Tag: commercials

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To the weak I became weak…As seen in a moving commerical.

The video at the bottom of this post is a heartwarming one with a surprise ending. I see in it an illustration of something St. Paul wrote of the essentially sacrificial nature of evangelization:

Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Cor 9:19-23)

To be clear, what St. Paul says here must be understood as solidarity and brotherhood, not compromise with sin or evil. At every level St. Paul is willing to set aside anything in the moment that hinders the preaching of the truth of the Gospel. Every pretense, every honor, every distinction, every preference, that interferes with the gospel message is forsaken where necessary. There is described here a great willingness for Kenosis (emptying oneself).

And of course St. Paul is imitating Jesus who:

though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)

Yes, it is remarkable that Jesus, though sinless, was not ashamed to be identified with sinners.  And thus he took baptism at the Jordan. He associated with sinners and ate with them. And he underwent the most humiliating punishment meted out to the worst of sinners. Yes he was crucified, and between two thieves at that! Everyone walking by that Friday would say, “Look at that sinner!” (Which he was not). To us sinners he was willing to be seen as a sinner (though he was not), in order to save sinners. And He was assigned a grave with the wicked (Is 53:9)

There is an old saying that Jesus didn’t come only to get us out of trouble, He got into trouble with us. Yes, he endured every blow this world and hell itself could give. Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen. Nobody but Jesus.

Surely he endured our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:4-6)

Yes, he got into trouble with us and joined us to save us:

In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers He says, “I will declare your name to my brethren… (Heb 2:9-11)

All these scriptures occurred to me as I saw this commercial. To be clear, there is no sin in paralysis. But here let it be a metaphor for our weakness that the Lord that the Lord took up, and for our sin that though sinless, the Lord was willing to be identified with. And what of us? Can we be like St. Paul and imitate Christ in this matter?

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Not all lawful pleasures are necessarily helpful, as seen in a cartoon.

St. Paul wrote, All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient (1 Cor 6:12). “Expedient” here means useful, profitable, or helpful.

Of course St Paul does not refer in this verse to things which violate the moral law of God, but rather to things which, while lawful, may not be helpful. For it sometimes follows that was is fine for others causes harm to me. A glass of wine is good, but not for an alcoholic. A few potato chips are tasty and good, but some struggle to eat them in moderation and should stay away. Others struggle with salt or or sugar, both gifts of God but not helpful for those with hypertension or diabetes. I love peanut butter, but I cannot eat it in moderation so I don’t eat it at all. Making extensive travels may be fun and enriching, but not perhaps for someone who has duties to stay close to home and care for children.

Learning that all things are not helpful or expedient is a wisdom that saves us a lot of trouble.

Let us be clear again, this this does not refer to transgressions of the moral law. St Paul is not saying unchastity, or wrathful anger, or greed etc are “lawful” and thus above criticism. These sorts of things ought be critiqued and corrected along with a call to repent.

But even for lawful pleasures, a certain care is necessary. And thus Paul speaks of accepting that not all available pleasures are for us, or to be indulged just because we want them. Other factors such as health, safety, charity toward others, cost, the relationship of some pleasure to other duties, etc are all factors that may make a lawful pleasure inexpedient.

I thought of all this when I saw this video. It features a youngster with a strange horn protruding from his head. Perhaps it is a devilish horn of some sin or addiction. At any rate he sees others eating ice cream and seeks some for himself. But the ice cream man warns him that this pleasure is not for him for some unknown reason related to the horn. This pleasure is lawful, but for him it is not expedient.

But the youngster has a melt down, a temper tantrum and the ice cream man relents. As you will see in the video, the youngster suffers the effects. For, as St. Paul says, “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are expedient.”

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From My Hidden Faults Acquit Me Oh Lord, As Seen in a Commercial

The video below humorously illustrates a biblical principle of our hidden faults. Indeed we all have sins and behaviors that are often clear to others but of which we are unaware. Indeed there are even deeper faults of which no one is aware except God himself who sees our innermost heart. Consider some of the following quotes:

By [your ordinances] your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. But who can discern his errors? From my hidden faults acquit me, O Lord. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. (Psalm 19:11-13)

You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. (Psalm 90:8)

For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil. (Eccl 12:14)

Mind you, I have nothing on my conscience, but I do not stand thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. (1 Cor 4:4).

