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Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C, September 11, 2016, by Fr. Kevin Anderson

Pretend that this plant [show a large green plant] is growing outside. And one day a large branch from a nearby tree falls on it. [Demonstrate]. And pretend that this plant can talk. What would it say?   Perhaps something like, “Son of a . . .    Rats this is awful. This is not fair!”

 

And then the plant can choose to do a couple of different things:

#1 It can pout and complain to all the other vegetation around it.

#2 It can simply decide that life is no longer worth living, give up, and die.

#3 OR it can say, “Gee, this is bad . . . but I will make the best of it and continue growing and thriving as best I can.”

 

If you observe nature, you’ll notice that most of creation chooses option #3. That is, bad things happen. Life is not fair. But nature continues as best it can and keeps growing and thriving.

 

Now, we humans don’t usually do as well. For example, just recently I received news that a leadership position in Men’s Spirituality (that I was really looking forward to) is going to be postponed because of someone else’s screw-up. I did nothing wrong. I did all the right things, yet I am to suffer because someone else didn’t follow through. It is like a branch fell on me. And I say, “This is not fair.” But what do I do.

 

There is a lot of things in life that we can rightly complain, “This is not fair.” For example, our team loses, the car breaks down, someone else gets hired instead of us, we break a bone, our glasses get stepped on, there is a sickness, there is a loss.

 

The MN Vikings felt that a few weeks ago, when our rising star quarterback, Teddy Bridgewater, tore his ACL in practice and is now for the season. This is not fair! Yet head Viking coach Mike Zimmer said it very well in an interview, “Hey it’s tough today, but look my wife passed away 7 years. It was a tough day but the sun came out the next day, the world kept spinning, people kept going to work and that’s what we’re going to do.”

 

We can keep crying out, “It’s not fair.” And pouting and complaining is therapeutic . . . for a while, but at some point we have to move on.

 

Now look at the gospel. We have the classic parable of the Prodigal Son. And remember it is a story, a parable. It did not happen. It is one of Jesus best parables. But most of the time we focus only on the son that went away. And it is a great story . . . for we all screw up, we all need to ask forgiveness and we all need to know that God is waiting for us with open arms ready to take us back and forgive us. A classic story.

 

But what about the other brother? He does everything right and yet he gets the bad deal. He could be saying, “It’s not fair.”

 

Recently we all heard the news that Jacob Wetterling’s body was found. And the whole situation makes so many of us extremely sad, and mad, and confused and empty. We should all shout together, “It’s not fair . . . that something like this should happen to an innocent 11 year old boy. Who did nothing wrong. It’s not fair.”

 

And then God says to the older son (in so many words) I love you. The older son says, “It’s not fair.” “I love you.” “He should not get away with this.” “I love you.” “Yea but . . . “ “I love you.”

 

Bad things happen . . . this is 15th anniversary of the 9/11 disaster, there has been flooding in Louisiana, a hurricane in Florida, a five year old girl abducted and killed. And my little “I want to be a leader seems so pathetic.”

 

But I still hurt. So I (and you) can choose what to do . . . like this plant:

#1 pout and complain to all the other vegetation around it.

#2 decide that life is no longer worth living, give up, and die.

#3 OR say, “Gee, this is bad . . . but I will make the best of it and continue growing and thriving as best I can.”

 

Right after Jacob’s body was found, Patty Wetterling answered the question of “what can we do?” She wrote: Everyone wants to know what they can do to help us.
Say a prayer.
Light a candle.
Be with friends.
Play with your children.
Giggle.
Hold Hands.
Eat ice cream.
Create joy.
Help your neighbor.
That is what will bring me comfort today

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