Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…Just kidding! Talk about Star Wars, I am not going to. But my wife and I are Disney fans and so naturally, we wanted to share this with our son. Before we knew it, he quickly became a big fan of Mickey Mouse. As he grew older and watched more Mickey shows, we thought it would be amazing to take him to meet his favorite character. So, we planned a trip to make it happen.

As our trip approached, we needed to get a few new things since we don’t usually take trips to places with hot climates. Sunblock and a portable fan for the stroller to name a few. Confident that we had everything we needed, we headed to the happiest place on earth.

Halfway through our first day on vacation, our son got sick. We ended up extending our stay to visit the doctor and give him time to recover. Instead of being at the amusement park, we ended up staying in our hotel for three days. Sure, it was unfortunate that we lost out on our tickets for the park and spent more money to stay longer, but God reminded me of what was really important.

The biggest message that Jesus placed in my heart through this week’s readings is this: When we follow His teachings and put others before ourselves, we are following in His footsteps and will eventually join Him in heaven. I can imagine His disciples probably felt proud and happy that they accomplished so many things that they set out to do. But Jesus reminds them that the more important thing is the destination, not what they’ve accomplished along the way.

So many times in life, we tend to get blinded by the accomplishments and accolades that we receive. It feels good to be validated and recognized, but the end goal is not to stay there. When we place Jesus at the center of our lives, we start to embody who He is. He starts to reach people who may have never known His love and mercy. The more we follow Him, the more we start to inherit all the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit. We start to look like Jesus and in turn, others can know what true selfless love is. And in knowing His love, the more people will be changed and the more people we can bring to heaven with us.

This is what God reminded me of during our trip. When everything else was taken away, the things that this world can offer, I got to see what was and is truly important. Taking care of my family and making sure they get to Heaven. We’re called not to “pack” useless material things on our journey, but to store God’s love in our hearts so we can give it to others.

In the end, Heaven sounds a lot better than the happiest place on earth. Meeting Jesus is infinitely much better than meeting our favorite characters. When it comes to planning our trip to heaven one day, God is all we need. Nothing else.