If you’ve ever watched a sporting event, you may have noticed a dramatic difference between the participants and the spectators. The participants are passionate about their sport. It’s their life. It’s what they wake up thinking about and what they go to bed pondering as well. They practice their sport again and again.
Spectators on the other hand, save for a few “fanatics”, can sit and watch. If their team loses, so be it. If they win, great. They have, to coin an old expression, “no skin in the game.” When the next game comes around, they’ll just show up to watch.
That’s what this week’s theme is all about.Today’s Gospel recounts Jesus driving the money changers out of the temple. He was passionate about a cause. He wanted the temple to remain His Father’s house and not a marketplace. This week’s theme calls us to step over that line from spectator to participant. In our spiritual journey, it’s impossible for us to sit and watch others participate and still say we are Disciples of Christ. Being a disciple requires us to be a participant. So, start now! Find something, some cause, some aspect of our Catholic faith that you are passionate about and step across that line from observing to participating.