Who's Team Are You On?

Who's Team Are You On?

January 22, 2023    3rd Sunday Ordinary - A

by Dcn. Bob Bonomi   

What’s it like to be “chosen” by God?  

When I was in grade school, before cell phones and video games, we played a game at recess called “Red Rover”.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with the game, the teacher appointed two “captains” who then took turns selecting their “team” from the other kids.  Usually the most popular kids were picked first; the biggest, toughest and fastest, and then those less qualified for busting lines, working down the list to the smallest and weakest.  Eventually, everyone ended up on one side or the other.

Once the teams were selected, each team would create a “wall” by joining hands, and then the captains took turns calling out to the other side, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send so-and-so on over.”  That person would then have to run with all of his or her might and try to break through the wall.  If they succeeded, then they got to choose a player from that team to come back to their side; if they failed, they had to join the opposing team.  Whoever ended up with the most team members at the end of recess was the winner.

Now I realize this may be hard to understand looking at me now, but I was never the first one chosen for a team.  Nor the second … in fact, there were times I was one of the last picked because I was pretty scrawny back then.

But because I was so small, I was often one of the first called to attack by the other side – they knew that I would find it pretty hard to break through any line.  And once in a line, they would usually put a big or tough kid on each side of me because they could hold my hands tight, even if I couldn’t hold theirs.  Needless to say, it was tough being small.  Last chosen, first thrown into battle.

But we see in today’s Gospel how, with God, the selection process is just the opposite.  Those who were the smartest, popular, the “strongest” in the community were not the ones that Jesus called first.  Jesus’ preference was for the poor, the lowly, the outcast.  He first chose his disciples, and then He showed them the way.  He invited others to “join His wall”.  

What kind of people were his disciples?  They were just ordinary people – people like us.  Today we hear about the call of four of them: Simon-Peter, Andrew, James and John.  Jesus’ simple request of them? “Come”.

Several years ago this month I was on a mission trip to Honduras with a priest friend of mine and several fellow parishioners.  The Sunday Gospel was the one you just heard, and my priest friend, who spoke fairly good Spanish, was asked to give the homily.  But as is so often when we speak, he had a little problem with two very similar words – he said that when Jesus called Simon-Peter, Andrew, James and John he would make them fishers of men – for those of you familiar with Spanish, “Pescadores de Hombres”.  However, what he said was “Pecadores de Hombres” – sinners of men.  It got a good laugh, and yet, in a sense he was correct, for Peter and the rest WERE sinners – just like you and me.

In Matthew’s Gospels, there is also a sense of urgency in the actions of Jesus and those who follow him.  Peter and Andrew leave their livelihood at once; James and John immediately leave their family;   For what?  Surely they didn’t know what they were getting themselves into.

True, it must have been pretty exciting at first, being part of the “Jesus Movement”. Jesus was obviously a dynamic preacher given the crowds that followed Him, and it must have been quite a rush to be part of His physical and spiritual healings.  It wasn’t until later in the “ministry” that the disciples began to get an inkling of what was ahead for them.  For those of you who have been watching “The Chosen” series, it does a pretty good job of just how clueless they might have been.

But Jesus doesn’t immediately send them forth on their own.  He works with them, prepares them, strengthens them.  God doesn’t choose the qualified; God qualifies the chosen.  Jesus shares with them the purpose for which He came and, as seen when He sends them out two by two to preach and perform miracles, He unites them to His work.

St. Paul talks of the importance of that unity in his letter to the Corinthians when he said, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.”  Sadly, as we celebrate the “International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity” this week, it can seem that the sense of dis-unity is stronger than ever.  

Where are we as a community, as Christians?  Are we divisive, finding fault with those we disagree with? We're called to remain firm and strong in our faith and not compromise our values, but can we do so without hatred?  Can we say that we love each other, and treat each other with respect, even if we disagree with them?  Or do we harbor hatred in our hearts for those that we disagree with – whether it be because of their faith, their politics, or even their sports affiliation?  
 
(OK, maybe we don’t HATE them because of their favorite teams.)
When I hear the first four words of the Apostles’ Creed, “I Believe in God…” which we recite each time we begin a Rosary, I’m reminded that belief in God is being challenged by society today more than almost any other time in history.  And there may be even those here at Mass today who question those words.

Ironically, given our entertainment industry’s fascination with portraying the devil as either hideously grotesque or as misunderstood entity that might be admired, they prove the existence of God.  You cannot believe in a devil (the divider) without believing in God (the unifier).  

In his letter to the Corinthians today, St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians over the divisions in their fledgling community.  He points out to them that they are losing their focus on the only one they were to follow – Christ.  Not Peter; not Apollos; not even Paul himself. No matter who they “liked” or “disliked”, they had only one purpose: to witness to Christ.  They followed the command of Christ to Love God and to Love their Neighbor.  The same is true for us today - it isn't our political leaders, our sports favorites, or even our friends that we are called to follow, but Christ.

One final thought.  In the game, when I was united with stronger guys, the line usually held.  At times it seemed like I got beat up, but the line held.  The same was true of Jesus’ disciples.  They would not have been able to accomplish the signs and wonders that they did when Jesus sent them out, nor withstood the trials they experienced if they were not united to Jesus through the Holy Spirit.  We too are part of that union, that communion, when we share in the Eucharist as one body in Christ.  

Today, listen for God’s call.  When you hear His voice – and you will, if you listen – harden not your heart.  You do not want to be picked for the wrong team.