Oops!

Imagine having the story of your life on the cover of The New York Times.

Would you want everyone to read it?

Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known.  Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops. - Luke 12:2-3

There are a lot of things people post on the Internet that they probably wish they hadn't.  The lore of fame and recognition is so great that we may do and say some pretty stupid things, expecting to get a laugh or a pat on the back, or just some much needed attention.

But once something is revealed to the public, exposed to the light, it can no longer be hidden.

That's the lesson for today from Luke's Gospel.  Jesus is setting expectations and making them clear.  Expect to be discovered.

It begs the question, "What part of my life would I be embarrassed to see reported on the cover of the Times?"

We have probably never had more eyes and ears on us than we do today.  Every picture we take from our cellphones, every text we send, every place we go is tracked, catalogued, referenced and stored somewhere.

If someone wants to find out what we do, where we go, whom we visit, even what we say, they can.  We can be the subject in our own documentary without even knowing it.

Scary stuff.

We don't need to be famous.  We can just be ordinary and we are a public figure.

So, what Jesus warned us about is here.  There are no hidden spaces, no dark closets, no really safe off-the-grid refuges where no one can find us or hear us.

Well, maybe.

There was that guy at the Denver Broncos game who just walked away and disappeared for a few days, winding up 110 miles away.  For a short while, no one could find him.

But for the most part, we need to assume we are on camera, observable, and of interest to someone all the time.

That's a big responsibility and the momentary ego boost it may give us wanes fairly quickly when we think of all the places and things we like to keep private.

Oops!  I didn't want to say that.  Too late.  It's out there.

So, what it boils down to is this.  We have to live our lives and not lock ourselves away, but we also have to be aware that what we do, what we say, where we go should not have to be sources of embarrassment for us.

I'll be out there with you, and we'll all try to keep our sanity as we lead the best lives we can without fear and without shame.

Good luck with that.

More to come...


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