Today is the first of September, and while most school districts begin classes sometime in August these days, Labor Day weekend still has that sense of marking the end of summer and the beginning of the school year.
Reflecting on my childhood and adolescence, I recall I was never a great student. If you look up average in the dictionary, you might have a picture of me. However, each September as the start of school approached, I was filled with anticipation, and a resolve to do better. I loved the new folders and notebooks, and assured myself this was the year I would be more organized and stay on top of my homework. But alas, within a week or two, I was overwhelmed, underprepared, and most likely behind on an assignment or two—and lacking motivation.
Eventually, I figured out how to be a better student, and did quite well in university and graduate school. But reminiscing on my fitful educational efforts as a child and young person, got me thinking about my successes and failures in seeking to follow the way of Jesus. And actually, what started this whole stream of thought was a brief remark from a parishioner who stopped by to drop something off.
Lamenting some relational frustrations with people in our lives, I casually threw out the phrase regarding the situation I was addressing, Well, I think they are just trying to follow Jesus, to which my conversation partner immediately replied, Well, aren’t we all? While I was being rather flippant in trying to assign a positive motive to someone’s irritating behavior—and not so subtly casting myself in a more noble light—my friend's response grabbed my attention and brought me up short.
