An honest appraisal of our lives today might well be this:  I try to control as much as possible -- in my life and in the lives of others.  Perhaps we really do not realize what our world is if we want to control so much.  Perhaps the empty chairs above might be the result if everything was left in my hands.  I would be so controlling that there would be no one suitable for a place in the good seats!

At times we can be so controlling that we even dare to control what God does with his graces.  As the current and previous Ordinaries in the nation's capital city have stated about certain people receiving Eucharist despite some public opinions they have expressed, what happens in another's mind and heart is almost always beyond my understanding and judgement.  

How few are the parents who will take the stand in favor of their offspring when actions or events he/she was involved in were on the surface as wrong as wrong can be.  As a former school administrator, there were so many times when parents could not accept that their "bright light" was surely not understood.  

It is a genuine concern or it should be that we do not assume the judgment seat of God while we are hear on earth.  Jesus left this world with us in it but not to to determine who can partake of his blessings and graces. How do I measure up to this challenge ... because it is so much easier to sit back and issue decrees and judgements, isn't it?

By the way the street presented as a party of Sunday's blog was in a very expensive part of downtown Annapolis.  Looks can be deceiving, can't they?  Our judgements can be so misled, can't they?  THere is no doubt that if we had all the answers all the time, the chairs would be empty!!!