Life is not comprised solely of the major events
We readily ignore issues that are not traumatic
By Steve Hall
Just as the sick, not the healthy, need a physician, so too with the spiritually sick, not the spiritually healthy. The breadth of the territory covered by the image is well worth exploring. Take,for example, a simple exchange.
“Good morning. How are you?”
“Well. Thank you.”
Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Hebrews 4:12-16
Mark 2:13-17
“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do. I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”
Jesus’ response to the challenge of the Pharisees is well known. We might even call it a back-handed insult since the Jewish leadership of the time are repeatedly admonished throughout the gospels. The comparison made, of course, is obvious: Just as the sick, not the healthy, need a physician, so too with the spiritually sick, not the spiritually healthy. The breadth of the territory covered by the image is well worth exploring. Take,for example, a simple exchange.
“Good morning. How are you?”
“Well. Thank you.”
Sounds simple enough. But how often are we duplicitous when we are the one answering the question? It may be true that we don’t have cancer or pneumonia, but what about that nagging ache in the lower back? Or the slightly sprained ankle? Or the persistently upset stomach? Are we really going to say, “Well. Thank you.”
We readily ignore issues that are not traumatic. After all, they’re temporary. They don’t bother me that much. They are matters I would prefer not to talk about. They are issues everybody has. Etc., etc., etc.
So too with our spiritual health. Maybe we are not guilty of anything seriously spiritually damaging. Maybe we regularly pray, go to Mass and are (mostly) loving of our neighbor. But what about our anger at other drivers? Or our distance from a despondent associate? Or our studied ignorance of spiritual reading?
Life is not comprised solely of the major events.
“You must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48)
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