You might think it would be a fairly simple process to go and purchase a new phone.
However, I must warn you it is not. If you ask for a new phone you will be quizzed on what
brand you like, how big it should be, what weight you would like, what type of camera you
desire, and how smart you would like the smart phone to be. After catching your breath you
would have to decide on cases, chargers, screen protectors and insurance policies. And on top of
all of this you would have to try and keep from being distracted by what looked to be a very
interesting late 90’s show of the program Cops on the giant television that resided in the cellular
phone store. The experience reminded me of the joke about the psychiatrist who asked his
patient whether or not he had a tough time making decisions and he answered, “well doctor, yes
and no.”
In today’s Gospel we hear about Jesus sending out the seventy-two in pairs to all of the
places he was planning on visiting. However he does something strange in asking that they not
bring much. They are not to bring a money bag, or a sack or even sandals and they weren’t to
meet with others along the way. Why would Jesus make such a request? I would propose it is
because he does not want the disciples to be distracted.
I think every single one of us can understand how difficult it is to not be distracted.
Every day we are faced with thousands of choices from what we are going to have for dinner, to
what channel we are going to watch, to what new app we are going to purchase for our brand
new phone. However, there is one very important choice this Gospel reminds us we need to be
spending some time on.
There are many people who have some strange beliefs about God. Two specific
understandings are understandings I am often confronted with. There are those who believe that
God is an angry God who sits up in the heavens waiting for us to slip up in some tiny way so that
he can cast us all into hell for eternity. This understanding leads to despair for there is no hope
that any of us will be able to lead a perfect life. On the other hand there are those who believe
that because God loves us there is nothing we can do that would keep us from heaven. This
understanding leads to a false sense of security that does not require us to take any responsibility
for our actions or our relationship with God.
Now people are correct in their understanding that God loves us unconditionally with a
love that is perfect. God has created each of us for an eternity of happiness. In fact Saint Paul
tells us that eye has not seen and ear has not heard, nor has the heart comprehended what God
has ready for those who love him. That means that if we take a moment to think about the
greatest moment or the greatest feeling of our life it pales in comparison to what awaits us in
heaven forever.
However, we all know that you cannot force someone else to love you no matter how
much you may desire it. Love is a choice that must be made and thus we must decide whether
we are going to love God. Heaven is there for each of us to take, but so is an eternity removed
from God in hell. There is great comfort in knowing that we are in control of our own destiny, a
destiny that could include an eternity of bliss; however we must also acknowledge that it is fully
within our power to separate ourselves from God. The fact that there are ultimately two ends,
one glorious and one not, comes not from the fact that God wishes any of us to be separated from
him, but because of his love God does not force himself on any of us.
As we go forward with this week that will be full of thousands of decisions and
distractions we might take some time to ask ourselves where we stand on our relationship with
God. After all, in the end, after a lifetime of millions of decisions, we will stand before God on
the last day and there will really only be one question that matters. Did we choose God and
eternal reward or did we choose against him? Please God may each us find our names written in
heaven.