Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Lectionary: 315

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted
and they came to him.
He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,
that they might be with him
and he might send them forth to preach
and to have authority to drive out demons…

When medieval minstrels sang their lays to the aristocrats of their time, they sang of King Jesus with his round table of apostolic knights. Even today it is not hard to imagine the Son of David dubbing his disciples as knights. They will establish, once and for all, the Kingdom of God. If we’re willing to see his rule as entirely spiritual, we can believe in that new regime.

But the question remains, “How real is spiritual?” When I meet with Veterans who are setting out on the way of sobriety some of them occasionally object, “I don’t buy this spiritual stuff.” Spiritual is unreal to them; it’s religion without substance, or somebody’s eclectic menagerie of images and ideas framed by wishful thinking.

 “Religion,” I explain, “is for people who are afraid of going to hell; spirituality is for those who have been there.”

That might not persuade them. Many Veterans and millions of people like them would be happy with a chemical solution. They want a drug to fix them. It should reduce their desire to drink, or render them invulnerable to intoxication, or even make alcohol loathsome for them. Chemicals help some people for a while. It may provide a respite from alcohol craving and a period of relative peace of mind.

But, like Lady Macbeth’s damned spot, unaddressed spiritual issues always come back. Spirituality is, in fact, more real than any kind of chemical.

The fellowship of Jesus’ knights begins when he summons them and they come to him. It continues as they remain with him. Saint Mark says, “…he also named apostles; that they might be with him.” Their fellowship is quite real. It will shape their social and political standing; it will both uproot and heal their relationships; it will demand their entire allegiance as a matter of life and death.

Those who prefer chemicals over spirituality prefer isolation over community. They want to go it alone. Perhaps, after hard experience, they fear betrayal. Perhaps they have certain ambitions and goals they will not share with others. Perhaps they have contempt for other people in general; and expect, once they have mastered their own desires, to establish themselves in luxury and ease over other people.

Jesus’ way leads to fellowship and membership with others. Like gravity and a mother's love, it brings us back to earth.