MOTIVE: THE WHY

INTRODUCTION

The title of my homily is “Motive: The Why?”

Like you I read the readings and see what questions hit me.  Today’s readings - especially the second reading from James - triggered the why question.

Sometimes people ask, “Why did you preach about that topic or question?”

CLUE

People like games.

Go figure….

It’s a rainy day. It’s vacation. Some people look for games to play. Boggle, cards, checkers, Scrabble.  I read somewhere that the number one board game is not Monopoly. It’s Clue. My niece Jeannie’s husband, David, who is the best there ever was in Trivia Pursuit - missed that question on most popular board game - and said, “Never heard of it.” Everyone was surprised he never heard of Clue. Then he paused when he realized that it’s called “Cluedo” in Italy where he was from.

Did you ever notice that Clue doesn’t get to motive?

We have Miss Scarlet - Red. We have Colonel  Mustard - Yellow. Mrs. White. White.  Mrs. Peacock - Blue. We have Professor Plum - Purple. And sometimes Doctor Black - Black. And they go around the board - going into differert rooms - finding different clues.

We have the revolver, the knife, the rope, the lead pipe, the wrench.

We have the kitchen, the dining room, the library, the conservatory, the dawing room, the trophy room. Does anyone here have a trophy room and the wise husband says, “Any room my wife is in!”

There is no question of motive for the murder - with whatever weapon it is and what room it happens in and who is the murderer is.

MOTIVES: THE WHY

It’s not by accident that the question mark is formed the way it’s formed.

It’s a fishing hook - as we go down underwater to get to motives why people do what they do.

I love the say: “Teach thy tongue to say, ‘I do not know.’”

Motives: money, anger, lust, frustration, pay back, hunger, thirst, loneliness, love, generosity,

What are your thoughts about motives.

There are negative motives and positive motives.

How often in a day do we all say, “Why?”

Why did he do that?  Why did she say that?

“I do not know!”

Or I know. I know. I know.

Then two days later we find out by accident why she did that.

How many times have we said to ourselves, “Wrong again!”

TODAY’S SECOND READING FROM JAMES

Today’s second reading from James is all about motives.

James good motives and bad motives.

There’s jealousy, selfishness, ambition, that cause disorder and foul practices.

There’s purity, peace, gentleness, compliance, mercy, without inconstancy or insincerity - and the results is good fruit.

James asks where wars and conflicts come from? Our passions take over at times. We covet what we don’t possess. We kill each other. We go to war. We ask and we don’t receive - because sometimes we ask wrongly.

I want what I want when I want it - and sometimes we don’t get what we want.

TODAY’S GOSPEL

In today’s gospel Jesus says he’s going to lose. He’s going to get killed for saying what he’s been saying.

In today’s gospel Jesus asks his disciples what they were arguing about. It was greatness.

Is that the biggest motive: this wanting to be number 1, to be or to look like the greatest?

In today’s gospel Jesus says it’s all about serviing others - especially the children - making them # 1.

MOTIVE: THE WHY

Someone said,  “Motive is the reason, the why, sometimes the darkest chapter in the darkest book in the massive library we call the human mind.” 

Why do we do what we do?

I love the shortest poem ever written: I / Why.  And it rhymes.

I wrote the second shorest poem ever written, “You / Who” and it also rhyemes.

And I think we spend our lives on these 2 questions: I / Why and  You / who.

Here’s a parlor game. Ask each other what you think is the number one motive in life.

You can also play it in the car or in marriage or at work.

You’ll come up with different answers on different days.

Today I think it’s comfort. Tomorrow I might think it’s control.

Many people will say it’s money.

What do you think it is.

CONCLUSION

The answer varies. The answer has levels.

If you keep on asking why, you’ll come up with and come back to different answers.

And remember the old saying about layers.

Life is like an onion. You peel off a layer at time and sometimes you cry.

You’ll cry when it comes to onions, because there is noting inside at the center.

Try apples or seedfull oranges and there are pits