Passing the Baton

Praying for the success of the next generation

08/03/2021

Mt 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” He said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over – twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Sooner or later we must all “pass the baton,” meaning we cannot be large and in charge all the time. We must relinquish our authority and allow another to don the mantle of leadership. But passing the baton is not that easy to execute. Just ask the U.S. Olympic 4x400 relay team. Did you hear about how they were almost disqualified for a bad baton pass from Elijah Godwin and Lynna Irby? Fortunately, the disqualification was overturned. Still, it illustrates how precarious that passing the baton can be.

My family is experiencing the passing of the baton – not in an Olympic sense, of course – as my parents move to Springdale. They are leaving behind a large home they have lived in for almost 40 years and moving into a smaller home that belongs to my brother. Paul, my brother, will take care of paying the bills, maintaining the home, etc. Now, that may seem like a sweet exchange for my parents, but it was not so easy to pass the baton and relinquish control over their own home to someone else. I am so proud of my parents for the humility they have shown in this handoff. It is never easy to pass the baton, and let someone else run the race.

Today’s gospel is primarily about Matthew’s account of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish. Nonetheless, it is preceded by a brief verse about the baton being passed from John the Baptist to Jesus. We read in Mt 14:31, “When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself.” That verse can easily escape our notice but it is supremely significant. Why?

Well, it comes right in the middle of Matthew’s gospel, in chapter 14, and we know Matthew has a total of 28 chapters. It is, therefore, a pivotal chapter where John has stopped running the race and passed the baton to Jesus, who is ready to take off. It would be no exaggeration to say the Old Testament has come to an end with the death of John the Baptist and passed the baton of the Good News to the New Testament. And passing the baton is never easy to execute; indeed, it cost John his life when he was executed by King Herod.

My friends, where are you right now in the relay race of your life? Are you carrying the baton of responsibility and feeling large and in charge of things? Well, good for you, but do so humbly and with a sense of doing God’s will more than your own. It helps to remember you were once not in charge of anything and one day will have to pass the baton to another. That is how I feel as pastor of this amazing parish. It was not long ago I was not carrying the baton of being pastor, and one day I will hand that baton to another priest. That is why I always say be nice to the associate priests here because they may come back one day and be your pastor.

Perhaps you are in the position of a young person who has never held the baton and cannot wait to carry it. Dc. Daniel who was here for the summer, cannot wait to be ordained and carry the baton of pastoral ministry, and someday be a pastor himself. I simply smile at his enthusiasm and think, “Son, that baton is heavier than it looks.” An out-going CEO of a major company advised the in-coming CEO: “95% of the decisions you make can be made by a relatively intelligent 17 year old. But you will be paid for the other 5%.” In other words, don’t be too ready to reach out to grab the baton of leadership.

Or perhaps you are like my parents and have already passed the baton to others, the younger generation. I pray you will find peace as you hand it off to others. Carrying the baton does not comprise the whole of your life, but only the middle section. Remember how Moses handed the baton on to Joshua his apprentice. David handed the royal baton to his son, Solomon. And Elijah handed the prophetic baton to his protégé Elisha. And in each case, the successor did more than his master. So, too, pray for the next generation, like my parents pray for their children, to do more than they did.

It is never very easy to pass the baton, as the U.S. Olympic relay team recently demonstrated. It is easy to be disqualified. May we not be disqualified as we pass the baton from one generation to the next. And may the next generation run faster than we did.

Praised be Jesus Christ!