In the 1960s, a man named Gale Sayers played for the Chicago Bears football team. He is remembered as one of the greatest players in professional football history. Around his neck, he always wore a gold medal – about the size of a silver dollar – with three simple words engraved on it: “I Am Third.”
Those three words became the title of his autobiography, where he explained the meaning behind them. Gale said he first heard the phrase from his track coach, Bill Easton, at the University of Kansas. Easton kept a small sign on his desk that read: “I am third.” One day, Gale asked him what it meant. His coach replied, “The Lord is first. My friends are second. I am third.”
From that moment on, Gale made it the guiding principle of his life. He had the medal made as a daily reminder. In his book, he wrote, “I try to live by the saying on my medal. I don’t always succeed. But having it around my neck keeps me from straying too far from it.”
That story beautifully illustrates the message of today’s Gospel. Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me without hating his father and mother, even his own life, he cannot be My disciple.” It sounds disturbing – even painful or heartbreaking. But Jesus isn’t calling us to hate our own families. In fact, He is simply emphasizing that God must come first in our lives.
Jesus continues with another powerful teaching: “Which of you wishing to build a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost?” In other words, discipleship requires more than intention – it requires commitment. It’s not enough to say God is first; we must strive to live that out in real, concrete ways.
Gale Sayers understood that challenge when he wrote: “It’s one thing to put God first. It’s another thing to live out that decision.”
Years ago, the Los Angeles Times ran a story about another modern disciple: Charlie DeLeo. Like Gale, Charlie lived by the philosophy: God first, others second, self third.
Charlie grew up a tough kid on New York’s Lower East Side. After serving in Vietnam, he took a humble job as a maintenance worker at the Statue of Liberty. One of his duties was to care for the statue’s crown and torch – making sure the lights were working and the 200 glass panels stayed clean.
Charlie often referred to the torch as his chapel. He said, “I dedicated it to the Lord. I go up there and meditate on my breaks from work.”
But his witness to the Gospel did not stop there. Charlie donated over 65 pints of blood to the Red Cross, gave more than $12,000 to Mother Teresa’s work and sponsored orphans through charitable organizations. When Pope John Paul II visited Battery Park, Charlie listened from the scaffolding of the torch and prayed for the Pope and his mission.
He once told a reporter: “I don’t socialize much. I don’t wear fancy clothes. I don’t have enough money to get married – I give it away. I sponsor children instead.”
When he retired in 1999, he was known lovingly as “The Keeper of the Flame.” He had chosen to live simply, putting God first, others second and himself third – and that choice changed his life.
Charlie’s story, and Gale’s story, remind us that discipleship is not just about belief. It is also about priority and action. Jesus invites us to follow Him not half-heartedly, but wholeheartedly. When we choose God first, and live out that choice with courage and compassion, we begin to reflect Christ to the world.
That is the invitation Jesus extends to each of us: Put God first. Live it fully. And let that decision shape everything you do.
God bless you and your brothers in Christ. Thank you for your prayers and your mission in life.