Ecclesiastes 1:2; 2:21-23 / Colossians 3:1-5, 9-11 / Luke 12:13-21
There are some movies, as well as movie characters, that we will remember even long after the box-office screening.
Especially so for those kind of movies that make us laugh and cry.
It does what good movies are supposed to do: make us feel alive and feel what it is like to be human.
One of those movies has its title which is also the name of the main movie character.
We would know what movie it is with this memorable line from the opening scenes: “My mama always said, ‘Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.’”
Yes, that’s from the movie “Forrest Gump” and it’s about this fictitious character, though not very intelligent, has accidently been present in many historical moments. But he has a sweetness and the charm of a childlike innocence.
There is this story about the day finally arrives when Forrest Gump dies and goes to heaven. He is met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter himself. The gates are closed however, as Forrest approaches the gatekeeper. St. Peter says, "Well Forrest, it's certainly good to see you. We have heard a lot about you. I must inform you that the place is filling up fast, and we've been administering an entrance examination for everyone. The tests are fairly short, but you need to pass before you can get into Heaven."
Forrest responds "It sure is good to be here sir. I was looking forward to this. Nobody ever told me about any entrance exam.
Sure hope the test ain't too hard; life was a big enough a test as it was."
St. Peter goes on, "Yes, I know Forrest, but the test I have for you has only three questions. Q1. What days of the week begin with the letter T? Q2. How many seconds are there in a year? Q3. What is God's first name?"
Forrest Gump thought for a while and said, "Well, the first one - how many days of the week begin with the letter "T"? That one's easy. That'd be Today and Tomorrow."
The Saint's eyes open wide and he exclaims, "Forrest! That's not what I was thinking, but.... you do have a point though, and I guess I didn't specify, so I give you credit for that answer. How about the next one?" asks St. Peter. "How many seconds are there in a year?"
"Now that one's harder," says Forrest, "But I guess the only answer can be twelve." Astounded St. Peter says, "Twelve!? Twelve!? Forrest, how in Heaven's name could you come up with twelve seconds in a year?" Forest says "There's gotta be twelve seconds in a year: January second, February second, March second....."
"Hold it," interrupts St. Peter. "I see where you're going with this. And I guess I see your point, though that wasn't quite what I had in mind, but I'll give you credit for that one, too." "Let's go on with the next and final question. Can you tell me God's first name?"
Forrest replied, "Howard." "OK, OK," said a frustrated St. Peter, "I guess I can understand how you came up with your answers to my first two questions, but just how in the world did you come up with the name Howard as the first name of God?"
"That was the easiest one of all," Forrest replied "I learned it from the prayer – Our Father who art in heaven, Howard be thy name … St. Peter pushed the gate open and said, “Run, Forrest, run!”
Those are certainly odd and naïve answers but they give another perspective to what is the usual and expected.
As Christians, we are not to give odd and naïve answers to the questions of life. Rather we are to give a spiritual and heavenly answer to the material and earthly questions.
Hence it is a matter of getting our hearts back to basic. But this basic is not about the usual and the expected. It is not about going with the flow of what others think and measure with.
The 1st reading gives us questions to ponder over. “For what does man gain for all the toil and strain that he has undergone under the sun? What of all his laborious days, his cares of office, his restless nights?”
It’s not a matter of how much we have travelled but in which direction we are travelling. It is not about how much we are thinking but in which direction we are thinking.
Hence, the 2nd reading urges us to have our thoughts be on heavenly things, not on the things that are on earth, because the life we have is with Christ in God.
That is why we must kill everything in us that belongs only to the earthly life: fornication, impurity, guilty passions, evil desires and especially greed, which is the same as worshipping a false god.
And greed was what consumed the rich man in the gospel parable.
And for that, God has this to say to him: Fool! This very night the demand is made for your soul; and this horde of yours, whose will it be then?
All of us, and each of us will one day have to stand before the Lord, and like the joke about Forrest Gump at heaven’s gate, we may be given some questions to answer.
But God won't ask what kind of car we drove, He'll ask how many people we drove who didn't have transportation.
God won't ask the square footage of our house, He'll ask how many people we welcomed into our home.
God won't ask about the clothes we had in our closet, He'll ask how many people we helped to clothe.
God won't ask what our highest salary was, He'll ask if we compromised our character to obtain it.
God won't ask how many friends we had, He'll ask how many people to whom we were a friend.
Let us not wait till we stand at heaven’s gate to have the answers.
The life in heaven begins with how we live our lives on earth.
And when we stand at heaven’s gate, may we be welcomed by God who is generous with His mercy and compassion.
There will be no questions asked when we ourselves have been generous to others with our love, mercy and compassion.