Dt 4:1-2,6-8 / Jas 1:17-18,21-22,27 / Mk 7:1-8,14-15,21-23
There was a young woman who was recently separated and whose day was going badly. She was hot and tired, stressed and lonely, and she barely had the strength to lift her little boy into his high chair for dinner. She put his food on the tray and began to read the mail — another bill she couldn’t pay — it was the last straw. So she leaned her head against the tray and began to cry.
The little boy looked at his sobbing mother with a sad heart, then took the pacifier out of his mouth and pressed it gently to her lips. He gave what he had! And his gift came from the inside.
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Today’s gospel wrestles with a huge question: How do we build a good and happy life? Jesus gives us the answer: "Get your insides in order," he says. "Get your head and heart true and then follow where they lead."
But how do we true our head and heart? We start by looking very hard at what we’ve got and remembering where we got it. We name our gifts out loud and let our hearts be astonished at seeing close up what remarkable gifts we bear. And then we give thanks for being given so much we didn’t earn.
Now thankfulness is an energy that needs an outlet. It says, "I’ve been blessed with so much, I need to carry my gifts to whoever needs them." Like the little boy with the pacifier, it says, "I need to give what I have."
So thankfulness gives us energy and the desire to give. But that leaves us with the question: Who needs us? The answer is: Lots of folks need us in lots of ways and not just the widows and orphans.
Some of us are creative. People need us.
Some of us are wise and clear thinkers. People need us.
Some of us are strong and calm under fire. People need us.
Some of us are great mediators and reconcilers. People need us.
Some of us are visionaries who think great thoughts. People need us.
Some of us are practical folks who know how to make things happen. People need us.
And some of us are good comforters. People need us.
Whatever our gifts, lots of people right here and now need us very much.
So it’s time to look within and get our insides in order. It’s time to see and name our special gifts with glad and thankful hearts. It’s time to carry our gifts to whoever needs them.
It’s time to build a happy life from the inside out. So let us begin!
