What Should We Do?

In terms of our everyday lives, most of us are too over-scheduled even to think about asking a question such as, “What should we do?” We rush from one thing to the next, just barely squeaking by. Choices seem nonexistent. We just want to get through our day being on time for work, getting the kids to soccer, getting something to eat for ourselves and our family, finding time to get the homework finished, answering emails, checking up on our social media sites, texting a few messages. We fall into bed, sleep a few hours, then get up the next day and start the hectic routine all over again. “What should we do?” Ah, to even have the luxury of time to ask the question! At this midpoint in Advent, the gospel calls us to stop, examine our lives and relationships, and perhaps prioritize in a different way how we spend our time.

If we ask, “What should we do?” we must be prepared for an answer that challenges us. Are we willing even to ask the question? Are we willing to reorganize our lives so that Christ is truly at the center, so that the magnanimity of our hearts is measured by something other than getting through another hectic day? Just like John, our lives are about others. Like John, we are to give our all—yes, our very lives—so that others can live better and love more deeply. By taking the time to ask the right questions, we define ourselves not in terms of what we do but who we are in relation to Other and others. The relationship to others is the key, not what we or they do.

Adapted from Renew International Cycle B