I have
to admit it; sometimes my mind wanders in Church. To paraphrase Dion and the
Belmonts, I’m a wanderer and my mind roams around, around, around.
I’ve
got things on my mind that causes it to wander. There’s no altar server. Who’s
reading? Slow down and read the Gospel clearly.
Each
priest likes the altar a little different. I read over their shoulders. Fr.
Job, I can’t keep up. Fr. Joe, I’m ahead of you. Attending Bishop Duca, it’s about
everything I did wrong.
Don’t
forget the special announcements.
Before
I was Deacon, it was about getting breakfast, getting clothes ready, getting
the girls dressed, and being late. I’d come with intentions of reverence
and prayer but my thoughts takeover: bills, groceries, work, or what’s for
lunch.
Then
I’d be pulled back to reality, “Praise
to you Lord Jesus Christ.” What have I done? I missed the readings, the
Psalms, and the Gospel.
The
homily comes and despite a sincere effort my mind would often wander off again.
Maybe
someone else wants to admit to trouble concentrating on Jesus, prayer, worship,
or the words spoken. We miss the lesson - shame on us.
But,
we’re in good company. James and John, along with the other ten, had this problem.
And
they had the best teacher, Jesus, the word incarnate and their minds still wandered. They often missed the lesson in Jesus' teaching.
The
two asked, "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of
you…., Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at
your left."
The
other ten got mad. I don’t think it was because James and John asked this
question; it was because none of them asked it first.
They
hadn’t been listening to the gospel. Their minds wandered back to their needs
and thoughts. When Jesus comes to glory, I will be great. Jesus gave the
ability to heal the sick and cast out demons, what more will we
receive. Who will be the greatest?
Jesus
asked James and John, “What would you have me to do?”
How
many of you remember the phrase WWJD? What would Jesus do?
Jesus
knew what he had to do. “You do not know what you are asking. Can you
drink the cup that I drink or be baptized with the baptism with which I am
baptized?"
The
cup that Jesus is referring to is the cup of his destiny. In those days, it was
a practice to fill the cups around the table with wine and those who shared the
cups shared a destiny. It was either a destiny of suffering or prosperity.
Jesus’
cup of destiny is the suffering servant. In Isaiah we read “... through
his suffering, my servant shall justify many, and their guilt he shall bear.” Paul
says He is our high priest who has experienced our suffering.
This
is Christ’s glory!
Christ’s
glory is not about the glory of moral life but I am to live a moral life. It’s
not about the glory of religion but I am to be part of a believing community,
the body of Christ. I shouldn’t ask, “What would Jesus do (WWJD)? Instead,
what is Jesus is doing through me.
We
share in Christ’s glory through
baptism. Drink from his cup by serving those around us, our church, and our
community; hearing the call to serve the needy and suffering; working for
justice and peace. In these, one approaches the throne of grace to receive His mercy.
We
share in Christ’s Glory! Christ’s
glory is the suffering servant, his divinity, and his humanity. It is his
bearing our guilt, his death, and his resurrection. His glory is mercy, grace,
redemption, and our justification.
Look
at Christ on the cross. His cup is the blood, scourges, wounds, agony, and
torment of the sins and suffering of all people then, today, and tomorrow. We share in Christ’s glory because it’s
our suffering and the suffering of the world that He bears.
I’m
like James, John, and the ten trying to live the life Jesus asks. It’s not easy
to live this life; I’m a wanderer. I fall back to personal needs, troubles, and
desires. Maybe it helps that I know my failures and how much I need Christ’s
mercy. Lord, I trust in you.
So, I
come to mass to give God my undivided attention; my mind wanders to a realization. A wandering mind helps discover a call to serve others. A wandering mind helps us see Christ in our selves, in others, and in the world. I realize that I keep coming back. We keep coming back!
We
seek to share in His glory. Called to His presence in the Eucharist, we share
Christ's cup, His blood, and His body. Brothers and sisters, we share
in Christ’s glory!
Christ have mercy on me:
a mind that wanders,
a sinner,
your servant. Amen.
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