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In
the course of [Jesus'] teaching he said, "Beware of the scribes, who
like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the
marketplaces, seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at
banquets. They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite
lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation."
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The
movie "Breach" presents the true story of double agent Robert Hanssen
who worked as a FBI agent for the United States and at the same time
supplied intelligence to Russia that severely jeopardized American
interests, even to the point of killing people. Robert
Hanssen was an extremely complex man. He was brilliant, "smarter than
all of us," as special agent Kate Burroughs attests. Professing to be
an "Opus Dei" Roman Catholic, very strict in his faith, seemingly a
perfect family man, at the same time, he was involved in graphic
Internet pornography and was "into strippers," as well as
supplying
information to the Russians. The question concerning "why" he
did what he did is presented often during the movie. The answer is
not easy to find.
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Why
does a person profess to be devoutly religious and at the same time
involve himself in sexually deviant behavior? Why does a person
who lives in the most affluent nation in the world desire to betray
secrets that could jeopardize his own family and his own living in such
a nation? Or placed in the context of Jesus' time, a similar question:
why did the
religious leaders of the day who had the automatic
respect of the people hurt those people and at the same time
recite "lengthy prayers"?
Indeed, the answer is not easy to find, but it probably lies deep within the human psyche, and revolves around the idea of power and money. Robert Hanssen defined it as satisfying the human ego; the scribes of Jesus' time as Jesus explained it, were hypocrites and wanted the power with none of the responsibility. Whatever the answer, the outcome of their lives is not a happy one: Jesus severely condemns the scribes; Robert Hanssen merely asked for prayers as he was led away. We do not like to compare ourselves to traitors or to people whom Jesus condemned, and probably the comparison is too harsh. But, is it not true that in our human desires and feelings, at times, we sometimes approve when others get hurt, or we long for honor when we do not deserve it, or we like to get away with something that those in authority define as "wrong." There is contradiction in someone's behavior that presents to the world honesty and integrity when in reality they are not displaying it. Perhaps our own behavior is more contradictory than we want to admit. |
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THOUGHT
What
are some contradictory behaviors that you see present in our society
today?
PRAYER Good
and gracious God, there are some things about our human desires that
contradict what we profess as followers of your Son. Help us
understand our tendencies to be hypocritical and give us the grace
to be always open to your direction.
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 |