Homilies and Reflections

5 Steps in the Fall From Discipleship

Fr. Alfred McBride, O. Praem.

Readings:
Jon 3, 1-5. 10
1 Cor 7, 29-31
Mk 1, 14-20

The CALL TO discipleship is often followed by the FALL FROM discipleship. We hear of Jona calling the Ninevites to discipleship and Jesus doing the same with Peter and Andrew. Yet after every call there is frequently a fall. Everyone of us has received the call. How many of us have remained totally faithful? Have we not fallen after the calling? What are the steps in such a fall? We can see them in the life of St. Peter.

1. Give up real prayer. Peter had been a macho disciple, promising to protect Jesus and always be his first lieutenant. Yet in the garden of Gethsemane, Peter slept when he was asked to pray. Prayer is a form of love communion with God. When we stop doing it, we begin to lose our enthusiasm for being a disciple. We fall out of love and out of discipleship. Our bodies may be at Mass, but our souls are elsewhere.
2. Substitute action for prayer. When Judas and the soldiers came to arrest Jesus, Peter took an activist stance. He drew a sword and cut off the ear of Malchus. He roared an activist’s defiance. He may not have been good at praying, but he was terrific at violence and action. The only trouble was that to be a disciple of Jesus is to be an advocate of peace, not the sword. Jesus was not looking for bodyguards, but disciples, messengers of peace. Jesus had no interest in the love of power. He wanted disciples who were enchanted by the power of love. Activism, without the love that comes from prayer, degenerates into power plays. It espouses the love of power instead of the power of love.
3. Become uninvolved. After the arrest in Gethsemane, Peter “followed Jesus from a distance.” Now the weakening disciple is not so close to Jesus. The man who would never leave his side will now not even be seen with Christ. Real love demands presence and union. Peter’s love has cooled. He does not want to be present with Christ. Loss of love brings about separation.
4. See physical rather than spiritual satisfaction. Now as Jesus is inside the house of Caiphas, on trial for his life before the Church Court, Peter sits outside, warming himself by the fire. He needs physical comfort for his body, since there is no longer spiritual warmth for his soul. In our own time, the thousands who have left Christ and the Church have turned to the religion of the body. As the psalmist says, “Their god is their belly.”
5. Become defensive and touchy about Christ. People begin to question Peter about his being a disciple of Christ. Peter denies he even knows who Christ is. As the people around the fire press him about his discipleship Peter curses and swears and proclaims, “I am not his disciple.” Think of all the Catholics today who repudiate Christ and the Church with angry and touchy language about the Church. Having lost all sense of discipleship for Jesus and his Church, they become very defensive about the new moral positions. Instead they blame the Church for its faults and lack of identity with contemporary culture. The Church ought to catch up with the modern world.

There is a happy ending to the St. Peter story. He fell from discipleship. He also returned to discipleship. When the cock crowed he realized what he had done. When Jesus came out of the house of Caiphas and “looked at Peter,” he showed Peter with eyes his continuing love and forgiveness. Then Peter received the biblical gift of tears that enabled him to repent. Finally, after Easter, Peter was given a chance to make a triple affirmation of love to replace the triple denial. By the amazing grace of Christ, Peter was brought back to discipleship.

So it must be with us.

We hear about the call to discipleship. We all have fallen away from that call in varying degrees. The importance of today’s call for us is that it is most likely a love call to “return” to discipleship. Hear that call. Accept that love. Come on home.

PRAYER
Blessed Lord Jesus, you call us today to discipleship. You know that we have heard that call before and that we have fallen from the ideals implied in our love for you. So we hear your voice today as an invitation to “return” to discipleship. We are also aware that this call is a grace for us. We ask your power of love to draw us back to you. We want to come home. Give us your hand. Amen.