Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time--Liturgical Cycle C

Reading I: Kings 19:16b, 19-21
Responsorial Psalm:Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11
Reading II: Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

Text of Lectionary Readings

Homily

Having celebrated the great seasons of our church’s Year of Grace—Advent, Nativity, Epiphany, Nativity, Epiphany, Lent, Easter Sundays, Trinity, Corpus Christi, and Pentecost—we now turn to the “Ordinary” Sundays of the year, which we remember being named “The Sundays After Pentecost.” The season’s assigned liturgical scripture readings are anything but “ordinary.” In fact, they are quite “extra-ordinary.” They are full of the presence of the Spirit of Jesus calling those who hear the Word to discipleship.

As we heard last Sunday, those who recognize the values preached by Jesus and accept a call to this New Way of life must deny their very selves, take up the task each day, and follow in his steps. The disciple who ascribes to God’s plan must walk the walk. As Luke develops the story of Jesus, he takes him on a journey up to Jerusalem and we, the listeners, join in step with Jesus and pass through this life into life forever in God.

Today’s Gospel presents several “Jesus sayings,” including one of my favorites. “Whoever puts their hand to the plow but keeps looking back is unfit for the reign of God.”

That’s such a picturesque way of saying, “Once you have committed yourself to Christ, made a decision for Christ, keep your eyes focused on the values of the Kingdom Come.”

There was a little Amish settlement on the Taylor/Casey county line not far from where I used to live when pastor of the Campbellsville Church. In fact, they used the road my home was on to drive their one-horse black buggies to and from the shopping centers in Campbellsville. This spring while driving in their neighborhood I caught sight of one from the community plowing his field. The scene put flesh on Jesus’ words today. Here is this immense field, maybe seventy-five acres, lying ahead of the farmer and he sets off with his mule and single plow to cultivate what must have seemed like an everlasting, exhausting task. His neighbor with his $85,000 John Deere (with its seven plow hitch) could do the same job in a couple of hours. But this Amish lad sets out to plow that ground row by row, never stopping until the land is ready for disking and seeding. What looks impossible becomes manageable one step at a time. I think that is what Jesus is saying to us: “One step at a time.”

Once we have made that decision for Christ, and set out to build the Kingdom with our gift of life, even though the crosses and the tasks look insurmountable, don’t look back, don’t hesitate, don’t falter, don’t quit, and eventually the task will be done and the harvest will be.

When I was an associate pastor with Fr. Tim at Holy Name back in the 1950’s, I recall a young husband and father who made a point of being at the 6:00 AM morning mass every day. Winter and summer, spring and fall, he never missed a weekday, even Saturdays. I was told by Fr. Tim that he had made a commitment the day he was married that he would take this time out for God in order that his marriage and family might be blessed. One day I talked to him about it and I’ll never forget what he said. “Father, at first I thought I was doing a great thing, fitting one hour of God into my life and family each day. But now, God has taken over and I find that my little life and family is instead being fitted into God.”

The guy had made a commitment and he stuck by it. He put his hand to the plow and never looked back. What starts out being a daily cross ends up being a daily resurrection to life. At our Baptism and each year at Eastertime we Catholics make a solemn commitment, a solemn decision for Christ and His Way of Life, his Values. We put our hand to the plow and with our eyes focused on Christ, we prepare the ground for the harvest which will be.

In the Courier-Journal Forum (6/28/92), I read a news item: “Creating Active Citizens,” by Dave Broder. It read,

Citizenship begins with commitment rather than expertise. Citizens do not need special preparation, advanced education or bureaucratic permits to get involved.

Neither do committed Catholics need anything special to get involved in the Kingdom.
--Fr. Pat

Excerpt from "A Catholic's Companion: Liturgical Cycle C" (c)2000 C. Patrick Creed
Published by Watchmaker Press. Maggie Hettinger, editor