My 2nd Homily, on October 15th, 2006 at St. Therese Church Chicago

CROSSROADS (28^th Sunday in O.T. Year B: Mark 10:17-30)

There are 4 people at the crossroads of their lives. Two persons turned back, one remained stay, and the last one is still under consideration.

The first person is a man of our Gospel’s story today. He is a good man whom Jesus talked to and loved. He asked Jesus: “Good Teacher”, he said: “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Although wealthy, he had the insight that wealth was not the answer to life. He is a good man. Jesus presents him with a crossroads decision. If you really want eternal life, Jesus challenges him: LET GO. Let go of your wealth, sell what you have, and be my disciple. The issue was choosing between the good and the better. Quietly, he turned around and moved away. He had chosen and simply said: NO.

The second person also said NO. He lived two thousand years after the first man. He was a good man. He was famously called as a secular humanist. He did not embrace any religion even though he says some beautiful things about religion. But, he simply did not believe in God. He remained unbeliever and he still turned back at a crossroad of his life saying NO.

The third person at the crossroad said YES, although a very reluctant YES. He, like the first two men, was a good man. He had such a wonderful religious experience that finally he converted to Christianity. He said YES to Jesus.

I said in the beginning that it is a story of four people at the crossroads of their lives. Two, as we have heard, said NO, one said YES, and the other is under consideration. The one under consideration is YOU and ME. Like all the others, we are good people but always – always we stand at the crossroad waiting to be not merely good people, but DISCIPLES.

To be DISCIPLES sometimes is not easy because we know that Jesus says: “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me.” The cost of discipleship requires sacrifice and radical efforts. As we read on the bulletin today, there are disciples who died because of this cost of discipleship, which is their own life.

But, I believe in our life, most of us here, we don’t have this great challenge that requires our own life. Our challenge would be our own commitment to our faith to be put into practice in our daily life. How we relate to others (family members, co-workers, other parishioners and alien people) in view of Jesus’ teaching with love in forgiveness, mercy and perseverance that sometimes causes us conflict that bothers our heart and mind. Often times we fall in our egoism to win our own point of view and desire and consider that others are wrong and less than us. We’re too proud of ourselves. We’re called to a minor martyrdom of being openly counted as good Catholics. We’re called to conversion little by little in daily basis that we have to face in front of us. We’re called to be better disciples.

How many times do we all stand at the crossroad? How many times does Jesus tell us he loves us….and then ask for a bit more? “Sell what you have, your time, your reputation, your fears, your hesitancy, your insecurities, your need to be one of the crowds, your future then come, follow me.” All of us know, deep down, that almost daily we stand at the crossroads. All of us are aware that Jesus has issued us an invitation.

True, we say, we are under consideration. We (YOU and I) are standing on the crossroads, under consideration. Jesus says, “Don’t wait too long.” Otherwise we are going to be hit by cars. We better move to Jesus who is the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE and saying YES, YES, YES. Let us humbly walking with God passing the crossroad of our life. Amen.