Elevator Story

6th Sunday of Easter

Cycle A

There is a television show out there right now called Shark Tank. In it, people with a new product or business pitch their ideas to a panel of successful business owners and investors, in the hope that one of them will fund their new venture. They do not have a lot of time to do it, either. They have to distill their idea into a short presentation, hoping that they can convince someone to give them a lot of money.

Another name for this is the elevator talk. A wise businessman once said that if you have a business or an idea you should be able to come up with a two minute description of it, just in case you are ever in an elevator with someone who can give you the money and resources you need to get to the next level. Someone like Donald Trump or Warren Buffet. Imagine that you are alone with one of them for two minutes in an elevator and they ask you what you do. What would you say? This is your only chance to influence them and your entire future is riding on the outcome. What would you say?

Peter is saying the same thing today in our second reading. He tells his disciples, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” Have you ever tried to distill your belief in Jesus Christ into one or two sentences? It is easy to drone on and on about something. It takes a lot of effort and thought to come up with a short description of your faith.

Why are you a Christian? Why are you specifically a Catholic? I talk to people all the time when they are preparing to have their children baptized, and I ask them that very question. Some say it is because they were raised Catholic, and it is all they know and they feel comfortable with it. Others say it is because of the rich tradition of the Church. They like the rituals and the symbols and the history. Others say it is because they have come to believe that the fullness of the truth of Jesus Christ is found in the Catholic Church, and so they follow.

But isn’t it all about hope? What do you hope for? In the gospel today Jesus boils down what it means to be a disciple. He gives us his elevator speech. He says, “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father and you are in me and I in you.” Do you realize what he is saying to you? Not only is Jesus in the Father, but Jesus is in you and you are in him. That means you are in God and God is in you. You are godlike.

Do you realize how radical that idea is? No other religion makes such a claim. The Eastern religions are all about transcending into something higher than yourself, but you do not become God. Islam’s image of God is removed from humanity. Islam’s God cannot be truly known. We claim that we actually become one with God. Not with nature or with some philosophy of living, but with the creator Himself.

How is that for an elevator speech? Imagine that you are riding in an elevator alone with a stranger, and he asks you why you are wearing that crucifix around your neck. And you say, “Because I am a Catholic.” And he then asks you why you are a Catholic and you say, “Because I have a hope and knowledge that I am one with God, both here and for all eternity. And I believe that because I am a disciple of Jesus Christ and of His Church.” Either the person will turn away and think you are some kind of a nut or you will start a very interesting conversation.

Peter told his disciples to be ready with their elevator stories for two reasons: first, because people are looking for simple explanations for things. If you open a copy of the Catechism and start reading it to that person in the elevator they will get off on the next floor, even if it is not their floor. Details can come later if there is interest. Keep it simple and you will influence people. The other reason Peter said this is because he wanted us to stop and take the time to really think about why we are followers of Christ. Get down to the kernal of truth that underlies our belief and distill it down to what really matters.

Once you have come up with your elevator story, write it down on a piece of paper and hang it on the wall where you will see it each and every day of your life. This will keep you focused on it and will also give you encouragement when you suffer difficulties because of your beliefs. Remember that Peter also said, “But do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil.”

Not if you are maligned, but when. Discipleship always comes with a cost.

Jesus said today that we are his friends if we keep his commandments. At first I found that odd. Who puts conditions like that on their friendship? But then I realized that we all do. We all put conditions on our friendships with others. I command you to share the same interests as me. I command you to have the same political beliefs as me. I command you to be of the same race or nationality as me. If you do not follow my commandments for you then we really can have no relationship.

But Jesus’ commandment is this: Love one another as I have loved you. Jesus’ commandment is not focused on himself but on our relationships with others. Because He knows that if we love one another we will love Him. If we truly love one another as He loves us we will be in Him as he is in the Father. But I think we often use this commandment to avoid the really hard choices in life. Perhaps because it is so open ended and broad we can use it to duck our responsibility to our fellow man.

Many people use the command to love one another as an excuse to be tolerant of any behavior in the name of love. We say that Jesus showed his love for people by accepting everybody. They point to the story of the woman caught in adultery and quote Jesus as saying, “Neither do I condemn you” but ignore his commandment to “Go and sin no more.” If Jesus accepted people’s bad behavior why did he have to die for our sins?

Jesus did not place limits on his love, but his love will naturally place limits on us. Love means gently guiding and correcting each other when we stray from commandments that we know are good for us. Just as a loving parent will limit a child’s behavior for the good of the child, so too does God place limits on our behaviors.

But it takes courage when we are called to stand up for good behavior over bad, and that is why we use the “Who am I to judge?” card. Jesus gave us many commandments, you know. He told us to go out and make disciples of all nations, he said to do this in memory of me, he said he did not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. And yet we hate to evangelize other people because we do not really believe that our truth is the truth. We miss Mass on Sundays for no good reason. And we think that loving our neighbor as ourselves means that we can ignore all those inconvenient ten commandments about lying and stealing and killing the innocent and adultery. Because who am I to judge others? Just because something is right for me does not mean it is right for anybody else. And besides, how relevant are those ancient laws for us anyway?

We will all be called to give an account of what we believe, and for what we have done with that belief. Imagine that you have died and are standing before the Lord for judgment. What if he only gives you two minutes to explain to him why you are his disciple? Your eternal future depends on what you say. Could you do it? Could you boil down your entire life of faith into one paragraph? And would that be convincing to God? What is your elevator story?

Remember that an elevator goes both up and down.