28 June 2026 #re-orientation
As a life-experienced adult taking undergraduate courses at the University of St. Thomas, I often had an unfair advantage over the other just-out-of-high-school students. I read the content with mature eyes, asked questions, was a pro at time-management, didn’t feel the social pressure of having to make new friends, or discerning what freedom-from-intensive-parenting meant. I also knew the value of a college education, having gone without one for so long.
One time I had this amazing professor of philosophy. The class was an entry-level course, but he taught it with interest, laughter, and a certain devil-may-care abandon. He sometimes arrived late and when he covered what the syllabus dictated, he dismissed us. We had minimal homework and no points for class participation. Even to my ‘mature’ nature, I loved leaving class a little early and not having much homework was a plus. It was a joy. Until it wasn’t. You see, it turns out his attitude was due to his immanent departure; he was leaving UST for greener (ie: more lucrative) pastures. We were his final class. Which brings us to the “until it wasn’t” part.
The midterm exam was strictly essay and we had the single application-of-philosophy question ahead of time. I memorized the 45 rules of argumentation and the 19 fallacies in Weston’s Rulebook for Arguments and had recent cultural examples to articulate their use. I worked long and hard with late-nights and early-mornings preparing. I came to the midterm exam well-prepared, wrote for an hour, and left intensely satisfied. The following class period our professor handed back our blue-books. I received full marks without a comment, which was a bit… odd. Very odd, actually. After his pile emptied, a couple of students were still blue-book-less. He didn’t have their midterms. Not to worry, our professor said, it won’t matter unless you want it back for posterity. It’s my last semester here. You’re all getting an A. Have a great term.
Say what?
I wonder if that’s what Gehazi-the-servant thought in our first reading; conception of a child was an awfully big reward for Elisha’s occasional stay in the rooftop B&B, yes? And what about the Christians in Rome from our second reading who might have seen near death-bed conversions of pagans? Did they wonder about God’s generous nature too… heaven is an awfully big reward for those who once tormented and tortured them, right? And those followers of Jesus who were subjected to abuse in today’s Gospel… a pagan gives them a cup of cold water and he/she receives a full reward? Say what? Doesn’t seem fair, does it?
Like my professor explained to me, if you spend more time falling in love with the content than getting a grade, you’ll be a better student and more intelligent person. I want to re-orient your perspective.
Clearly, God’s ways are not our ways. God’s justice is not our justice. Jesus does not discriminate or keep a tally on good deeds. No matter when you came to the faith [deathbed conversion?], no matter how long you kept prayer at the top of your to-do list [during a late-in-life illness?], no matter when you started volunteering at TLC or HFS [after retirement?], you’ll receive the same heavenly reward the same as those who were lucky enough to love on the Lord and his ways their entire lives.
Life is easier with Jesus than without. If we truly loved our neighbor as ourselves, we would rejoice in their newfound love for Jesus and subsequent rewards, no matter when they came to the faith. #re-orientation