Imagine an athlete who had just hired a trainer and then told the new trainer that he wanted to train just enough to be somewhere in the middle of the pack when compared to all the other athletes and in fact, he was only going to make a half-hearted effort. That trainer would think he had lost his mind. Why? It’s against the purpose or mission, against the very fabric or make-up of a competitive, professional athlete. It just wouldn’t make any sense.
Likewise, “Imagine a boy who thinks he loves a girl but fails to visit her and never wants to; who never speaks to her or even about her. Again, it wouldn’t make any sense at all.
Such a mixture of affirmation and negation also often underlies these questions so frequently addressed to religious people: I do believe in God, but why do I have to believe Christ was God… Can’t I just talk to God when I feel like it and live my own life, trying to be as good a possible.?” (Randa Chervin)
The word “Mediocre” comes from medius (“middle”) and ocris (“rugged mountain”). A wise priest I know said in a homily that mediocrity is kind of like if someone started to hike up a mountain then half way to the goal or peak, while standing on a plateau or switchback and overlooking a beautiful vista, that person then says “I have arrived!” or perhaps “This is good enough!” without ever looking up to see the actual peak is still far above. If you’ve ever been out to the foothills of Denver or at the base of a ski resort you never actually see the beautiful peaks of the mountains in front of you, not at least until you get up into them.
I assume since you are reading this that you love God and want to get to know Him better. Yet, do you promise God your best, your VERY best or are you happy just to run in the middle of the pack, or think that you love God but put nothing into an actual relationship? I read a quote from Mother Angelica. It was “I’m not afraid to fail…I’m scared to death of dying and having the Lord say to me, ‘Angelica, this is what you might have done had you trusted more.”
What would you be doing differently today if you trusted Our Lord 100%, if you put your life 100% into His hands? What would your business look like today if you trusted God more? What would the culture of your organization be like, if you lead it in a more Christ-like manner? As a Catholic business owner, CEO, president are you going all out? You do know that Christ asks this of you.
So, before Christ ascended to heaven his disciples were “all in”. How “all-in”? The original disciples went to their martyrdom and John dies after being banished on an island. Now, that’s all in!
“No person will die for something known to be a lie.”
- Peter died crucified upside down in Rome.
- Andrew was martyred by being scourged then tied rather than nailed to an X-shaped cross in Greece
- James was beheaded by King Herod near Palestine
- Early tradition says that John was banished to Patmos by the Roman authorities and died there of old age.
- Philip was impaled by iron hooks in his ankles and hung upside down to die in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis.
- Bartholomew is also known as Nathaniel was flayed alive (skinned) and then beheaded in Asia Minor.
- Matthew was staked or impaled to the earth by spears and then beheaded.
- Thomas was stabbed by a spear in India.
- Simon the Zealot was crucified.
- Jude was crucified in Persia.
- Matthias was stoned then beheaded.
The disciples were not ashamed of Christ and were willing to die for their faith. No person will die for something known to be a lie.
St. Mark taught that the “cowardly” are not those who are fainthearted in their faith or who sometimes doubt or question, but those who turn back from following God. They are not brave enough to stand up for Christ; they are not humble enough to accept His authority over their lives. They are put in the same list as the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the liars, the idolaters, the sexually immoral, and those practicing magic arts.
What will the Lord say to you when he meets you at your time of death? Hopefully, it’s not “Well…… you didn’t compete very well in my name, in fact, you didn’t finish the race because you never really entered it, and you kept the faith when convenient for you. (2 Timothy 4 6-8.) I imagine that would be an uncomfortable conversation to have with Christ.
