Deacon Rick Lapierre
About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek black 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed into the Jag's shiny black side door! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown.
Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please...I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!"
Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, Mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.
Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long walk back to the sleek black shining 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE - a long and slow walk.
Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention.
What motivates us to do the things that we do? In our story Josh was initially motivated by anger, the anger at having his expensive new car damaged. Anger is what made him slam on his brakes and pick up the child who threw the brick. What happened next, as he learned the reason the child had thrown the brick, was compassion and it was that emotion that motivated him to perform an act of kindness.
This morning our gospel is the familiar story of the prodigal son. There are many characters in this parable: tax collectors, sinners, Pharisees, scribes, the father, the son who wanted to run away from his home with his inheritance and the son who was dutiful and remained home. The story is very familiar to us, but let's looks a little deeper. Let's ask ourselves what motivated some of these characters to act as they did.
The first son is fairly easy. He wants it all and he wants it now. I can identify with that. Motives like greed, lust, the desire for a good time above all. But when the money runs out what prompts him to become contrite, humble, to return begging?
The second son is motivated by a sense of duty, family tradition and what perhaps we could call honor. His rejection of his brother's contrition could be seen as motivated by a desire for justice.
But what do all of these characters and motivations have in common? Their motivations all have to do with self. I want, I need, I think, I judge. It's all about me! Even the good actions of the first son are probably motivated by wanting to get back into his father's good graces. "I shall get up and go to my father, I shall say to him, etc."
The second son also is focusing on himself. "Look at all the years I served you, you never gave ME a goat".
The father's motivation however has nothing about "me" in it. It is about wanting to do for his children. There is no self involved. Another word we use for this dying to self and living for others is love.
As you read the gospel stories, ask yourself, what is Jesus' motivation? There is never any hint of self in his words or actions, but they are always about love. His miracles, His healings, even His interactions with the Pharisees and scribes are always about love. He does not condemn His enemies, nor does He cast them out, but instead shows them what true love is all about, especially that the source of loving is God the Father Himself.
In the alternate gospel for today from John, Jesus heals the man born blind. There is no benefit to Jesus in this, indeed the opposite occurs. His enemies use the miracle to build their case for his demise. Yet Jesus does not hesitate and uses the miracle to build up the faith of His disciples in the power of God's love.
What motivates you this week? Is your motivation to seek your own self-satisfaction, or is it to seek to serve others? When Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, he reminded them that He whom they wanted to crown king came not to be served, but to serve. The One whom they proclaimed as He entered Jerusalem as the Messiah sent by God to deliver them put on an apron and washed their feet, the job of the lowliest servant.
My brothers and sisters, we are called to be the image of Jesus. And the image of Jesus is not the King seated on the throne, but a slave who served anyone who sought Him out, and who was stripped, flogged, nailed to a cross and killed. It's why we wear crucifixes and display them. To remind us that we too are called to live as Jesus did, loving each other, seeking to do for each other rather than for self.
We will be ridiculed, laughed at. The father of the prodigal son took the heat from his oldest son for loving the one who came back. But the Kingdom of God is filled with those who have done one thing, and one thing only. They have made the choice to love, without thought of self, but only for others. It is God's way, it is what Jesus showed us at Calvary, and it is what leads us ultimately to Resurrection and to new life.
