In his wonderful book “Grip of Grace” - Max Lucado tells the story of a man who had been a closet slob. He didnt understand making up a bed that you are going to sleep in again or putting a lid on toothpaste only to remove it that night. He was compulsively messy. He married a patient woman who said she didn’t mind his habits, if he didn’t mind sleeping on the couch. He did mind sleeping on the couch, and he began to change. He entered a 12-step program for slobs. A physical therapist helped him rediscover the muscles used for hanging up shirts and placing toilet paper on the holder. His nose was reintroduced to the smell of Pine Sol. He became a new man. The moment of truth arrived when his wife left town for a week. He tried to revert to his old ways since he thought he could be a slob until the day before her return when he would clean up. However, something remarkable happened. He was not happy with dirty dishes in the sink, towels flung around the bathroom, clothes on the floor, or sheets piled up on the bed. What happened to him is really quite simple. He had been exposed to a better way of life.
For the past two weeks we have been looking at a Vision of Right Living. We want to do God’s will in our lives and we want to be exposed to the best way of life. In our first weekend we focussed on the need to “Watch” - but not just watch anything, anyone, or anywhere - but to watch Where the Lord is, how the Lord speaks, and who the Lord has placed in our lives. Last weekend we took the second step "to will it!" We discerned that the Will is powerful - there is so much we can will - but there is so much that can change it or influence our will. So we must will each day to seek to succeed as saints, live in Peace, speak in Truth, step up in virtue and walk toward our eternal heaven.
Today we discover the final step - which is found within our beautiful Gospel (Mark 8:27-35). Jesus has been in ministry and wonders if everyone is “getting it”. So He asks the Apostles - “who do people say that I am ?” Their response affirms for Jesus the concern that some are missing the bigger picture - so He reminds them that they must take up their cross, loose their life, and then follow Him.
Here is what happens : Life becomes a Whirlwind and we forget to Whistle - its true!
Tryouts for Travel Hockey & School Soccer Team all in competition for the same time slot
New project at work, email in box jammed with requests and correspondence, calendar filling, life resembles a treadmill
New people to work with, disgruntled people around you, in patience people surround you
New people to work with, disgruntled people around you, in patience people surround you
Mistake, oversight, quick job just not done the way you want it
Judgmental correspondence, disinterested people in something you work hard at, unappreciative individuals, people you counted on letting you down
These are the ingredient to a whirlwind - and here is what they do - they cause us to say - who do people say I am - and sometimes even - who is God - where is His love and mercy - and in the end we loose vision. Yet, this is what we know: if we are to have a Vision of Right Living - if we are to watch where God is, not only is it vital to Will what He wants, but - we have to whistle during it!
Here is what I mean - Carl Honoure is an award-winning Canadian journalist and international best-selling author of "In Praise of Slow". He is what he refers to as a recovering “Speedaholic”. He admits that you have to be fast most of the time, it’s the pace of today, but if you are fast all of the time you are heading for a fall. There is truth here - because if we are going at warp speed all the time, then we don’t switch off and we have no time to think deeply about things.
That is why James says (2:14-18) that is not all about the works - its also about the faith - both! Our Biography is not our destiny but, knowing, taking time to learn, appreciate, and be enveloped by the facts of where we have come from, how far we have travelled is an important part of a Vision of Right Living. Our 21st century calls us to be - up to speed - and on the move - but most of the time we are totally unaware of where we are running from and to.
As a result our relationship suffer - because we are thinking about in box or next task, as a result our work has little meaning - because its just a task to get done, as a result the things and people we want to embrace are distant - because they don’t know if they have us fully and for how long , as a result our life of faith suffers greatly - hockey is more than holiness, soccer is more than sanctity, work is more than willingness to live morally, balanced, healthy lives. Why? Well because we are running doing the works without the time to reflect in faith.
So lets leap back to the Gospel. (Mark 8:27-35). Jesus sees the Disciples and Apostles amazed at all that is being done. But are they seeing the relationship or are they getting lost in the crowd? Are they running from healing to healing to see what Jesus is doing, but failing to hear and be exposed to the better way of living found in what Jesus is saying ?
The glory of the ministry of the church is that we have a chance to expose people to this better way of living. In a world that often seems to have lost its moral compass, nothing can so help the world regain its direction than the exemplary and right living of Christian people.
So don’t whirlwind - but whistle - slow down a bit - appreciating Him - be exposed to a better way of life.
So here is what I wish us to do - write these down - I want you to MAKE THE TIME to ask and think about these three questions
1. What am I going to Focus on?
If you want right living - and you want to watch Him, you want to Will, you want to find time to not to whirlwind but whistle a bit - what will you focus on - priorities - make sure Sunday Mass is always there.
2. What does it mean?
Priorities without purpose are doomed - what does this focus mean to you - how is it going to make right living possible for you ?
3. What are you going to do?
Make it concrete - actual things - not theory but fact
- Small Groups - they keep us balanced
- Sunday Mass - its keeps us rooted
- Private prayer - it helps bring us back to our core in Christ
- Lectio Divina - which is something we will be doing this Year of Faith - is rooted in taking something invisible and making it visible - God’s Holy Word - it’s not about learning the code but appreciation of the truth found and the pattern of living within His Word.
These are not tasks - they are testimonies to how it should be done. Let me finish with this:
Richard is a great young man I knew in one of my parishes. Bright, energetic, engaging, athletic. In high school a terrible thing happened to him and he surrendered all his talents and barricaded himself in the basement of his parents home - refusing school, refusing work, alternatively eating and sinking deeper and deeper into a depression that was concerning for everyone. His days would pass by the simple task of surfing the web - he checked out websites all day - literally
One day his parents had enough and “accidentally on purpose” terminated all of the electrical contact to any of the wall sockets. Once the battery to his laptop expired, and his tablet, and his cell phone, he lost the world wide net. What would happen they thought...well days went by....and finally Richard emerged from the basement. He was clean shaven, he was well dressed, he was - get this - ready for school. In the five days - we would later learn - from when the power went out to when he came up - he had discovered a new web - his mind, his soul. He has asked himself - what am I doing, why am I doing it, what is this about? He had taken the time to watch and will, maybe even whistle
He had been exposed to a better way of life. A right way of living.