Saturday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
I recall that during my senior year of high school one of the most popular and influential albums was 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Tryin.'" I know, that's a fairly odd antidote by which to begin today's reflection, but hear me out. Selling over 9 million copies to date, it seemed like everyone I knew had a copy of this seemingly must-have hip hop album. And if you didn't have a copy, not to worry, because it was likely that you still knew the words (or at least the edited version of those words) due to its frequent plays on the radio and its quick infiltration into mainstream pop culture. The high degree of profanity found throughout the entire album seemed to be a fair price to pay for impressive rhyming schemes, borderline poetic lyrics, and strong percussion. I even remember one of my close friends getting in trouble for listening to the album at home. Upon hearing some of the album's profanity, his father interjected, asking simply, "How can you listen to that?!" My friend responded by saying, "Dad, yes, I don't appreciate the vulgarity, BUT..." I don't recall if it was the "poetry" or the "beat" that my friend appealed to in order to offset the admitted vulgarity, but I remember agreeing wholeheartedly with my friend's defense.
Less than one year after high school, I underwent a radical conversion catalyzed by my future wife's zeal for the Lord. While both inquisitive and arrogant, I asked her once where the bible condemned cussing, confident that there was no such verse. Without much hesitation she offered me today's Gospel passage from the Sermon on the Mount: "Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.'" I was caught off guard by that simple statement. Although a verse specifically regarding oaths as such, it says much about the use of language as a disciple. If we are to live simply, live holy, and live with integrity, our language should naturally reflect this lifestyle. Simple, I know, but revolutionary if you've never considered it before. I could never again bring myself to listen to my beloved "Get Rich or Die Tryin" CD. My reasoning was as simple as my own language was becoming: "How can I listen to that and follow Him?" My friend's defense of "yes, but..." all of a sudden seemed silly and inconsistent- perhaps slightly hypocritically, as we would both readily profess ourselves to be Catholic. All Christ wanted was "Yes", nothing more.
I believe there's a certain recklessness in being a disciple- what Bonhoeffer would call "single-minded obedience." There's a singular focus on Christ that somehow changes everything else and fosters an attitude and lifestyle of "YES!" - an attitude of "all in", "sold out", "not looking back", "dying to the old man", and "following Him at all costs." This attitude, sustained by grace, is to be reflected in both our actions and our language, calling both to reform, surrender, and consistency in the name of Christ. In today's first reading from 1 Kings, this attitude of "Yes" is particularly exemplified by Elisha, who promptly responds to Elijah's call- even destroying his plow and oxen to give further credibility and clarity to his "Yes."
The question for us today is this: Do we live out and speak out this attitude of "Yes"? Or do we instead live out a discipleship that is best described as "Yes, but..." by placing conditions and exceptions on our discipleship? Are there areas of our life that we are still unwilling to surrender to Christ? Or maybe we find ourselves acting or speaking differently when we're not in a Church setting and, in the words of the popular Florida Georgia Line song, "cuss on them Mondays and pray on them Sundays." My brothers and sisters, today may our 'Yes' mean 'Yes' and our 'No' mean 'No.' Christ wants our "Yes", nothing more. Mary, our model in living out and speaking out this attitude of "Yes", pray for us. Amen.
Ryan J. Mahle