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The late Fr. Daniel Berrigan was an American Jesuit priest, a peace activist, a poet, and an author. He was a person who put his faith into practice. Daniel stood for a consistent ethic of life, a respect for human life from conception to natural death and an equally strong ethic for the life of the planet. However, with being prophetic comes resistance. He was the first priest on the F.B.I.’s most wanted list. Because of his protests to abortion, his opposition to war (especially the Vietnam War), and his disagreement with the nuclear weapons build-up, he was arrested and imprisoned many times. He once said, “Before you get serious about Jesus, first consider how good you’re going to look on wood.” In other words, before you make a commitment to following Jesus just know, ahead of time, that it won’t be easy, that the Cross will be part of your journey.

The Cross will not be the whole journey, but it will be part of every person’s life. Nobody gets to the resurrection, our ultimate destiny, without first going through the Cross. Fr. Daniel Berrigan willingly accepted the Cross and went to prison for his beliefs in the gospel of Jesus Christ. So did St. Paul 2000 years earlier.

That second reading is entitled: the Letter of Saint Paul to Philemon. Paul writes this letter to a wealthy man named Philemon who was influenced by Paul and subsequently converted to Christianity because he was so impressed with Paul’s faithfulness to Christ. Philemon is rich and owed a slave named Onesimus. Onesimus apparently stole from Philemon and is now considered a runaway slave. As a runaway slave, he goes to Paul and is a great help to Paul. Paul writes a letter to Philemon and asks him to take Onesimus back, even though Onesimus is guilty of stealing. Paul asks Philemon to give Onesimus a second chance. Paul also asks Philemon to receive Onesimus back not as a slave, not as a thief, but as a beloved brother. That is a big ask. Paul is asking Philemon to take faith in Jesus to the next level, even if it costs him something. Slave owners, under Roman law, could punish or kill runaway slaves, especially those who stole from their owners. Paul is aware of Roman law, but he is also aware of Jesus’ law of forgiveness and love. He encourages Philemon to live the gospel and to welcome Onesimus back without any penalty. In Paul’s eyes, Onesimus is not a thief but a child of God in need of redemption. Paul is aware of his own need for redemption, and that’s probably why he says, “Philemon, I am not only sending you Onesimus, but I am also sending you my own heart.”  It’s a gamble on Paul’s part. It’s a gamble on Onesimus’s part, since he doesn’t know if he will be punished. And it’s a gamble for Philemon as he is stretched to go beyond human law of justice and enter God’s law of mercy and forgiveness.

Following Jesus is always a gamble and a stretch. If you are willing to carry the Cross, the Cross that is uniquely yours, then don’t send somebody else the bill.

In the gospel, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. To go to “Jerusalem” is code language for the “Cross.” For it is in Jerusalem that Jesus carries his own cross, his own suffering and death and never sends anybody else the bill. But he is ready, and he asks his followers to be ready as well. He tells the crowd to be ready to not only start following him but also to keep following him through suffering and into glory. In other words, see the project through from beginning to end. He tells his listeners to stock up on material, as a house builder would, from foundation to roof. He tells his listeners to stock up on soldiers as any king would before entering battle. But then comes the kicker that turns all this stocking up, all this preparation, upside down. Jesus says in that last line, “Oh, by the way, once you’ve stocked up on materials (to finish the house) and manpower (soldiers), give up all these possessions and follow me.”

Not only in the U.S., but increasingly throughout the world, our security is in material resources and military resources. That is the way of the world, but it’s just not the way of God’s kingdom. Our fear seems to be that if we don’t have materialism and militarism to rely on, we will have nothing to support our lives. Jesus says, if you love those things—and if you even love brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers—more than you love me, you will never find your true and lasting security–God.

Following God will always feel like a breakdown of logic, the final breakdown of logic. It will always feel like the Cross, like suffering, and like death. Maybe that’s why many of us don’t fully embrace the gospel. Jesus says in another part of the gospel, “You have heard it said, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, but I say to you, if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, give them your cloak as well.” That’s a breakdown of logic. “You’ve heard it said, love your neighbour and hate your enemy (seems logical to me as my enemy hated me first!), but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” That’s a breakdown in logic.

Paul tells Philemon to take Onesimus back not as a thief who deserves punishment but as a beloved brother. That’s a breakdown of logic. It’s madness in the eyes of the world, but it’s the wisdom of God and the way of God’s kingdom.

On one occasion when Fr. Daniel Berrigan was arrested for civil disobedience–because the gospel pushed him in that direction–he was joined in prison for the first time by Fr. Larry Rosebaugh, another anti-war protester. They spent the entire night in prayer. Fr. Daniel’s advice to Fr. Larry was this: “If you can’t do this without becoming bitter and angry at those who arrest you, don’t do it! Prophecy is about making a vow of love, not of alienation.”

If we are committed enough to following Jesus and accept the consequences of carrying the Cross of discipleship, we can never send somebody else the bill.

            Fr. Phil Mulligan

(N.B. Fr. Larry Rosebaugh was later shot to death in Guatemala. Before his death in 2016 at age 94, Fr. Daniel Berrigan starred in the movie “The Mission” alongside actors Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro, and Liam Neeson)