Pay Attention

Giving each other the gift of our attention

03/15/2017

Matthew 20:17-28 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the Twelve disciples aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day." Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking.

          Boys and girls, one of the greatest difficulties we face daily is being distracted, losing our focus, and not paying attention. How many of your minds have already started wandering in this homily? It dawned on me how difficult paying attention can be recently when the parish roasted me as a fundraiser recently. One of the best roasts was by Michelle and Jason Wewers, the parents of our student Mary Kate Wewers. Michelle got up and shared how she felt when I first arrived at I.C. as pastor. She said she’s easily distracted at Mass, and her mind wanders at a lot, especially if it’s a foreign priest with a thick accent. When she heard I was originally from India, she was really worried and thought the family might have to switch parishes so she could concentrate at Mass. But when she came and heard me preach at my first Mass, she was horrified. She said, “Oh, no! It’s a lot worse than a foreign accent; he sounds like Barak Obama!” So, apparently, all the Republicans at I.C. are distracted at Mass, but the Democrats give me their undivided attention. We live in the world of “tweets” – if you can’t say something in 140 characters, you lose people’s attention. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is your full and undivided attention; and the reason it’s a great gift is because it’s so rare.

          In the gospel today, the disciples face the same difficulty: they are easily distracted. Jesus says: “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death.” But were the apostles paying attention? Not at all. Instead, they were arguing over who should sit at Jesus’ right and left, and who was the greatest. I don’t know if Jesus sounded like Barak Obama, but the apostles were as easily distracted as Michelle Wewers at Mass. Their minds were wandering and they could not give Jesus that precious gift of their full and undivided attention. They got distracted.

          Boys and girls, being distracted plagues all of us, even priests. Let me share the five things I do to help me focus on the task at hand and maybe you can use these tips, too. First, take your time and don’t rush through things; don’t rush through life. When you hurry through your homework, you make mistakes. It’s good to be fast in some things – like the 100-yard dash – but not in all things. A friend of mine likes to say, “the three things in life you cannot rush through are friendship, prayer and going to the bathroom.” Some people call the “bathroom” the “library” because they do not rush in there. I rush through one thing because I’m already thinking about the next thing, and I’m distracted. Second, get up and walk around while doing a task, if possible. I walk while praying the rosary. When my body is busy, but my can relax and concentrate. The great Greek philosopher, Aristotle, taught his students by walking with them. They were called “the peripatetics” – which means, “those who walk back and forth.” Go for a walk while talking to a friend, and you’ll hear what he or she says more clearly.

          Third, don’t procrastinate and put off difficult duties; do the hardest tasks first. One priest I know says he prepares his homilies as he’s walking up the aisle during the opening hymn – I hate to hear that homily. When we procrastinate, we get stressed and then distressed and then easily distracted. If you don’t like algebra, do that homework first; if you hate science, do that homework first. Fourth, turn off social media while you’re doing something: talking to someone, your homework, reading a book, attending Mass. How sad to see people in restaurants on their cell phones instead of talking to the people sitting right in front of them. I wonder who the real distraction is: the cell phone or the actual people?

          Fifth, try to think of the last time someone gave you their full and undivided attention, and how good that felt. That’s a sign of someone who cares and loves you. I hope you feel that attention and care from every teacher here at Trinity. One of the things we pride ourselves on here at Trinity is the “students cannot hide.”  We see each of you, and love you and give you our undivided attention.  I certainly feel that when I talk with them: they really pay attention. When we feel no one pays attention to us, we feel very alone, even if we’re standing in a room full of people. I wonder if that’s why so many teens engage in “cutting” themselves, or get depressed, or even commit suicide. They are crying out for attention. Why? Because no one is paying attention; everyone is distracted.

          My friends, Jesus is always paying attention to us; he never stops focusing on us; he’s always read to give us his full and undivided attention whenever we turn to him. Give him some of your time and attention today.

          Praised be Jesus Christ!