Sunday, February 26, 2017

Serving Two Masters: A Sports Analogy

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells us we cannot serve two masters.  

We must love one and hate the other.

This can be hard to explain or understand in a world that is not so easily seen in black and white.

One analogy that I came across tries to explain this in sporting terms ...

Let's say you live in Chicago.  You have two baseball teams you can root for ... the American League White Sox, or the National League Cubs.  (This analogy works for many cities and sports by the way... in England, for example, you could have Manchester United vs Manchester City in soccer/football).  

Some fans will tell you that you can root for both hometown teams, especially since, in the baseball example, they are from different leagues.  They argue that they can watch both teams compete, and root for them against whoever they are playing.  This would sort of equate to us saying we can serve both our material lives and God equally at the same time.  

On the flip side, some fans will argue you absolutely positively cannot root for both teams.  You must choose one, or the other, and throw all of your passion, loyalty and love behind that one team. 

Let's go back to that first example, though - the fan that says they can root for both teams.  This might be true for most of the season.  But what if the White Sox and Cubs both made it to the World Series and had to play each other?  (Or when Man U and City play each other for the Manchester Cup?)  Wouldn't that fan then have to ultimately choose one?  To love one and thus hate the other?  And what about when the two teams are playing a game at the same time?  How does the fan choose which team to watch?  He/she either chooses one, or splits his/her attention ... and thus does not give their entire self to one or the other.

While this analogy is not perfect, I think it does help explain that when we think we can serve both masters (read: root for both teams), we end up, at best, only giving a piece of ourselves.  

And we all know that God deserves all of us.  Not just a piece!

We need to be more like the fan that knows this is not possible, and chooses one team to serve for with all of his/her self.  

God Bless you.


Sunday, February 12, 2017

World Marriage Sunday Humor

Today is World Marriage Sunday, and I came across this little joke in a few different places:

A little girl, who was at her very first wedding Mass, whispered to her mother, "Why is the bride dressed in white?"
       

The mother replied, "Because white is the color of happiness, and today is the happiest day of her life."
       

After pondering that for a bit, the girl asked, "So why is the groom wearing black, then?"

All in good fun, of course!  My prayers go out to all the married couples reading, as well as those who have been married before, or are about to be married this year!

God Bless you.
 

Sunday, February 5, 2017

Take This Post With a Grain of Salt

In today's Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that they are the "salt of the earth". 

He then reminds them that if salt loses its taste, it is "no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

Now ...  I'm no salt expert ... so take the following with the proverbial grain of it: 

Back in Jesus' time, salt was quite valuable.  Obviously, it was used for seasoning.  But it was also used for wounds and for preserving food.

I recently learned, however, that salt could also be quite evil to agriculture.  In fact, conquering tribes would often salt the land of the conquered ... thus ruining any current crops and sometimes preventing future growth as well.  

So which kind of salt are we?

The kind that tastes good, preserves God's word, and cleans spiritual wounds?

Or the kind that has no taste, that increases blood pressure, and prevents others from growing in Faith?

God Bless you, and may you be the salt of the earth and the light of the world!