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_{Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
September 23, 2007}
 

          Cal Ripken was a star infielder for the Baltimore Orioles major league baseball team.  He holds the record for consecutive games played: 2,131.  That means that over a span of 13 years, he did not miss a single game!

          A host of celebrities, including the President of the United States, was on hand to celebrate the event.  When the record became official in the fifth inning of the game, an incredible celebration broke out.  For 22 minutes, the fans at Camden Yards applauded and celebrated.  Midway through the applause the usually reserved Ripken began jogging around the stadium, touching hands of fans as he passed.

          All this time TV announcers for ESPN remained silent, allowing the camera to tell the story.  More amazing yet, games around the country stopped as fans in stadiums as far away as California stood and applauded.

          Baltimore sportswriter James Bacik observed that no baseball record, including Barry Bond's breaking Hank Aaron's career home-run record, generated such national enthusiasm.  That raises a question.  What caused the nation to get so excited about Ripken and his record?  Bacik suggests three reasons.

          First, Ripken was a model of commitment to his profession.  He approached baseball with the dedication of a CEO of a Fortune 500 company.  He went to the ballpark early to prepare mentally and physically.  After the game, he left the ballpark late, because he obliged the many fans who were waiting in line for his autograph.

          Second, Ripken is a model of commitment to his family.  He is happily married to a lovely wife and spends a lot of time with his kids.  This includes driving his daughter to school daily, even on his game days!

          Finally, he is a model of commitment to Baltimore and its fans.  Bacik writes:  "After becoming a star, he had opportunities to become a free agent and sign with other teams for more money, but he chose to remain in Baltimore...Over the years he has expressed his commitment to Baltimore by raising and donating millions of dollars each year to local charities."

          Ripken's commitment to baseball brings to my mind St. Paul's famous athletic analogy found in First Corinthians  (9:25-27).  There Paul exhorts us to imitate the commitment of dedicated athletes, saying:  "Every athlete in training submits to strict discipline, in order to be crowned with a wreath that will not last; but we do it for one that will last forever.  That is why I run straight for the finish line...to keep myself from being disqualified after having called others to the contest."

          This brings up today's Gospel.  There Jesus takes up the whole question of Christian commitment and service.  He ends with this surprising statement:  "No servant can serve two masters.  He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve both God and mammon."

          In other words, Jesus is saying that when the chips are down, our priority has to go to one or the other.  It can never be shared.  We cannot choose both!

          Jesus reiterated this message in Matthew's Gospel story of the rich young man.  Recall that he had kept the Ten Commandments from his youth.  One day he came to Jesus and asked what more he should do. Jesus answered:   "If you want to be perfect, go and sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven; then come and follow me.  When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he was very rich." (Mt. 19:21-22)

          When the rich young man found himself between a rock and a hard place, he had to choose.  He couldn't have both.  So he ended up choosing the treasures of this world over the treasures of heaven.

          The Holy Word of God tells us the same thing today.  "No servant can serve two masters.  You cannot serve both God and mammon."  God tells us today that each one of us here in this church must choose!

          We come together as a faith community of God's children to hear the Word of the God proclaimed and to be nourished with the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ at the table of the Lord.  We've come together to support one another.  I pray that each one of us will choose the treasures of heaven over the treasures of this world:

Lord, open our ears to your word, even when it challenges us more than we want to be challenged.

          Lord, open our minds to your word, even when it disturbs us more than we want to be disturbed.

          Lord, help us live out your word, even when it means changing our lives more than we want to change them.

          Lord, help us serve you as you deserve!