Wednesday – 11th Week in Ordinary Time    (revisited)

Gospel – Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18

Blind Spots!

Palm Sunday Road, Jerusalem

We bought a new car a few months ago, the most up to date vehicle we have ever owned, and I am loving it!  It has so many bells and whistles that we are still acclimating ourselves to: GPS, Bluetooth, satellite radio, connectivity to our phones, etc.  But what I absolutely love is this: blind spot alert and rear view camera!!  Wow, it’s like having a guardian angel beside you in the car reminding you when danger approaches.

It’s a good reminder that we all have blind spots in life, moments when we literally miss what is right beside us, right in front of our eyes.  Sometimes, perhaps too often, we let ourselves get distracted – maybe a song, that text message or that book we are so engrossed in that we didn’t hear mom yelling.  Car manufacturers certainly understand our easily distracted nature.  Every time I put our car into reverse, the volume of the radio automatically goes down!

If today’s Gospel sounds familiar, you would be correct.  Barely 4 months ago, we heard this same Gospel reading.  It was Ash Wednesday and the intent was obvious.  We were entering a time of self-reflection and penitence in preparation for the events of Holy Week.  So why now?  Why do we have to hear this now?

Maybe that is one of our blind spots – thinking that these are just Lenten practices and then we get back to ‘normal’ life.  Perhaps it’s a reminder that prayer, fasting and almsgiving are not just Lenten practices; these religious disciplines are meant for all of us all the time.  Scary!  You mean I should pray every day?  Fast every day? Take care of others every day?  And even more troubling – I have to do it for the right reasons?  Not for show but out of love! Sounds like way too much time and effort. Maybe we would rather keep that blind spot!

So where is your blind spot?  When you were having that morning cup of coffee, did you miss the beauty of the sunrise?  Did you so immerse yourself in binging some tv shows that you never left yourself some quiet time to pray and reflect on the events of the day? When you were chowing down on that dinner out at your favorite restaurant (finally), did you notice the guy asking for a handout when you walked in the door?

Consider this our blind spot alert!  Prayer!  Fasting!  Almsgiving!  It’s not just for Lent anymore!

 

If you find these Gospel reflections helpful, I invite you to visit my new blog “Gospel Reflections for Pandemic Times” to revisit not only today’s homily but all the reflections from the past 15 months.  And please share the link with those who do not have access to Facebook!

https://deaconbillfrere.blogspot.com/

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