Weekly Reflection 022507AD

Sunday, February 25, 2007AD

First Sunday of Lent

One Big Temptation,

From Start to Finish

One of our Eucharistic Prayers brings us encouragement, as we remember that “Jesus was like us in all things but sin”. The line echoes several times in the Christian Bible, stressing that Jesus faced temptation throughout His ministry. St Luke points this out by highlighting that at the start of His public life, Jesus was tempted three times in the desert. At the end of His public life, he was also tempted three times as He hanged upon the cross. He did not give in to the temptation of choosing something besides God’s Plan for Him.

How did St Luke come to know this episode in Jesus’ Life (FYI! There is a similar account in St Matthew.) One theory is that Jesus might have related in parables how He Himself experienced subtle and sly attempts to alter the type of Messiah that He was to be. He might have been tempted as well to alter His Vision of God’s World Order to make it more attractive.

Throughout His Ministry, Jesus was subjected to hostility, opposition and rejection. All the Gospels testify to that. He could have won more followers to His cause by stunning displays (crowd pleasers); He could have tried to amass political power; He could have tried to test God on His terms (not God’s). If Jesus were to jump off the pinnacle of the Temple, He could force God to catch Him. Jesus, as the faithful Jew, filled with the Holy Spirit, resists the temptation.

At the end of His Life, on Good Friday, He was tempted again by the crowds, the soldiers and the thief on the cross to save Himself, to leap off the cross so to speak. Jesus’ last words were the words again of the faithful Jew, “Father, into Your Hands, I commend My Spirit.”

Jesus, like us, must have been throughout His life. We experience His temptations as well. All of us have basic childhood needs for security, esteem and control. We never lose them over the course of our lives, but, unfortunately, they sometimes dominate us as addictions, compulsions and entanglements. In adulthood, they can be manifest as the drive for power, prestige and possessions. Sometimes, we succumb.

St Luke reminds mature Christians that, just like Christ Jesus, all of us, we have to learn somewhere along the way, how to bear the pains of life without despair, to surrender, let go and trust the Holy Mystery of God at all times. We want to believe with God’s Help, that God is in all things and all things are in God. We have to learn, with God’s Help, to make the leap of faith on God’s terms, not on ours. In the desert, Jesus was tempted to leap from the pinnacle of the Temple (not in God’s Plan). On the Cross, Jesus was tempted to leap off the cross and to save Himself (not in God’s Plan).

Jesus, however, did make a final leap which summed up His life and death, as well as our life and death as a cell of the Body of Christ. It was His leap of faith as He emptied Himself on the cross in love and service to us as our dying Prophet-Martyr-Savior.

Energized by the Spirit of Christ Jesus, let us try to make leaps of faith as well in Him throughout Lent and everyday of our lives. 021807AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 021807AD

Sunday, February 18, 2007AD

7^th Sunday in Greentime

The M-syndrome, Part 6:

As we near Ash Wednesday this week, we conclude our reflection upon the possibility of Collective Attention Deficit Deficiency (CADD, aka the M-Syndrome) as a reality in Western civilization. (This could explain, at least, partially the fact that so many individuals are diagnosed with the condition. Sociologists have long seen direct relationships between groups, families and individuals, both ways.)

Sociologists have commented on the significance of the year “1968” as a time for demarcation between what is called “constructed” views of reality, as opposed to “de-constructed” views. The simple test is whether or not one remembers events prior to 1968. If one does, then, one has had a taste of both “constructed” and de-constructed” views.

People ask, “Why, 1968?” Many traditional institutions underwent a re-evaluation by many people for a variety of reasons. It was the year shortly after the two superpowers of the time announced that both had nuclear weapons that could annihilate life as we knew it in our world. Who could not react to that threat? Then, the term was MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction). It was the year when student unrest started in the Sorbonne in Paris. Student discontent spread to both sides of the North Atlantic. Recall the disturbances at Columbia in 1968 if you were around then. Much had to do with the Vietnamese conflict, as the draft crept closer to most young men. It was the year of political assassination in our nation with deaths of such statesmen as Rev Martin Luther King and Sen Robert Kennedy. It was a year of urban violence in major USA cities. It was the year of the heated demonstrations outside the Democratic Convention in Chicago. In the Church, the effects of Vatican II were felt in a variety of ways as lay people become more attuned to what religion is all about. In the family, new views of marriage and human sexuality were held that challenged the basis of human society. Most traditional institutions underwent close scrutiny and trusted less explicitly then in the past. As one sociologist put it, the only two institutions still trusted were your corporation (until they gave you the ax) and the media that could always be depended upon to communicate what was really happening, either on later night TV or newsprint of various qualities.

Sadly, for many people, another characteristic of the M-Syndrome kicked in. Many became myopic, viz., nearsighted, in one’s view of life. As Christopher Lasch said of the following years, we entered a Culture of Narcissism. One trusted in oneself and one’s group for security, and even then, the small group might disappoint. In their focus on what their life might be, they lost focus of the BIG PICTURE, what LIFE or REALITY is all about. People focused within on self-fulfillment; recall “Looking out for Numero Uno”?

