Set it right

Tuesday, March 10

Readings: Is 1:10, 16-20; Mt 23:1-12

There’s a line from the first reading from Isaiah that really catches my attention.  God encourages the people to say, “Come now, let us set things right!”  And we’re warned that what is not set right will come back to us somehow.

Maybe you have had this experience before.  Something that you failed to attend to (and were aware that you weren’t attending to it) grew into a much bigger problem that then took a lot more energy and time to attend to and to try to remedy.  I often joke that the universe is a “pay now or pay a lot more later” kind of place.

In the gospel, Jesus tells his followers (again) not to be like the scribes and Pharisees because they are all about pretense and not about authenticity.  He encourages his followers to trust their own experience and stay in tune with what God wants from them.

Obviously, our world faces some big challenges that have been kicked down the road by prior generations.  A prior failure or unwillingness to attend to climate change, poverty, racism, etc. leaves it to our current moment to address.  There’s a lot to set right.

And while this can feel overwhelming, we all have what Steven Covey (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People) calls our ‘sphere of influence’.  That’s where we can make an impact and change certain things that are directly related to our lives.

We all have things that we need to set right.  Maybe we have a relationship situation that needs to be addressed.  Maybe we owe somebody something and have been avoiding them.  Maybe there is a task that we have delayed that needs to get done.  Maybe we have been thinking of a lifestyle change.  Maybe we have been thinking of getting involved in social action somehow. Maybe there is some reparation we’re considering.

What would “setting things right” look like for you?  What steps would you need to take?  How will you remain accountable?  What feelings does it bring up in you when you think of making it right or trying to address it?

And what would it mean collectively? With whom do we need to set things right? What would it mean to set things right with the earth?

Big questions, indeed. But they are ours to respond to.

This is all soul work, and it is the work of Lent as we try to reconcile (to reconnect) all that has been disconnected in the world.  Start small.  Start close in.  Just start setting things right.