It’s easier to read the weather than to read our hearts. When we know what the weather is going to be, based on how things are outside, we plan and prepare. Maybe you wear a jacket, a coat, or a raincoat. Perhaps you carry an umbrella or maybe decide to wear shorts.
Very often, we don’t realize how things are on the inside, in our hearts. If you haven’t yet noticed, we live in a contentious world. People want to contend, to compete, to get the upper hand, to win at all costs, even if the cost is devastation.
In today's Gospel, Jesus is telling us not to be that kind of person. He uses the example of someone who has a dispute with another person. These two people are bringing their dispute before a judge. One part of Jesus’ warning here, I think, is not to always be so sure you're in the right.
In light of this, he urges settling disputes before they go to court. After all, you might lose. But sometimes our unwillingness to compromise isn’t the result of being right or seeking justice. It is often nothing other than our deeply ingrained desire to win, or at least not to lose.
It is often only in retrospect that we realize most things don’t matter as much as we think they do, especially when we're in a dispute. At the end of the day, a lot of disputes between people don’t amount to much, if anything, in the big scheme of things. Jesus always urges his followers to look at life's big picture. Traditionally, this is called viewing things sub specie aeternitatis, or "under the aspect of eternity. It’s important, therefore, to determine whether something is worth disputing over, even if you’re convinced you’re right.
As the old-time comedian W.C. Fields once said: “You don’t have to attend every argument you're invited to." We are all products of a very argumentative culture. As Christians, more often than not, we should choose the way Jesus lays out for us and gently decline to participate.
In light of the risk of not being right, coupled with the risk of having your wrongness exposed, most arguments simply aren’t worth having. More important than anything, you need to pay attention to the weather inside. When you feel like arguing, stop and ask yourself "How is my heart?"
Most of the time, the impulse to be contentious and argumentative is the result of bad weather inside. Through prayer and choosing not to participate, just like you plan for bad weather outside, you can plan for those days when there’s a storm brewing inside and respond accordingly.
Jesus teaches "Blessed are the peacemakers." Given how prone we all are to contend, to argue, to dispute with each other, peace has to be made. As John Lennon noted: "Peace is not something you wish for; It's something you make, something you do, something you are, something you give away."
Our first reading from the Letter to the Ephesians, which was ostensibly written in prison, urges us (i.e., Christians) “to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received.” You received this call when you were baptized. What is the call you received? According to this scripture, deeply rooted as it is in the teaching of Jesus, you are called to be humble, patient, and gentle. You and I are called to be peacemakers in a world desperately in need of peace.
No comments:
Post a Comment