Comedian or Christian

Learning to put our faith into action

9/13/2021

Lk 7:1-10 When Jesus had finished all his words to the people, he entered Capernaum. A centurion there had a slave who was ill and about to die, and he was valuable to him. When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave. They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.” And Jesus went with them, but when he was only a short distance from the house, the centurion sent friends to tell him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you enter under my roof. Therefore, I did not consider myself worthy to come to you; but say the word and let my servant be healed. For I too am a person subject to authority, with soldiers subject to me. And I say to one, Go, and he goes; and to another, Come here, and he comes; and to my slave, Do this, and he does it.” When Jesus heard this he was amazed at him and, turning, said to the crowd following him, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” When the messengers returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

American history is blessed by past presidents who possessed the gift of gab. That is, their words not only touched hearts but also changed history. At the top of everyone’s list of such presidents would be George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and John F. Kennedy. I recently read a book called “The Great American Documents,” which stated very patriotically: “The United States of America was the first nation in the world created by the pen as well as the sword.”

In other words, what made these presidents so popular was not only the wealth of their words, but also the richness of their actions: leading us through the Revolution like Washington, the Civil War like Lincoln, and bringing us back from the brink of World War III in the Cuban Missile Crisis like Kennedy. If all you have is the gift of gab and no virtuous actions, you are little more than a comedian. Jerry Sienfeld should run for president. Actually, he might make a great one. Great presidents, therefore, wield both words and deeds, both the pen and the sword.

Today, September 13, the Church celebrates the feast of St. John Chrysostom. His name, “Chrysostom” literally means in Greek “golden tongue,” because he, too, had the great gift of gab. St. John Chrysostom not only moved the hearts of his hearers in his homilies but also changed the history of the Church by bringing others closer to Christ.

Most people do not know, however, that St. John was also a great ascetic, that is, he practiced mortification and penances. For example, in 375, he became a hermit and spent two years continually standing, scarcely sleeping and committing the Bible to memory. St. John knew that not only great nations, but also the Church must be created by the pen and the sword, by a wealth of words, but also be deeds of self-sacrifice. But only when you turn that sword against your own sins do you go from being a comedian to being a Christian.

Today’s gospel is taken from Luke 7, and one of my favorite stories, because we quote those words at every Mass. The Roman centurion wants Jesus to heal his servant, but like a professional soldier who knows that Jesus also commands armies, he says: “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof…but say the word and let my servant be healed.” Do you recognize those words in the Mass? Of course, we say them right before Holy Communion, when Jesus is about to “come under our roof” and enter our mouth, and our heart, and our life.

But that centurion was no empty talker, he was no comedian, but rather a sincere Christian. How so? Well, the elders of the Jews urged Jesus to help him saying: “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and built our synagogue for us.” Isaiah had prophesied this precise moment predicting: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).

And that is why Jesus was so impressed and exclaimed: “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” In other words, faith requires much more than the gift of gab; we must wield the pen but also the sword, and turn the sword against our own sins. That is the only way we still stop being comedians and start becoming Christians.

My friends, do you have the gift of gab? Do you like to hear yourself talk? Well, that is not necessarily a bad thing and you can wield those words in very healthy and even holy ways. But if you want to be considered not only a comedian but also a Christian, you must pick up the pen as well as the sword. And here is the crucial difference between creating a country and creating a Christian: we turn the tip of the sword against our own hearts and wage war against our own sins and selfishness. That is the only way to go from being a comedian to becoming a Christian. And I’m still writing in Jerry Seinfeld for our next president.

Praised be Jesus Christ!