Once a woman said to her husband, “The car won’t start.” “What’s wrong?” he answered.
“There’s water in the carburetor.” “That’s impossible.” “There’s water in the carburetor,” she replied again. “Where’s the car?” he asked. “In the pond down the road.”
Strange things happen. Strange things happen all the time. And we have a choice on how to handle them. Many times we do as everyone else does. Or we do the thing to get us the least into trouble. Hence: white lies, exaggerations, blaming others, doing the easy thing. Yet many of us want to do the RIGHT THING, so we look for a sign (like the people in the gospel did.) They wanted a sign that Jesus was the sent from God. They wanted to do the right thing, and follow the right leader.
Now I haven’t watched any of the Olympics this year, but like many of you, I become a fan of sports that I only think about every four years of so . . . synchronized swimming, judo and of course gymnastics.
Now beside our MN all-around champion, the big new is what happened off the mat. Simone Biles withdrew from Thursday's individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Games. The 24-year-old Biles in unprecedented for women's gymnastics and one of the biggest stars of not only the American team, but for the whole Tokyo Olympics in general.
As many commentators said, "She must be injured," and "We all know how strong Simone is, this must be really bad," Then hours later the world learned this wasn't a hidden physical injury but instead a mental health struggle. An illness that many times is kept hidden, but on Thursday, thanks to Simone, a powerful global statement was made. She did the right thing.
Mental health is as every bit as important as physical health.
The blogger Backwards N High Heels wrote on Facebook, “My immediate reaction is what society has engrained into us. It is the reason why people suffer in silence. It is the reason we don't talk about therapy and medicine for mental illness. It is why some people make other serious life choices to cope with the overload, never addressing the root issue and truly caring for their wellbeing. It is why so many people are afraid to ask for help. It is why so many people choose to validate other's feelings and approval before validating their own.”
If the news broke today that Simone had physically injured herself and couldn't go on, we would have all rallied behind her and supported her emotionally, because can you imagine how much she gave up today when making that decision? But because it was for her own mental wellbeing - well, we are so quick to attack, adding more stress instead of caring for one's emotional state.
What Simone did was incredibly admirable and brave. She did the right thing. It’s like she said, "Wait. My mental health is important and I can't go on." She showed what it means to honor one's whole self.
We are called to do the right thing. But how do we know what’s the right thing? The writer of the second readings gives us a clue. He writes that we should stop doing like everyone else does (he says the Gentiles, but it means those who are not trusting God.) He goes on, “Put away your former self, corrupted through deceitful desires (that is, stop focusing on what others are going to think of you. Or how you are going to get more money, or more attention) The writer goes on . . . and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.”
It’s like . . . we center ourselves on the Eucharist. Because that’s what we do as Catholics. We center on the Eucharist as the presence of God, so that we can have that “presence of God” within us. Jesus calls it and himself, “THE BREAD OF LIFE.” So with that life, we go and do the right thing. The Eucharist is food for the journey. For this will be a challenging week for many of you . . . I guarantee it. How do you act?
You know, with that boundary dispute you have with that neighbor. You know, with that person that you are dreading gets put on your team, or into your classroom. You know, that harmless lie that has now grown out of proportion. You know, that mental UN-wellness that you have been hiding, or the one that you won’t talk about to that family member.
Go do the right thing.
How? Receive God. Learn from Jesus. When in doubt, apologize. When humiliated, turn the other cheek. When the whole world tells you that it’s OK to get them back, get revenge, get even . . . step into your new self (as the Ephesian writer says) and do the right thing.