
says, “I am proud of the ways that you have acted in service,
in justice, and love to others, but I need that to continue.
What have you done for me lately?”
Now
that question of Christ can seem demanding and even unreasonable.
But I assure you, it is not Christ's intention to shame us
or to place heavy obligations upon us. For the truth is that
doing what Christ asks us to do, following his will, is the
best thing that we can do for ourselves. There is no deeper
satisfaction than knowing that we have served as he has asked
us to serve, that we have forgiven as he has asked us to forgive,
that we have loved as he has asked us to love. Doing his will
is the greatest joy we can achieve. He asks us to do his will,
not for his benefit, and not only for the benefit of others,
but for ourselves. We find joy in his commands. That is why
it is important that we do not rest on our laurels. We cannot
be content because once we were an altar server or once we
sacrificed for the sake of some one else. Christ is counting
on us today and every day, to build his kingdom, to be people
of service, justice, and love. That is what he asks. That
is what he commands. We would do well to follow his commands,
for doing his will brings us lasting joy. His question, “What
have you done for me lately,” is really only another way of
asking, “What have you recently done for yourself?”
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