+ Our readings today present us with the perennial challenge to
be non-judgmental, merciful and forgiving. And, most likely,
they always make us either feel immediately guilty, or on the defensive, when
our rationalizing minds rise in our defense.
Actually, though,
today I offer a perspective on the situation that is quite new, even to me. My
source, is my early morning meditation of the mass readings and my prayer that
I compose in my homily what is God’s message, rather than my own.
And so, let us
consider the command to stop judging, stop condemning, start forgiving the
culprits in our lives who seem to be at odds with us.
The new insight today
is this: this works when dealing with another sensing, concscience-bearing,
reasoning human being: one in touch with reality as it is. It does not apply to
those who are incapable of such basic, common sense, human interaction.
For example, a parent
does not deal this way with a two year old who is throwing a temper tantrum. In
this case, the parent must act like a parent, and quickly judge the situation
as one that needs a calm and reasoned counter-action, parental intervention and
call for a time-out or another such applicable measure of returning the child
to a balanced and graced-human state.
When the child
becomes an adolescent, this process can be a bit more challenging, because the
“teenager” thinks, most of the time, erroneously simply because of trial and
error, and plain experience, that he knows everything and that he can trust his
new found “feelings” and “half-baked insights” on a given topic. The best a
parent can do is to by his/her own example, model how an adult would handle the
situation, feelings and prejudices aside. In this case, not judging the child,
is not the same as giving a blind eye to someone who is “just feeling their
oats”! Responsibility for actions and consequences of behaviors must be taught
early on for the best possible results in the child’s life.
When a spoiled child
becomes president of the United States – parental cabinet members, and members
of the other governing branches, and constituents – must model by their example
how the recalcitrant elected officer of the law of the land, and commander in
chief, and chief executive officer of a great nation – ought to act.
And on the part of
the recalcitrant child – when once his newly rightly forming conscience begins
to kick in – he has the responsibility to see his immature ways, his more and
more vincibly and voluntary sinful actions – which directly affect the lives of
those in his charge – change, repent, renew his vision and his plan of action –
and begin to act like a grownup – and a true descendant of decades of men who
had as their ideal and their goal living up to the intent of the founding
fathers and those who have embraced the constitution in its entirety and who
dies to protect, defend and preserve it.
Yes, we have very
timely readings today. We have a great problem facing us – but one that is
easily solvable. We need to parent an out of control adolescent bully of a
president who is poised to “drive the country and all its glorious past” off a
cliff, much like the ending of the movie: Thelma and Louise!
Will we step up to
the plate and build an invisible wall of parental love, of right insight and
concern and compassion for him and his band of bullies who are in control of
the destinies of all of us – at the edge of the cliff?
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