When life distracts you, whether it’s a trial or a success – how do you respond? When it comes to living your faith through these distractions, through the everyday grind, how do you live it out?
Do you actually walk the walk? Do you practice what you preach?
The Pharisees Jesus speaks of in today’s gospel are all about status and the image they portray. They wanted to look good in front of others, they wanted to put up a façade to cover up the pride and selfishness that is in their hearts.
Look around you, things aren’t that different today. So often we portray an image, a front in our lives that cover up a dirty mess. But what is in our hearts?
Do we say one thing and then do another? Do we tell ourselves, yeah, I need to do that…, but then never actually take action?
Do you realize that what you do is seen by others, even when you think it’s not? You never know who is watching, who is seeing the example you live, and who is learning from that example – good or bad. I learned this so much with my son as he has grown.
How we live in this world, how we treat others, and yes, how we live our faith is constantly being seen and felt by others. We are always setting an example for others in everything we do, whether we know it or not.
The picture above was taken by a friend of mine, in secret, as he had stopped in for prayer in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel in our church. I had no clue he was there, and he texted it to me later that night. Next to me are my wife and son. We do this every Tuesday evening for an hour.
I love this picture because it was taken candidly without us knowing, and it gave me a different perspective on how my life, and my actions are seen from someone else, and I see the example I am trying to live for my wife, for my son, and for others. But the thing is, we are not there to put up a front or to portray an image – we are simply there to adore Christ in His Real Presence, and to simply be with him, and to pray.
Now I’m not trying to be a Pharisee and say “look at me, look how holy I am…” That is furthest from the truth because what you are seeing there in that photo is me in the midst of the biggest trial, the biggest period of struggle of my life thus far. And you never know who is watching, and learning from your example in life. But what got me through this period was my faith, and my family, and times like this where I tried to live out the Psalm for today, Psalm 131, which is a favorite Psalm of mine, and one that I always end my time in Adoration with.
Here it is in its entirety, a slightly different version from my RSV Catholic Edition Bible, which I think is a bit prettier:
O Lord, my heart is not lifted up, my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a child quieted at its mother’s breast,
like a child that is quieted is my soul.
O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and for evermore.
Next time you’re in Eucharistic Adoration, try ending your time there with that Psalm. You truly feel it in your soul. And so, as I encounter the distractions in life, and try to answer myself those opening questions I posed, and reflect on what I do, and how I find balance, it comes down to one thing – I humble myself through Christ.
What does that mean? Well, it’s like in Psalm 131 in that I try not to let myself get too high, or too low. I try not to worry about the things that are above and beyond my control, that I don’t need to be concerned with. I focus on the now, and just as my son curls up on my lap from time to time, or as he goes to his mom when he’s hurt, I go to Christ and let Him hold me, and let Him calm me.
This is usually through Adoration, Confession, or Mass. My son often tells me, after times when I’ve been really busy or we’ve been busy as a family, that I just want to be with you Dad.
And so, it is in these times in our lives where we are faced with the business of life, where we need to go to Christ and simply be with Him, and just say I want to be with you Jesus. We humble ourselves and center our life on Christ, not our image we want to uphold and portray.
It’s about living our faith day-to-day, minute-to-minute. Not trying to be seen, but understanding that we are seen. It’s about what you do when no one’s looking, what you fill your heart with, and therefore choosing to do things the right way anyway, to look to God first and foremost, showing our faith by our example, living life by Christ’s example, and really practicing what we preach.
It’s a tough challenge to do this. And often we need to correct our course. But if you open yourself up and let God in, every now and then you can get a glimpse of your life from a different perspective, and see that He is there, working, and shaping you, helping you become better.
And in the midst of any distraction, He will bring peace. Live this example, because you never know who is watching.
