8 Sunday of Ordinary Time, year C | Lk 6:36-45; 1 Cor 15
What we do in this life echoes in eternity—especially how we treat the least among us. If we truly believe every person is destined for eternal life, it should change the way we act, speak, and love. Jesus calls us to see others with this perspective, challenging us to live with mercy, dignity, and deep compassion.
Listen to homily here:
One of my favorite movies, which came out quite a while ago now, is Gladiator. Some of you might have seen it. There’s even a sequel that has just been released—I haven’t seen it yet, so no spoilers after Mass, please!
The movie Gladiator, as the title suggests, is about gladiators in the Roman Empire. It follows their struggles against a corrupt emperor, focusing on the journey of the main character, Maximus, played by Russell Crowe. One of the most well-known lines from the film has taken on a life beyond the movie itself. Maximus says, “What we do echoes in eternity.” He delivers this line to inspire his fellow gladiators as they prepare for what, for many of them, will be certain death.
Today, as we reflect on our readings—especially the second reading and the Gospel—I’d like to suggest that this phrase holds profound truth for us as Christians. However, I’d like to offer a slight amendment: What we do, especially for the least among us, echoes in eternity.
What We Do Echoes in Eternity
Why does what we do have eternal significance? This idea is expressed clearly in today’s second reading from 1 Corinthians. Paul, in this passage, conveys one of the most central messages of his teaching: with the coming of Jesus, death has been defeated. Because of Christ’s resurrection, we have a firm hope that we, too, who are in Christ, will be raised and will live forever. Death no longer has the final word.
Throughout his letters, Paul frequently references Genesis to explain this transformation. In 1 Corinthians, he describes how, through Adam’s disobedience, sin and death entered the world. But through Jesus, the last or second Adam, death is overcome by his obedience and self-sacrifice. In today’s reading, Paul proclaims that death has been swallowed up in victory—a victory won by Christ. Because of this, we now live with the hope of eternal life. This means that our actions, our choices, and how we treat others are not fleeting; they have eternal consequences.
C.S. Lewis on Our Eternal Destiny
I once read an essay by C.S. Lewis that left a deep impression on me. Many of you may know him from The Chronicles of Narnia, but he also wrote profoundly about Christianity. In his essay The Weight of Glory, Lewis speaks about the eternal significance of every human being. He writes:
There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization—these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit—immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.
When I first read this, it changed the way I thought about my interactions with others. How different would our actions be if we truly understood that every person we encounter will live forever? How would it change the way we speak to them, the way we treat them?
This is precisely the perspective that Jesus is trying to instill in us in today’s Gospel.
Living with an Eternal Perspective
Today’s Gospel continues Jesus’ teachings from what is known in Luke’s Gospel as the Sermon on the Plain. In Matthew’s Gospel, we find a similar discourse, but there it takes place on a mountain. Regardless of the setting, the focus is the same: Jesus is teaching us how to live as members of the Kingdom of God—a kingdom that begins now but lasts forever.
His teaching challenges us. We often live as though the people around us are temporary, as though relationships are merely transactional. We interact with others based on what they can offer us, how they benefit us. Unfortunately, this attitude isn’t just present in personal relationships; we see it in politics, in society, and even in the way we treat the poor, the weak, and the marginalized.
But Jesus calls us to something radically different. He reminds us that every person has eternal value. This truth should shape how we interact with others—not as means to an end, but as people created for eternal life.
“Ghosting” and the Christian Life
In our modern world, we have even created a term for cutting ties with people—ghosting. If a relationship becomes difficult or inconvenient, we might simply stop responding, delete their contact, or remove them from social media. But as Christians, we are called to something greater. We cannot ghost people because no one simply disappears. Every person we encounter is an immortal soul. We are meant to live in relationship with one another, not just for a time, but for eternity.
That’s why Jesus instructs us in today’s Gospel not to judge others harshly—not to focus on the speck in our neighbor’s eye while ignoring the log in our own. He is teaching us how to interact with people in light of their eternal dignity.
An Examination of Conscience
Reflecting on today’s readings, we might ask ourselves:
- How does my behavior change when I truly believe that every person I encounter is destined for eternity?
- Would I still say that unkind word if I recognized that I am meant to be in relationship with that person forever?
- Do I truly value and respect those who may seem powerless—the unborn, the elderly, the poor, the suffering—knowing that they, too, will live forever?
When we embrace this eternal perspective, our relationships and our actions are no longer just about personal gain. Instead, they become opportunities to reflect God’s love and dignity to others.
Conclusion
So today, let us allow these readings to shape the way we live. Let us be mindful of how we treat others, knowing that our actions carry eternal weight. And let us return to that famous line from Gladiator: What we do echoes in eternity.
But as Christians, we take it one step further: What we do—especially for the least among us—echoes in eternity. May we live in the light of that truth.
