Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

In our American experience, a trip is often a vacation. We’re not going anywhere in particular; we just want to get away from it all for a while. A really important vacation might be a return home after many years, or to catch up with a long lost friend. But, more often than not, people travel for leisure, to relax and see something new, to get away from the humdrum experience of home.

But when Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, it is a one-way, fateful journey. Hearing the first words of today’s gospel, you know he is not simply going on vacation or making an annual pilgrimage:
    “When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled,
      he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem,
      and he sent messengers ahead of him.”
In fact this trip is a major campaign. He sends seventy-two messengers ahead of him, in groups of two, to visit every town, village and hamlet in Judea. Eventually Jerusalem will hear of his coming and be all atwitter when he finally arrives.

His closest disciples seem to be caught up in the excitement. James and John are so eager for an apocalyptic event they’re ready to call down fire on a Samaritan village. They’re ready to make others suffer the End of the World, though they’re not so eager for their own personal suffering. If they are wise, they might understand Jesus’ rebuke as pointing in a new, unexpected direction.

Others, caught up in the excitement, are eager to go with Jesus. But they aren’t invited. Our following of Jesus is a vocation, received in obedience. American spirituality, which accentuates leadership and initiative, may not understand the primary importance of hearing and obeying the call that comes from God. Not even Jesus would claim to be a priest without first hearing his Father’s call. In Hebrews 5, we read:
No one takes this honor upon himself but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. In the same way, it was not Christ who glorified himself in becoming high priest, but rather the one who said to him: "You are my son; this day I have begotten you"; 

This is not to say some people are doomed for never being invited. That doctrine of "double election" -- that some are predestined to be saved and some are predestined to be damned -- misses the point altogether.
Rather, the gospel insists on obedience to God's initiative. Fifty years ago I didn't have the choice of being a race horse jockey or a camel driver. I could not create myself in the image of my own peculiar fantasies, nor those of my parents. God called me to the Franciscan priesthood. That was the choice offered to me and that's the one I accepted. For a young person today discerning a vocation may take a long time, but it's a lot easier if he or she ignores the absurd fantasies the world offers.

After turning away those who are too eager to follow Jesus, who have manufactured a calling from their own enthusiasm instead of obedience, he invites another group. But they decline or dally “for personal reasons.” That’s not good enough! They are not fit for the kingdom of God.

As Jesus sets out for Jerusalem on this fateful journey he invites us to go with him. Each of us must ask daily, “What is the Lord calling me to do today? Am I ready to go?” and the only acceptable response is “Let’s go!”