GOING  THE  EXTRA  MILE

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily for this 11^th Monday in Ordinary Time is, “Going The Extra Mile.”

Sometimes we wonder and we ask where a saying comes from.

For example, I’ve often wondered where “Pushing the envelope” came from.

FROM THE BIBLE

Surprise! Many sayings come from the Bible. Check them out - like Jesus’ comment, “Putting your two cents in.”

We have too well used sayings in today’s gospel: “Turn the other cheek!” and “Go the extra mile.”

I assume that part of the  reason why is because preachers would take a comment from the Bible and use it in a Sunday sermon and folks would repeat them in doing life.

GOOD WORKER

Employers often would tell their workers, “Go the extra mile if you want to grow our business. The extras make the difference.

I love the saying, “Go the extra mile, it’s never crowded.”

THE WHOLE 9 YARDS.

Most agree that going the extra mile comes from Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. In a way it’s like the saying, “the Whole 9 yards.”

However, when it comes to the saying, “The whole 9 yards”  -  there is no common agreement about its origins.

It could refer to cloth or sails or machine gun bullets.  It could be the same as the saying about the whole ball of the whole enchilada or it could refer to the size of something in yards:  the size of graves,  kilts, or bridal veils.

Whatever, when it comes to serving, loving, giving, hopefully all of us will give the whole 9 yards and then some. That giving the extra comes from Jesus in how we measure pouring out grace and love in forgiving and loving one another.

HIDDEN

The part I like in all this is the secret side of love.

That too is from Jesus - that we don’t do to be noticed - but to make the other’s day.

I think that was the secret reason for the secret success of the Random Acts of Kindness Movement from a few years back.

I heard an example in a sermon way, way back when we were in the seminary about doing things in secret.

A Redemptorist - who became our rector major - talked about a Redemptorist brother who was an excellent carpenter.  He was asked to make a telephone booth - and where it was to be put. Nobody would notice the back - or one of the sides so the priest in charge said, “Don’t worry about the back or the left size, nobody will ever see them.”

However, this brother who made the telephone booth made the back and side which nobody would see - the same as the sides that would be seen. Whenever I spotted that phone booth I would remember that story about it. When I got stationed back in that place years later, I noticed that it was moved out from where it was - and now everyone could see that all 3 sides and all 3 sides were well carpentered.

CONCLUSION

So too our lives - going the extra mile or giving the whole 9 yards makes a difference - especially to ourselves - because it helps our soul grow more generously and that will show up in all our life situations.