To stay clear of trivialities

WORD 2day: Wednesday, 11th week in Ordinary time

June 15, 2022: 2 Kings 2:1, 6-14; Matthew 6: 1-6, 16-18

The only condition placed before Elisha, that he may receive a double share of the Spirit possessed by Elijah, was that Elisha should see Elijah being taken away by God. The challenge here is simply, not to miss what is central to whatever we are involved in, being distracted with the trivialities. This is a very current message for any age!

Because every age, every culture, every age group, and any context is made of a number of simple things that form the entire whole. At times, the maturity of a person or of a community in question is manifest from the capacity to differentiate between what is trivial and what is crucial, between what is negotiable and what is substantial, in short, what really matters and what does not! 

The Gospel places the same condition before us. The actions that we do will have their true value depending on the fact whether the centrality of the right element was ensured. Praying, fasting and almsgiving are three fundamental actions mentioned in the Gospel today and they together epitomise the entire religious practice of a Jew. However, the point here is: not to miss what is central to it in getting distracted with the trivialities of human recognition and immediate rewards. Prayer, fast and almsgiving - why do I do it? Because it has become my second nature, or because I have some other agenda behind it?

In our relationship with ourselves, with others and with God, we are invited to pay attention to the most central of all concerns: to do what is most pleasing to God at a given instant. Any other concern is only a triviality, however good and practical it could be. The spiritual prudence that Jesus teaches us today is to stay clear of the trivialities and place God at the centre and at the core, of our life, of the world, of everything!