Tuesday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Mass Readings
One of the more interesting aspects of our society is the amount of time and effort that is put into advertising products and services. Many firms exist for the sole purpose of devising new ways to convince us to act. That is, to convince us to make a decision to purchase a product or service and then to act on that decision. While some of this advertising is beneficial because it makes people aware of the availability of products and services that they need, it is interesting to see how some advertising attempts to motivate people to act against their own self interest. While there are many examples, my favorite is one restaurant’s “No rules. Just right” ad campaign. This campaign appeals to the desire to believe that if I disregard those standards that I know are objectively right, everything will still be okay. We know that consuming a 2,310 calorie appetizer will not result in a good end, so why do people do it? One explanation is that we are good at disconnecting short term decisions from what we perceive to be long term consequences. Today’s readings remind us that there are ultimately consequences for all of the large and small decisions that we make on a daily basis. While reflecting on those long term consequences, we might also consider how we are perceiving the short term consequences of our decisions. In our first reading from Exodus we find a description of Moses’ preparation to write the Ten Commandments on tablets. During this preparation, God speaks to Moses and emphasizes that wickedness and sin can be forgiven. But God goes on to remind Moses that there is an ultimate accountability for bad acts as well, and those acts, once done, echo through human history.
In our Gospel reading, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds in the field. Jesus responds by reminding us that evil is present in this world, but that righteousness will ultimately be rewarded at the “end of the age.” While this message is of the utmost importance, we should not forget that justice at the “end of the age” is not the only benefit that results from good acts.
How do we reconcile ultimate justice with a society that is motivated by what is perceived to be immediate satisfaction? Perhaps it is by sharpening our perception of short term consequences. We all know that the result of following the guidance that has been given to us in today’s readings is a better life, not just in eternity, but right now, so one might take the position that asking people to choose between ultimate justice and immediate satisfaction is a false choice since the two are not typically mutually exclusive.
Where bad things are happening to good people, we find consolation in ultimate justice. But this does not mean that we should downplay the fact that the vast majority of people who are making good choices will experience happiness in both this life and the next. If we sharpen our perception, we can also see that the impact of a poor choice is not as long term as we might think. If you are unconvinced, you could order that 2,310 calorie appetizer, and then ask yourself how you feel after you consume it. Immediate satisfaction will probably not be in your description, but we are conditioned to think that this is what we will receive – our perception has been distorted.
Today’s readings, which are direct and to the point, are particularly well suited to assist us in realigning our perception with truth. Through a well formed perception of the world, we ultimately find a better way to live.
- John Sperino