Say Everything Twice

Imitating how Christ obeyed God’s command perfectly

04/24/2024

Jn 12:44-50 Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in the one who sent me, and whoever sees me sees the one who sent me. I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness. And if anyone hears my words and does not observe them, I do not condemn him, for I did not come to condemn the world but to save the world. Whoever rejects me and does not accept my words has something to judge him: the word that I spoke, it will condemn him on the last day, because I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. So what I say, I say as the Father told me.”

I watched a really cool submarine movie a couple of days ago called “Hunter Killer.” Have you seen it? I really liked it but Rotten Tomatoes, which grades and ranks movies, only gave it a 67%. That would be like you getting a 67% in Mr. Jones’ history test, and that would be bad. But I still loved it for two reasons. First, it had one of my favorite actors, Gerard Butler, who by the way, played King Leonidas in the movie about Sparta called 300. And the second reason is because he is commander of a submarine called the USS Arkansas. So, I knew it would be a great movie because Arkansas is in it!

One memorable scene really left me thinking a lot. Captain Glass (played by Gerard Butler) and the USS Arkansas are being chased by two Russian torpedoes about to sink her. Glass gives the command: “Navigation report to bearing Tampa Bay. We’re going to run straight at her.” Now Tampa Bay was a downed American sub and the captain had ordered the Arkansas to head straight for her at full speed on a collision course.

His first officer asks alarmed, “The Tampa Bay, sir?” Glass says back coldly: “If I have to say everything twice we’re not going to make it.” In other words, Glass needed his first officer to execute his commands immediately and without question or they would die. This almost “blind obedience” is what makes a military effective and ultimately victorious. Obedience to commands is the cornerstone of every great army.

In the gospel today we see Jesus obeying without hesitation and without question what his heavenly Father commands. He says: “The Father who sent me commanded me what to say and speak…So what I say, I say as the Father told me.” Think of Jesus like the first officer on the USS Arkansas. And the sub’s commander, God the Father, never had to repeat a command he gave. That obedience to commands is the cornerstone of Christianity.

But Adam and Eve, and you and I, do exactly what the first officer in the movie did. We hesitate, we question, we procrastinate, and we try to get out of doing what we are told. But not Jesus. He is the Word of God, which means God’s command and Christ’s obedience are one and the same. In other words, there is no space, or gap, or light, between God’s will and Jesus’ perfect obedience. That immediate obedience is what Glass always expected from his first officer, and what God always got from Jesus.

Boys and girls, how fast or how slow are you to obey orders or rules here at Trinity? Every time I walk into Trinity – and that is not as often as I wish I could! – I see sweatshirts, jackets, lunch boxes, drink cups, etc. in the entry foyer. How many times has Mr. Edwards or Mrs. Rinke asked you to pick up those items? At basketball practice, how many times have Coach Williams, Coach Bishop, and Coach Meares told you to run certain plays but you forgot or were too lazy?

By the way, last week I was in Little Rock and visited Fr. Daniel whom some of you may remember. He gives me tennis lessons each time I see him. I told him I found myself hitting the ball too close to my body, something called “T-Rex arms.” He said, “As I have told you a thousand times, you have to take small steps to position yourself to hit the ball correctly.” So, even when we want to obey a command (like I did), it is hard, or we forget, or we are too tired, or our feet won’t move. The spirit is willing but the feet are weak!

As we come to the end of this school year, try to think of that riveting scene from the movie “Hunter Killer” and Captain Glass’s advice: “If I have to say everything twice, we’re not going to make it.” The cornerstone of Christianity is obedience to God’s command. The cornerstone of Trinity is obedience to the commands of the leaders of this school. Obedience is what makes an army great, and it will be what makes this school great.

Praised be Jesus Christ!