Distractions

 

I’m easily distracted.  As I sat down to write this reflection I logged onto the computer and noticed an unread email in my inbox.   After reading that email, another showed up.  Then I went to the internet to start my reading of the Scriptures for the day.  My browser is set up to show me headlines of various news items for the day, so naturally I “had” to scroll through those.  Within some of those stories were links to other things that interest me, so down the rabbit hole I went!  My distractions distracted me, and I forgot what I set out to do.  At an unconscious level, I think that I seek out these distractions, hoping they’ll satisfy some deep longing, some unmet need, some restlessness.  Perhaps my distracted seeking parallels that of all of us who seek the Kingdom of God.

Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God cannot be observed (Luke 17:20-25).  It’s not here or there.  It’s not a place we go to or an event we attend.  It’s not an activity we do.  And it’s certainly not one of my countless distractions.  Instead, the Kingdom of God is among us.  In other words, Jesus is the Kingdom of God, dwelling here among us.  When we focus our attention on Christ, we’ll find the Kingdom of God.  When our attention strays from Christ, we become distracted and restless.  In contrast, we know we’re focused on Christ when our hearts are full of trust, love, and mercy.  We can then act with boldness, as St. Paul did (Philemon 7-20).

When St. Paul wrote to Philemon in his own hand, he knew that he was writing to save a life.  Onesimus, a slave, ran away, befriended Paul and became a Christian.  The name "Onesimus" means "useful", and Paul took advantage of that to tell Philemon that the formerly useless slave was to be respected and compassionately reinstated in his job.  Paul asked Philemon to accept his slave back as "a brother…in the Lord" and to "welcome him as you would me".   Isn’t this the challenge each of us has when someone has harmed us?  To forgive and to remember that the other person is our "brother in the Lord" is the hallmark of a faithful Christian.  Philemon remained the master and Onesimus remained his slave, but the quality and tone of their relationship was forever changed. They became "brothers in the Lord".  (At least I hope so—Scripture doesn’t tell us if Philemon did as Paul asked him to.)

How many “Onesimuses” do we know?  These are the persons who seem worthless to us and the people who’ve cheated us.  We’re to treat everyone as if we’re meeting Jesus Himself (Matthew 25:31-46).  Saint Francis of Assisi used to genuflect at the feet of each person he encountered.  That gesture might be a bit drastic in today’s world, but we can at least smile at everyone we interact with, in my opinion.

The reign of God comes to us every day through every person we meet.  If we bring Jesus into the encounter, the occasion becomes sanctified, holy.  And isn't it interesting and ironic that God likes to speak to us through those who seem useless and ignorant!

"Welcome him as you would me" was Paul's invitation to Philemon.  He was speaking the words of Christ himself, who said that what we do to the least - the very least liked of all people - we do to Him.  We must train ourselves to recognize the reign of God where we least expect to find it!