A Reflection for Friday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Find today’s readings here.
When I lived in Boston, I was a 12-step sponsor to a young man named Kyle. A proud Portuguese-American, Kyle was burly and athletic and by far the funniest person I knew. His humor was dry and observational, and it came out in snappy remarks. I always carry a notebook to record insightful or funny things I hear or see; Kyle’s quips fill about half the pages of my notebooks from the mid-2010s. Kyle listened to many conservative podcasters, especially ones that emphasized cultural tradition or personal responsibility. Because of this, although he was a “none” in terms of religious affiliation, he claimed to have a deep respect for Christianity as a social force and for my ministry as a priest.
Kyle was a verbal processor and often needed to talk out the ideas that came to him, sometimes at length. Once, when he was going on about how much he respected the positive things that Christians have done for the world, I thought I saw an opportunity for evangelization. “You know,” I said, “you could join us whenever you want. Just say the word.”
Beneath luxuriant, furrowed brows, Kyle looked at me with such irritation that I was tempted to apologize, but before I could, he was ready with a quip. “Mike, I respect the New England Patriots too, but I’m not going to show up at practice to run drills and take snaps. C’mon!”
I wrote the remark down immediately, and I’ve thought about it a lot since then. Kyle was a self-professed outsider, but he had intuited a truth about discipleship that I had never articulated to myself. Anyone can be a fan; it takes a different level of commitment to join the team.
Today’s Gospel reading illustrates that well. Jesus had a lot of fans. The individuals we have come to regard as The Twelve Apostles probably started as fans. Jesus might have been the most interesting person to come through Galilee in their lifetime. Hearing his call to follow him was probably as exciting as someone today going on the road with their favorite team or performing artist as “the ultimate fan experience.” Today’s Gospel marks the day that the Twelve go from fans to teammates. They now had to preach Jesus’ words with their voices and perform his mighty deeds with their hands, or, to use Kyle’s words, they had to “show up to run drills and take snaps.”
If today’s Gospel reading can challenge us in any way, it might be to cease being a fan of Jesus and start being a teammate. When we know his words so well that we can find ways to share them in any context, or when we have experienced his presence so deeply that others can feel his comfort and healing through us, then we have joined the team, and like the Twelve, we continue his ministry.
