Jesus said to his disciples: “I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.”
Recently, someone from the RCIA class taught me something new. Don’t worry, that happens a lot! She was telling me that Abbot Jerome gave a talk to the class and said that we should learn to trust our feet, but not our heads or our bodies. Why? Well, because our minds and bodies can lie to us, but our feet never lie. Our feet tell us what we really love because if we follow our footsteps, they lead us to the cheesecake, and to the television, and to the Casino. Our feet tell us the truth about what we love. Did you ever read Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories of Sherlock Holmes? If you did, you noticed how Holmes always studied very closely people’s shoes. Why? Because the dirt or the dust or the wear and tear and other details told him a lot about what was in the person’s heart, whether that person was the criminal Holmes was hunting. You see, the fastest way to a man’s heart is not through his stomach, but rather through his feet.
In the gospel today, Jesus tries to help the Pharisees see what’s in their heart. He tells them, “You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts.” In other words, God is not fooled by your head or body or how beautiful your appearance is. That may fool you into thinking you are holy. Rather, like Sherlock Holmes, God sees your feet and from them, he can clearly see what’s in your heart. God knows that your feet never lie.
One of the great challenges for Catholics is going to confession. What excuses do people give for not going to confession? They say, “I can’t think of anything I’ve done wrong!” Well, may I suggest you take a page from Sherlock Holmes’ playbook, and examine your feet? Where are your feet taking you lately? And equally importantly, where are your feet NOT taking you, like not taking you to church, or not taking you to the gym to exercise, or not taking you to your mother-in-law’s home! Maybe the best examination of conscience doesn’t begin with your head or your heart, but with your feet. Why? Because your feet never lie. Next time you jump into confession, be sure to jump in feet first.
Praised be Jesus Christ!
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