Focus

The world is unfair.  If there is anywhere it shows it is in the cities.  Bright people can be found living without a home.  Those who lie and cheat seem to thrive, living with no apparent condemnation.  It is as if evil thrives at the expense of everything else.  In this environment it is easy to find bitterness, envy, and lives full of cynicism.  On one hand it is understandable, yet I am constantly reminded that there is another alternative.
 
The tension between the have and not, comfortable and struggling, luxury and pain is all to plain to see.  Gleaming buildings tower into the night sky; money flowing from the grocery in the basement through concern halls and up to venues open until late in the night.  Nestled just outside are subway tunnels.  They make themselves home to those looking for a safe shelter for the night.  The contrast is beyond day and night, black and white.  Where is the equality?  Where is there concern for others?  Where is the humanity?
 
First, a conversation that provides the answer when the tension reflects on your life and mind.  “Turning his head, Peter noticed the disciple Jesus loved following right behind.  When Peter noticed him, he asked Jesus, ‘Master, what's going to happen to him?’
 
Jesus said, ‘If I want him to live until I come again, what's that to you?  You—follow me.’” (John 21.20-22)  We have a mission.  It doesn’t matter how, or how not, the world rewards us in the present.
 
Second, our mission turns on the reality of the world around us.  People are dying for lack of compassion.  We may not be able to help everyone but we can help the ones Divinity gives us the opportunity to meet.  The question facing us today is one of focus; where is ours?  We can be agents of compassion, vehicles of hope, and reservoirs of mercy.  We can reach out to our family, co-workers, and anyone in our path.  It is not only an opportunity; it is our purpose in being here.  It is time.