“Lose weight fast with this one weird trick.”
“The investment secret banks don’t want you to know.”
“Three things you should always take to a restaurant (number 2 will shock you).”
There’s something about us that loves the quick fix. The simple solution to the complex problem. The one thing…that changes everything.
It’s why we fall for clickbait online. Every. Time. Even when we know it’s clickbait.
Why? Because we want it to be true. Not any particular “secret” or “weird trick” in an online ad. But we want the idea behind it to be true.
Deep down, you and I desperately want simple solutions to life’s complex problems. This is what clickbait is tapping into.
The thing is, almost nothing in life works that way. Just about everything in life is cumulative. That is, both the problems we face and the solutions to those problems – are made up of the cumulative total of a lot of different stuff.
There’s more to a healthy relationship than remembering birthdays and anniversaries. Not that you shouldn’t try to remember them.
But that’s only one piece of the puzzle. There’s more to it than that.
There’s more to a healthy relationship than trying to see things from the other person’s perspective. Not that you shouldn’t try. On a regular basis.
But that’s only one piece of the puzzle. There’s more to it than that.
Both are good ideas. Neither one by itself will do the job. No matter how well we do it.
This tendency in us? This desire in us try to solve complex problems by doing only one good thing? That’s exactly what Jesus is pushing back against in today’s Gospel when He says,
“Woe to you, Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint and of rue and of every garden herb,
but you pay no attention to judgment and to love for God. These you should have done, without overlooking the others.”
Jesus isn’t dismissing what may seem like small, maybe even silly, outer signs of faith.
Jesus is dismissing doing only the small, outer signs of faith – to the neglect of our interior life.
Jesus is telling us to do the small, outer signs of faith. The Rosary. Prayer during the day. Starting the day with gratitude to God.
Because they create habits that will open our hearts to God and God’s love. Even when our interior lives are a hot mess.
Jesus is telling us to exercise judgment. To think before we act or speak. To be aware of the effect of what we do and say on ourselves. And on others.
Because exercising judgment will call us back to God. And will keep us from hurting others. And ourselves.
Jesus is telling us to love God. To let our hearts – and our lives – be filled with God’s love.
Because God’s love cannot be contained. It will spill over into every area of our lives. And it will move us to make a difference in the lives of others.
All of that together? Done over the course of a lifetime?
It’s nothing less than the sure and certain road to God, the path to becoming a saint.
