A NEW WAY OF SEEING

Given at the Little Sisters of the Poor - St. Joseph Home

January 6, 2025

 

When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee. He left Nazareth and went to live in Capernaum by the sea. From that time on, Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Matthew 4:12-17

Details are important! Let’s set the stage. From his birth, Jesus had lived in Egypt and with his parents in Nazareth. He was drawn to the preaching of his fiery cousin, John the Baptist, and had allowed himself to be baptized by him. Coming up out of the water, we are told that the heavens opened and Jesus heard the voice of God say, “This is my beloved Son.” He heard the voice, but he did not know exactly what that meant. That question led him into the desert for a 40-day retreat.

On that retreat, he discerned what being “God’s son” would mean for his life. The three options are known to us as “the three temptations.” They all fall into one category – they all call for external change. Jesus realized that he could resort to performing magic tricks like turning rocks into bread. That would certainly attract followers. Jesus could resort to dramatic public stunts like leaping from tall buildings and being saved by angels at the very last minute. That too would attract followers. Jesus could resort to political power and let himself, as a result of all those showy events, be crowned a fabulous king. That would appeal to a whole lot of people. He rejects all of that stuff and left the desert with God’s answer deep within his heart and looked for an opportunity to announce it to the world.

Once he settled on the direction of his ministry, and upon hearing that John had been arrested, Jesus goes home to Nazareth, packs his bags and moves to Capernaum, a sea-side town. Today’s text tells us that Jesus, once settled in there, announces publicly for the first time the direction of the ministry given to him by God with these words: “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

During most of my early life, I operated out of the assumption that “life is something that happened to me and all that I could to do is to accept it and make the most of it.” Later, I operated out of the notion that I needed to crusade for various structures changes, believing that if I could change things around me, I would be happier. These days, because I took the time to reflect on the word “repent,” I now operate out of the belief, that with a changed outlook on my part, I can experience life differently, I can experience the church differently and I can even experience God differently, no matter what happens or fails to happen around me.

This insight came from my study of the very first word to come out of Jesus’ mouth as he begins his ministry. The word is metanoiete! Metanoiete, translated here as "repent," means a whole lot more than “to feel remorse for the bad things we have done.” What Jesus is really asking for here is not so much feelings of remorse as a radical change in how we see things and how we think about things. He calls for us to become radically new people through a change of heart, a change of attitude and a change of outlook!

The first time I can remember consciously changing the way I looked at things in my life was during my junior year of college seminary at Saint Meinrad. I was not very happy with my life. I was a “feverish little clod of grievances and ailments complaining that the world and the church would not get together and make me happy.” I was bashful, backward and scared, scared of people and scared of life. I wanted other people to change things so that I would be more comfortable. One day, I decided to reverse my thinking by facing my fears instead of running from them. With God’s help, I decided to grab my life by the horns and accept God’s help in making myself happy. In that great moment of conversion, I decided to do some serious changing myself, not wait for others to change and make me feel better. I shudder to think what my life might be today if God had not helped me change the way I looked at myself and the things going on in the world around me. I quit waiting for the world to change. I decided to change myself.

Here’s another example. I remember talking to a man many years ago. He had come to me about his daughter who was pregnant out of wedlock. He was disappointed and angry with her. He wanted to snub her, cut her out of the will and never speak to her again. My advice to him was simple: since he was powerless to change the situation, why not change his mind, the way he was looking at this new reality? Instead of running from it, why not turn and embrace it and see what wonderful things might come out of it? Because he was open to it, God was able to help him change his mind and see that unwanted situation in a new way. Today, he is on great terms with his daughter, helped her raise her baby and wouldn’t take anything for his prized granddaughter. If he had not be able to change the way he looked at the situation, they might be estranged today and still carrying that grudge would have made him a bitter old grandfather who knew he had disowned his own innocent granddaughter.

What is it for you? What is it about your personal outlook, cherished opinions and hardened perspectives that cause you to be constantly torn up and in need of correcting because you are waiting for others to change? Ask God to help you change the way you look at things and let God help you achieve a new way of thinking and a new way of seeing – beginning today! “It’s easier to put on slippers than carpet the world.” That means, for our own sanity, it’s a whole lot easier to change our minds, our outlook, our opinions than it is to try to change everybody else’s mind, outlook and opinion. You can go through life mad about something, or someone you don’t like, and be miserable or you can change the way you look at that situation or that person and live in peace! It’s up to you!