1st
Sunday of Advent
Cycle A
November 27, 2016
Darters and Strollers
Well,
here we are, in the busiest shopping days of the year.
Several
years ago an author named Robert Winters made some observations about shoppers
during these days of the Christmas season. He describes two kinds of shoppers in the
malls.
First,
there are the darters. These people are
walking along and then something catches their eye.
The
darters abruptly change direction and dart over to look at a Keurig coffee
maker or a Hollister shirt or whatever it is.
They move so quickly that you have to put on the brakes real fast to
avoid bumping into them.
And
then there the strollers. These people
walk like a bridal party slowly making their way down the aisle.
The
strollers are creeping along, taking in each piece of merchandise. They are just savoring every item they see.
Robert
Winters says that the darters and the strollers have one thing in common. Both of them are so wrapped up in the things
they are seeing that they are unmindful of and not heeding the other shoppers
around them.
Today’s Gospel
Winters’
observations help us to appreciate today’s gospel.
Jesus refers
back to the time of Noah. He says: “In those days people were eating and
drinking and marrying, up to the day Noah entered the ark.
“They knew nothing until the flood came and
swept them away. So will it be at the
coming of the Son of Man.”
Now
there is nothing wrong with eating and drinking and getting married. But apparently they were doing all of this
without being alert to the coming flood – something like the darters and
strollers in the malls.
Jesus also
says: “Two men will be out in the field;
one will be taken and one will be left. Two
women will be grinding meal; one will be taken and one will be left.”
The
idea here is that those who are taken and ready for the Lord may not be doing
anything different from the others. But
they are doing things with a different awareness.
They are
what I call “heeders” – spelled H-E-E-D-E-R-S.
Unlike the darters and the strollers, they are heeding both God and
those around them as they do their jobs or shop or whatever.
Heeders
I’ve got a few
ideas on what might it means, practically speaking, to be a heeder rather than
a darter or a stroller.
Heeders reserve
some time each day for prayer. They
maintain some inner space for quiet, for being in touch with God.
In this way, heeders
remain aware of the spiritual. They see
all the items and decorations as good but they remain aware that only our relationship
with God matters in the long run.
Heeders also probably
try to grow in their faith. They don’t
stay stuck in the understanding of God that they learned as children.
Heeders are awake
to what God is saying to them right now in the gospels. They are awake to new possibilities maybe
about God’s unconditional love or about our response of social justice, things
like that.
Then heeders
carefully reserve time for their husband or wife or children or close
friend. They are not submerged in their job
or self-absorbed in some way.
Heeders are
attentive to persons, the important persons in their lives and those who are
with them at any given moment. They stay
attentive to persons as making up what life is really all about.
And finally, heeders
care for those in need. They don’t blame
the poor for their plight.
Instead, heeders
are alert to the pain of the sick, to the suffering of the depressed, or the desperation
of the hungry or homeless. They are
alert to Jesus being present in these persons.
Conclusion
So, the message today: don’t be a darter or a stroller. Don’t be just wrapped up and absorbed in the
stuff of the season.
Instead, be a heeder. We may be
doing some of the same things as everyone else, but remain aware, awake,
attentive, and alert to what really
matters.
