Wednesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
(Hebrews 12:4-7.11-15; Mark 6:1-6)
At a boys’ high school in the early 1960s, Fr. John served as
disciplinarian. Fr. John had a large
frame and a stern face. He was tough but
also fair. If he saw a boy running in
the hall or taking the wrong staircase, he would stop him. If the boy had glasses, Fr. John told him to
take them off. Then he slapped the boy’s
face, only hard enough to assure that the boy understood that rules were to be
followed. The schoolboys did not feel
humiliated as chastened by such discipline.
Indeed, they came to love Fr. John because it was obvious that he wanted
to see them grow into good men. Fr. John
promoted the kind of discipline of which the author of Hebrews writes in today’s
passage.
In his exhortation for discipline, the author might have
said that the word works as the root for “disciple.” Disciples must learn how to conform to the
ways of their teachers. Discipline is
more than a matter of knowledge. It involves
developing habits that approximate those of the master. In the reading the author has in mind the
faith of martyrs who willingly shed their blood for Christ. Their faith did not waver with either the
delay of Christ or the advance of their executioners.
Discipline is often in short supply today. People want to follow their instincts and
emotions. They prefer not to conform
their lives to a rule which others make, and much less to the virtues of
Christ. We must not follow their
example. Quite the contrary, we are to exemplify
the joy and integrity that discipleship of Christ brings.
