Do you remember when you were very young. There might have been a young boy who was teasing a pretty young girl? It is quite apparent that the boy is smitten. He probably is not sure about himself and the only way of expressing his immature thoughts and feelings is to tease the object of his affections.
You might come across a relatively similar case today with someone who acts out in a totally homophobic way. It's been seen with many many people, with clergy and politicians and you begin to wonder if they protest just a bit too much. Sure enough, someone winds up outing the individual or photos wind up on the Internet showing the individual caught in some tawdry affair. Of course all while they preach the highest ( straight ) morals from a pulpit or a legislative chamber ).
We are so immature at times both as individuals and as humans. We often have great difficulty dealing with things we don't understand. A large part of the problem is our focus. We tend to focus on the "me". What brings happiness? How do we find wholeness, indeed holiness?
In today's Gospel from John, who often seems to speak in riddles or on some much higher plain, Jesus says ‘If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing'. It might seem a paradox but when we think it's all about me, we are puffing ourselves up with nothing of real value. Things we use to puff ourselves up? Big car, new house, 'success' of our kids, money, career, size of our....bank accounts. It is all for nothing really. None of that matters when someone dies or you discover you have cancer. Ask the kid who literally has had to give up everything to acknowledge that they are gay and they'll tell you what is truly important. It is all about being yourself but not the me centered person that society seems to promote.
God is calling us into a relationship and that relationship is a mirror held up that shows just how wonderful we truly are. The magnificence of humanity though is not in things but in the actual humanity that God created. It is our essence, a knowledge that gives us real and lasting beauty, forever beauty. You catch a glimpse of this when you see someone outwardly focused. They are sure of themselves only in so far as their inner strength comes from some hidden source that shines through. That's source is God. It is the " I AM" of holy scripture, of Moses and Jesus.
When we focus on God and the innate beauty God gives us and let it be focused on humanity, on others, we see a beauty that Madison avenue can never match and never offer.We see purity of intent, calmness with self. God calls us to relationship, covenant or whatever you want to call it. It is relationship that is freely offered that we can not be proud because we earned by doing anything.
Freely offered to be freely accepted. What gives true happiness, love, pride and beauty.
No comments:
Post a Comment