I love technology. It can make life so much easier, and can make this big world so much smaller. It can bring people together from different parts of this world through means such as Facebook, Twitter, and websites like this. I love how we get so many readers and comments from people all over the world – Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines, Australia, across Europe and all over North America just to name a few. I love how the Holy Spirit works through us writers to touch so many people and work to spread God’s Word to the furthest reaches of the Earth. I love how technology enables that happen.
But I also hate technology. In as many ways as it connects us and brings people together, it can also tear us apart. It can isolate us. It can prevent us from human contact. It sometimes keeps us from being together and it can break down the greater community.
We can know what is going on with our former classmate half a world away, but we don’t know our neighbor across the street. We have constant information and know where any one of our Facebook friends are at any given time, but how much do we know about our own immediate families and what is going on in their world, in our own house?
And we may be eating dinner or simply relaxing with our family in the same room, or in a business meeting with our colleagues, but often times we’re glued to our iPhone, or tablet device, or the TV, trying to see what is going on in our busy world, all while others are talking. We may be together in the same room, but we are not together in each other. We’re there, but we’re not there.
How often do we check our emails, or voice mails, or texts the very first thing after we rise from bed in the morning? Before we even greet our spouse with a good morning kiss, or a good morning to our children, or pray to God? Or how often do we go downstairs to only see our child engrossed in TV or a video game, not even acknowledging we are in the room?
Technology, for all the good that it does bringing us together and all that the world does to promote this very fact, can also bring us apart if we don’t control it. I know this all too well. It can isolate us from family, community, and most importantly God if we don’t watch it. It can keep us glued to an LED screen for hours upon end, even in the midst of in-person conversation and keep us from really engaging each other and who we are in the same room with. I see this in the community and the business world all the time, and yes, even in my own house at times. And it’s something my wife and I have vowed to control and manage with our son – and us. But it’s a struggle in today’s world.
Prior to this technological explosion of the last half century though, it was all about the family, and community, and togetherness. How many of us simply turn the TV and all devices off at night and read a book (a hard copy book), or play a game, or just talk? People used to. And while this world has never been perfect as far as humanity is concerned, there was always a sense of community, and togetherness, and oneness with your family, neighbors and your church/community. People are social creatures. We need to be around each other, no matter how much of an introvert we may be. We need to be social, and many times, things like social media eliminates that very aspect.
And so when you look at the readings for today, they are all about community and coming together as one. One through each other, and one through Christ. Because that’s what people did, whether it be a meal, or a funeral, or in the village common area as they did in Jesus’ time or in the cul-de-sac of today. You may not like everyone, and you may not even understand your place, but you still come out, to be a part of the community. We still go to Mass to be part of the one community of our Faith, and as I wrote last week, to be one team in Christ.
And to see how many people are isolated and alone in this world makes me sad. I see it every day, in this land of plenty where I live. I see the homeless on the street, and the despair of people who have lost everything. I see kids who are neglected because mom and dad are focused on their careers or their own selfish desires and use technology as a babysitter. I see people who cannot disconnect from work for even a half hour – long enough to eat a meal with their family and ask their spouse and kids how their day was and what they did, or cannot unplug long enough to talk with God or simply sit in silence for a few minutes and let Him speak to you. This makes me sad.
People long to be with each other. Our spouses long to be with us, and our kids long to play with us out in the yard and experience this life. Each of us long for that togetherness. And you know what else? God longs to have that relationship with us. He longs to have that community with us, because He sent His Son to be with us. All He wants is for us to take a few minutes each day to thank Him, to come see Him and celebrate Mass with Him every Sunday, and maybe once or twice during the week. And maybe every once and a while, He wants us to just sit in silence in His presence, or come to Him to ask for forgiveness. He wants to forgive us! He wants this community with us.
We long for this community deep down. And deep down, we know that this community with Christ through each other will provide everything we need or could possibly ever want, just as Elisha prophesized in the first reading today and just as Christ performed in the Gospel. We have to come to Him, together, as a parish, as a community, and as a global Church knowing that He will provide for us. And that’s the point of Mass – to bring us together and provide that food, that fuel that we need. But we’ve got to make that choice.
We need to first look to Christ to bring us together rather than looking to other things, and see and glorify Him in all that we do. Having material things is not bad. Technology is not bad. But it all has its place. And given the right perspective where we look to God as the one to bring us together and fill the void in our heart and provide for us in need, we can use the tools and luxuries He has given us in life to truly work wonders and make a difference. And there will be more given to us, together, than we can possibly use or even want.
