Former heavyweight boxer James (Quick) Tillis is a cowboy
from Oklahoma . A deeply
religious man, Tillis is remembered as the first boxer ever to make Mike Tyson
go the distance in the heavyweight division. Tillis had his disappointments
as a boxer, but evidently they didn’t let him lose his sense of humor.
He still remembers his first day in the Windy
City Tulsa .
“I got off the bus,” he says, “with two cardboard suitcases under my arms in
downtown Chicago and stopped in
front of the Sears Tower Chicago .’
When I looked down . . . the suitcases were gone.” What a way to
begin a boxing career. But Tillis did not quit.
In today’s gospel we read about some of his disciples
quitting. They decided to leave him because his teaching was hard to
follow.
Researchers tell us that, nationally, every week over 53,000
people leave the church never to return. But even among those who remain,
only about twenty percent are really committed to their faith.
Why is that? For many people, it is said that the
Christian faith is like an outer garment you put on at certain occasions, at
funerals, weddings, Easter and Christmas.
Some time ago, I asked a young girl who was preparing for
sacraments, but seldom showed up for classes and Masses why she was missing
classes and Sunday masses, she said that mom decides to go to church only when
there is nothing to do.
Some time ago, a researcher in church growth was curious
about a dynamic and fast growing Church in Minnesota
and he wanted to know the secret of their success. He interviewed a few
members of this church and one of the phrases that he heard while he was there
was, “We want our members to wear aprons, not bibs.”
That’s an interesting phrase--“aprons, not bibs.”
Here’s what they meant:
· Bibs are
for people who only want to be fed.
· Bibs are
for those who are more interested in being served than in serving.
· Bibs are
for those who insist that the church exists for them and their needs.
· Bibs are
for those who are not mature in their faith.
· Bibs are
for those who haven’t caught God’s vision for the church.
· Bibs are
for those who are not yet of the faith.
On the other hand, aprons are for those who have a heart to
serve others in Jesus’ name.
· Aprons are
for those who know that they are the church.
· Aprons are
for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty.
· Aprons are
for those who take the time daily to feed their spiritual hunger.
· Aprons are
for those who are growing in faith, and hunger to help others grow.
Church growth consultant, Win Arn, interviewed thousands of
Christians in America
several years ago and asked them what they thought the church existed
for. Eighty-eight percent said, “The church exists to serve my needs and
the needs of my family.” In other words, 88% of Christians in America
are still wearing bibs. They believe that the church exists to serve them
. . . not so they can serve the world.
On the night Jesus was betrayed, before the last supper,
Jesus got up and took off his outer garments, wrapped a towel around his waist,
knelt down before his disciples and washed their feet. When he was done
he said, “I have just given you an example to follow.”
In other words, Jesus calls us to wear aprons, not
bibs.
The people came to Jesus to be fed, but when he challenged
them to feed others, they weren’t interested. And, of course, it was Simon
Peter who answered, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal
life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of
God.”
And that is why we linger here too. That is why so many
of you have exchanged your bib for an apron; why you have decided that a casual
involvement in the life of the church is not enough.
I suspect that there are some of us who have grown all too
comfortable in our faith. Even some of us who have been around the church
for many years are still wearing bibs rather than aprons. Many who
followed Jesus turned back. Only his most committed disciples
remained. Are you part of that group? Am I part of that group?
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