Homily for the 13th Sunday in Ordinary Time: How to be a Successful Christian

Why is it that some people succeed in life and others don’t? Everyone has a dream and a purpose put in them by God, why is it that some don’t realize their dreams? Why is it that some people embrace the faith enthusiastically at some point in life, but later fell along the wayside? Is it that God loves some people more and helps them to succeed and maybe loves others less and allows them to fail? Let us look at some of the reasons given to us in the readings today beginning from the Gospel on how to succeed in this life as Christians.

First, let us look at Jesus as presented to us in the Gospel of Luke chapter 9. How did Jesus successfully accomplish his mission here on earth? We find the answer in Luke’s Gospel chapter 9: 51 where we read, “when the days of his being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem.” The Lord was chosen for this work; he was equipped for the mission, and he prepared for the mission. But when the time came for him to pay the ultimate price, to do what it takes to accomplish this mission, Jesus did not back away; he did not freeze in fear; he did not give excuses, he “resolutely determined” to go up to Jerusalem knowing what awaits him. In other words, Jesus fixed his face definitively on Jerusalem, where he was to lay down his life for his own. There is, as one commentator points out, “an intensity of purpose in completing that divine plan.”

Chapter 9 of Luke’s Gospel is a transitional chapter that shows us the culmination of the Galilean ministry of Jesus, and the beginning of the end for him when he goes up to Jerusalem to die. So, chapter 9 of Luke from verses 51-62 which we heard in the Gospel is part of the section of the Gospel called ‘The Travel Account.’ This section for today’s Sunday culminates in the different responses given by those the Lord had called to share in his ministry, all of whom gave one excuse or another.

In chapter 9 of Luke’s Gospel, we learn of who Jesus is and what Jesus can do for us—healer, teacher, savior, and liberator. But the chapter also offers the disciples lessons on how to successfully follow the Lord. Here, Jesus offers training for the people he will call to follow him who will continue the mission and who will be the witnesses of Jesus not only in Galilee (where he started the ministry), but also in Jerusalem (Acts 13: 31; Acts 10:41). He taught them about the true spirit of service; he taught them that the Son of man will be handed over to men; he taught them about the need to accept each other’s gifts and manifested himself to some of them in the Transfiguration; he feeds the five thousand and Peter confesses that Jesus is the Son of God. All these happen in this chapter and offer us a summary of who Jesus is, his mission on earth, and how he was going to successfully and faithfully accomplish this mission.

In order to successfully carry out this mission, Jesus was resolute and determined. The three would-be followers in Luke 9:57-62 were not ready to embrace the cost of discipleship. Their lack of resolve and determination to accept the conditions of discipleship with their numerous excuses, contrast sharply with the determination and strong resolve of the Lord to go up to Jerusalem to die and to do what it takes in order to realize this mission—through his self-sacrificing love.

Here the Lord offers us three lessons among many on how to be a successful Christian and how to be successful at anything:

The first is that you have to be chosen and called by the Lord for the mission. Some say ‘yes’ to God and are happy; others say ‘no’ to the call and are not so happy. There is a purpose to your life, and there is a place for you in God’s plan even before you were born, God made you for a purpose. You need to find out and discern every day the purpose of your life and you will be happy and fulfilled ever after once you find this treasure. If God calls you for a mission or a particular vocation, God will equip you, train, form, and give you grace for the work. The reason many people are not successful at what they do is that they may be doing the wrong work or they may be doing it in the wrong place or both.

The second lesson for a successful Christian life is exactly what we see in the life of Jesus and in this Sunday’s Gospel, being resolute and determined. The people in the Gospel today who came to Jesus or who were invited by Jesus to follow him had passion, but they lacked perseverance, resilience, resoluteness, and determination. In order to succeed at anything, passion and emotion will not suffice; hard work, discipline, and working constantly at it will bring you small daily successes. Each of us has been chosen to play a role in this life; each of us has a dream and a desire for something, but only the ones who endure to the end, who are working hard at their duty posts, who do not give up easily when they face challenges, failures, and obstacles on the way to realizing their mission, will succeed. Champions don’t quit; they endure; champions do not abandon the mission; they make the effort; success for the Christians does not come while you sleep or while you are getting distracted or wasting your time on vain and unnecessary pursuits; success is God’s gift to each of us for our little efforts at doing what the master sent us to do.

Finally, success comes to you through how you use your freedom and the choices you make.
You succeed and fail by your daily choices. That is the import of our Second Reading in what St Paul writes to the Galatians (Galatians 5: 1): “For freedom, Christ set us free.” You might be on the right mission; you might have the determination, but if you don’t sacrifice a lot of time and pleasure to accomplish your mission; you will not be successful. So, it boils down to having the right attitude and making the right choices at each moment. Being guided by the Spirit means allowing God to use you; giving God permission to use you; not wasting your energy on sinful and evil actions, and freely making the right choices like Jesus; taking the right steps to realize the mission that God has given you in this life.

The good news is that God always comes to help us. Elisha had the help of a good mentor and guide in Elijah, who showed him the way and placed the mantle of honor and mission on his shoulders. We need an Elijah to help us, and we all can be Elijah to mentor others just like Jesus mentored his followers. Elisha dithered initially from doing the work for which he was chosen, but when he realized the one who was calling him, he ran after Elijah and followed the path that God has charted for him. The mantle that Elijah placed on him is the symbol of divine authority, grace, and power that God gives us when God gives us the mission. We all received this mantle of Elijah at baptism. God has set us for success in this life. You must find your own vocation;
you must resolutely embrace this mission like Jesus, and every day freely decide to make the right choices, take the right steps, and make the needed sacrifices to go up like Jesus to the mountain top—the heavenly Jerusalem, our destiny—

© Stan Chu Ilo, June 25, 2022.