In today’s Gospel Jesus says, “To what shall I compare the people of this generation? What are they like? They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance. We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’” He goes on to remark how the people thought John the Baptist was crazy because he did not eat or drink. But when Jesus both ate and drank, they called him a glutton and a drunkard.
Indeed, this world has many contradictory and bewildering standards.
One of the great human struggles is to become free of being simply defined by others, of being under the world’s judgments, such that we lack any personal conviction or deep, stable, and serene core.
An old African proverb says “if I don’t know I am , anyone can name me.”
Somewhere in the midst of the the world’s demands for conformity to its ephemeral standards, every human person must come to know the man, the woman, that God has made us to be.
This does not mean, especially in youth, that we do not seek guidance from people and elders that we trust. But in the end, there must be that very private journey with God that every human person makes. It is the journey to discover one’s true self, as God gently reveals.
It is to this deep truth, that Jesus refers in the Gospel referenced above. The world cannot be our measure. Too often its standards are passing, foolish, and highly inconsistent. The hearken to its cacophonous voice is a sure invitation to high anxiety, and deep inner conflict.
There is a saying, A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure.
Jesus too, warns, “No one can serve two masters.” But, sadly, most of us try. And frankly, it is not merely two masters, but hundreds.
Not so with Jesus.
Jesus defied and resisted most of the ways in which people try to define him. He was Messiah, but he would not be the Messiah and in any way they understood. He would not ride in on a war horse and usher in a bath of blood, or follow a career of conquest. He would die as a suffering servant.
Neither would he simply be reduced to being the Bread King (Jn 6:15), or the medical miracle worker (Mk 1:38). He was sure to hit the road and move onto the next town before he would let others label him as such.
He came to bear witness to the truth, and to save us, not so much from economic calamity or health problems, not from political enemies, but, rather, from our very self, from our own sins.
No, Jesus would not be defined by this world. He was free from its grip; it had no power over him.
To the same freedom, the Lord ultimately summons us.
In Matthew, Chapter 6, the Lord teaches on the problem of hypocrisy. The Lord’s insight into this problem of hypocrisy is far more penetrating, more rich, than anything we moderns mean by the word. We generally mean by it, “to be inconsistent…to say one thing and do another.” But hypocrisy is a far deeper problem, a more poignant issue of our hearts.
For Jesus, hypocrisy is the sad state of a human being who is reduced to the status of being an actor on the stage, looking for applause. (The Greek word hypocritas means “actor”). And the tragic reduction of the human person this state of being an actor occurs because we do not know the Father.
It is a sad fact that most people find their navigating points in this world, and assess how they are doing, not from the heavenly Father, but from the reaction of the crowd. Like actors on a stage we play the part expected of us, looking for applause; desperately looking for applause.
And of course those who struggle with hypocrisy, are in fact inconsistent. Why? Because the audience changes. And, as Jesus notes, when the world pipes a tune, we’re supposed to dance. When the world plays a dirge, we darn well better wail.
Yes, hypocrisy is a sad and poignant problem.
To every example of hypocrisy in Matthew 6, (giving alms, fasting, praying), the Lord gives the solution: “your heavenly Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.”
Yes, it is enough that the heavenly Father sees and knows. And it is the invitation, the journey, that the Lord invites us to make, that it be enough that heavenly Father sees and knows who I am, and what I do. It is enough that He show me my true self.
To be sure, this personal journey with the Lord, the journey to discover our true self, is not an invitation to hideous idiosyncrasies, and sociopathic behavior. Holiness may in fact, and does often, startle this world. But it is not unnecessarily disruptive, and it is not simply “weird.” Discovering our true self, leads to serenity, a peace which this world cannot give, but also, a peace which this world cannot deny.
So, A man with one watch knows what time it is; a man with two watches is never quite sure.
Who are you watching? And what time is it in your life? Is it a time of silly teenage conformity and peer pressure? Or is it a time of serene and mature self understanding, rooted in the Father?
I don’t wear a watch and time is of the essence. I look at a clock throughout the day as needed and observe from a place where there’s no space or time. Time is a physical awake phenomenon because I lose track of time when I sleep yet I still am subconsciously observing. Time is a restraint placed on mortal beings who feel a need to accomplish something be it ambition or salvation. You never know when your time is up but it is continually winding down.
Thank you Father, for linking this text to a principle not well understood, and even less practiced. Polonius says: “Know thyself; & to thine oneself be true”. But Blessed John Paul II teaches us we really don’t know ourselves unless we know Jesus. Jesus in turn tells us that to know Him is to know the Father.
So Jesus is more than the Savior of my soul; He is the Savior of my sanity!
Between quartz crystals, atomic clocks, and GPS, Two clocks will be more in sync than two Christians in their orthodoxy or two garbage disposals in sink.
