Mixed Motives

Doing the right thing motivated only by love

02/21/2018

Luke 11:29-32 While still more people gathered in the crowd, Jesus said to them, “This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.  Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation. At the judgment the queen of the south will rise with the men of this generation and she will condemn them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and there is something greater than Solomon here. At the judgment the men of Nineveh will arise with this generation and condemn it, because at the preaching of Jonah they repented, and there is something greater than Jonah here.”

Most people need motivation to do most things. And basically, we can say that motivation comes in two forms: as the carrot and as the stick. What is the carrot? That is positive motivation where you are rewarded for doing well. The reward of getting an “A” on a test motivates you to study hard, or maybe so you can show off later when your friends make a “B.” That is positive motivation. Dr. Hollenbeck offers you a free sonic drink or a free dress day and you are ready to go jump off a bridge into the Arkansas River. That is positive motivation, a reward for doing the right thing.

There is also a stick, which is negative motivation. You are punished with in-school suspension if you misbehave badly. Or, for even more serious infractions, you might be suspended from school (that is not a vacation!). God forbid that you are ever expelled all together, that would be like an “academic death penalty” to lose all the blessings of attending Trinity Junior High. That stick, the fear of punishment, motivates some of you to behave better.

You can see in the sanctuary of the chapel today Michaelangelo’s stunning depiction of the “Last Judgment” from the Sistine Chapel. I will bring this back again later and explain to you some intriguing details, like why one guy is holding his own skin and his own face is not on the skin, and why another figure has a snake wrapped around his body and biting him where the sun does not shine. Bear in mind the Sistine Chapel is arguably one of the holiest places in Christendom, save only the Holy Land itself. So, none of these details are meant to be a joke but rather they are deadly serious.

Are you aware of what is the most significant event that occurs in the Sistine Chapel? That small room, not much bigger than this Trinity Chapel (although the ceiling is much higher), is where the next pope is elected. When a pope dies all the cardinals of the Catholic Church gather in the Sistine Chapel to elect the next pope from among their own number. One of those cardinals will be the next pope. They carry their ballot with the name of whom they vote for to that altar sitting below the Last Judgment, and on that paper is written in Latin: “Eligio in Summum Pontificem,” in English, “I elect as Supreme Pontiff” (pontiff is another name for pope). But each Cardinal also utters this prayer: “Testor Christum Dominum qui me judicaturus est me eligere quem secundum Deum judice eligi debere et quod idem in accessu præstabo,” in English, “I call as my witness Christ the Lord who will be my judge, that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.” They place their ballot on a chalice while looking at the scene of the Last Judgment, where some lucky souls go to heaven, while others poor souls are cast into hell; heaven and hell are the ultimate carrot and stick. Maybe even cardinals need a little motivation to elect the right pope.

The Scriptures also speak about motivation. Jonah went to Nineveh and preached about the “stick” (the negative motivation of punishment), saying: “Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed.” And the motivation worked well because people changed their evil ways and straightened up. Jesus is frustrated with people wanting a carrot to motivate them to follow him, they want a “sign,” a miracle, some delicious carrot to become disciples. But our Lord says: “This generation is an evil generation, it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah.” What was the sign of Jonah? Just as Jonah spent three days and three nights in the belly of the whale and then be saved, so Jesus would spend three days and nights in the tomb and then rise from the dead. Jesus death and resurrection would be their sign: his unflinching love for them. But unfortunately, that was not enough motivation for them to change. Most people need motivation to do most things, like a carrot or a stick.

Have you noticed, though, how some people do not need the motivation of a carrot or the stick to do some things? They only need love, like Jesus. Some people play basketball not for a carrot of victory or from fear of the stick of Coach Meares yelling at them, but because they love the game of basketball. Some students study hard not because of the carrot of a college scholarship or the stick of their friends doing better and making fun of them, but because they love learning. Some people cheer for their favorite sports team not because of the carrot of a national championship or the fear of another losing season but because they love their team. Some people go to Mass not for the carrot of hearing a certain priest preach, or out of a fear of the stick of committing a mortal sin by missing Mass, but because they love receiving Holy Communion. Some men become priests not because of the carrot of people’s respect and admiration or because of the stick of maybe not finding a girlfriend, but because they love God and his people. Most people need motivation to do most things, but some people need only love.

When you catch that distinction and that difference, you get a glimpse into why God does everything that he does: not for a reward and not to avoid punishment, but for pure love. And when we act like that as well, not worrying about the carrot or the stick, we become a little more like God.

Praised be Jesus Christ!