The sins of some men are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear only later. (1 Tim 5:24)

Call no man happy before he dies, for by how he ends, a man is known. (Sirach 11:28)

Yes, some of our sins are obvious to us and we may rightfully work upon them. But lest we sin through pride, we ought always recall that we have sins and faults that are often hidden from us. Others may see them, or perhaps only God.

At the end of the day we’re all going to need a lot of grace and mercy!

Enjoy this commercial that well illustrates this fact. And enjoy a little humor, it’s been a tough week on the blog!

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A powerful and humorous look at vanity in a commercial.

Most people associate the word “vanity” with an excessive concern or pride in ones appearance, or sometimes with ones own qualities. But at its root the word “vain” or “vanity” refers to emptiness. To say that something or someone is “vain” is to say that it, or they, are empty or largely lacking in meaning, depth or substance.

It makes sense that people get worked up about externals when there isn’t much happening on the inside. And thus it makes sense that we connect emptiness (vanity) to excessive show.

There are lots of expressions that enshrine this connection:

All form and no substance
That Texan is all hat and no cattle
All bark and no bite
All booster, no payload
All foam, no beer
All sizzle and no steak
All talk
Show me the money

The Wisdom Tradition in the Bible, especially the Book of Ecclesiastes, speaks of vanity at great length. And there the word tends to refer to the ultimate futility of whatever this world offers, that the world is ultimately empty and vacuous. For example –

Eccl 2:11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Eccl 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

And thus the world which so mesmerizes our senses shows itself ultimately to be empty of power, or any lasting substance:

We have here, no lasting city (Heb 13:14).

As for man, his days are like grass: or as the flower of the field. Behold, he flourishes. But the wind blows and he is gone; and his place never sees him again. (Ps 103:15-16)

I thought of these notions of vanity when I saw this admittedly very funny commercial. It shows a man concerned only with his appearance. Actually, he is even more vain than that! It is how he smells that concerns him (this is an Old Spice commercial). He is so vapid, so vain, that even if he doesn’t look good, at least he smells like some one who looks good!

As he moves through the scenes of the commercial he becomes increasingly devoid of substance (literally)!

Symbolically we can see him as the vain person who goes through life carelessly, paying no attention to the way in which the world, the desires of the flesh, and the devil strike at, and eat away at him. But again, never mind all that, at least he smells like some one who looks good! His only real substance is to be lighter than air, a whiff. It is form over substance, impression over reality. It is empty show, it is vanity on steroids.

Here is a humorous look at vanity, a vanity so vain that it exists even beyond appearance and extends into the vapid, vacuous and vaporous vanity of merely “smelling like some one who looks good.” A remarkable portrait really of the empty show that vanity ultimately is. Enjoy!

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Ingenious in passing things, and foolish in eternal things, as seen on T.V.

By Pahudson (Own work) Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
By Pahudson (Own work) Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We live in times of great ingenuity. We have a lot of clever smarts. We have been to the moon and back. Our computers never cease to amaze, as we make them smaller and more powerful. We peer to outer space and see further than ever. And then we look ever deeper into inner space, doing microsurgery and studying the human genome.

And yet, though technological giants, we are moral midgets. Though able to solve enormous technical problems, we cannot even figure how to stay faithful to our commitments, or keep our families together.Churches which once dominated our skylines are now dwarfed by buildings dedicated to banking, insurance and other passing worldly affairs.

Our houses with the great room, cathedral ceilings, and granite counter tops rise as monuments to our wealth and skill. But inside, these houses are not homes, and they are often filled with divisions, divorce and sterility.

For all our wealth there is little wisdom, for all our power there is little prudence.

From any eternal perspective our smarts amount to the building of sand castles that are sure to wash away. They cannot ultimately stand any more than we.

Scripture warns of the human tendency to maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. We are smart, but about the wrong things, ultimately. Our priorities are wrong:

  1. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matt 23:22-24)
  2. “But God said to [the rich man who built barns], ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in what matters to God. (Luke 12:20-21)
  3. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Lk 16:8)
  4. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (Phil 2:21)
  5. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (2 Tim 3:1-5)
  6. How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more elaborate their pagan pillars. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. (Hosea 10:1-2)
  7. A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. (Proverbs 17:24)
  8. They are ingenious in their wickedness. (Romans 1:30)

In other words, we human beings tend to get smartest about the least important things, and are foolishly forgetful about the things that matter most and eternally. Yes, we maximize the minimum, and minimize the maximum. There are some who know everything there is to know about the game of football, or who is who in Hollywood and politics, but are at a loss when it comes to the most basic spiritual concepts, biblical stories or moral teachings. Hours are given over to football, T.V. and politics, but there is no time to pray.

