Have you ever had this the experience? You’ve composed an email and as you push “send” you have a flash of insight that you forgot a word or an idea but off it goes into cyberspace anyway. If Peter lived today, he’d probably have quite a few of such experiences. He is a prime example of the saying: “Open mouth, insert foot.” He may have wished he’d heard what Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in his classic book, The Cost of Discipleship: “When Christ calls a man, he bids him to die.”
As with Peter, it’s probably a good thing we don’t know the bottom line when we sign on with Jesus. We haven’t yet read all the fine print or it might literally scare us to death, or at least cause us to shrink or depart from his company.
It’s a good thing that we have become cynics when it comes to promises received in the mail or on the computer in spam mail. Almost daily, some spam mailing assures us that we are the “lucky winner of one of several prizes.” All we need to do is contact them to identify our prize. Fortunately, we’ve learned that no matter how good the promises sound, they simply are not true. Have any of you become the promised “Publisher’s House” mystery winner – and then heard them knocking at your door to televise your exuberant surprise?!
In order for you to more easily understand this “bottom line” business and the “fine print” concept, let’s imagine a contemporary, local situation. Let’s say a local dairy farmer sees a TV ad for a great buy on a new pickup truck. The ad promises deep discounts and unbelievable factory rebates. So, he decides to trade in his old clunker. He chooses a new model and was ready to write the check for the full amount. The salesman says, “Wait, wait I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” The farmer says, “Isn’t it the price I saw on TV?” The salesman says, “Well, yes, but that’s for the basic model, all the options cost extra. After the options you’ve chosen are added, this is the price.” The farmer really wanted that new truck – and anyway he’d gotten all his junk out of the old clunker. So, the farmer reluctantly writes a check and drives off in his new pick-up.
A few months goes by. That same car salesman calls on the farmer because he wants to buy a cow for his daughter’s 4-H project. The farmer assures the car salesman he has several good milk cows for sale for $500. The salesman drives out and selects a cow and takes out his checkbook. The farmer says, “Wait. I haven’t given you the final cost yet.” Then he hands the salesman a bill that reads:
BASIC MODEL COW $500
Two-tone exterior $45
Extra stomach $75
Milk storage compartment $60
Straw recycle compartment $120
4 handy spigots @ $10each $40
Leather upholstery $125
Dual horns $45
Automatic rear fly swatter $38
Natural fertilizer attachment $185
GRAND TOTAL $1,233
Sadly, many people are only interested in the basic model of Christian living. They want just enough to keep them out of hell without intruding on their fun. You won’t find the full cost of discipleship advertised in many places today. It doesn’t fill the pews in our churches or religious vocation programs. Whether you’re buying cars or cows, it’s important to get to “the bottom line” even if we go into sticker shock when we discover the full cost.
Be assured by what Paul says in this weekend’s second reading: “I urge you to discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” We know what Jeremiah means in the first reading when he says: “God’s word becomes like fire burning in my heart; I grow weary holding it in.” That’s our bottom line.
~Reflection by Sister Roberta Bailey, OSB
