January 22, 2017
THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Becoming a Disciple
Is 8:23-9:3; 1 Cor 1:10-13, 17; Mt 4:12-23 or 4:12-17
 
First Reading: Isaiah sets the stage for the role of the Church itself: that God calls all people to a nation that will grow. This accompanies the call of the first four apostles to bring the Good News beyond the borders of ancient Israel and finally bring a time of peace.
Second Reading: St. Paul reflects on the reality of the human condition, that people tend toward rivalry and competition. The mission of the Church must be front and center; it must never trust human wisdom over and against heavenly wisdom.
Gospel Reading: There couldn't be more pragmatic characters than first-century fishermen. They were tough-minded, generally skeptical, and probably quite cut and dry. And yet, Jesus calls them, and, with no words, with no negotiation or debate, they simply follow — a sacramental moment where God speaks and it happens.
Homily
I've heard it said that it's a long and winding road from the head to the heart. I wonder, that day 2,000 years ago on that long and winding road, when Jesus called Peter, Andrew, James and John to come follow: Where were they when they had to choose, in their heads or in their hearts? I wonder about this because it has everything to do with you and me and how we are called by Jesus and the decisions we face on our long, winding road to discipleship.
What exactly is a disciple? How do we recognize one? I've always thought that discipleship is much more about the heart than the head. Curiously, these four fishermen are never called converts. They're called disciples even though clearly they converted from Judaism to Christianity. In a way, we're all converts. The distinction is that a convert is someone well-intentioned, someone who is curious, someone who investigates a particular concept, a certain movement or belief system, in this case Christianity, and then changes from a former faith to a new faith.
A disciple, however, takes conversion to the next level. Like the convert, the disciple is curious, someone who investigates, who hears and believes, but then most importantly acts. A disciple does something physical.
He drops his nets and follows. She picks up her cross and carries it. He actually takes food to the hungry. She speaks out for those who cannot speak for themselves. Discipleship is a physical act, an animation of the con-verted heart. It bubbles up from the depths of the heart, the place where only God speaks. The great Dominican Meister Eckhart once explained that silence is the language of God. I also think that silence is the language of the heart. And maybe that's the nuance between conversion and discipleship. It's the difference between the head and the heart, between living out the Gospel or just believing in the Gospel.
That day 2,000 years ago, something happened to the hearts of these four men. The silent language of God said something infinitely profound. How else can you explain their immediate, unnegotiated response? Jesus invited, and they followed with no questions. In answering the call, without words, these fishermen spoke volumes that we still hear today in Pope Francis and our bishops. It is a call that we must hear, too. You and I are also called by Jesus to get out of our heads and into our hearts, to the place where the Word will have no competition with the clamor of words crowding our heads in a noisy world.
These totally practical fishermen acted totally impractically. They quit their jobs and probably had no idea how or when they would be paid for their new jobs of being disciples and then apostles. Their hearts where moved without fully understanding. Are we any different? We, too, are beset by lives with no clear answers. Why did I become a priest? Why did you marry the person you married? Why are we here in this Church today? Something called out to us this morning to drop everything and come here with no words or explanation. And maybe that's as it should be: no sales pitch, just the Word calling us. This is why it's a long and sometimes confusing road from the head to the heart. Our task is to find our way down that long and winding road, and then, we just might be able to drop everything and follow him.