Sermons by Rev. Jason S. Glombicki (Page 75)

I wonder what this this current time period will be called? Like, what “age” will this be? What I mean is that we’ve had the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, and if we skip ahead we find the Space Age and the Digital Age. So what “age” are we in? One author argues that this is the “age of loneliness.” He says that historically we are a species that is shaped by contact with others. Yet, we now seem to exist apart. If you think about children or adults engaged in parallel play with some technological tablet, phone, or computer this becomes clear. We’d rather look at pictures and posts in a park rather than enjoy the people and pets around us. Research suggests that this social isolation is as strong of a cause for death as smoking and obesity. Individuals are generally more likely to turn to a TV for consolation than to turn toward a friend, in fact two-fifths of older adults report that the TV is their primary companion…

Do you remember reading a story when you were three- or four-years-old? When we were younger we often wanted to know what happens next in a story. We wanted to know: where did they move, or was the baby born? As we begin reading novels we begin to learn that focusing on the plot alone may cause use to miss out on the meaning. Eventually we learn that sometimes stories are less about what happens and more about to whom things happen…

“Ponder this question: who is more likely to lie, cheat, and steal – the poor person or the rich one?” Dare I ask us to vote with our hands? I won’t, but answer for yourself honestly. “It’s temping to think that the wealthier you are, the more likely you are to act fairly,” says one author. However, a few researches found that luxury car drivers were more likely to cut off other motorists instead of waiting their turn, and that luxury car drivers were also more likely to speed past pedestrians trying to use a crosswalk, even after making eye contact. Other studies looked at different factors and generally found that “upper class individual are worse at recognizing the emotions of others and less likely to pay attention to people they are interacting with (for example, by checking their cell phones or doodling). Overall, these researchers found that “as people climb the social ladder, their compassionate feelings towards other people decline.” Today’s gospel reading has something to say about this phenomenon…