Thursday of Week 26 in Ordinary Time (Year I)
Nehemiah 8:1-12 | Psalm 18(19):8-11 | Luke 10:1-12
But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you welcome, go out into its streets and say, “We wipe off the very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very near.” I tell you, on that day it will not go as hard with Sodom as with that town. (Luke 10:10-12)
Yesterday, I beheld a youth who persisted in going the wrong way, despite a very clear warning sign: me.
I was riding the escalator up from my home MRT station, and when I neared the top, I saw him coming towards me, seemingly about to accomplish the impossible task of riding it down to the exit.
He was not physically distracted in any way that I could tell: no headphones in his ears, no “smartphone zombie”, no friend beside him to be distracted with. He was also looking directly at me, so there was no doubt in my mind that he knew this escalator was up-riding.
Yet, he continued to advance on my position.
I assumed that he’d soon recognize his mistake and divert to the staircase running alongside the escalator, so I alighted and made my way along the platform without a word, but something made me look back after a few steps.
The youth had actually stepped on the escalator, which counter-movement naturally made him fall forward. Fortunately, he grabbed the handrail in the nick of time, righted himself, and quietly started down the adjoining staircase.
I’ll always wonder what distracted him so much, that he nearly took a potentially-fatal tumble.
I’ll also remember to voice my warning next time.
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In today’s Gospel. Jesus sends seventy-two disciples out to preach the Good News to everyone. His edict: do good to those who listen to the words of love and life that you share, and shake off the very dust of those who don’t. He also promised dire consequences for the latter group.
We know all this very well as believers, but we also stray from time to time. Still, we’re not bereft of warning signs, especially from the people around us–friends, family, companions on life’s journey. I’m sure we’ve all known folks who just pester us with “check your passport”, “don’t get left behind”, “watch out for that lamp post”, ad nauseum.
We just choose to ignore them. After all, we know ourselves better than anyone, right?
During my Croatia trip, I shared with fellow pilgrims about my long journey into spiritual oblivion, which culminated during my college days in an airborne car accident that should’ve cost me my life. In hindsight, I chose to isolate myself from others during that period, thereby cutting off the opportunity to receive the critical warning signs that I was slipping into darkness.
Still, I couldn’t avoid all interaction, and of the few I let into my life, there were indeed those who were concerned and tried to reach out to me. One in particular stood out: Mary Schmidt, the music director at the college chapel whose ensemble I’d joined just a month after I’d arrived in Berkeley, was greatly worried about my slipping attendance, and made several attempts to counsel me before that fateful flying-car of a day.
She also welcomed me back when I’d finally gotten myself straightened out, and was one of the few people I greatly missed when I graduated and came home. Mary, I’m truly sorry that I lost touch with you, and if you’re reading this, know that I’ll always love you for being an anchor in my storm-tossed youth.
(And yes, I’m actually referring to more than one “Mary”. ?)
I truly believe that God always sends us warning signs and worried folks before we screw up, possibly for the last time. It’s up to us whether we want to heed them.
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I was walking a 10-km length of the Camino de Santiago during my Spain pilgrimage in 2015, when I happened upon a graffiti-defaced traffic sign that literally stopped me in my tracks. I’ve posted it before, but it bears a repeat viewing.
You can (barely) see that the inspired artist reworked the sign into the exhortation DON’T STOP NOW, for pilgrims at the end of their will and energy.
But the original message, the one that the authorities who erected that sign wanted to convey, is also significant:
STOP hiding from the Lord!
STOP taking others in your life for granted!
STOP ignoring the warning signs strewn across your path!
Is that enough warning for you?
Lord, open our eyes. Amen.
