21st Sunday Discipleship brings life!

Everyone needs a chef for a friend, in my humble opinion. I am not talking about someone who can cook, but a trained professional chef. Warning though, It will ruin you in one sense. A chef friend will cook and raise the level of your palate. Food that you have once thought good, will be boring. I have such a friend and he creates such an array of flavors at all levels…and it has helped me to up my cooking game. Steaks, now seared in cast iron skillet, then basted with butter, garlic, thyme or pasta sauces with paprikas, chili peppers, capers… But now, as I warned, at some of my favorite restaurants, their food has become a bit bland.

Parishes form disciples, that is our role. Parish ministry builds up disciples of Jesus Christ, who leads us closer and closer to the Father, and the closer we come to the Father, the greater wisdom we open ourselves to life, creation and God; in other words, Salvation.

The presumption is that we are all here because we claim discipleship, or are in the process of claiming that discipleship through baptism. But to claim is never enough. God wants us to have it all because God offers it all. That means allowing ourselves to continue to journey in Christ, with Christ and grow ever closer to God. Discipleship goes on.

It is a journey that never ends until that final moment when, because in this life we sought God in the eternal, we find God.

Here is the complexity. People are at all kinds of stages in their discipleship; we all have different palates. Some resign themselves to the higher levels…Mass on weekends, confession every so often, a few dollars into the collection and, following all the rules, trying to stay out of trouble.  This is okay, but again, God wants us to have so much more in this life. There is so much more to experience in our faith that can open us to the richness of life.

Others have had a taste of what God offers and they want more. They endeavor to explore Jesus, wrestle with God, try new flavors, let themselves be expanded.

Adults coming to the faith can be like this, full of excitement and just soaking it all in the RCIA. As well, I have seen a few Teens in Youth Ministry have their eyes opened and begin to see and appreciate God in a different way, and become on fire. Even children in CRE, every now and then there is this spark that happens, and they get God, and they get excited.

And too, we full on Adults, been confirmed for decades… sometimes when we let down our guard, we experience God’s grace in a way that excites us…I think of people who were in the Catholic Biblical School and Scripture opened them to grace; those who have participated in the book clubs, faith sharings, prayer groups… Some have come.."Father, did you know…!!”  And even old hard hearted priests and bishops have been transformed, shown different flavors of being a disciple, and have changed their pastoring.

Jesus wants us to know the Father, as he experiences the Father.

Jesus wants us to journey deeper and deeper with him, in faith, to the Father; even as Jesus went all the way to the cross and death.  We celebrate and give thanks for this in our Eucharist.

St. John of the Cross’ masterpiece poem; Dark Night of the Soul, echoes this. Of journeying into the Dark of Night, with trust, and ending up in the arms of Jesus, of love.

It means we surrender ourselves, our egos; It means in all humility we accept that we are so loved by the Father, and the Father wants us. And be willing to taste life in a new way.

So scary, so rewarding.