After 52 long years, the Cleveland curse has come to an end! Yes, how about that? I never thought it would happen. And it came from one of our local boys from Akron, Ohio, LeBron James! LeBron James joined the NBA when he was just out of high school. He was 18 years old when he entered the NBA Draft and was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He stayed with us for the first seven years. We all remember, after not winning a championship, he finally decided to leave Cleveland. We saw it as the biggest betrayal. LeBron James left us and he went to Miami, Florida. He went on to win two championships for them while he was there. But the Prodigal Son would return home. He came back two years ago, and he came back with a promise. His promise was he was going to bring a championship to Cleveland. Now, two years later, he has realized that dream and kept that promise. And now Cleveland, we are Champions! We can finally say, “We are the Champions!”
LeBron James was being interviewed after the final game against the Golden State Warriors that Sunday night of the victory. Game 7 was close, 93-89. During the interview this is what he said:
“I gave it everything I had. I put my heart and my blood and my sweat and my tears into this game. Against all odds, I don’t know why we want to take the hardest road.
“I don’t know why the man above gave me the hardest road, but the man above don’t put you in situations that you can’t handle. I just kept that same positive attitude. Instead of saying ‘Why me?’ I said, ‘This is what He wants me to do.’ And, uh, Cleveland, this is for you!”
What a wonderful testimony to God. What a wonderful testimony of someone that has been through many struggles and finally had realized his dream. I never thought I would be quoting LeBron James in a Homily.
But it is true. The dedication. The sacrifice. I am sure if I would have asked some of the young kids out here, “Would you be willing to dedicate and sacrifice if you knew that one day you would be a LeBron James?” I am sure they would all answer, “Yes.” Without a doubt, they would give up anything to become a champion.
And yet Jesus is inviting us to something much greater. Each and every one of you sitting here today, you have been invited, you have been called. From the very moment of your Baptism, you have been called on this journey. Jesus has said to you, “Come and follow me.” And at some point in our lives we have to make a choice. At some point in our lives we choose to follow Jesus or we choose not to. And when we do choose it, it has to be done with great determination and great resolution. Greater than LeBron James’ resolution to become a champion here in Cleveland. We have to, at some point, make a resolution.
I just want you to think about that. First of all, have you called God in your life? Do you know what He has called you to? Secondly, if you haven’t, ask Him, say, “Lord, what are You calling me to?” And tell Him, “I will follow You.” And third and finally, if you are answering the call, are you doing it dedicatedly? Are you doing it with your whole heart, with your whole mind, your whole soul?
When I was born — and I am sure that some of you have heard this story before, but the parents and the priests haven’t, so I think this will be special for you. When I was born, there was a blockage in my throat. The doctors decided they were going to have to do emergency surgery on me the next morning. My parents were, of course, upset and very worked up about this and very confused and very concerned. There was a couple that they had met at the renewal, Dennis and Marsha Stevens, who would then become my Godparents. They came to the hospital. They snuck in there one night and told the doctors that they were their brother and sister. They snuck into the hospital that night and they asked my parents if they could pray over me.
The four of them went into the room where I was and they laid their hands on me in the incubator and they prayed over me. Then my Godmother said something very profound that ultimately helped me say yes to the call. She said to my parents, “Bob and Dee, you have to realize Michael is a gift from God. You have to be willing to give him back.” At that moment, they laid their hands on me. They prayed over me and they offered me back to God. They offered me into the care of God. The next morning came and the doctors came to take me away for surgery. As they were doing the pre-op x-rays, they discovered something miraculous! The blockage was gone! The doctors came back to my parents and said, “Bob and Dee, we don’t know how else to explain it other than a miracle. The blockage is totally gone and your son is fine.”
It was after that story when I first wrestled with the call. When I felt God calling me, and I started to come up with all these excuses. God, I am not ready yet. Let me finish college. God, I am not ready yet. I want to be married. God, I am not holy enough. You know, all those excuses started to rise, and then I heard this story come to my mind. “Michael is a gift from God, and you have to be willing to give him back.” And I realized at that moment that I had to give my life to Him. When I did, when I went into the seminary, everything changed. I had let go of a lot, but God blessed me in so many ways.
The reality is, when we dedicate ourselves, when we give ourselves to God, and when we give up anything else in life, He blesses us more than we could ever imagine.
At the Ordination, there is a special part of the rite where you get to pick a priest and they vest you. My spiritual director vested me and put a stole and chasuble over me and invested me with the priesthood.
That is what we hear in the First Reading today from Elijah and Elisha. Elijah is this great prophet. He has this call to hand on, to find a successor, to find another person to give his gift of prophecy. He finds Elisha and he goes to Elisha. He takes his cloak and he throws his cloak over Elisha giving him the call. What does Elisha do? He takes the cloak and he rips it off and he says, “I don’t want it. I don’t want it yet.” He says, “Then go. Just get out of here.” And Elisha goes back to his ho. Then he decides the only way that he can do it is if he does it drastically. He slaughters his entire yolk of calves. He slaughters them all and gives the food to the poor and all the local people. He provides for them. Then he begins his journey as a prophet.
We hear in the Gospel today these hard sayings from Jesus. As the people were journeying with Jesus, there were people that wanted to follow him. Some of them even screamed out from the crowd and they said, “Lord, I will follow you.” Jesus told them the challenges that will come with following him. Foxes have dens and birds have a nest, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head. He is telling them, “If you follow Me, it is going to be a difficult path. It is going to be a challenging path, and you have to do it resolutely.”
The second one comes up to Him and the Lord says to him, “Follow Me.” And he says, “Lord, let me first go bury my father.” And the Lord says something shocking. “Let the dead bury the dead.” He is not saying that because he doesn’t care about fathers. He is not saying that because there is not a reverence for funerals. It is one of our great attitudes. He is saying that because nothing can come in front of our call. What is primary in our life is discovering our call and answering it resolutely.
And finally, the third person says, “I will follow you. First let me go and say goodbye to my family.” And Jesus says, “No. Anyone that puts his hand in the plow and looks back is not fit for the Kingdom of God.”
The reality is God does call us in life but we can miss that opportunity if we do not answer immediately; if we do not answer resolutely; if we do not give ourselves to Him completely and trust ourselves to Him. I just want you to think about that in your own life. First of all, have you heard the call? What is His call in your life? Maybe it is to the priesthood, maybe it is to religious life. If it is to marriage, you know it is a hard call. Maybe it is to single life. Have you fully embraced that call? Are you doing it resolutely? Are you doing it with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your being? And finally, if He hasn’t called you, if you haven’t felt that call, say to Him, “Lord, I will follow you.” Ask Him what he wants you to do with your life, and be willing to give yourselves dedicatedly.
I want to end with a quote from LeBron James, “I gave everything that I had, my blood, my sweat, and my tears to this game. Against all odds, I don’t know why we want to take the hardest road. I don’t know why the man above gives us the hardest road, but the man above don’t put you in situations you can’t handle. And I just kept that same positive attitude, like instead of saying, ‘Why me?’ I just started saying, ‘This is what He wants me to do.'”
Can you hear Him calling you? “Come, follow Me. Come, follow Me. Come, follow Me.”
