A  SECOND  CAN 

CHANGE  A  LIFE

INTRODUCTION

The title of this short reflection is, “A Second Can Change a Life.”

I’m sure that thought has hit us for a second or two at different times in our life.

I don’t think I gave too many other seconds - or second thoughts - about that reality, but that’s what hit me when I read today’s gospel especially.

“A Second Can Change a Life.”

EXAMPLES

A person is driving along alone and their cellphone rings and they automatically reach for it - and it has shifted to the other side of the empty other passenger seat - and they look over to see where it is and boom another person in another car suddenly shifts lanes in that split second.

A second can change a life.

A doctor is looking at x-rays all morning - and says to herself or himself, “Wait a second. Let me look at this x-ray again?”  And in that second opinion - in that second look - they spot something they didn’t spot in the first look.

A second can change a life.

A person in a moment of anger yells at us as we both come around a corner in the supermarket and almost crash into each other. One person yells, “You jerk. Why don’t you watch where you’re going?” One person bites their tongue and says nothing.

A second can change a life.

DEMONS

On second thought, perhaps the reason I got this thought from today’s gospels was the word, “demon”.

In today’s gospel we hear the scribes  - they are those who can write - the more educated ones - attacking Jesus for being possessed by Beelzebub - a great name for the so called, “Prince of Demons”.

In Jesus’ time, people used the word “demons.” They were spurts, blurts, darts of anger and frustration and irrationality that erupted out of people - sort of all of a sudden - and in a split second - a person threw a rock or a word at another.

They are what causes division in a house or a family or a marriage or a community.

And often we have to live with the consequences of a split second act or action.

If it’s bad stuff - it’s called a demon - a devil - and because it’s filled with energy - it’s also seen as a “bad god” - a bad spirit - let loose.

BRUDERHOFF

I was once attending a talk being given by a member of the Bruderhoff - a Protestant Community - Commune - in upstate New York. The talk was being given in a convent to some nuns and I was invited.

The father of a family was explaining what life was like in his family and in his commune. Seated near him were his wife and about 4 kids.

It was a long talk and it got boring.  Above the speaker was a ceiling fan with a metal beaded cord - with a bigger bead at the bottom - to grab to turn the fan on or off - or to put it in another cycle.

Suddenly in a split second one of his sons stood up - and whacked with one hand the bottom bead of the on off cord hanging from the ceiling fan. It went flying. It stopped the father for a moment. Everyone saw it. Everyone woke up. The boy simply sat down and continued his day dreaming. The father continued speaking. The father finished speaking. Any questions? Nobody said anything to the boy who wacked that ceiling fan cord.

I have never forgotten that scene.

I often wondered what was going on in that kid’s mind.

I’ve often wondered why we remember what we remember and forget so many other moments of life.

It has always struck me - that maybe all of us are sitting there in church - at the dinner   table - at a meeting - or in a relationship - and we want to scream - or smack some hanging cord.

It has always struck me that any of us can do something stupid - dumb in a split second - and it can ruin the rest of the evening or one’s life.

CONCLUSION

Today’s gospel also talks about non-forgiveness…..hopefully it’s not everlasting ….

Hopefully, if we do something dumb in a second, we can recover and do something smart in a second and recover.