We are in snow season here on the East Coast. Having grown up in the African tropics where the sun comes out almost every day, snow season is something to behold!
From the abundance of snow, people created snowball games. From the snowball, people created the analogy of a “snowball effect.” Out of the snow one can create snowballs, and when you throw a snowball downhill, it rolls and picks up a lot more snow, becoming big and bigger, and gaining even higher momentum as it rolls downhill. The “snowball effect” is an analogy about something that starts small and speed yet grows larger and its speed accelerates.
Today in our first reading about King David and Bathsheba the wife of Urriah, we are warned about the “the snowball effect of sin.” It is an uncomfortable reading about a King who was taking an evening walk, saw someone else’s wife taking a bath, and he could not keep his eyes off from her. He lingered too long. Consequently, he could not get her out of his mind. From that point on everything went down.
He inquired about her and he learnt she was Uriah’s wife. Right there, was a clear and visible “stop sign”- which the King chose to drive through and committed adultery. When he realized the huge consequences of his choices, he organized a cover up through manipulating the husband of the woman. However, the cover up didn’t stick together. He moved it a step higher and organized the murder of the husband. Something that started small, grew bigger in size, accelerated in speed, and went out of control fast. This is the spiritual analogy of the “snowball effect of sin.”
There are things in our lives that can start innocent, small, and slow yet when given time, they can grow into huge monsters that we no longer have control over. Think about all the addictions we know of – all started tiny and easy to control yet with time gained so much size and speed that the victims became powerless. Think of the small uncharitable remarks about other people that we kept repeating that ended up growing into meanness. Think about small negative attitudes about individuals or communities that accumulated and grew into hatred. Do not underestimate the power of “small things.”
In the gospel on the other hand, the Lord using the image of the “mustard seed,” paints a more positive picture about “small things.” He says small positive things can accumulate or grow into something good and big that pleases God. Small acts of love, charity, and service can grow into “a big tree” that pleases the eyes of God. Do not underestimate the power of small acts! Here at the Peyton Center, we have someone who regularly offers to take the altar linen and the liturgical vestments to the dry cleaner at her own cost. These tiny acts of service are not tiny in the eyes of God!
May we in this Mass be reminded of “the power of small things.” May the Lord protect our hearts from the allure of small acts of sin. May the Lord’s grace help us to see the value of small and regular acts of love, service, and charity, most especially in our families. These all add up to something significant. Amen.