Focus

It was probably four or five years ago when I sat down with my oldest son, Sawyer, to watch the movie The Karate Kid. The Jaden Smith updated version, not the original. Did you think that I had not seen the original a dozen or more times before this? Please, I’m a child of the 80’s people. There was a scene in this updated version where Mr. Miyagi (Jackie Chan) says to a training Jaden Smith, “Your focus needs more focus.” After this, Sawyer and I would be outside playing catch with the football or baseball, and there would be times when he was a bit too nonchalant with his focus, which would lead to a wild throw or a dropped ball. I would smile and say to him, “Sawyer, your focus needs more focus.”

On the daily, all three of my boys can be found tossing a ball around to each other. I will occasionally hear Sawyer say to his younger brothers, “Your focus needs more focus.” It’s precious.

The point is to pay close attention, to remove distraction and center oneself on the task at hand. Catch this one ball being thrown to you, or throw this one ball to a specific person. Focus. And then focus that focus.

I am a big fan of wisdom, and I am going to go ahead and assume that you are as well. And ancient wisdom typically means that something has stuck around for many years, because it carries a truth and depth that has staying power.

Whatever one’s feelings or beliefs are about Jesus, it’s pretty much universally understood that he was a brilliant teacher. Towards the end of what is largely understood as his seminal teaching, Jesus says this, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Maybe you’ve heard this before. And if so, it’s quite possible you heard it tied to a rant from a very Dante’s inferno understanding of heaven and hell. That’s unfortunate. Whatever else Jesus might be saying within his teachings, he first and foremost is talking about the present. And too often people hear about the narrow gate as being restrictive, almost as if there are security guards on hand only allowing a select few people in. That’s not what is said here. The invitation is to focus so you don’t miss the narrow road and the small gate, because this is what leads to life. Everyone is welcome. But many people are too busy or distracted or scattered, so they miss the street sign.

This little nugget of wisdom from Jesus is not about restriction, it’s about an entry way into the expansiveness of the Divine.

But too often we choose to focus on how the gate is described as narrow, missing the invitation to simply narrow our focus.

The way of Jesus is a buoyant and beautiful invitation to a narrow focus that leads to the most expansive life.

And Advent is a season of slowing down, of learning to focus on the gift of a small child who will guide us to a magnanimous life.

So on this day, may you focus your focus.