The hypocrisy is broad, but accepted today on the right. Complain about media bias but don’t mention that Muslim (i.e. Terrorist towelhead) mosque burned to the ground in MO. Be 9n a tizzy over 50 shades while walking through the porn-scanners and being raped by the TSA. Support torture and suspension of habeas corpus – Catholics wont need them althoigh BISHOP Steven Langtom=n fought for them, as long as we aren’t forced to pay for contraception.
You can be either strict or lax but must first apply any rule to yourself, then your friends and allies, and excuse those in the dark. Otherwise you are one of the Pharisees or scribes of the ‘woes’.
I am sure there was a good reason why your blog disappeared this morning, but I nearly had heart failure. I’m glad to see that it is up an running as usual, so I can at least end my day with some spiritual nourishment. Thank you for providing regular catechesis.
Yes, thanks, it was a frustrating day of technical issues. The entire domain went down and it was difficult even to reach the webmasters as a result.
“For since succession occurs in every movement, and one part comes after another, the fact that we reckon before and after in movement, makes us apprehend time, which is nothing else but the measure of before and after in movement. “–St. Thomas Aquinas, S. T.: 1, 10, 10.
Neat post. I especially liked the African proverb.
The African proverb reminds me, in a roundabout way, of another one. If I don’t stand for something, I’ll fall for anything.
Anyhow, even if I wear two watches and, even if they are carefully calibrated to within a thousandth of a microsecond, neither will be perfectly accurate at any time. However, if both are made to work on a twelve hour cycle and, if both are stopped, they will each be perfectly accurate twice a day. Can we stop for just a short time and watch the breeze ruffle the grain field. The waves crest and come to rest on the beach. Feel our hearts beat within our chests.
As for Jesus being a servant to the point of dying to serve us, even though He is God, it may not make seem to make sense but, if we open our hearts to Him and let him guide us to be true to ourselves, it can come to make a lot of sense. Perfect sense? I don’t know.
An employer has human limitations and, the temptation to set himself up as a fake “god” must be intense. He cannot serve an employee or the employee will begin to acquire power over the employer. So, such things as, “my way or the highway” start to creep in. How many people in positions of power abuse that power to stifle criticisms – even ones that could improve the employers profits and the security of the business over competition? Or the general quality of whatever it is that other type groups produce.
The “god like” status and the pedestal are illusionary.
However, Jesus has infinite power and has nothing to fear from us so he can serve and, by helping us to improve by His service, His “Family Business” improves by having better quality (even if still imperfect) younger brothers and sisters. Did He not call us His brothers and sisters in Matthew 12:50 25:40 Mark 3:35?
But, back to the watch. Or watches. Let’s watch this one.
A human father gets a watch for a child as a gift. He winds it, sets the time and presents it. The child is awestruck. Constantly comparing it to the kitchen clock it is seen that the times match. The next morning (in spite of the child having worn the new and shiny watch to bed) the watch still ticks and matches the kitchen clock.
Later in the day, however, the watch stops. It just stops and doesn’t work anymore. The child thought that it would somehow last forever but it didn’t. The father teeters on his pedestal until he shows the child how to wind the watch.
Many years go by and the watch has needed repairs but, this time it is taken to the watch shop by the, now, adult who got it as a child. The watch repairman sadly shakes his head. Gone, too broken to fix anymore.
The owner thought that it would last forever but, it didn’t.
Older loggers tell of when there were so many trees that they thought that they couldn’t all be cut down. Until they were.
We look at our level – at worldly things. We look for the godly and the infinite and trick ourselves into believing that we’ve found it because the actors dance to the appropriate tunes. Super star entertainers dance to the tune we like as they hop from bed to bed and dress provocatively. They get plasitc surgery and personal fitness trainers to look forever young and many fans assure themselves that it’s ok to emulate them because, see who does it.
Then the entertainers grow old and die but, the honky tonk machine has already replaced them so, the same old song plays on.
However, each set of characters has to be more outrageous than the previous as the quick fix they offer requires a bigger and bigger dose to make us “happy”
This too reaches its limits, as it did in Rome until the barbarians swept aside the corrupted legions and breached the walls and so, gave the jaded populace relief from their futility of bread and circus.
That’s what happens; has happened over and over in successive societies; when people seek divinity, power, perfection and the infinite at our own level.
But, look up to where we don’t understand? That’s frightening. Well, a fear of THE TRUE GOD has been called Holy. That fear inspiring confusion which one might feel at first seems like a good start.
Hiding from discomfort in the latest song, the latest thrill that only lasts until the discomfort (and boredom is a discomfort) creeps back. Forget the quick fix and accept the process which can lead us to the truth which will set us free. Stop short circuiting the efforts of those who threaten our egotistical illusion so that we can get off our pedestals and start living and feeling from our hearts instead of the ipod, or whatever.
Can it happen? With God anything is possible.
I’m so glad your back online! Your commentaries/homilies always nourish my soul. God bless your faithfulness.
the man with two watches
Oh, how could I forget one of the classic films of all time, Once Upon a Time in the West (with the best showdown ever)?
Frank (played by Henry Fonda): How can you trust a man who wears both a belt and suspenders? The man can’t even trust his own pants.