A Seat At The Table

Last weekend at the 10:00 AM Mass, I mentioned that the person in the Gospel and I have something in common — many possessions. In my case, it’s mainly shirts, 166 of them to be exact. Then, on Monday, one of the parishioners asked me, “How do you decide which one of the 166 shirts to wear each day?” My response was, “Well, it depends. Some days it’s the next shirt in the drawer, or it’s just the first shirt I see. Other days, it depends on who I’m seeing and what that person might like.”

This interaction about my shirts made me think about the Gospel and what James and John requested: “Grant that in your glory we may sit one at your right and the other at your left.” We then heard Jesus say, “To sit at my right or at my left is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” So, what does this have to do with my shirts? I reflected on the possibility that in heaven, multiple people might sit at the right and left of Jesus, and that this honor could change over time. Just as I choose and change which shirt to wear each day, maybe in heaven the ones who sit beside Jesus also change.

If heaven is where we celebrate the eternal banquet, perhaps different people take turns sitting at the right and left of Jesus, like at a family gathering where we interact with all our relatives by rotating conversations with various family members. I don’t know for sure — I’ve never been to heaven — but I can imagine a grand banquet with everyone’s favorite foods, lots of laughter, and abundant love and joy. Just like on earth, maybe there are times when we are served by others, and other times when we serve food to others.

The last line of the Gospel says, “For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.” This week, if you’re usually the one serving food in your home, try allowing others to serve you. And if you’re the one being served, stretch yourself to serve food to others.

Sounds simple, right? Let’s give it a try!