August 22, 2021 (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time)
/“Do Hard Things”
by Deacon John Kerrigan
Although the Tokyo Olympics have concluded, both the electrifying competitions as well as the dramas, large and small, associated with that event are still fresh in my mind. The story of one Olympic athlete in particular, however, stands out in light of today’s readings.
The person that I am thinking about is Athing Mu (“Uhh-thing Mo”), a 19-year-old American middle-distance runner. She is the first US woman in over fifty years to win an Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter event, setting a US record in the process.
Athing Mu’s personal story is fascinating. She is one of seven children whose parents escaped war-torn Sudan to settle in Trenton, New Jersey. But that is a tale for another time. For it is Athing Mu’s practice of using Post-it notes that I want to focus on today. This young woman is an upbeat, level-headed teenager whose habit of using these notes provides some insight into our readings today.
You and I may use Post-it notes to remind ourselves to pick up milk at Costco or to advise our teenage son that it’s time to clean up his room. Athing Mu’s notes, however, focus on something quite different: her goals, the personal and athletic challenges that she faces day-to-day. So, for example, her reminders read like a litany of mountains to scale: “Olympic medalist,” “Go get that Bowerman award,” a reference to the prize given to the most outstanding college track athlete in the nation.
Now, some might judge Athing Mu’s particular practice of using Post-it notes to be just short of pretentious. Not me. Why? Because Athing Mu’s character is anything but arrogant and egoistic. “Running for the fun of it,” was the motto of her high school track club. And before a race a few years ago, she remarked in the teenage lingo of the day, “If it’s within God’s plan, that would be the most epic thing ever.”
So, how does the story of Athing Mu’s Olympic success, as well as her particular practice of using Post-it notes, relate to the message of today’s scripture readings? The association is quite simple: if you or I were to put the message of today’s readings on a Post-it note, the text might read: Do Hard Stuff.
Now, if your life is anything like mine, we both know that there are days when we would much prefer to simply float along and to live from one day to the next, putting off some of those fundamental decisions that we need to make about our lives.
And yes, we have all heard the expression: Not to decide is to decide. This dynamic appears to be at play in the text of our first reading from the Book of Joshua. He has come to the conclusion that the Israelites of his day would prefer to simply drift along rather than to choose the one true God and to make that God their own.
In response, though, Joshua exercises true leadership. He challenges his contemporaries to stop putting off a decision that cannot be avoided and to let the world of their day know where they stand. Likewise, today so many of us struggle with the idea of making any kind of permanent commitment. Our culture advises us to “keep our options open” so as to be free. But true freedom means to be self-determining and what better way to do so than to put down roots? And, by the way, no better way to grow personally and spiritually has yet been found than to put down roots. To say, “I stand here and not there,” “I hold fast to these values rather than a number of others.” And that is just what the Israelites of Joshua’s day did.
Our reading from the Book of Joshua, then, reminds us that we cannot simply keep our foot on the gas pedal until the road ends.
Our gospel story runs parallel to our reading from Joshua. Among the people of Jesus’ day, the Lord’s claims and promises aroused cynicism and ridicule, even contempt. And so there came a moment in time when his followers had to choose and declare themselves. Either they were with him all the way, or they were against him.
For many of his disciples making that choice was not easy. For them and many of the other followers of Jesus could have written this text on their Post-it note: “This teaching is too hard.” In contrast, however, we see Peter, on behalf of his companions, declare: “We renew our commitment,” we will do the “hard stuff.”
Now, how do these two stories apply to the decisions that you and I must make in our personal lives, to our relationships, to our need to speak out on behalf of those who have no voice in our society, to the issues faced by students on this campus, to the plight of people in places like Afghanistan or Haiti? Fundamentally, we have to decide whether we stand with Jesus Christ and his gospel or whether we do not. To stand with his gospel means that we must commit ourselves to “do hard things.”
Making the decision to stand with Jesus and his gospel message is no easier today than making the decision that Joshua and his followers faced 2,500 years ago or the challenge faced by the disciples of Jesus in today’s gospel account. In fact, the decision that we have to make today is probably more difficult because the alternatives to “doing hard stuff” are so attractive.
We might be drawn to success at any cost or be reluctant to disturb the status quo. And there’s the fact that our Catholic Christian values are often judged by our wider society as being terribly outdated.
Committing ourselves to God in the person of Jesus Christ, allowing the Spirit to work in our lives, and living out our Christian faith does not make us grim, humorless automatons, nor do they transform us into what might best be described as “goody two shoes.” No, but the difficult challenge that lies at the heart of doing the hard things is that it is work that none of us wants to do. I can procrastinate with the best of them. And yet, the good news about making commitments and doing the hard things that follow is, well, the Good News. The Good News as in the gospel.
When you and I get better at putting on the mind of Christ, when we develop an ability to enter into a story much broader than our own and to accept the love of a God who so longs for our company, then, and only then, will we find ourselves transformed and more fully human.
For my part, that journey is a daily undertaking, or to be honest, a daily struggle. I find myself needing to hit the “refresh” button every few hours. You and I might do well to subscribe to that Silicon Valley mindset: fail fast and learn quickly. I know, however, that the “learning” part will always be my big challenge.
One word that has probably never appeared on one of Athing Mu’s Post-it notes is “grace.” That’s because grace is a consequence, a result of “doing hard stuff.” For example, during the Olympics, just seconds after Athing Mu won the 800 meter final, the press reported that she appeared more excited about her American teammate Raevyn Rogers’ third-place finish than her own performance. If you watch the replay of the race on YouTube, you will see that scene for yourself. You will also witness Athing Mu going out of her way to thank each of the other women in the race. We used to call that gesture “grace.”
Finally, let me invite you for a moment to picture in your mind’s eye a blank Post-it note and a Sharpie pen in your hand. What hard thing that you need to do or what aspiration of yours would you write down on that note? Would it be to listen to your friends more attentively? Or to be patient with your spouse? Or to welcome a new student at school? To consider making a donation to Catholic Relief Services or another organization that assists refugees? Here’s my Post-it note reminder: Work less during vacation! I know, it’s pitiful.
As we approach the table of the Lord, Christ once again invites us to be his faithful followers and to share in his work. May Peter’s response to Jesus be our own: “Lord, where else will we go? You have the message of eternal life.”
