Pay Attention

Homily for Friday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time

Distracted by what’s happening in our world, how do I pay attention to what’s in front of me – my work, my family, my friends, the people with whom I share a neighborhood, a church and a family life? In today’s Gospel, Jesus is telling all of us to pay attention. We know how. We can read the signs of a friend’s distress, a colleague happy about a good meeting, a family member’s need for reassurance. We can read them, but what happens when we are distracted? How can I see God in others if our only communication is a grinning emoji and an abbreviation? Any communication can be good, but we need to go beyond that surface level.

I think we are all starved for that kind of attention that is focused, caring, and empathetic. We all need to really see the signs and really listen to what those around us are saying. It takes time and effort to see beyond the surface and to interpret the signs of how those around us are coping. Putting aside the distractions that come our way, especially through the media, we can focus our attention upon the person in front of us.

In the first reading, we are urged to “live in a manner worthy of the call you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace.” We pray today for the ability to live with gentleness and peace, bearing with those around us with love. 

How can anyone be an expert on interpreting the weather - which changes and does what it will with variables and extremes - and miss the steady, unmovable, unchangeable, constancy of God? It’s hard to answer that question, but Jesus asked the question anyway. We don’t learn whether the crowd responds and, if so, what they say. We don’t really need to know their response. Their fault is not our fault nor our concern. However, our own faults are our concern.

Pay attention to our surroundings and the people who surround us.