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Jesus said, “Woe to you,
scribes and
Pharisees, you
hypocrites. You build the tombs of the
prophets and adorn the memorials of the righteous, and you say,
‘If we had
lived in the days of our ancestors, we would not have joined them in
shedding
the prophets’ blood.’ Thus you bear
witness against yourselves that you are the children of those who
murdered the
prophets; now fill up what your ancestors measured out! You
serpents, you brood of vipers, how can
you flee from the judgment of Gehenna?
Therefore, behold, I send to you prophets and wise men and scribes;
some
of them you will kill and crucify, some of them you will scourge in
your synagogues
and pursue from town to town, so that there may come upon you all the
righteous
bloodshed upon earth, from the righteous blood of Abel to the blood of
Zechariah, the son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the
sanctuary and
the altar. Amen, I say to you, all these
things will come upon this generation.”
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Kelly Clarkson talks about
“pretending” in her song “Behind
These Hazel Eyes.” “Seems like
just
yesterday,” she begins her song, “you were a part of me. Everything felt so right. Now,
I can’t breathe, no, I can’t sleep. I’m
barely hanging on. Here I am, once again,
I’m torn into pieces,
can’t deny it, can’t pretend, just thought you were
the one, but you
won’t get to see the tears I cry behind these hazel eyes. Now all that’s left of me is what I
pretend to be.” She is pretending
that she does not miss him.
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Why did Jesus have such
a difficult time with the scribes and Pharisees of his
time? Simply put, they were claiming to be
something they were not. They were
pretending to be consecrated men who were involved in guiding the
Hebrew people
to holiness, and they were nothing more than
vipers--snakes--who at best were
false teachers, and at worst, were murderers. Jesus wanted
sincerity and honesty among religious leaders.
"Pretending" is an art form that every child understands intuitively, but it is an art form that many adults fail to take seriously. When we get older, sometimes we do not stop pretending. We act like we stop pretending, because we know it is childish, but it may be part of our nature. Our pretending skills just become more covert, sophisticated, nuanced, and intricate. There are a number of problems with an adult who pretends. But perhaps the fundamental one is that when we pretend, we are not facing objective reality, and when we are not facing reality, we live in a dream world. In the world of developing love relationships, which Kelly Clarkson is singing of, pretending will lead to further heartaches. In the world of leadership which Jesus is speaking of, it can lead to sin. The Christian adult must be aware of both. |
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THOUGHT
In
what areas do you see adults pretending to be
something that they are not?
PRAYER Good and gracious God, as
your Son pointed out,
you wanted your people to be honest and sincere in their dealings with
others. Too often we pretend to be something
that we
are not. Help us understand the
difficulties that go with pretending, and give us the grace to be
completely
honest. Be with us, we pray.
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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