We are all too
concerned with getting the respect we think we are due in society, be that
society in general, or the society of our home, workplace or school[1].
We are more concerned with what others are saying or even thinking about us
then we are concerned with who we are. Parents have a right to respect from
their children, honoring your father and mother is the Fourth Commandment, but
parents earn that respect by caring for their children not by making
unreasonable demands for no reason other than their own
self-gratification. People in authority
over us at work, or in society, have a right to our respect, but only to the
degree that they are exercising their authority in a just manner. We may have
to put up with a boss who is unjust and endure him until he is replaced or we
find another job, but we respect the boss who treats everyone fairly. Those who
are still going to school often give far too much deference to popular
classmates or to the members of an athletic team, or even to the top students.
Who are the best
people in the school? For that matter,
who are the best people at work? Who are the best people in your family? Who are the best people in our society? The best people are those who are kind,
compassionate, just, full of mercy and all those good things that James wrote
about in today’s second reading.
Maybe we need to
think about some of those grudges we still hold on to so tightly. “Who did she think she is, talking to me like
that?” So many of our grudges come from our conviction that we were not treated
with the respect we felt we had a right to, be that from a boss, a neighbor, a
distant relative or even a member of our immediate family.
We are very
wrong when we behave in that manner. The way of the Christian is not the way of
being concerned with what he thinks he has coming to him. We are Christians.
The basic attitude of our relationship with others must be that of Jesus
Christ. His way was the way of
service. Christianity is not a
popularity contest. It is a contest of service. The Christian is not concerned
with getting his props. He is concerned with giving God His props.
At the
conclusion of the Eucharistic Prayer the priest and deacon hold up the Blessed
Sacrament and proclaim: “Through Him and with Him and in Him, O God Almighty
Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, all glory and honor is yours, forever
and ever.” All answer, “Amen.” That is
both an affirmation of the miracle of the Eucharist and a proclamation that the
only glory and honor we need to be concerned with is that which we give to
God. That is the way of Jesus
Christ. That is the way of the
Christian.
Blessed Mother
Teresa of Calcutta wrote or at least edited a prayer for her sisters, and
really for us, to help us understand what really we need to be concerned with
in life:
People are often
unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.
Forgive them
anyway.
If you are kind,
people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.
If you are
successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.
Succeed anyway.
If you are
honest and sincere people may deceive you.
Be honest and
sincere anyway.
What you spend
years creating, others could destroy overnight.
Create anyway.
If you find
serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.
The good you do
today, will often be forgotten.
Do good anyway.
Give the best
you have, and it will never be enough.
Give your best
anyway.
In the final
analysis, it is between you and God.
It was never between you and them anyway [2]
•
[1] 25th Sunday of Ordinary Time
(B), September 20, 2015. Readings: Wisdom 2:12, 17-20; Responsorial Psalm
54:3-4, 5, 6, 8; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37
[2] The verses reportedly were
written on the wall of Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta, India,
and are widely attributed to her. Some sources say that the words below were
written on the wall in Mother Teresa's own room. In any case, their association with Mother
Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity has made them popular worldwide,
expressing as they do, the spirit in which they lived their lives. They seem to
be based on a composition originally by Kent Keith, but much of the second half
has been re-written in a more spiritual way.
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