Caught

I’m not sure what happened at Grand and Allen last night.  First one police care slid to the top of the stairs at the downtown B & D stop.  Then there was a second, and a third, and a forth, and even a fifth.  You couldn’t see anything, but we, along with others on the street, were caught in a moment, frozen, simply watching, waiting, and imagining what might be.  We almost found ourselves caught again as the ambulance drove up several minutes later.  Something about the unusual, the potential for human tragedy, or simply inborn curiosity drew us and then held us.
 
I find myself caught, without thinking or thought, in too many moments.  An unusual string of words catches my attention and the priorities of the moment vanish.  A potential conflict of relationships or physical objects easily draws in my focus and attention.  I am Mary, in the moment when she discovers Jesus alive at the tomb.  I need someone to keep me focused on what needs to be done.  I need the words she heard; “Don't cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go to my brothers and tell them, 'I ascend to my Father and your Father, my God and your God.'” (John 20.17)
 
In big cities and small, exciting work and things less so, it is easy to get caught.  Good things and bad draw us away from the priority tasks at hand.  It is far too easy to be distracted, to watch the accident or incident unfolding before us, than to focus on required.  It isn’t the event that is wrong.  What is wrong is the fact that we stop engaging in life, put our minds on pause, and release our controls. 
 
Imagine a world where everything was part of a plan.  We observed, looking to actively experience life to the maximum.  We interacted, seeking to be part of our community.  We acted, driven by our values and priorities, in ways of compassion, mercy, and love.  This would a world shape by Divinity.  It’s ours.