Acts 6:1-7; 1 Pt 2:4-9; Jn 14:1-12
A priest died and went to heaven. There he saw angels walking in procession. The priest noticed that once in a while, some angels would do a quick somersault then continue walking.
“What do they do that for?” the priest asked St Peter.
“You know what Father,” Peter explained, “What you see are guardian angels. If the one they’re guarding commits a mortal sin, they somersault.”
“Well,” the priest said, “May I see my guardian angel?”
And Peter replied, “He’s not here. He is in the Lord’s room.”
“Is that how special we, priests, are?” the priest inquired.
“Not really. But your guardian angel somersaults rapidly and the Lord made him His electric fan.”
(The story is told by Larry Faraon, O.P.)
In the gospel, Jesus speaks about his Father’s house which has many dwelling places. He promises disciples that he will go there and prepare a place for each one of them. Such is a great consolation for those of us who seriously desire to live in communion with God. In the midst of life’s joys and pains, successes and difficulties, we continue to believe that our ultimate destination is oneness with the loving God.
It is easy to imagine God’s house as a physical location where we can go if we know the way. Like Thomas, we might also ask: “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus, however, leads us to a deeper understanding of God’s dwelling places. First, he and the Father dwell within one another – “I am in the Father and the Father is in me”. And second, he and the Father dwell within us –“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”. God, thus, lives not in a house of stone but in a spiritual house made of living stones. In the second reading, Peter claims that we are that spiritual house because God has chosen us to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood, precious in His sight.
“I am the way”, the Lord says. The way to communion with God is not a physical road but a person whom we know. Jesus is the path that leads us to the heart of God. He is the road of service, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, justice and mercy. No one can come to God by greed and selfishness, by force and violence, or by rejection and hatred.
God’s kingdom, therefore, is more of a state of existence than a physical location. It is a situation where God reigns, where love dominates, where kindness overrules, where peace prevails, and where joy lasts.
“I will go and prepare a place for you”. Jesus always leads the way. He goes first and makes it easier for us to reach our ultimate goal in life. He provides us with good examples of meaningful and fruitful living necessary for the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
There is a story of a man who had a dream one night. He dreamed that he died and found himself in a large room. In the room there was a huge banquet table filled with all sorts of delicious foods. Around the banquet table were people seated on chairs. They were obviously hungry. But the chairs were five feet from the edge of the table and the people apparently could not get out of the chairs. Furthermore, their arms were not long enough to reach the food on the table.
In the dream there was a solitary large spoon, five feet long. Everyone was fighting, quarreling, and pushing, trying to grab hold of the spoon. One man reached out, picked up some food, and turned it to feed himself, only to find the spoon was so long that as he held it out he could not touch his mouth. The food fell off.
Immediately, someone else grabbed the spoon. That person reached far enough to pick up the food, but could not feed himself. The handle was too long.
In his dream, the man who was observing it all said to his guide, “This is hell; to have food and not be able to eat it.”
The guide replied, “Where do you think you are? This is hell. But this is not your place. Come with me.”
They went into another room. In this room there also was a long table, filled with food, exactly as in the other room. Everyone was seated in chairs, and for some reason they, too, seemed unable to get out of their chairs.
Like the others, they were unable to reach the food on the table. Yet they had satisfied looks on their faces. Only then did the visitor see the reason. For exactly as before, there was only one spoon. It, too, had a handle five feet long. Yet no one was fighting for it. In fact, one man who held the handle reached out, picked up food, and put it into the mouth of someone else, who ate and was satisfied.
That person then took the spoon by the handle, reached for the food from the table, and put it back to the mouth of the man who first gave him something to eat. And the guide said, “This is heaven.”
(The story is told by Robert A. Schuller in The Power To Grow Beyond Yourself)
A priest died and went to heaven. There he saw angels walking in procession. The priest noticed that once in a while, some angels would do a quick somersault then continue walking.
“What do they do that for?” the priest asked St Peter.
“You know what Father,” Peter explained, “What you see are guardian angels. If the one they’re guarding commits a mortal sin, they somersault.”
“Well,” the priest said, “May I see my guardian angel?”
And Peter replied, “He’s not here. He is in the Lord’s room.”
“Is that how special we, priests, are?” the priest inquired.
“Not really. But your guardian angel somersaults rapidly and the Lord made him His electric fan.”
(The story is told by Larry Faraon, O.P.)
In the gospel, Jesus speaks about his Father’s house which has many dwelling places. He promises disciples that he will go there and prepare a place for each one of them. Such is a great consolation for those of us who seriously desire to live in communion with God. In the midst of life’s joys and pains, successes and difficulties, we continue to believe that our ultimate destination is oneness with the loving God.
It is easy to imagine God’s house as a physical location where we can go if we know the way. Like Thomas, we might also ask: “Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?” Jesus, however, leads us to a deeper understanding of God’s dwelling places. First, he and the Father dwell within one another – “I am in the Father and the Father is in me”. And second, he and the Father dwell within us –“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them”. God, thus, lives not in a house of stone but in a spiritual house made of living stones. In the second reading, Peter claims that we are that spiritual house because God has chosen us to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood, precious in His sight.
“I am the way”, the Lord says. The way to communion with God is not a physical road but a person whom we know. Jesus is the path that leads us to the heart of God. He is the road of service, compassion, generosity, forgiveness, justice and mercy. No one can come to God by greed and selfishness, by force and violence, or by rejection and hatred.
God’s kingdom, therefore, is more of a state of existence than a physical location. It is a situation where God reigns, where love dominates, where kindness overrules, where peace prevails, and where joy lasts.
“I will go and prepare a place for you”. Jesus always leads the way. He goes first and makes it easier for us to reach our ultimate goal in life. He provides us with good examples of meaningful and fruitful living necessary for the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.
There is a story of a man who had a dream one night. He dreamed that he died and found himself in a large room. In the room there was a huge banquet table filled with all sorts of delicious foods. Around the banquet table were people seated on chairs. They were obviously hungry. But the chairs were five feet from the edge of the table and the people apparently could not get out of the chairs. Furthermore, their arms were not long enough to reach the food on the table.
In the dream there was a solitary large spoon, five feet long. Everyone was fighting, quarreling, and pushing, trying to grab hold of the spoon. One man reached out, picked up some food, and turned it to feed himself, only to find the spoon was so long that as he held it out he could not touch his mouth. The food fell off.
Immediately, someone else grabbed the spoon. That person reached far enough to pick up the food, but could not feed himself. The handle was too long.
In his dream, the man who was observing it all said to his guide, “This is hell; to have food and not be able to eat it.”
The guide replied, “Where do you think you are? This is hell. But this is not your place. Come with me.”
They went into another room. In this room there also was a long table, filled with food, exactly as in the other room. Everyone was seated in chairs, and for some reason they, too, seemed unable to get out of their chairs.
Like the others, they were unable to reach the food on the table. Yet they had satisfied looks on their faces. Only then did the visitor see the reason. For exactly as before, there was only one spoon. It, too, had a handle five feet long. Yet no one was fighting for it. In fact, one man who held the handle reached out, picked up food, and put it into the mouth of someone else, who ate and was satisfied.
That person then took the spoon by the handle, reached for the food from the table, and put it back to the mouth of the man who first gave him something to eat. And the guide said, “This is heaven.”
(The story is told by Robert A. Schuller in The Power To Grow Beyond Yourself)
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