28th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Cycle
B
October
11, 2015 8:00 and 10:00am
Saint Margaret Parish,
Bel Air
Disconnect
So, you
are a good person.
You
don’t steal or cheat or cheat on your husband or wife. You love your mother and father and try to
respect others.
And
yet, you are not quite sure. Something
feels incomplete and so you ask Jesus, “Am
I doing okay?”
This is
what the man in today’s gospel is feeling and doing. And then Jesus answers you and says, “Well, as a matter of fact, there is one thing
that is lacking.”
You
anxiously ask, “What’s that?” And Jesus responds to you or me with a 2015
answer that is different from what he says to the man in the gospel but just as
unsettling.
He
says, “Power off your cell phone and turn
off your tablet and your laptop. And
just be there for your family or friends or for anyone you are with and for anyone
who is in any kind of need.”
You and
I are really put off, much like the man in the gospel. “Give
up my Smartphone and shut down my tablet and my laptop?
“Are you kidding? I
might miss out on something.”
FOMO
And
that is the issue, maybe the problem.
I have
read that psychologists are studying this fear of missing out on something as
an addiction. They refer to it by the
acronym FOMO – F-O-M-O – Fear of Missing Out.
It is
the fear of missing out on something or someone more important, more
interesting, or more exciting than the thing we are now doing or the person we
are now with. This other something or
someone may be better or worse.
We don’t
know, so we just have to check it out.
The thought of missing an email or a text or a tweet terrifies us.
So we
interrupt one call to take another. We’re
constantly checking Facebook or LinkedIn to make sure we are not out of the
loop.
We are
connected and available 24/7. This is
what we are holding on to, much as the man in the gospel was holding on to his
wealth.
Shocking Us
Now,
Jesus is not telling us to throw away our cell phones and tablets and laptops.
In
fact, the man in today’s gospel is the only person that Jesus ever tells to
sell all that he has and give the money to the poor. He never says this to the apostles or to
Martha and Mary and Lazarus or anyone else.
Jesus
apparently says this here to shock this man – to shake him into looking more
deeply at himself and his life. And I
think it is the same thing with us and all of our electronic and social
communications.
Communicating
or being connected is a wonderful thing, Jesus would say. But the kingdom of God is not digital and real
caring is not a virtual experience.
Disconnect to Connect
I think
Jesus would say: “Disconnect in order to
connect.”
Disconnect
from the cell phone or tablet or laptop and do this to connect with those
around you. The purpose of communication
is not just communication but communion – communion with others and with God
too.
The
persons around us are the “poor” to
whom Jesus tells the man in the gospel to give his money. They may not be financially poor or any more
emotionally or spiritually in need than we are.
But
they are the persons we are with right now – your family at home, your friend
with whom you are having a beer, and your child’s teacher at a parent/teacher
night. Jesus is saying to let go of what
you are afraid you are going to miss – FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.
Disconnect
in order to connect. Make sure your
communications are for communion and don’t miss the communion with others that
they are meant for.
If you
do this, then you can really be with the other person or with God or even with
God by being with that person. And then
you will experience an inner peace and no longer FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.
