Seeing the consequences of our actions
Matthew 20:20-23
The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her
sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her,
“What do you wish?” She answered him, “Command that these two sons of mine sit,
one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom.” Jesus said in
reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I
am going to drink?” They said to him, “We can.” He replied, “My chalice you
will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to
give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”
Many of
the practical signs and gestures of the Mass have deep spiritual
symbolism. If you’ve ever been to the
Cathedral of St. James in Compostella, Spain, you’ll notice this huge incensor
that hangs from the ceiling and swings above the altar, across the entire
expanse of the sanctuary. Incense is a
sign of the Holy, but it also has a practical value. It hides the body odor of the pilgrims who’ve
walked 550 miles of the Camino! Both
spiritual and practical. Do you know why
the priest washes his hands in the middle of the Mass? He’s asking God to wash away his sins, but it
also has a practical purpose. In the
early church people didn’t set up automatic bank drafts for their donations;
they brought chickens and eggs and produce, and gave them to the priest. So the priest had to wash his hands before
handling the Holy. Both spiritual and practical. One day a Catholic brought a friend to Mass
and was explaining all the rich symbolism, how everything had a meaning. As the priest was about to give his homily,
he took off his watch and laid it on the pulpit so he could watch his
time. The visitor asked, “What does that
mean?” The Catholic answered, “Not a
darn thing.” But MOST of the things we
do at Mass have a spiritual finality, even an eternal destiny. As Maximus said in the movie “Gladiator,”
“What we do in life echoes in eternity.”
This is what Jesus tries to teach
his apostles in the gospel today. Mrs.
Zebedee wants her sons to sit at Jesus left and right in his kingdom. In other words, she wants earthly power and
glory for her boys because she envisioned only an earthly kingdom. Instead Jesus says drink from my chalice and
seek a spiritual glory and a heavenly reward.
That is, what really counts is the echo in eternity. James and John did indeed drink from Jesus’
chalice at the Last Supper – the same chalice you and I drink from at Mass –
and they gained great glory in heaven.
What James and John did in life echoed in eternity.
My
friends, try to see the small things you do every day as having echoes in
eternity. Just as the practical things
we do at Mass carry a weight of glory and grace, so, too, do our daily
conversations, whether we build people up or tear them down. That echoes in eternity. This is why the Church dares to teach sexual
morality, prohibiting contraception, adultery, pornography, homosexuality,
etc., because these things echo in eternity.
So, too, does our care for our “common home,” as Pope Francis reminded
us lately. How we care for this world
(or fail to care for it!) will echo in the next world. Every time we sip from the same chalice as
Jesus at Mass, remember that “what we do in life echoes in eternity.”
Praised be
Jesus Christ!
No comments:
Post a Comment