The Power of Example
Fr. George Smiga
February 1, 2009
Mark: 1: 21 - 28
Pete was a retired sailor. His best friend was his pet parrot who stayed on a special perch in his house and would travel with Pete on his shoulder whenever he went out for daily errands. One day the parrot began to cough and cough and cough. Pete became worried. He began to think that the parrot was dealing with second hand smoke, because Pete smoked a pipe and its smoke routinely filled up the house. So Pete took the parrot to a veterinarian. Pete paced back and forth in the waiting room as the vet worked on the diagnosis. After a whole battery of tests the vet came out and said, “Pete, your parrot is fine. His lungs are perfectly clear.” “But what about the cough?” Pete objected, “It is constant.” The vet said “He’s imitating you. Make an appointment with your doctor and get your lungs checked.”
We all influence one another. Consciously or unconsciously people learn from our example. In that learning, our actions speak louder than our words. This truth is included in today’s gospel. I wondered if you noticed it as the gospel was being proclaimed. All the people in the story are amazed by Jesus’ teaching, and yet the story never tells us what Jesus is teaching. It does not give us any words of Jesus. What it gives us instead is Jesus’ powerful expulsion of a demon. What impressed people about Jesus was not his teaching but his deeds. Not his words but his actions. If we are going to follow Jesus, then we need to be conscious of our actions and how they influence others.
This is particularly important for parents and grandparents because they are always telling their children and grandchildren what to do. But what do their children and grandchildren see in their actions? Can they see, in the way that they treat their spouse, mutuality and love? Can they recognize, in the way that they treat others of a different nationality or of a different faith or race, a respect and recognition of their equality in God’s eyes? Can the children recognize in the way that they shop or use their financial resources that their parents and grandparents are people of integrity, people of honesty?
What do the people we work with see in our actions? Can they perceive in what we do and how we treat one another that we consider them valuable? Or do we talk a good story but really ignore other’s needs? What do our actions say to our friends? Can they see in the things we do that we are people who respect life, who care for those in need, who treat other with fairness? Or are our friendship relations just a matter of entertainment and pleasantries?
What we do influences others. It influences them for good or ill. Our actions either display our enthusiasm or our negativity, our commitment or our cough. Words are important but actions make the difference. On this day as we hear of Jesus’ great action in the gospel, we should follow him and be aware that our actions matter and in the choices that we make, in the time we invest, in the people that we love. That is how we make a difference. Small and selfish actions lead others astray, and actions of generosity and justice build the kingdom of God.
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