HAVE TO OR WANT TO?

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 28th Monday in Ordinary time is, “Have To or Want To?”

There are two types of people, “Those who have to and those who want to.”

There are two types of people who come to Mass: “Those who have to and those who want to.”

There are two types of people at meetings, “Those who are there because they have to be there and those who want to be there.”

Sometimes we join an organization – or we volunteer for something – and then ugh! It’s horrible. We’re stuck. Some people know how to bow out gracefully and sometimes some people just silently disappear. Then there are those who remain in the group and they hate every minute of it.

When I got to our major seminary, someone came up to me the first day and asked me if I wanted to help with the horses. I was new and ready for everything and just finished a year in our novitiate, so I said, “Yes!” The result was I shoveled horse manure one week a month – early morning going down to our barn and feeding Alan, Rusty and Lady – every evening going down and cleaning them, feeding them and shoveling out their mess. I stayed with it for 6 years – going there 14 times a month – not freely – but out of obligation.

As priest I have discovered that lots of people stay married to someone who is much different than expected – and do it out of duty – because of their word or their commitment – or their children – or out of not wanting to be labeled, “Divorced,” “A bad person,” or “Someone with bad judgment.”

TODAY’S READINGS

Paul – when he was Saul – pursued and tried to destroy Christians out of duty – out of righteousness – out of compulsion. He practiced his religion with a vengeance – keeping the law – and every iddy bit of the law.

So in today’s first reading we hear Saul – now Paul – freely giving us his advice – from what he learned in life. Today’s first reading ends with these words, “For freedom Christ set us free; so stand firmand do not submit again to the yoke of slavery.”

In today’s first reading Paul says we have a choice to be children of Hagar or children of Sarah – children of the “Slave Woman” Hagar or children of the “Free Woman” -Sarah.

I love it that Sarah laughed.

I have discovered that those who are free can laugh.

Looking at your life: are you doing what you’re doing freely or out of duty and slavery. Do you find yourself often laughing freely – or are you a stiff? A complainer? A whiner? Unable to laugh?

FATHER FLYNN

Yesterday I was on duty. I had baptisms – a few other things – and mass here at 5 for the high school kids. I was hoping big time that the duty phone would not ring – that there would not be a call to the hospital. I especially needed time to work on a different homily for the evening mass – different from my morning homily.

Surprise – Father Pat Flynn comes up to me and says, “Let me have the duty phone. I want to go up to the hospital, because we’re going to be up at that meeting in New Jersey all this week – and I want to make sure any new patients see a priest.

He was being a child of Sarah; I was being a child of Hagar.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel we have reference to Jonah. If there ever was someone who felt stuck – asked to do something – that he felt was a duty, an obligation, it was Jonah. He got on a ship and headed the other way from Nineveh.

And as the parable of Jonah unfolds in the scriptures God delivers him by force to Nineveh and surprise, surprise, everyone repented after he preached.

I hope he laughed and laughed and laughed and learned to preach and do life out of joy and laughter – than out of duty and “ugg I hate doing this”! Amen.

CONCLUSION

All of us are away this week at a big meeting. I’m going out of mixed feelings – out of some have to feelings and out of some want to feelings. I’m going to meet some good friends and catch up with them – what’s happening in their lives – and I assume there will be some sessions I’ll be at out of duty.

I laugh realizing that. Welcome to life 101.