The Things That Matter

Matthew 11: 20-21

“20 Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.”

I used to work at a University in an office with a window that looked out at the University library.  Each day a great number of students, professors, and other people walked by on the sidewalk in front of the library.  

One fall day, a woman and her child were walking by, and the child was following behind her mother, looking up at the colorful leaves on the trees, kicking the leaves that had fallen, shouting with joy.  The mother looked back at her and yelled for her to catch up.   She was late for whatever appointment she was marching to.  

The mother was so intent on the things of life, that she missed the miracle of her daughter, and the miracle of life that her daughter was witnessing.  She missed an opportunity of great love and  joy.

The people of Chorazin and Bethsaida did not understand the miracles that Jesus had performed and that they had witnessed.  They missed an opportunity of knowing the great love and joy of Christ.

One of our great tasks in life is to pay attention to the things that really matter, like  the miracle of life in Christ, and the miracles of love and joy.