Albatross Necklace

Learning how our actions have consequences for others

Ezekiel 47:1-9, 12

The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east… He said to me, “This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.  Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh. Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine.”

          Boys and girls, have you started to notice that what you do affects others, either positively or negatively? If you do something good, it blesses others; if you do something bad, it harms others. What I do impacts you. For instance, if I walked up and punched Dalton Smith in the nose, it would hurt him. And then he would probably punch me back. And then lightning would strike him from heaven and he would be fried to a crisp. Or, if I give a boring homily, you will fall asleep, as I see Ethan Martinez already has. A few days ago I helped Francesca Rossi with her geometry homework, and she got all the answers correct. What I do impacts you, my actions have consequences not only for me, but also for you; for good or ill, to bless or curse.

          In 1798 the great English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge wrote a lengthy poem called “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” It’s about a sailor who shoots an albatross (a sea bird) and by that action curses and dooms the whole crew of the ship. As penance and punishment, they make him wear the dead albatross around his neck, an albatross necklace! Listen to these lyric lines: “Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath nor motion; As idle as a painted ship, Upon a painted ocean. Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink; Water, water every where, Nor any drop to drink.” The undrinkable water was a symbol of how the mariner’s sinful actions carried the consequences of the curse to his crew-mates. Whatever I do, sooner or later, touches you, both for good and for bad.

          In the first reading from Ezekiel, we see water again symbolizing the consequences of actions, but this time as a beautiful blessing.  The water flows out from the Temple, and wherever it goes, there is life, like fruitful trees. And when it gets to the salt water, it even makes the salt water fresh. In the gospel we see the true Temple from which water flows is really Jesus himself. What he does blesses others, like healing the crippled man. But St. Paul will teach us that each Christian is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) – we are to be like “mini-temples” – and waters of blessing should flow from us, touching and healing others. A Christian’s actions carry consequences, not only for the Christian, but also for the whole world.

          Boys and girls, I want you to think a little more deeply about what you do and what you don’t do, and how that affects others.  When you make poor choices – like cheat on a test, or when you spread rumors, or when you become lazy because it’s Springtime – those choices hurt others. But when you make good decisions – like pick up trash, or compliment others, or help the poor, or finish the year strong – those decisions bless others. Even choices you make in secret, when you think you are alone, are also ripples in the water that carry consequences to the farthest shores, to bless or to curse.

          Almost 200 years before Coleridge wrote “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” another English author, John Donne wrote “Meditation 17” but made the same point. He wrote: “No man is an island, entire of itself, every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.” “If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less.”  You wouldn’t think a little clod of dirt slipping into the Atlantic Ocean would make much difference to a huge continent, and yet it does. And so too do your actions, and my actions, however small or secret, affect the continent of humanity.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!