Special Discount

Being a special friend of Jesus by doing the Father’s will

07/24/2018

Matthew 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with him. Someone told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you." But he said in reply to the one who told him, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother."

It’s probably safe to say that while everyone has at least some friends, some of those friends are special friends, closer to our hearts than others, our best friends. Some people these days program different rings into their phone for different names and numbers, so the ring will alert them who’s calling. That way, they can answer the call faster or perhaps slower. For example, I have the Darth Vader theme music as the ring tone for the bishop’s number. Just kidding.

I’m reminded of that humorous scene in Casablanca when Ilsa Lund is distractedly picking up lace fabric at an open market. The eager salesman says: “You will not find a treasure like this in all Morocco, mademoiselle, only 700 francs.” Rick walks up and says, “You’re being cheated.” The man quickly adjusts his price saying, “Ah, for friends of Rick, you can have it for 200 francs.” Then Rick says to Ilsa, “I’m sorry I was in no mood to receive you when you called on me last night.” Then the salesman perks up and adds: “Ah, for special friends of Rick, we have a special discount, 100 francs.” Special friends get special discounts, they get preferential treatment, they hold the key to unlock the door to our hearts.

In the gospel reading, someone tries to superimpose this special friend paradigm on to Jesus’ relationships, asking our Lord for a special discount, a special favor. Someone says: “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with you.” That person sounded like the street vendor in Casablanca, saying, special friends of Jesus should get special discounts, special favors, because they hold the key to unlock his heart. But Jesus answers: “Whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother and sister and mother.” As Jesus stretched our his arm to the crowd, he expanded the category of special friends and indicated all those who try to do God’s will. Kinship with Christ – being as close as a mother or brother – would no longer be determined by class or creed or custom, or even by genealogy, but simply by a desire to do the divine will. Those who seek God’s will hold the key to the Savior’s sacred heart.

My friends, it would take but a moment’s reflection to list any number of our special friends. That’s all well and good. But if you want to include Jesus in that inner circle of yours, then you have to seek God’s will above all else. So ask yourself: do you encourage your friends to ask what God wants to happen in their professional life, in their public life, in their private life? Jesus draws close to us when we carry on those conversations. When we pray the Lord’s prayer, we should zero in on the words, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and really mean those words. That intention brings us into the ambit of Jesus’ special friends. I tell young men and women who want to be a priest or nun: “Do you think God wants you to be a priest or a nun?” That question is more critical than asking, “Do you want to be a priest or nun?” Why? That question puts our vocational discernment – indeed all decision-making – on the rock of God’s will, rather than on the shifting sands of our own will. When I visit an anxious family in the hospital facing the formidable dilemma of ceasing further treatment, I gently suggest: “It’s no use to play tug-of-war with God. If it’s clear God is calling your loved one home, then perhaps it’s time to accept his will.”

It’s probably smart to accept God’s will – rather than our own – as our last act on earth. It’s wise to be among Jesus’ closest kin moments before you see him face to face. Remember: for special friends of Jesus, you get a special discount, called salvation.

Praised be Jesus Christ!