All or Nothing

Homily for Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time

Most of us have not, and will not, have a mantel or cloak of authority abruptly placed upon our shoulders. We ordinarily are not suddenly presented with our destiny, or called upon to drop what we are doing to make a drastic career change. We most often incrementally move toward a vocation, a calling, without a dramatic all-or-nothing episode. We most often have choices. We may even have the time to pray and reflect on the course of our lives, but we do need to be open to the times that God is calling us to serve Him. “I am here, Lord,” is most often the best response.

Today’s first reading (I Kings 19:19-21) may summon for many of us memories of our “could-have-been, and wanted-to-but-did not moments.” So many opportunities present themselves in everyone’s life that most go unnoticed or ignored. Elisha (prophet-elect), rather than letting his calling pass, decided to trust, drop everything, and follow Elijah and, therefore, to serve God.

Elisha was, apparently, a happy, hard-working, wealthy young man. He is presented to us as he and his workers plow with 24 oxen and 12 plows. He clearly had a future, security, and family support. This unexpectedly changed when the aging prophet Elijah found Elisha and put a cloak on the young man. Elisha knew that this gesture symbolized that he was being asked to be Elijah’s apprentice, and eventual replacement. He would be God’s messenger to His people. Elisha’s only request was to have an opportunity to kiss his parents goodbye. The slaughter of his oxen, which he cooked over a fire, and fed to the workers, showed that Elisha had completely prepared to leave his former life behind. He gave himself fully and quickly to his new life. The image of Elisha’s openness and willingness to leave his home and family to lead a religious life is echoed in the New Testament. When we read about the call of the Apostles by Jesus, we are told that they too dropped what they were doing and followed The Lord. If we are open to God, His constant presence and voice invites us and leads us toward Him. We do not necessarily need a life-altering tear in the fabric of family, work, and friends like Elisha and the Apostles experienced.

We can choose to live in a way that is God-centered, offering our daily efforts in praise of Him, and as an exemplar of faithfulness to those who surround us. We may promise or take oaths or vows to praise God and to follow His will as we understand it. Jesus, in today’s Gospel reading, warns us: “Do not take a false oath, but make good to the Lord all that you vow... Let your yes mean yes and your no mean no. Anything more is from the evil one.” This short, wonderful, and wise Gospel text beckons to respond to God’s invitation to follow the Lord Jesus. It is the core of what we need in our complex world.