10th Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
June 9, 2024 8:30 and 11am
Our Lady of Grace Parish, Parkton
The Last Supper by da Vinci
There are several stories told about the painting of The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci.
This has got to be one of the most famous paintings in the world. Probably some of us have a print of it in our homes.
We are rather certain that da Vinci began painting The Last Supper in the year 1495. One of the stories about this teaches an excellent point that relates to today’s gospel.
The story goes that it took Leonardo da Vinci many years to finish The Last Supper. It explains that he carefully looked for thirteen different men to serve as models for Jesus and the twelve apostles.
Da Vinci selected a man named Pietro Bandinelli for Jesus because he had a face that spoke of compassion and kindness. Then, the last of the apostles to be painted was Judas.
The story says that da Vinci was having a hard time finding the right face for Judas. He wanted a man whose face had a cold and heartless appearance.
After some years, da Vinci spotted such a man in one of the rough areas of Milan. And this man agreed to sit for the painting as Judas.
At the final sitting, da Vinci noticed that this man was growing tense as he looked at his likeness in the painting. After a while, the man broke down in tears and da Vinci asked him, “What is troubling you?”
The man looked up and said, “Don’t you remember me? Some years ago, I was your model for Jesus.”
What Causes Us to Drift Away?
This story illustrates the possibility of our drifting away from God.
At one point, Bandinelli’s face spoke of kindness and compassion. But within a few years, it seemed cold and heartless.
What had happened to change him from a face of Jesus to a face of Judas? The story doesn’t give us the answer, but today’s gospel shows a type of behavior that can cause a similar change in us, a behavior that can disfigure us and distort our relationships with God and others.
Not Seeing the Good
The gospel tells us that some of Jesus’ opponents are hardened.
They refuse to see the good that he does. They even say that he casts out demons through the prince of demons.
In effect, they are saying that the good he does is evil. Well, is it possible that we can do a similar thing?
Might we do this when we demonize others? It could be a boss who is difficult to work for or a family member who talks all the time.
Or it could be an entire group or nationality of people. Can we get into demonizing and fail to see any good in others?
When we do this, we probably won’t know it at first, but we slowly disfigure ourselves and distort our relationships with God and with others. To go back to the story about the painting of The Last Supper, we can change from a Jesus face to a Judas face.
How to Prevent This
How can we prevent this?
I suggest that as soon as we become aware that we are demonizing others, we need to Stop, Look, and Listen. First, maybe the X sign at railroad crossings will be a good visual for us to remember and for getting us to Stop our demonizing thoughts or words.
Then we need to Look. Look more closely at the person or group and try to see them as human beings much like ourselves.
And finally, Listen. Listen not just to the words, but also to the feelings under the words that the other persons are expressing.
So, Stop, Look, and Listen. This will help us to stop demonizing and see the good that is there.
And, for motivation in doing this, remember what Jesus says today: that the failure to see good, the unwillingness to see at least something of God at work is a sin against the Holy Spirit. Jesus even says that those who do this will not experience the love or peace or forgiveness of God.
But the good news is that we can experience the love and peace and forgiveness of God if we Stop, Look, and Listen.