Well you get the point. We are smart, but about the wrong or passing things. Meanwhile we remain foolishly out of touch of the things that matter to God and which last unto life eternal.

Somehow I thought of this when the following commercial appeared in my YouTube queue. It illustrates our capacity to be ingenious about things that don’t matter. It features men that know everything about beer and have developed every talent imaginable about it.

To be sure, I have nothing against beer in moderation. But allow the beer to represent this world. And thus we see humorously illustrated our tendency and capacity to become VERY talented in so far as worldly things go. But at the end of the day, its just beer, its just the world, a world that is passing away.

Are we as talented and ingenious about spiritual things?

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A Little Glimpse of How God Must See Us (as depicted in a commercial)

On one particular morning, just two weeks after His resurrection, Jesus stood on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. And, seeing the Apostles in a boat just off shore he said, Little Children, Have you caught anything? (John 21:5).

It is a rather strange way to speak to grown men: “Little Children” (παιδία = paidia = little ones, children, infants, the diminutive of pais (child), hence “little ones”). And yet how deeply affectionate it is.

We often think of ourselves in grander terms, terms that bespeak power, wisdom, age and strength. But I suspect that, to God, we must always seem as little children.

When I do infant Baptisms I normally use the Gospel of Mark where the Lord says, among other things, Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child (παιδίον) shall not enter it (Mark 10:15). And thus, we must finally come to realize that however rich, or powerful, capable or mature we my think ourselves to be, we depend radically on Abba for everything, even the next beat of our heart. The infants I baptize are already preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom simply by their littleness. They summon us who think we are strong and independent to know who and what we really are: little children, so needful of Abba for everything.

I am often moved as I walk the halls of nursing homes and see many once powerful “adults” now reflecting to their truest state. And thus, like little children, they have become dependent. Many cannot talk any longer. Many just sing and hold dolls, wear diapers, need to be fed and cry for help and comfort. It has always been so for them (for us), it is just now more evident.

This Sunday’s Gospel begins with the Lord calling us his “little flock.” And so we are, little, and yet loved.

And somewhere, standing on the seashore of your life the Lord is calling out: “Little One…have you anything to eat?”

I though of this when I saw this video. I wondered as I viewed it if it doesn’t depict us all as God really sees us. The folk in this video think they are “big and bad.” But for a moment we them as God sees them. Enjoy this.

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On the Balance of Virtue, as seen in two videos.

I have remarked before on this blog that what we call “balance” is really more of a range, than a fixed point. That is to say, balance is achieved not so much by staying still on a fixed point as by moving within a fixed range on that point. In the videos below the tightrope walker is only able to survive by being able to move within a range. The same is true and even more visible in the unicyclists in the first video. The moment they stop moving, they will fall.

And in this is a picture of virtue. What is virtue? A virtue is a habit of doing good. St Thomas Aquinas, basing himself on Aristotle, spoke of virtue as the mean between excess or defect. The old Latin saying comes to mind: In medio stat virtus (virtue stands in the middle).

The virtuous act is one that is neither excessive nor deficient. So, for example courage is neither foolhardy nor cowardly, and temperance is neither total abstinence nor gluttony. Humility is neither arrogance nor subservience. Perseverance is neither obstinacy nor capitulation. (Art and Laraine Bennett, The Emotions God Gave You: A Guide for Catholics, p. 83)

Thus, as a range of motion, the balance of the virtues is not something that freezes us, but is something that is better described as a range of motion within the golden mean.

It is true that in highly specified moral acts or settings, there is often only one valid choice, e.g. abortion, fornication, murder and so forth.  But virtue here is understood more broadly as a general and habitual way of acting in accord with right reason.

Understanding virtue as the mean or middle between excess or defect is important for two reasons.

