Daily HOMILY for September 18, 2016: 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

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25^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

St. Matthew 5:00pm, St. Mark 7:30am and 9:00am

September 18, 2016

The Weight of a Snowflake

By (Rev. Msgr.) Nicholas P. Amato

The Weight of a Snowflake

Once upon a time, a field mouse asked a wise old owl, “What is the weight of a snowflake?”

The owl answered: “Why nothing! Nothing at all!” The mouse went on to tell the owl about the time he was resting on the branch of a fir tree.

It was snowing and he was counting each snowflake until the number was exactly 3,471,952. Then, with the landing of the very next flake — c-r-r-r-r-r-r-ack!

The branch of the fir tree snapped and the mouse and the snow tumbled to the ground.

The mouse looked up at the owl and said: “Humph! So that’s the weight of nothing?”

Two Points

The anecdote echoes one of the lessons in today’s Gospel.

Jesus says, “If people are faithful in little things, they will also be faithful in greater things. But if people are dishonest in little things, they will also be dishonest in greater ones.”

The point is that everything we do has significance. Sometimes we think that certain of our actions are not that important; that they count for nothing, like a snowflake that seems to weigh nothing.

But the truth is that everything we do has an effect both (1) on our moral character and also (2) on the character of others.

On Our Moral Character

Jesus suggests that we develop moral character by beginning with the little things in our own lives.

From my mother I learned the habit of thinking of others first. My parents were immigrants and or family was a bit underclassed.

Every summer she’d harvest tomatoes from her garden and grade them from the best to the least desirable. She then would give the top 1/3 to neighbors and friends, enjoying their smiles of gratitude. The second 1/3, we ate in salads and sandwiches and the third 1/3 she used for cooking.

From this annual “snowflake” I learned to do the same with my own treasure, time and talents and relish the appreciative smiles of recipients.

Jesus suggests that we need to work at those little “snowflakes” of giving and caring for others.

It is said that, “Integrity does not emerge full blown in us. It is built of thousands of little acts and decisions over many years that form our lasting character.”  The accumulation of years of my mother’s dividing of her tomato harvest did just that.

The Character of Others

Besides building who we are, our little snowflake actions will even have a profound effect on others, especially our children, grandchildren, and youth.

I remember years ago the cheating scam at the Air Force Academy in Colorado. A number of cadets were expelled as a result.

One newspaper reporter studied the situation and found out why these young adults might cheat on their exams.

The reporter concluded that it might have been a 6-year old hearing his father tell someone who was interested in buying his old car that it had never been in an accident, when in truth, it had been rear-ended several years before.

Or a 10-year old might have heard his parents talk about not including on their income tax report some money they had made on the side.

Or a teenager at her first job at a supermarket might have been told to hide the over-ripe strawberries by putting them on the bottom of the box.

The newspaper reporter said that experiences like these could lead children and youth to develop an attitude about cheating on an exam. In truth these little actions by adults begin to form the character of young people.

Conclusion

So, eventually one more snowflake, that apparently weighs nothing, cracks the branch of the tree.

Yes, the same thing can happen to us. Eventually, one more little action that disregards moral norms or conscience can have a decisive influence on our character and make us ill prepared for dealing with the bigger moral decisions in business and relationships.

On the other hand, an accumulation of little things that are done from a sound moral basis will positively mold our character and prepare us for life’s bigger issues.

As Jesus says, “If people are faithful in little things, they will also be faithful in greater ones.”

It leaves us with a personal question: “What are the snowflakes that are accumulating on my own branch of life and how do they impact myself and others!”