Mindfulness in the Age of Distraction: Reflections on Sunday's Gospel Reading - Matthew 25:1-13

“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be compared to ten maidens who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Behold, the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those maidens rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise replied, ‘Perhaps there will not be enough for us and for you; go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast; and the door was shut. Afterward the other maidens came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” -Matthew 25:-13 RSV

Mindfulness in the Age of Distraction

One cannot read this text and realize that Christ is calling us to a life of mindfulness. This is what it means to be watchful…we are called to be ready.

When I reflect on this text, I could not help to think about how hard it is to be watchful in the midst of everyday life. The world is full of noise, distractions and petty modern annoyances. We would rather be in a state of mindlessness so we don’t have to think or feel about anything. So, we stare at our screens, we doom-scroll social media sites, we mindlessly page through the endless menus of Netflix or Amazon Prime or Hulu. Yes, we do this.

We ignore the everydayness of life because it is so hard to be alert and watchful since life is demanding and shock full of noise. So we sort of sleepwalk through it all.

And then in the midst of the mundane mindlessness we are caught completely off-guard when something out of the ordinary happens. Someone we love is diagnosed with cancer, a parent unexpectedly dies, a child gets really sick, we lose our job, a close friend betrays us…the list goes on and on. The reality is that these things are pretty normal in life’s journey. It just feels out of the ordinary because we are are jolted out of our everydayness into reality.

Does this make sense? Why do we suffer from this? Its our jacked up human nature that makes us crave distraction and temptation. We'd rather indulge our desires so we can become numb to reality. It is a incredibly hard to be present. To be mindful. To be watchful.

The world around us with the barrage of noise, smart phones pinging us with notifications, and the overabundance of streaming media at our fingertips…does not create peace or serenity. No, it creates anxiety and stress, so we do everything we can to go to a state of numbness.

Christ calls all of us to be watchful.

Like the five virgins who were ready with oil in their trimmed and readied lamps, Christ urges us to a state of mindfulness and watchfulness so we hear his voice whenever He calls. Mindfulness is an acknowledgement of our brokenness, our tendency to sin, our love of things of the flesh and our willingness to say to Christ—I need your mercy and help…help me Lord. Keep me alert Lord!

As I read this text I thought about Aristotle’s philosophical idea of potentiality. Aristotle believed everything has a potential - a capacity to change or become something greater. For example, an acorn has the potential to become an oak tree. A block of marble has the potential to become a beautiful statue. Potentiality is about possibility and capability. It refers to the innate power or tendency something has to develop, grow, and transform into something new. Even though the end result doesn't exist yet, the initial form contains the essence and vital force to achieve its full potential. According to Aristotle, all living things have a telos - a purpose or goal they are meant to achieve if growth and development unfold properly. Fulfilling potential leads to greater fulfillment and perfection. However, potential can also fail to emerge if things go wrong in development. His idea was that full achievement of potential represents the highest good. So in short, potentiality means the inherent capacity or potency within something to actualize new states of being through change.

We reach our highest fulfillment in Christ. Christ's Incarnation and sacrificial death served to redeem human potential and reopen the path toward perfection. By following Christ's example and cultivating virtue through grace, our potential can be actualized and directed toward holiness—to mindfulness—to watchfulness. God's grace is everything. His grace perfects our imperfect natures. By cooperating with grace and developing virtue, we manifest our innate spiritual potency and come to share in His divine perfection.

Christ calls us to a life of watchfulness. Yet the distractions of modernity lull our minds into dullness. Through daily prayer and nightly examen, we can cultivate mindfulness amidst the mundane. Prayer stills our restless thoughts, focusing us inward to meet God. In a daily examen, we review the day - noticing moments of grace and opportunities for growth. These spiritual practices train our attention on the present encounter with the divine. Thus grounded in God, we walk steadily through life with lamps lit and eyes open. By daily returning to the source in prayer, we live watchfully. If we can attempt to live in this manner, maybe we will not be caught off guard when the normal things of life happen around us.