In his third book, Outliers: The Story of Success, writer Malcolm Gladwell claims part of the key to success is to practice a specific task for a total of 10,000 hours. The Beatles performed live in Hamburg, Germany, over 1,200 times from 1960 to 1964, amassing more than 10,000 hours of playing time, therefore meeting the 10,000 hour rule. Gladwell asserts that all of the time The Beatles spent performing shaped their talent, so by the time they returned to England from Hamburg, they sounded like no one else. It was the making of them.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells the crowd that the price of discipleship is total commitment. Jesus says that potential followers must be willing to turn their backs on their families and even on themselves. Perhaps Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule is the requirement. Discipleship is not a part time activity. To be like the first disciples, we must be willing to abandon our boats in the harbor.