From a Distance (01/14/2026)

My husband and I were driving home from Iowa yesterday, back to Wisconsin. In the distance, at one point, we could see a house that was elevated off the ground, and we could see a small crane. From our vantage point, at a distance, we thought the crane was holding the home. But then, as we drove on, from a different perspective, we could see that the house was actually on wheels and the crane was not involved at all. What we thought we saw and knew from a distance was totally different from the reality we discovered when we drew nearer.

I found myself lost in thought for the next several miles of the journey as I recalled so many times in my past when I thought I understood something or someone from a distance only to discover how wrong I was when I drew nearer. And the LORD reminded me anew that He is I AM and He calls me to be present to others, to encounter them and to engage them so that I might better see them for who they are.

In this first week of Ordinary Time, we must realize that it is anything but ordinary. We call it “ordinary” because it is “ordered.” But no time is really ordinary because the LORD is present every day and we are called to be present, too. We are called to be Christ for one another as the song lyric says. We are to accept one another as Christ has accepted us. We are to welcome one another as Christ welcomes us. We are to forgive one another as Christ forgives us. We are to love one another as Christ loves us. But we can’t do that from a distance.

In today’s gospel, Jesus drew near to Simon’s mother-in-law. He grasped her hand. Then He went and healed others, in their midst, present to them. From a distance we can misunderstand, we can miss the truth. Let us be willing to bring Christ to others and others to Christ this day and this week by being present and treating others as Christ treats us and seeking to see others as Christ sees us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.