Skip to main content

“Ice “T” or Lemonade?” God Sees the Bigger Picture

By October 11, 2016Uncategorized

You may have seen this commercial on TV lately. It is a commercial for Geico Insurance. In the beginning of the commercial, there are a couple of kids with a Lemonade Stand. On the front of the banner, there is written “Lemonade.” Have you seen this commercial? At first you do not really get it. People walk up to the Lemonade Stand, and the first guy who walks up says, “Iced tea?” The kid said, “No, lemonade.” Then he walks away confused. Then a lady walks up and she says, “Iced tea?” and the kid says, “No, lemonade.” Finally, another guy walks up and orders “Iced tea?” Finally, the camera backs up and pans up then you see sitting in a chair is the rapper, Ice T. He says, “No, man, it’s not iced tea. Can’t you read the sign? It’s lemonade. We’re selling lemonade.” Maybe some of you don’t even know who Ice T is and now you get the commercial.

Sometimes in life, all we see is a microscopic picture. All we see is the close up shots. It is not until we see the full picture that we get the punchline, or we get the joke, or we get what is happening in our lives.

I want to give you some examples of what it means to be hyper-focused. When we look at only one frame and we miss out on the bigger picture. God always sees the bigger picture. God always knows what is happening in our lives. God is orchestrating everything that is happening in the world, but sometimes we only see a small fragment of it.

In The Gospel today, we hear about the lepers that were healed. The interesting thing about lepers (you kind of hear a note about this in the gospel) is that they had to stand a distance away from people because leprosy was contagious. They actually stand away from the crowd. Some of the commentators say the lepers had to wear a bell so that if people heard the bell ring they knew to get away from the lepers. They would stay far away. The lepers experienced this tremendous rejection. They experienced what it was like to be outcasts. They experienced a very painful suffering.

When I think about the time I experienced something like, it would be my high school years. Part of the reason seems that I have such a love for you and a passion for being there for you, is that my high school years were the four worst years of my life. I went from Holy Family Grade School where I had tons of friends and knew everybody. Then I went to high school and all of a sudden I didn’t know anybody. I went to public high school and I felt rejection. I chose not to drink alcohol at that time, so I did not get to go to parties. I remember one time my parents would not let me go to a Guns ‘n Roses/Metallica Concert. I felt experienced then.

Different time because of our faith, we experience being excluded. I only saw the small picture. Through that time in my life, I struggled with depression and I went to a psychiatrist and took medication. It was a very difficult time in my life. I remember thinking at times what a hopeless situation it seemed. But God saw the entire picture. God saw that years later, I would become a priest. God saw that out of that suffering and out of that loneliness, I would have a heart for teenagers. I would be better able to minister to them.

We are going to be celebrating the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick. The thing about this sacrament is that we are anointed and healed in body, mind, and soul. Anyone that has a serious illness can be anointed. It is up to you to determine if you need this sacrament. If you have any serious illness, whether it be body, mind, or soul; any kind of addiction or struggle that is just serious for you, I encourage you to be anointed.

Sometimes with illness, we only focus on the illness. We only look at what is right in front of us. When we are suffering, sometimes that is all we can see and not the greater picture. God is going to heal you today. For some of you, God will heal you instantly, physically, miraculously, right now. I am serious. It will happen. For others, God might want to heal you in a deeper level. God, again, has the bigger picture in his mind. He may actually use your suffering to heal your soul to heal your relationship with Him.

Just as we saw in the Geico Commercial, at first none of them got it. They were all asking for iced tea. The kids were all confused. Why were they asking for iced tea? Not until we see the wider picture of Ice T, the rapper, sitting in the background, do we get the punchline. That is when we get the joke and when we hear the humor.

My brothers and sisters, God sees the bigger picture. Whatever you may be suffering with right now, whatever ailment may be happening in your life, whatever exclusion you may be feeling because of it, whatever loneliness or suffering may be in your heart, God sees the greater picture. He desires to heal you. He desires to restore you. He desires to bring you to new life. He does it through the sacraments that we celebrate both the Anointing and the Eucharist.

2 Comments

  • Aileen says:

    EXCELlent homily! May those who are rejected by others always feel the loving presence of Jesus.

  • Dee Andrews says:

    I love this homily, I think you are great to connect with not only young adults but to every generation. There is a message for everyone. Thank you!!!