Mediocre

“But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:22).

Christ and the Rich Young Ruler (Heinrich Hofmann)

How many thousands of people saw God Himself in Human Flesh and walked past as though they were walking past any other soul?

How many people saw the Blessed Virgin Mary, surrounded by hosts of angels for her protection and walked past as though they were walking past any other soul?

Often when I pray and reflect on Christ and His revelation, I am tempted to consider that I would have been one of the people who would have dropped my nets, and leaving everything follow Christ.  But the reality – I fear – would be quite another thing.  I would be as the rich young man, and go away sad…

“Jesus said to him, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.’ But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.” (Matthew 19:21-22).

And I have been reflecting on that today as I have been thinking about my life.  You see, I have spent a lifetime trying to see God and failing every single time.

For God – the Holy Spirit – is inside every baptised soul.  Each one of us is a walking tabernacle of God Himself.  And yet, I walk on as though nothing exists and focus on getting through each little thing one thing at a time without any thought to anything other thank the mundane and the mediocre…

“When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, ‘This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah. For as Jonah became a sign to the men of Nineveh, so will the Son of man be to this generation...  The men of Nineveh will arise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here.’” (Luke 11:29-32).

And I am just wondering today, that if I ever tried to invest more than a pitiful mediocre amount into the world whether that would be enough to actually make a difference and show God that I was able to do something more than the mediocre minimum?

I wonder if I truly lived as I believed and treated each human soul as a vessel containing God Himself, whether I would be able to continue to live as I do?  Would I instead be overwhelmed and confounded by the idea that God Himself was waiting on my decision?  Would I be overwhelmed to think that I was saying these things to my Lord and Master?

If I really lived as I believed, would I be able to look at my fellow human being in the eye and now lower my head in shame?

That is if I really lived as I believe, rather than living in the mediocre way that I somehow manage to get about.

And as I reflect on that today, I am quite overcome.  For it seems to me that I have spent a lifetime trying to pretend that things could be different…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.