Who wants to go to heaven?

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters: Last week Rex asked me to address his Junior High Classes while he had a meeting with the adult leaders. I asked the kids a simple question. Who wants to go to heaven? As one would expect, all the kids raised their hands. Then I asked them – Who really wants to go to heaven? While this question may be simple and the answer should be obvious, the action to get us there is much more difficult. In today’s Gospel, the mother of John and James asked Jesus, “Command that these two sons of mine site, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom” (Matthew 20:21). Jesus gives her a simple reply, “You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?” The two apostles wanted to sit at his hand in the kingdom of God , but were they willing to do what it takes to get there? This request also infuriated the rest of the apostles. Why would James and John get to sit at the hands of God and not them. Why not me? Jesus said to them all, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:25-28). Saying you want to go to heaven is not going to get you there. Lent is more then just saying extra prayers, fasting and giving to others. It is about refocusing our life to the Lord. About redefining the path we must follow to get to heaven. While heaven is a desire, we must work to get there. We must be servants of the Lord and Masters of none. Last October, my wife and I went to Georgia for a weekend get-away. The car we rented had the Never-Lost GPS system in it. We used the GPS to help us get to our destination, a small retreat in the Smokey Mountains of Georgia . Along the way, the roads became quite confusing and we made a wrong exit from the interstate. The GPS gently indicated that we were not heading in the right direction. The sweet lady on the GPS said, “Recalculating a new route to your destination.” In life, we will all make wrong directions, make bad turns, go where we’re not suppose to go. Christ is that GPS that will redirect us. Every time we fall, Jesus Christ calculates a new path for us to heaven. Lent is a time to sit back and find that redirection. It is a time to get back on the path to heaven. Look up and ask God for forgiveness. See the Glory of God as he shines down on you. Be a servant to the Lord, be a servant to others. Do not be a servant to your sins. A Simple Prayer “Lord, thank you for your cross, And for the salvation you have won for me. Give me the heart of a servant, always ready to do your will.” Yours in Christ Michael Marcon