Who's Driving Us Crazy?

James 1:12-18

In today's reading from the Letter of James, we learn yet another one of the important secrets of life. Who is it that is driving us crazy?

James instructs us to make no mistake-- it is NOT God who tempts us. This is because God is not subject to evil. If you can wrap your head around it-- God is goodness, itself.

So, who is driving us crazy?

On any given day, I am sure that it would be easy to fill in the blank. My vote is for Satan. But, that is not exactly right, either. What James wants us to know is something profound-- something that is frightening to admit out loud.

We are tempted (and in my parlance--driven crazy) when we are lured and enticed by our own desire. So, the person driving us crazy is OUR SELF.

God gave us all a dangerous and powerful gift. He gave us our will. But, in His loving wisdom, he also gave us His Word. Through His Word, if we listen, we have everything we need to harness our will and calm the crazies.

God Wants More Than Good Deeds

Mk 7:1-13

Today's Gospel reading relays the story of the Pharisees' reaction to Jesus and his disciples having come from the marketplace without purification and daring to eat with unclean hands. The Pharisees saw Jesus and his crew as a band of religious outlaws. There was great confusion and disdain for the notion that a renegade preacher and his students would dare veer from the tradition of the elders. In the eyes of the Pharisees, Jesus was dangerous, not only for what he did but for what he lead other men to do.

In our day in age, the moniker "Pharisee" is synonymous with the notion of "hypocrite." However, in ancient times, there were people who cherished the label for it was a stamp or outward sign that a person was "holy." But to Jesus, these outward signs and their associated pride was what was truly blasphemous. These men were putting aside God's commandments in order to cling to human traditions.

The more things change, the more they stay the same. . .

God only knows what is really in the human heart, and I am certainly not in any position to judge another. But, I can not help but observe the world around me. There seems so much inconsistency in all of us. Even people who seem well-meaning seem to sometimes miss the point.

I think of all of the celebrities who seep out at times of natural disaster. They harness the power of generosity to pay homage to the god of "good deeds." I think of the grandma that slinks out of Mass after communion only to cut off traffic dashing out of the parking lot. I think of the women who profess their faith but will not abandon the false notion of "human choice." I think of the people of seemingly good will who unabashedly debase the notion of family by attempting to rewrite God's own plan for love and life. I think of the millions of ways that I fall short of being the Christian I dream I can be.

The point is that we all fall short of the glory of God. What is important is the intention of our heart. If our intention is the affirmation of man, we fail just as the Pharisees failed. But if our intention is to love as God loves even when no one sees, we honor God with our lips and our hearts. This is Jesus' lesson to us.