by Fr. Tommy Lane
“Heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away” said Jesus, as he described the end of time and his Second Coming. Heaven, in this sense of course, means the heavens, the cosmos, the galaxies and stars. The heavens will disappear but not heaven. When everything falls asunder, what do we have left? We have Jesus. He said, “heaven [that is, the heavens,] and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away.” (Mark 13:31) The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (10:11-14, 18) is very clear about one action of Jesus that remains for all time, his sacrifice of himself on the cross for us. It reminds us that the Old Covenant priests offered animal sacrifices for sins every day, but they were ineffective to take away sins. Instead, Jesus made one offering of himself which is effective for all time to take our sins on himself. When everything falls asunder, Jesus’ sacrifice of himself for us will remain.
We make progress during life. Our technology is constantly evolving and improving and that is good. One person who read about previous pandemics said to me this pandemic is like heaven compared to previous pandemics. We have the benefit of much easier communication during this pandemic with the internet and mobile phones and so many other benefits so I can understand why someone would say this pandemic is like heaven compared to previous pandemics. It is good to make progress but despite all the improvements which are good and for our benefit, when we come before God what we need is Jesus’ sacrifice of himself to plead on our behalf. That is why the part of the Psalm that we heard today began by saying God is our portion and cup (Ps 16:5). It is referring to the tribe of Levi who received no part of the land of Israel when it was divided among the tribes. Instead, the tribe of Levi was to depend on God and what it would receive from running the temple. People talk from time to time about winning the lottery and what they would do if they won. The psalm today really says we have all won the lottery: God is our portion and cup and our prize.
Since God is our portion and cup, since Jesus made the one sacrifice for all time to take our sins on himself, we want to thank Jesus. Spend time with Jesus in prayer every day until prayer becomes a joy and part of your day that you could not miss without your entire day being upset. Pray in a way that is comfortable for you, in a way that brings you close to God. Talk to God with your heart. Pray until you know that God is love and mercy so that it becomes automatic to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.
We celebrate God being our portion and cup, and Jesus’ one sacrifice for us in every Mass. It is the greatest prayer. There is no greater prayer than Mass because at Mass we are spiritually present at Calvary and benefit from Jesus’ offering of himself for us on Calvary. During the Last Supper, Jesus said, “Do this in memory of me.” (1 Cor 11:24, 25) Remembering during a liturgy, in the Jewish understanding, was not just remembering or reenacting an event such as the first Passover in Egypt. It was much more. It was participating in and sharing in the benefits of the original. When Jesus asked the apostles to “Do this in memory of me,” he was not just asking them to remember or reenact what he did during the Last Supper. He was saying that in the future, when they would celebrate with bread and wine as he just did, they would participate in and share in what Jesus just did, the offering of himself for the redemption of us all.
Not only does Jesus’ one sacrifice of himself for us endure for eternity. Jesus taught us on other occasions that how we help others endures to eternal life. He said what we do to others, we do to him (Matt 25:40). And so, these thoughts might help (I do know their source and I have edited them):
God won’t ask the square footage of your house. He will ask how many people you helped who didn’t have a house.
God won’t ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet. He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to those who didn’t have any.
God won’t ask how many material possessions you had. He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.
God won’t ask what your highest salary was. He will ask if you trampled over any people to obtain that salary.
God won’t ask how much overtime you worked. He will ask did you work overtime for your family.
God won’t ask how many promotions you received. He will ask what you did to promote others.
God won’t ask what your job title was. He will ask did you perform your job to the best of your ability.
God won’t ask what your parents did to help you. He will ask what you did to help your parents.
God won’t ask what you did to help yourself. He will ask what you did to help others.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2021
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.