Genesis 11:1-9 / Mark 8:34 - 9:2
On of the traits of human beings is that we are goal-oriented and achievement-centered.
We spend quite a bit of our energy and time in pushing and pulling in order to reach somewhere in life.
It may be our career, our wealth, our status, our knowledge or whatever we deem is our priority or has importance.
But if we take a quiet moment for reflection and introspection, there will come a point in time when we ask ourselves some fundamental questions about our life.
Questions like : Where am I going to? or What is the meaning of my life?
In the 1st reading, we hear about a people who had only one purpose in mind, and that is to build a town with a tower with a top reaching heaven.
They do all this just to make a name for themselves.
In other words, they want to be remembered for what they achieved on this earth. For them that was going to be their pride and joy.
But in the gospel, Jesus tells us to look beyond this world to the eternal.
Our journey on this earth has a destination.
And that destination is heaven; it is towards God that we are going back to.
Jesus came to show us the way to our destiny; He is giving us a vision of heaven.
We can't build our way to heaven. Only Jesus can do it for us.
We only need to carry our cross and follow Him. The way to heaven is the way of the cross.