Yes or No

Knowing when to say yes to Jesus

Luke 5:27-30

Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post. He said to him, “Follow me.”  And leaving everything behind, He got up and followed him. Then Levi gave a great banquet for him in his house, And a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.

            You know, occasionally, I’ll have to ask someone to volunteer for a ministry in the parish, like usher or Eucharistic minister or cub scout leader.  And do you know what some people answer?  They say, “No.”  Can you believe it?  Hard to imagine isn’t it?  Some people think, “Who could possibly say ‘no’ to you, Father John??"  Well, let me tell ya, the list is long!  Now, the really clever people say things like: “Well, Father, I can’t do that, but maybe my wife could help.”  Or, they’ll answer, “I have a friend who would be perfect for the job!”  We thereby throw our wife or friend “under the bus.”  Of course, we can’t say “yes’ to every petition that people propose, and so the hard part is knowing when to say “yes” and when to say “no.”  Just don’t say “no” to me.

            In the gospel today, we see how people respond when Jesus calls them.  Jesus calls Levi to follow him as a disciple.  You’ll remember that Levi and Matthew are two different names but refer to the same person.  Now, the gospel says, “Leaving everything behind, Levi got up and followed him.”  After all, who would say “no” to Jesus, right?  Wrong.  In the 16th century, the Renaissance painter, Caravaggio, painted this same gospel scene of Levi's calling, but included this exquisite detail.  Levi is seated at his custom’s post when he sees Jesus pointing to him, clearly calling him.  But Levi's own finger is pointing, too, at a younger man beside him, as if to say, “Sorry, I’m busy at the moment, but this guy would be perfect for the job!”  Sound familiar?  Of course, we know Levi eventually follows our Lord, and ultimately dies a martyr’s death.  You see, whether we live in the 16th century or in the 21st century, or in any century, it’s hard to know when to say “yes” and when to say “no,” even to Jesus.

            Did you know that Jesus is calling you, too?  Jesus is always calling us in a general sense to deeper discipleship.  That’s what Lent is about: listening to our Lord’s call and through prayer, penance and helping the poor, and becoming better disciples.  But Jesus also calls us explicitly, like to the vocation to the priesthood, or to the diaconate, or to be a nun or sister, or to go on a mission trip, or to work in a prison ministry.  You know what's funny?  We all know we need more vocations to the priesthood, but some parents say, “Sorry, my son is busy, but the neighbor’s boy next door would make a perfect priest!”  Call someone else.

             May I share another delicious detail about that Caravaggio painting?  Jesus’ hand that’s pointing to and calling Levi is very similar, really identical, to the hand that Michaelangelo painted for God the Father as he’s pointing to and creating Adam and Eve in the Sistine Chapel.  Caravaggio’s point is inescapable: Jesus doesn’t just call Levi, he re-creates and re-makes Levi into a new creation, namely, the disciple named Matthew.  Jesus doesn't just call, he creates.  That’s why it says in John 5:19, “The Son can only do what he sees his father doing.”  Like Father, like Son.  The hard part for us is always knowing when we should say “yes” and when we should say “no.”

            Praised be Jesus Christ!