My youngest daughter is now old enough to begin driving. We have already started looking for a program to enroll her in so that she can do so. It has reminded me of memories of my past. When I began driving, the first thing I had to learn was that you tend to go where you look. When we look to the left, often, our hands will subconsciously steer the car that way. Everyone who drives had to learn that even though you must watch the sides for kids and deer, you need to keep your focus on the road. You have to look ahead to ensure the car is going straight. That’s similar to this statement from Jesus about discipleship. He says no one who puts their hands on a plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. It reminds us of Lot’s wife, who looked back in longing for Sodom and Gomorrah. The terror she saw then turned her into a pillar of salt. It also reminds us that if you are standing behind a plow, trying to make a straight row, and looking backward, you’ll end up veering just like with a car.
That’s the essence of what all three of these readings are telling us. Each of them tells us that discipleship comes at a cost. It’s not easy. We can’t be looking back at our life before Jesus and longing for those things. We can’t place our things, rituals, or family bonds above Christ and His call. That’s why we look to the Church, the Tradition and Magisterium, the Catechism, and the Scriptures to learn how to live our lives. Anything less means we can veer off course because we let our gaze focus to the left or right. The word sin itself can be translated as “to miss the mark.” That has the connotation of an arrow flying to the target by not hitting the center. What seems like a minor swerve off course right in front of you can be ultimately off the mark when you move back a couple of hundred yards.
When we look at the old testament, we see Elijah and Elisha. Elisha took his oxen and slaughtered them. He burned all his work tools. He made sure he had nothing to look back to and no job to fall back on. He committed himself fully to following Elijah but then asked can I go back and kiss my father goodbye? Elijah allowed him to do so. Jesus shows us that discipleship to Him is even more demanding. He implies that postponing our commitment to God is tantamount to rejecting it. We are to be fully committed, placing our discipleship to Christ first and foremost in our lives. That worship of God, communion with the Holy Spirit, should be above all things.
The world tries to convince us that we should follow what feels right and do what we like. We are reminded today that freedom in Christ means making the hard choices. It doesn’t mean we are free to do whatever we want but do what we ought. That’s an important distinction. Our Christian lives do not only exist in this place, where we gather to worship and commune with God. We are behind the plow 24/7. We should be witnesses of God’s glory with our eyes fixed firmly on heaven.
When we fail to do that or miss the mark, we should seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation to cleanse us of our sin and refocus our eyes by encountering Jesus in the confessional.
The love of Christ can only flow through us into the world when we begin to live a life that is looking directly at the target. When we begin to steer straight, not swerving, not looking back, but allow Christ to work through us and in us, a culture of life begins to form around us. That is when we become a signpost that points directly to Christ. We cannot make excuses, and it won’t be easy. So many Christians today think Jesus did away with discipline and self-control, but he did the opposite. He placed Himself at the center of our lives. In the Eucharist, we encounter the same Christ who says those words to us today. That Amen we say in response to the Minister who lifts Christ before us is an agreement.
It is an “I believe.” It is a moment when our eyes are fixed on Christ before us, about to be received into our bodies. Don’t look back. We have to mean that Amen. We must do whatever it takes to keep our bodies driving straight down the road along the path Jesus has revealed to us through and in His Church. Anything less may not even seem like a big deal now, but over time and distance, it could cause us to miss the target completely.
A Homily for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: June 26th, 2022