4th Sunday OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
OLR, NOLA
Distraction
kills. So does anxiety. But spiritual distraction and anxiety can
kill you. . .forever.
Between December 21st
and January 22nd
I drove Interstates 10 and 55 some 2,310 miles back and forth among
NOLA, Houston, and Memphis. In all those miles I lost count of the
number of times people passed me on the road doing 90mph while
texting, talking on their cell, putting on make-up, and eating. One
guy passed me doing over 90 holding a plate in one hand and stuffing
a piece of pizza into his face with the other. Ninety plus MPH w/o a
finger on the wheel! That sort of distraction will kill you and
anyone who happens to be in your way. But as bad as distracted
driving is, it can't compare with a distracted and anxious spiritual
life. So Paul writes to the Corinthians, “I should like you to be
free of anxieties.” And Jesus casts out a distracting and unclean
spirit from a man in the synagogue, saying, “Quiet! Come out of
him!” For us to grow in holiness, for us to flourish on the Way to
the Lord, we need to be free and quiet. Free from worry and doubt;
free from attachments and worldly burdens. We need to be quiet,
surrendering ourselves to the loving-care of God our Father.
What
does this all mean in practical, day-to-day terms? Paul, ever
practical, says that marriage can cause us to be anxious. Husbands
distract wives. Wives distract husbands. He doesn't mention kids, but
I'm pretty sure they can be their own sort of anxiety! He's clear
that his point is not about the innate value of celibacy over
marriage but about what it takes to be freed so that our hearts and
minds may serve the Lord unburdened with the worries of pleasing a
spouse. It's not the Grand Problems of Being that Paul believes
drives us toward the unclean spirit of Anxiety and Distraction but
rather the mundane, everyday, purely routine chores that accumulate
over time and wear us down. Paying the bills, laundry, lawn care, car
repair, buying groceries, going to work, cooking, cleaning, the stuff
we all do every single day. So the trick is to stop doing these
things, right? Husbands and wives are cheering Paul on! No, that's
not his point. His point is to do these things in
order to please the Lord.
If the routine stuff we do everyday is done in the spirit of pleasing
the Lord, then our routine stuff becomes something truly worshipful,
truly spiritually beneficial. It all becomes prayer, a means of
speaking to God our Father.
Look
again at the man possessed by the unclean spirit. Jesus orders the
spirit to be quiet and come out! He separates the spirit from the
man; he doesn't destroy the man b/c he's possessed. . .he frees him.
He removes from the man the spirit that is causing him to be
distracted and distracting. We can do the same with our every
thought, word, and deed. We can – in the name of Christ –
consecrate (set aside, separate) everything we think, say, and do to
the pleasing service of God thus making our entire earthly existence
one long sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. Pay that car note and
give God thanks that you have transportation. Buy groceries and
praise the Lord that you will eat tonight. Clean the house in the
name of Christ to keep it filled with his abiding love. Give God
thanks for your co-workers. You have others to help you with your
job. Many of you will confess to being distracted during Mass,
thinking about Sunday football, or the roast in crock pot, or the
kids' undone homework. What if instead of seeing these thoughts as
distractions you see them as promptings from the Holy Spirit to give
thanks to God for giving you leisure time, food to eat, and children
to love?
There
is no reason for us to be anxious or distracted. Neither anxiety nor
distraction has any power over us. . .IF you choose to place your
anxieties and worries into the hands of God, trusting that whatever
good thing you must do will be done to please Him and give Him glory.
Follow HancAquam or Subscribe ----->
