Check Your Spiritual Screen Time

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I wonder what would happen if Jesus walked up to us today and asked a simple question: “What did you spend most of your time looking at this week?”

For many of us, the answer might be our phones. Think about it. The average person checks their phone dozens, even hundreds, of times a day. Some of us spend so much time staring at screens that our thumbs are in better shape than the rest of our bodies.

But today’s Gospel is not really about our eyes. It’s about our focus. Jesus says, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.” In other words, whatever captures your attention eventually shapes your heart. What you constantly look at, you slowly become. If all I focus on is what I don’t have, I become dissatisfied. If all I focus on is what others are doing, I become jealous. If all I focus on is myself, I become self-centered. The eye is not just about sight. It is about direction. Jesus is asking: What are you aiming your life toward?

And that leads to the first part of the Gospel: “Do not store up treasures on earth.” Now, Jesus is not against possessions. The problem begins when possessions possess us. There is a funny truth about buying new things. The excitement lasts about three days. You buy the new phone. Three days later, there is already a rumor about the next phone. You buy the new car. Then your neighbor buys a nicer one. You finally organize your house. Two weeks later it looks like a natural disaster occurred. Earthly treasures are temporary by design.

Jesus is not trying to take away our joy. He is trying to save us from building our lives on things that cannot last. Because every treasure makes a promise. Money promises security. Success promises importance. Popularity promises happiness. But only God can actually deliver what those promises offer. The truth is that we become what we gaze upon. The saints became saints because they kept their eyes fixed on Christ. Not because they were perfect or had easier lives. But because they knew where to look. Peter looked at Jesus and walked on water. The moment he focused on the storm, he began to sink. The same thing happens to us. When we focus only on problems, fears, failures, and disappointments, darkness grows. But when we keep turning our eyes toward Christ, light slowly fills every corner of our lives.

So maybe the question today is: What am I looking at every day? What occupies my thoughts? What has my attention? Because whatever has your attention will eventually have your heart. And Jesus is inviting us to place our hearts where neither rust, nor moths, nor time can destroy them. Place them in Him.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, So many things compete for my attention. So many voices fight for my heart. Help me to fix my eyes on You. When I become distracted by things that do not last, gently lead me back. Fill my mind with Your truth, my heart with Your love, and my life with Your light. May I seek the treasures of heaven more than the treasures of this world. And may everything I look at lead me closer to You. Amen.

– Homily by Rev Fr Patrick Agbeko