30th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) – October 29, 2023

St. Paul – Lyons, KS

Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18:2-4, 47, 51; 1 Thessalonians 1:5c-10; Matthew 22:34-40

“What is your biggest challenge as a disciple?”

What is the greatest challenge we face as followers of Jesus Christ? Last week, we were discussing the questions of goal and progress as a follower of Jesus, yeah? “What’s the goal? What are the benchmarks? How do you know you’re ‘getting there’?” And we talked about how—existentially, practically, as a follower of Jesus—the goal is to give heroic witness. And our formation—well, it should be helping us, preparing us to give a heroic witness, even at the cost of our lives. Remember the Thessalonians? 3 weeks with Paul and they were ready to endure persecution. So that’s the goal, those are the benchmarks, that’s how we know if we’re “getting there”: “Am I ready to bear heroic witness to my faith in Jesus Christ?”

But that question begs another question: What is the greatest challenge we face as followers of Jesus Christ? What is the biggest obstacle? What threatens to shut it down? A lot of people will say, “Following the Church’s teaching, especially her moral teachings,” or, “scandals in the Church.” Some might think about the threat of persecution, or people judging you and making fun of you for going through a “Jesus phase.” Others try to give the “right answer,” and say, “Sin,” or, “the Devil.” And some people will just honestly say, “Jesus asks too much.” Ok.

But what is the greatest challenge? You, personally, when you think about following Jesus, what’s your biggest challenge? Your biggest obstacle? Even though you might really want to follow Jesus, “love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind”—what’s the greatest challenge, the biggest obstacle, your greatest enemy?

The philosopher Dallas Willard, he said it this way: “Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day.” Hurry, busyness is the great enemy, the great threat of the spiritual life, our life of faith, our relationship with Jesus, following Jesus—busyness is the greatest challenge we face as followers of Jesus Christ. The number one problem we face is TIME. Most people are just too busy to live emotionally healthy and spiritually vibrant lives. And I’m not just guessing! There was a study of 20,000 people done a few years ago—so a pretty good sample size. And the conclusion of this study? “Busyness is the major block in most people’s relationship to God.”

I mean think: What do most people say when you ask, “How are you? How’s it going?” Most people will respond with some form of, “I’m good. Just…busy! Busy, but good.” Right? High school kids, college kids, young parents, middle aged parents, retirees—everyone is busy! And ironically, if you’re not busy, you’re trying to find ways to busy yourself!

And busy doesn’t mean bad. We have things to do, it’s not like we’re wasting our life playing video games. Busy can be you giving your life in good and meaningful ways. I mean, in that sense, Jesus was a very busy guy! But what I’m talking about is a kind of pathological busyness: not a lot to do, but too much to do.

Now, some of you may be hearing this and thinking: “Nah, I think I have a pretty good balance.” And I would challenge you on that! But do you know who would definitely be nodding their head right now? All of our 25-45 year olds, our moms and dad with children—who aren’t here. Why? Because they’re too busy. Study after study, survey after survey—personal conversation after personal conversation I have—“Well, I’ve just been so busy. Maybe I’ll make it back to church one of these days.” People don’t hate Jesus, or God, not usually. We’re just too busy.

The greatest challenge we face as followers of Jesus Christ—is time. Our busy life is incompatible with a relationship with God. And to overcome that—or probably more accurately, to let go of that, to abandon the “busy” we’re all expected to live—it would be as revolutionary as taking a vow of poverty. In other words, it abandon the life of busyness and hurry that we’ve committed ourselves to—it would turn the world upside down.

Turning the World Upside Down: Time for Union

Last week we started this series called “Turning the World Upside Down.” And as you remember, we stole this line from Acts 17:6. Paul is in Thessalonica, and there these people following Jesus are described as “turning the world upside down.” In other words, their witness, their heroic witness was so palpable that people felt it—people could feel, they could sense something different about them, and word was spreading! That’s what Paul wrote to them in his letter, which we read today. Paul said, “The word of the Lord has resonated out from you…your faith in God has gone out to people everywhere, so that we have no need to say anything.” Their witness was so powerful, Paul didn’t need to preach! People already knew from witness!

And what did they know? What was it, specifically? Paul continued, “They themselves [these people we keep running into]—they openly declare…how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” People are talking about their witness, and how they turned from idolatry to serve the living and true God. This is what was turning the world upside down: they had abandoned the Roman cult; they were centering their lives not on what the dominant culture was centering their lives on, what everyone else was doing. The Thessalonians were moving against the cultural norm, and embracing a completely different life. And it turned the world upside down.

We hear that, though, and I think we think, “Well, I don’t have any idols.” Right? “I don’t have any little gold statues at home that I’m worshiping and burning incense for.” But that’s not what idols look like in our day and age! In the Thessalonians day and age, sure, idols were statues. But more so, the idolatry they turned from were the “cultural norms,” doing what everyone else did. The Thessalonians started violating cultural norms—and it was turning the world upside down!

