To watch Fr. Joe’s homily from the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time: CLICK HERE!
Sometimes when the Deacon is preaching, I ask him before Mass to summarize his homily in one or two sentences.
Well if St. Paul were here today, his message would be, his question would be, “What does the love of Christ impel you to do?”
The love of Jesus in today’s Gospel impelled Jesus to save his friends from danger. And today’s Gospel story of the disciples in a boat being tossed about reminded me of the following story:
A man was asked to paint a boat. He brought his paint and brushes and began to paint the boat a bright red, as the owner asked him. While painting, he noticed a small hole in the hull, and quietly repaired it. When he finished painting, he received his money and left.
The next day, the owner of the boat came to the painter and presented him with a nice check, much higher than the payment for painting. The painter was surprised and said “You’ve already paid me for painting the boat sir!”
“But this is not for the paint job. It’s for repairing the hole in the boat.”
“Ah! But it was such a small service… certainly it’s not worth paying me such a high amount for something so insignificant.”
“My dear friend, you do not understand. Let me tell you what happened… When I asked you to paint the boat, I forgot to mention the hole. When the boat dried, my kids took the boat and went on a fishing trip. They did not know that there was a hole. I was not at home at that time. When I returned and noticed they had taken the boat, I was desperate because I remembered that the boat had a hole. Imagine my relief and joy when I saw them returning from fishing. Then, I examined the boat and found that you had repaired the hole! You see, now, what you did? You saved the life of my children! I do not have enough money to pay your ‘small’ good deed.”
So no matter who, when or how, continue to help, sustain, wipe tears, listen attentively, and carefully repair all the ‘leaks’ you find. You never know when one is in need of us, or when God holds a pleasant surprise for us to be helpful and important to someone. Along the way, you may have repaired numerous ‘boat holes’ for several people without realizing how many lives you’ve save.
Make a difference… Continue to make a difference…