Seeking the crown that does not fade
John 6: 11-15
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed
them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments
left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” So they collected them, and filled
twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been
more than they could eat. When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” Since Jesus knew that they were going to come
and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone.
Boys and
girls, have you noticed how in different sports the winners get to wear jewelry
or receive fine china? Think about
this. If you win the Superbowl, what do
you get to wear? The champions wear a
“superbowl ring” with lots of diamonds.
What about boxing? It’s a very
fancy belt, again adorned with lots of gold and jewels. What about hockey? The winning team gets their names engraved on
the Stanley Cup made mostly of silver.
What about college football? The
winning team gets a ball in the shape of a football made of Waterford Crystal
which costs about $30,000. How about
poker? Yeah, poker is a sport! Our friends across the river running casinos
will be happy to hear that! The winner
of the World Series of Poker gets a bracelet, again made of gold and jewels.
Today we
have our annual May Crowning of Mother Mary.
What jewelry or fine china will we give her? Uh, none.
Is it a tiara of diamonds like Miss. America wins? Nope.
We give Mary a simple crown of flowers.
How long do you think those flowers will last? A few days, then they will get old and fall
off. Isn’t Mary beautiful like Miss.
America? Yes. Hasn’t Mary done marvelous things like those
beauty pageant queens? Yes. But she wants the crown that Jesus will give
her in heaven. Because you see, in the
end, all those Lombardy trophies, those Stanley Cups, those Poker bracelets
will turn to dust, but not the crowns that Jesus gives us. They say that “diamonds are a girl’s best
friend,” but not if that girl happens to be Mary.
In the
gospel today, the people want to crown Jesus a king. What does Jesus do? He runs away and hides! Why?
He doesn’t want these earthly crowns and cups and diamonds. He wants his Father’s crown; he wants his
heavenly Father to be proud of him.
Jesus chose to wear the crown of thorns because that will be replaced in
heaven with an eternal crown.
Boys and
girls, do you know why your parents send you to a Catholic school like
Immaculate Conception? It’s because they
want you to be truly great. They hope
one day you might win the Stanley Cup, or be crowned Miss America or hoist the
Crystal Football as college football champions.
They probably don’t want you to win the poker bracelet, though. All
those things are great, and I hope you do become rich and famous. But your
parents also send you here so that you remember to work for that crown that
will never fade or turn to dust: the eternal crown that only Christ can give
you. You come to a Catholic school, not
only to make your earthly parents proud, but also to make your heavenly Father
proud.
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
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