Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
The past couple of weeks I’ve been working on redoing our kitchen. We didn’t gut the place down to the studs like they would do on an HGTV house flipping show, but we did a lot more than just picking out new curtains at Bed Bath and Beyond. New countertop, stove, sink, refrigerator, and dishwasher. We sanded and painted all the cabinets and added a new floor too. Fifteen trips to home Depot so far. Once we pick out the backsplash, we’ll be done!
Needless to say, I’ve spent hours upon hours working on this project. If you’ve ever worked on a big project like that, you’ll know that it can get a bit tedious after a while. While I’m working, I need to have something playing in my headphones. I’ve listened to a few comedians and of course lots of music, but most of what I’ve listened to has been either an audio Bible, or Catholic podcasts where I’ve learned a lot about theology, Scripture, and some “pro tips” on living the Christian Life.
You may think to yourself; “Brian, you could have propped up your phone on the table and re-binge-watched a few seasons of Friends or Grey’s Anatomy!” Well that’s true, I could have put on something just to entertain myself and pass the time. But I wanted to spend that time listening to something that would help me to grow. And I actually do feel closer to God now than I did when I started this project because of all this time I’ve spent thinking about him.
If St. Paul were renovating his kitchen, he’d probably have done the same. In the Second Reading this Sunday, he says in his letter to the Romans, “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” If we want to grow in our relationship with God, St. Paul challenges us not to do what everybody else might do (conforming ourselves to this age) and put on The Office even though we’ve already seen it in its entirety four times, but rather to spend some time renewing our minds, thinking about the things of God, the Church, and whatever is good, true, and beautiful.
And it’s not just learning for learning’s sake, like someone might watch a historical documentary; this kind of renewing our mind is meant to transform us. It leaves a lasting impact. St. Paul says that once this happens, we’ll be able to “discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” Many people, when it comes time to make a big decision, throw up their hands and feel like they have no idea how God might feel about it, but if we are dialed in, hearing him speak to us in Scripture and hearing others speak about the spiritual life who are perhaps a bit further along than we are, we can usually make a pretty good guess where God might be leading us.
So whatever kind of media we’re taking in, whether it’s on a screen, in our earbuds, or even a good old-fashioned paperback, we should make sure we have a balance between passive entertainment, and that which will renew our minds and transform us. And this doesn’t apply only to working on big projects, we should keep this in mind every day!