First, it helps us avoid being overly scrupulous. In life there is often a range of possibilities that present themselves to us and we need some flexibility to handle the unique circumstances of each moment. Thus we must act within a range of responses that respect what faith and reason require. Scrupulosity often freezes people on one aspect, and lacking balance limits the flexibility necessary to move in a morally graceful way.

Secondly, because life has many complex things that come together in varying combinations, it is not reasonable, possible or wise for the Church, or Scripture to speak to every possible moral topic and scenario. What the Church and Scripture do most frequently is to give us principles to apply along with virtue.

There are many critics of the Church, and of religion in general, who are dismissive of rules and “micromanaging” by Church authorities. Of course there are some rules, (frankly, there are rules in every walk of life). But more often, there are principles to be applied and it is quite impossible for the Church to micromanage every situation or have a rule for every possibility. The dignity of Catholics is respected by the Church, who, teaching us, then expects us to use our intellect and reason to apply them virtuously, that is, with neither excess nor defect.

Just brief reflection on virtue.

As you view these videos, note how balance is less a fixed point, and more a range of motion. Further, if the artist is not able to move within a range and adjust to circumstances moment by moment, disaster is sure to follow. Virtue is to move and act within the golden mean, within the range of neither excess nor defect. Virtue is a form of balance.


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In this second video it is clear that a tightrope walker’s range of motion is much narrower, but still he must be able to move within that range to adjust. I also want to say I am not even sure if tightrope walking is moral. In showing this video I do not affirm taking needless risks. I know they train well etc. The point of the video here is just to illustrate the point. The morality of tightrope walking is uncertain to me, but I’d lean against it 😉

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"Lest I be full and deny you" A meditation on the secularizing influence of riches, as seen in a video.

072613One of the great “evils” of our time is satiation. I put the word “evil” into quotes here to emphasize that no particular good thing that God has made is, in itself evil. But we, on account of our own inordinate drives, accumulate and indulge beyond reason. And in becoming satiated, that is filled, we leave little room for God or others for that matter.

The more affluent we become in material things, the more spiritually poor we seem to become. The higher our standard of living, the lower our overall morals. The more filled our coffers, the emptier our Churches. This is the evil of our times. And it is no theory. The numbers demonstrate well that, over the past 60 years that as our standard of living has risen, church attendance and other signs of belief and spirituality have plummeted. So has family time, and the developing of deeper human relationships. Marriage rates have plummeted, divorce has soared. Birthrates are down. Kids are a burden in a satiated world with a high standard of living.

And it isn’t just wealth. It’s all the things which distract and divert us. There are so many things, most of them lawful pleasures, but often just too much of  a good thing.

One might imagine another scenario wherein we were astonished by God’s providence and fell to our knees in gratitude, and in our riches, and possession of many good things and pleasures went to prayer and church even more, out of sheer gratefulness. Alas this is seldom the case today.

Proverbs 30 says, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me [only] with food that I need for today: Lest I be full, and deny you, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. (Proverbs 30:9-10).

Yes, indeed…lest I be full and denying you say, “Who is the Lord?” It is indeed a snare in our times that many think they do not need God, or others. Our affluence creates the illusion of self sufficiency and self fulfillment.

St. Augustine sadly noted in a time far less satiated than our own: I, unlovely, rushed heedlessly among the things of beauty You made. You were with me, but I was not with You. Those things kept me far from You, which, unless they were in You, would not be. (Conf 10.27).

Many other scriptures warn of the spiritual danger posed by wealth and worldly satiation:

  1. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs. (1 Tim 6:9-10)
  2. No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money! (Luke 16:13)
  3. But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep. (Luke 6:24-25)
  4. But many that are first will be last, and the last first! (Mat 19:30).
  5. How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” …It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10:23-25)

It is amazing that, hearing all this most of us still want to be rich  and would jump for joy if we won the lottery, instead of soberly cringe with fear and look for good ways to shed our excess.We still continue down a path of unreasonable desire and satiation.

Alas, the human condition, at least the fallen version of it. It isn’t very pretty and is proof positive that we are going to need a lot of grace and mercy to get home.

Think of that this as you watch this video. It’s a pretty stark portrait of the modern man. Consider how full, yet lonely he is. He speaks only of himself, and seems to interact with almost no one: lost in a self-referential world of excess, filled with every good thing, but too full for God. Somehow the man knows that the worldly things fill him for only a moment and pass. But still the answer is more! Quite a little portrait here of too many today.