By Fr. Glenn Jones:
I’m bad. You’re bad. We’re all bad!
Well, at least an alien from outer space might surmise such from all of the negative media—main and social—if monitoring our daily communications. Lots of stone throwing these days, even from people who live in glass houses—which is most of us to some degree, at least. Yet it’s not so much the level of imperfection that we’re currently in that matters so much as the sincere striving for improvement; after all, no race is begun at the finish line.
But what IS “improvement”? If we are to “improve”, we have to have some goal at which to aim.
Being the social creatures that we are, to “improve” would be to seek the good which most benefits the whole of the community—a rejection (however imperfect) of selfishness. One might imagine an ant out foraging and, upon finding a delicious morsel, thinks: “Woohoo! I got mine; too bad for the rest of you!” Not too great for community relations or building, to say the least. And if that attitude was widespread and prevalent, there’d likely be a lot fewer ants around. There is mutual benefit in the community working toward a common goal and for the good of the whole … for that most beneficial to all.
And, of course, that principle isn’t solely applicable to the sharing of material goods to those lacking them, but also in obeying just laws and practicing non-material forms of mutual assistance—visiting the sick and homebound, comforting the sorrowing, easing the burdens of others as best we can. We can include forgiving those who may transgress against us in an effort to repair societal solidarity, humility so as to not foster resentment and envy, and striving to re-establish peace between parties at odds with one another.
Hmmm … those sound very much like part of a sermon given 2000 years ago on a mount on the other side of the world—recorded in Matthew 5 by the way, supplemented a bit by the latter part of Matthew 25. Huh.
But we imperfect humans can go the other directions and do the opposite—that which benefits only ourselves. Unfortunately, we are often drawn to this self-centeredness. We hoard, we insult, we belittle … we bully, we hate, we envy, we sabotage one another. We ignore laws to the detriment, or even danger, to others. We can become one of those the joke describes: “I love humanity; it’s people I can’t stand!”, perhaps an adaptation of philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre’s line in his play “No Exit”: “Hell is other people.” Not exactly “Love thy neighbor.”
We are given reason by which to choose which path to follow—selfishness, or selflessness. We Christians believe that humans are made in the image of God—not physically, but spiritually—which God “imprints” upon us at our individual creation, not unlike how the artist manifests himself in his work. But, unlike a canvas, we can resist the strokes of the artist and thus mar what the artist plans his masterpiece to be. The canvas, being much lesser than the artist, has not the ability to improve the master’s vision, but only detract from it, when it seeks to deviate from the artist’s design. The greater the resistance, the worse the ruination of beauty.
And so when Christians speak of God’s law and obedience toward it, they recognize that those laws/instructions/directions are what keep us pliant to the master’s much superior knowledge and design. To find the right path, we need only “paint by the numbers”, so to speak—simple, but not always easy. As Jesus warns: “… the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Matthew 7:14)
So, where does Jesus fall into this mix? Well, like a child we inevitably color outside the lines, but Jesus’ sacrifice upon the cross is the eraser which helps us to remove error and, like holding a child’s hand with His teaching, helps him to color once more within the beautiful design. And as long as we still have paint—the breath of life—He never ceases coming aiding those who sincerely seek Him. And we seek the master’s aid by learning from Him—sitting at His feet like Mary does in the Gospel story of Martha and Mary: “There is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” (Luke 10:38-42)
Yes, life can sometimes feel overwhelming, and we can have the urge to somehow “strike back” and the perceived unfairness of it, take our marbles and go home, sheltering within the refuge of an excluding isolation. Yet, such times are when our efforts toward greater magnanimity become all the more meritorious … all the more admirable. After all, who is not impressed by those who can operate calmly under pressure? If we simply expect pressures to come at times in our lives, then “forewarned is forearmed”. And we are best armed by practice, like an athlete preparing for a competition. The more often and consistently we practice virtue, the more virtue becomes “muscle memory”.
The ultimate goal and desire for the sincere and ardent Christian is to become a type of mirror image of Jesus—loving God and neighbor with whole heart, and manifesting that love in our daily lives and actions. To paraphrase the early martyr St. Ignatius, just as there are two coinages, one of God and the other of the world, each with its own image, so the selfish and self-centered bear the image of this world, and those who have faith with love bear the image of goodness … of God the Father through Jesus Christ.
None of us have reached the pinnacle of perfection. Yet we do no good by kicking rocks down upon others attempting to climb that hill, but rather in giving them a helping hand up, and they us—not in judgmentalism and incessant criticism, but rather in urging and aiding one another to our common goal.
“Do not seek your own advantage, but that of the other …” (1 Corinthians 10:24)
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.