So think, our idols now, the cultural norms we have now—what idol, what cultural norm if we violated would freak people out? And I’ve been thinking and praying, and the one God keeps bringing up for me: busyness, hurry. What if—just what if—what if we let go of the “idol” of “busy” and began instead to serve the living and true God? That would turn the world upside down. That would be bigger, more extreme, involve greater faith than taking a vow of poverty.

Love & Theosis

Friends: this is a big one. Practically, busyness begins to push God out of our lives. But also, because while the practical goal of our faith is to give a heroic witness, the metaphysical goal, the goal goal, the ultimate goal—it’s union with God, theosis (as the Eastern Church calls it), love. Mother Theresa put it this way: the goal is to be loved and to love. What does Jesus say the two greatest commandments are? “To love God with all your heart, soul, and mind. And to love your neighbor as yourself.” So we’re called into this incredible union with God, God who is himself this eternal exchange of love, and has destined us, created us to participate in that. That’s what we’re wired for!

But who has time for that, am I right? I’m serious, that is the objection I always get: “Father, I just don’t have time to develop this relationship with Jesus. I can barely make time for Mass on Sunday as it is.” And that’s just it. Relationships take time; friendships take time—we know that! They take time. It’s not a coincidence that Paul, in that very famous passage from Corinthians that everyone wants read at their wedding—Paul’s first descriptor of love? “Love is patient.” In other words, “Love is not hurried. It’s not compatible with your pathological busyness.” And since it’s not, God is pushed right out of our life.

The Rule of Sabbath

So what do we do? What’s the solution? There are a lot of things. And I could give you lists and lists of things. But I want to give you just one. The way you do this—at least what church history would say to you and I—is through what the ancient Church called a “Rule of Life.” That’s ancient language, so it sounds a bit strange to us. Not “rules for life,” no. “Rule [singular] of Life.” It was the word similar to our world ruler. “Regula” was the Latin word, as in “regulate.” Linguists argue that it was the word for a trellis that was underneath the vine in a vineyards. So if you can imagine a trellis underneath a vine—a vine needs some kind of a trellis, some kind of a support structure to get it up off the ground in order to create space for it to bear the maximum amount of fruit. We need some kind of a “trellis,” we need some kind of a “support structure,” a “Rule” to to support our following of Jesus. Why? So that we grow and mature, so that we bear fruit; the fruit of love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and all the rest. 

And while you can go build a whole “Rule of Life”—and there are some very good one’s out there—those typically end up in the same place as your long list of New Year’s resolutions. But lucky for us, there is one of these structures that’s woven into the very fabric of reality, built into the nature of the world. And (if that’s not enough) it’s even commanded by God. And that’s the sabbath, the day of rest—Sunday. Instead of trying to establish some huge, intricate, complicated Rule of Life, just start with one thing: reclaim Sunday as the Lord’s Day. Establish a routine, a rhythm for Sundays that is centered on stopping the busy, resting, worshiping, and delighting in life itself.

In the Brungardt household, growing up, we had a very real routine for Sunday. On the evening before, Saturday evening we would grill hamburgers, all while listening to Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, or some Connie Dover. After dinner, when we were younger, we’d watch an episode of Gunsmoke, and when we got older some classic movies. After a solid night’s sleep, we would get up for 10:00am Mass, and go to Mass as a family. Come home and make brunch. And then spend the afternoon doing things we enjoyed. And in the evening, another big family meal. There were ten kids in our house, life was crazy, life was busy. But Sunday? Sunday was sacred, set apart. Sunday was the day of rest, the Lord’s day.

What is Sunday nowadays? The catch-all, catch-up day. It’s a day for watching 12 hours of football. We’re so busy that everything begins to bleed into Sunday. Think: when was the last time you woke up on a Monday refreshed, rested, ready for the week ahead? Or are you usually as tired, if not more tired, than before?

What if you rethought the “weekend”? What if Sunday was the day you looked forward to the most? This is where I think we should begin: start with Sunday, do Sunday really, really well—and watch what it does to the rest of your days, to your week, to your life.

You have to prepare for it: clean your home; go grocery shopping and run any errands before Sunday; make plans to be with your family or community on Sunday. This is very countercultural, so you’re also going to have to say “no” to several things to make it work. And maybe you don’t say “no” to all of them—but, for example, say “no” to a couple of these: your phone, or social media, or TV; shopping or social obligations; sports; Sunday catchup-work; household chores or errands; maybe you turn off your phone for the day. And then, don’t forget to plan a day of delight: plan a feast, or just make pancakes; open a good bottle of wine; play music; drink a cup of coffee with your spouse; take a walk or a nap; eat delicious food; watch the sun rise or set; make a fire; read a book; sing; play a game together; call a friend or family member who lives far away. And of course, worship God: go to Mass as a family, pray together.

Our lives are busy. No one’s denying that. But what if that’s not an excuse? What if that is the problem, our idol we need to turn away from? What if we began to live at a more human pace of existence? I bet it would do a lot more good than you think. And I think people would notice. And, in the best way possible, I think people would look at us and say, “Those people are turning the world upside down.” Why? Because they would recognize a life worth living.