Breakfast for Jesus

Christianity as commitment not contribution

11/27/2021

Lk 21:25-28, 34-36 Jesus said to his disciples: “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on earth nations will be in dismay, perplexed by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will die of fright in anticipation of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. But when these signs begin to happen, stand erect and raise your heads because your redemption is at hand. “Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap. For that day will assault everyone who lives on the face of the earth. Be vigilant at all times and pray that you have the strength to escape the tribulations that are imminent and to stand before the Son of Man.”

A priest-friend of mine, Fr. Erik Pohlmeier, pastor of Christ the King, likes to say that breakfast is the most important meal of the morning. Did you hear about how the chicken and pig prepared breakfast one morning for the farmer and learned how important breakfast is? One day the chicken approached the pig and said, “I have a great idea for something we can do for the farmer! I think the farmer would be very happy if we made him breakfast.” The pig was intrigued, so he asked, “What do you suggest we make?”

The chicken knew he had little to offer, so he said, “I could provide some eggs.” The pig knew the farmer might want more for a meal, so he asked: “That’s a fine start. What else shall we make?” The chicken thought for a moment and answered: “Ham? The farmer loves eggs and ham!” The pig knew what that meant, and said: “Wait a minute! While you’re making a contribution, I am making a total commitment!” In other words, the pig could feel the level of importance of breakfast in the level of his commitment.

Today’s gospel is taken from Luke 21, a section called “The Olivet Discourse.” This is the spectacular speech that Jesus gives his apostles while they spend the night on Mt. Olivet and look across the Kidron Valley at the opposing hill toward Jerusalem, and Jesus foretells its destruction. Jesus describes his second-coming as a cataclysmic and even cosmic event: “People will die of fright of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”

And how are the apostles to prepare? Jesus does not ask them for a mere “contribution” but rather a total “commitment.” In other words, preparing for the Parousia (Jesus’ second-coming) is a lot like making breakfast for the farmer. You can be like the chicken and contribute some eggs, or you can be like the pig and sacrifice everything. And how exactly did the apostles make the supreme sacrifice? They gave up their former way of life in Judaism to embrace a new way of life in Christianity.

You see, Jerusalem, especially the towering Temple at the heart of the city, symbolized the whole world for the Jews. It stood at the center of their cultural universe like the sun in the center of our solar system keeps everything in its orbit. Its total destruction, therefore, which would occur 40 years after Jesus’ prediction, felt like the end of the world to all devout Jews. That was the total sacrifice and commitment Christ was calling the apostles to accept. That is what it means to make breakfast for Jesus; it is not a little contribution of an hour for Mass on Sunday, but a total sacrifice of your whole former way of life, the end of your former universe and the dawn of a new and better universe.

My friends, this Sunday we begin the season of Advent and the Church asks us to prepare for the coming of Christ at Christmas. The four weeks of Advent are supposed to symbolize our whole life of faith, a waiting and watching for Jesus’ return not only at Christmas but at the end of time. And I would invite you to look at Advent and our Christian life in terms of preparing breakfast for Jesus. How so?

Well, we often begin our journey with Jesus like the chicken, trying to make a small contribution. We ask: what is the least I have to give of myself and still make it to heaven? But as we progress in faith we start to feel a desire to give more and more of ourselves to Christ, until he becomes the Lord and Ruler over every inch of our existence. Indeed, we feel like the saints and martyrs, like the pig, eager to lay down our life for our Lord.

Here are a few practical suggestions this Advent to move slowly from being a chicken to being a pig in preparing breakfast for Jesus. First, think of how much money you spend on gifts for family and friends, and try to give at least that much to church and charity. I start saving my stipends in October from baptisms, weddings and funerals to have some funds for Christmas presents. But I try to split that savings between my loved ones and the poor. I’m moving from contribution to commitment in my Christianity.

Another practical preparation is to spend as much time in prayer as you do at parties. Try to attend one daily Mass for each Christmas party you go to this season. If you go to five Christmas parties, then attend five additional daily Masses. The Mass is where the real party is going on. And third, when you watch the Razorbacks, or your favorite team, give up drinking your favorite adult beverage during the game. You may remember more of the game and yell less at the refs. Less contribution and more commitment.

Advent is a season of intense preparation for Christ’s coming not only at Christmas as a Baby, but also in glory at the end of time as a King. While we wait we have work to do: abandoning the attitude of the chicken who tries to get by with a small contribution and adopting the attitude of the pig who wants to give everything, even our own life, out of love for the Lord. This Advent try to be less like the chicken and more like the pig in preparing breakfast for Jesus when he returns in glory. Then, you, too, might start feeling why breakfast is the most important meal of the morning.

Praised be Jesus Christ!