Feast of St. James, Apostle
Scripture:
2 Corinthians 4:7-15
Matthew 20:20-28
Reflection:
A Countercultural Baptismal Commitment
Years ago, I was directing a parish mission in the northern part of the Archdiocese of Detroit named St. Mary’s. The pastor was an intense and zealous minister who loved his people, and who believed that our faith is passed on best through the formation of “Small Christian Communities”. I thoroughly enjoyed conversations with him around the kitchen table — his stories, his vision of Church — and I clearly remember a phrase etched into the granite above the main entrance doorway of the Church: “There are no volunteers here at St. Mary’s. We simply take our Baptismal commitment seriously.”
Today’s Feast of St. James challenges me in a similar way. The world of St. Paul and St. Matthew wasn’t unlike our own: persecution, confusion, manipulation, heartbreaking violence and oppression. All of this seems more than our fragile minds and bodies — our earthen vessels — can endure.
And, according to Matthew, the community of disciples is at risk of being pulled into that culture, driven by the desire to be the first, to be admired and honored by others, the same temptations that Jesus resisted from the devil when he was in the desert for forty days: power, possessions, prestige.
To be successful and influential in today’s world, many management trainers or motivational speakers urge their audiences to develop their “killer instincts.” Jesus, however, commands a counterculture, seizing countless opportunities to offer a powerful teaching on humility. “You want to be great?” questions Jesus, “Then change your attitude.”
Today might be that opportunity for “We simply take our Baptismal commitment seriously.”
Fr. Jack Conley, CP, is engaged in preaching parish missions and retreats, and serves as local superior of St. Vincent Strambi Community in Chicago, Illinois.