Oct. 10, 2021: 28th Sunday B
Oct. 10, 2021: 28th Sunday B
This past weekend, I was on a small commuter flight from Baton Rouge to Atlanta. For those of you who have flown on the small commuter flights, you know that the overhead bin space of the planes is very limited. On the flight I was taking, several folks had managed to wheel their large luggage onto the plane, only to find out that it would not fit in the overhead bin nor under the seats. Those travelers were visibly frustrated by the luggage situation. The passengers already in their seats were frustrated as well because the flight was delayed by the folks with the oversized luggage who had not listened to the instructions of the gate agent.
As I watched that scene, verses from Psalm 24 came to mind: “Who may go up the mountain of the LORD? Who can stand in his holy place? The clean of hand and pure of heart, who has not given his soul to useless things, what is vain.” I know we all have the desire to one day “fly” to heaven. Will our flight to heaven be delayed because our hands and hearts hold on to useless and vain things of the world?
Certainly we need to take care of our family, work and community responsibilities with diligence and faithfulness. Yet, are we in some way overfilling our lives with excessive preoccupation with work, living beyond our means, entertainment, and material possessions? Are we then not like the man who approached Jesus with a sense of mortality and a hope for eternal life? He asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” While the man stated confidently that he was faithful to all the moral precepts of the Ten Commandments, he was unprepared for the radical surrender requested of him. Jesus gazed at him with love and compassion as he said, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” Instead of becoming a disciple of Jesus that day, the man walked away sad, unable to let go of the comfort, the privilege, and the lifestyle he enjoyed. I wonder if we too are able to stand before God, bare and dispossessed, trusting in the goodness of God and dependent on nothing but treasure in heaven.
What we tend to forget is that nothing belongs to us; everything is given to us by our Father in Heaven. In a sense, we have borrowed everything from the Father, and when the time is appropriate, we give back to Him what belongs to Him and always thank Him for the time we were entrusted with that gift. Sometimes when something is no longer within our possession, we get angry and resentful at God. The Old Testament provides us the experience of Job who lost everything and still kept his faith in God. Job said, “Naked I came forth from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I go back there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord!”
Reflecting back on our lives, how have we reacted when our possessions, opportunities, status, our good name, or even our health was gone? Have we kicked, screamed, or yelled that our life was not fair? Or have we taken the time to ponder and pray as did the Blessed Mother who responded to the Heavenly Father, “May it be done to me according to your word”? In our American culture where rugged independence, freedom, and self-determination are highly praised, the disciples of Jesus have difficulty with trust, acceptance, and surrender to the Father; in other words, we have difficulty with obedience to His Holy Will. It is easier for us to say to God, “Father, this is what I believe is right, this is what I really should be entitled to, therefore, bless it and make it happen for me.”
A couple of days ago before the funeral mass for Deacon Jim Wax began, one of his sons shared what important gifts his father shared with him and his family. The son said that the first two days after his birth, he was in a crib with the label which read, “Baby Boy Doe.” It was Deacon Jim Wax and his wife who adopted the child and gave him the family name. The child learned through his dad and mom that earthly life is about service and sacrifice for others.
We too are adopted by our Heavenly Father and are welcomed into His Family. Jesus is asking us to discard anything excess that keeps us enamored with the world, live our life as a service for others, and to depend on nothing but treasures that await for us in heaven. Each day, Jesus gazes at us with his loving mercy and invites us to plant the seeds of God’s Kingdom through our life of service. Our life time is short. We cannot depend on anything that passes away. Only God alone provides us all that we need for our happiness.
