LIFE HAS NO REMOTE
I
confess, just like many other cable subscribers, I have the habit of
surfing from one channel to another, all 100 of them, unless I really
like the program I’m watching. One lazy evening, while I was watching
television, the channel button on my remote suddenly went dead. Thinking
it probably was the batteries, I replaced it with fresh ones. Same
result. The remote button got busted from overuse. And so I was forced
to switch channels — manually.
I remember being so irritated that evening at having to stand, manually
push the channel button, lie back, stand again, and repeat the whole
ritual. I got so used to getting the channels I wanted with a flick of a
finger while reclining on my bed. For many, the remote control is one
of man’s greatest inventions since the invention of the wheel. But I
believe that same beloved remote control has spawned a generation of
lazy and impatient individuals, me included.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus heals 10 lepers of their malady. What caught
my attention was Luke’s description of how the lepers wanted to be
cured. They fought through the discriminating crowd who, by law, was
justified to segregate them for being impure. As Jesus was entering the
city, the lepers “met him” ( v. 12), “they called out in a loud voice”
(v. 13). They did not wait for the cure to come to them and change their
situation. They had to work for it. I think we can say that the lepers
understood the principle, “Life has no remote, get up and change it
yourself.” Jesus understood that, too. That
is why He also met the lepers and rewarded their efforts. Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: In what areas of your life do you manifest the “remote control” mentality?
You have blessed me with enough gifts and talents, O God. Help me know them and put them into use. Amen.
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