When one reaches a tentative conclusion that the only deconstructed institutions that remains is the media, one should be very careful about accepting awards from Time Magazine. Time may tell us that we are the “People of the Year”, but take that one with a grain of salt.. In 1968, Marshall McLuhan said, “The media is now the message.” Sadly, it still might be true. Be careful of your award. 021807AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 021107AD

Sunday, February 11, 2007AD

Fifth Sunday in Greentime

The M-syndrome, Part 5:

Collective Attention Deficit Deficiency (CADD) is also called the M-Syndrome. Many say that Western Civilization on both sides of the Atlantic Lake shows symptoms that would need to be addressed in individuals. How much more when CADD is symptomatic of a culture?

CADD might be symptomatic of a culture that is mimetic. The word, “mimesis” is a Greek derivative meaning “imitation” or “copying” or some would say ape-ing. We tend to be trend followers rather than trend setters. We tend to see what others are thinking and doing. One commentator asked the question, “Who was the first teen to wear a baseball cap backwards? Where did that teen live?” There had to be one. Many folks want to keep up on the dirt or the dish that “they” are all talking about? What are they wearing? Someone said that all the Superbowl 41 Champions, Chicago, tee-shirts will end up in Third World countries. Nothing goes to waste. Several years ago, there was a short-lived trend known as “attitude dressing”. For example, who said that you always had to wear two matching socks? That fashion trend lasted about a month. In many ways, human behavior can be described as “monkey see, monkey do”. However, what happens when many people allow “them” to interpret reality for them. How many people abrogate critical thinking on real issues that involve questions of survival. (For example, how long did we have to wait until the threat of global warming gets out of control?)

A timely example is the violence frequently associated with sporting events on both sides of the North Atlantic Lake. People can become mindless when involved in large crowds. The Italian government has reacted drastically by banning all football games in Italy until it is guaranteed that football venues can be guaranteed to protect fans and police. (As of now, there are only four such venues in the entire country.)

CADD might be symptomatic of a culture that is always in motion. Several years ago, there was a call-in show in San Francisco on a Sunday morning in which people debated an impending law banning talking on a cellphone while driving a moving vehicle. One caller said that the law was against everything that California stood for, viz., speed and greed. Not one caller challenged what the caller had said. Much of the responsibility for this might be attributed to the Puritans in 17^th century New England. They came to the New World to build a theocratic (and economically profitable) “Zion on a Hill.” (Ask the Pequots and the Wampanoags about that if you ever meet one.) They taught, “An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” They also taught, “Early to be, early to rise, makes a man (sic) healthy, wealthy and wise.” Many say that our Europeans relatives have gladly accepted much (though, not all) of the Puritan Ethic.

Another trait is that the effects of CADD (the M-Syndrome) are starting to catch up with Western culture. We need some medicine for therapy. Many find their medicines in a variety of ways and forms. Dr Jesus has been offering His therapy in a variety of ways, not the least of which is Weekly Transformational, Therapeutic Sessions, known as the Sunday Eucharist. His therapy is known as advancing God’s World Order (aka the Kingdom of God). It is a long range program that has important implications for the grandchildren of children today. Are we sharing it? 021107AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 020407AD

Sunday, February 4, 2007AD

Fifth Sunday in Greentime

The M- Syndrome, Part Four

Collective Attention Deficit Deficiency (CADD) is also called the M-Syndrome. Many say that Western Civilization on both sides of the Atlantic Lake shows symptoms that would have to be addressed in individuals. How much more when CADD is symptomatic of a culture?

CADD might be symptomatic of a culture that is militaristic. Some cultures and individuals buy into this one than others, of course. How frequently do we find force as a quick fix to problems? How frequently do nations feel that “might makes right”? How frequently do they find that violence leads to violence? The Archbishop of Recife, Dom Helder Camara, spoke 40 years ago of the downward spiral of violence. That there is a deterioration when force meets force, counter-force results. As Mohandas Gandhi said, “If humanity lived by an eye for an eye, soon, the world would be inhabited by blind people.” Twentieth century American general Omar Bradley wrote after World War II, “We have learned how to crack the atom, but we have not learned how to crack the Sermon on the Mount.” Yet, how slowly have people seen the wisdom of prophets like Gandhi and Helder Camara and Bradley! English Catholic economist, EF Schuhmacher spoke of the Great Convergence that has to occur if our human family is to survive. The Great Convergence means the day when people realize, whether or not they accept Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God made human, that His principles of conflict resolution, described in the Sermon on the Mount and in other places in the Gospel as well, are the only way for people to live together in this increasingly.

CADD might be symptomatic of a culture that is oriented to “multi-tasking.” Is talking on the cell phone while one is driving (in violation of the law, directed against whom and why, by the way?) a symptom of the pathology of multi-tasking? Has my personal contribution to the Big Picture become such that I can violate a law designed to protect “other people”? Multi-tasking comes at the price of wisdom, time and friends. Sooner or later, when one is engaged in doing lots of things, one loses opportunity to share ideas, quality moments and blessed friendships because so many are so much on the go, multi-tasking. Think about it if you have the time.

Long ago, psychologists saw the connection between the behavior of individuals and families and groups. Individuals affect groups and groups affect individuals. In recent years, more and more individuals have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. Is it not legitimate to theorize that what is affecting so many individuals might be affecting the family and the group (CADD or the M-Syndrome)? Is it not further legitimate to theorize that what is affecting families and groups (CADD or the M-syndrome) might be affecting individual “me’s”, another word beginning with “m”. The old koan remains, “What comes first, the chicken or the egg?” 020407AD jfq