Not getting it

The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today present some truths which we have difficulty accepting. The Letter of James warns that our understanding of temptation is flawed. God does not tempt us. The tendency we have to seek self satisfaction and positioning of our action to bring our desires to ourselves come from within. Friar Jude Winkler associates this with the concept of "original sin". This tendency to sin is also part of the effect of our ancestors on our lives today. The battle is understood by Jungian psychology as battle with the ego which draws us into attitudes where I am the proper centre of my existence. Richard Rohr, in Falling Upward, discusses the necessary ego of the "first half of life" being left behind as we journey to wisdom and intimacy with the Divine in the "second half of life" after dismissing the loyal soldier which has gotten us this far. The psalmist understands the need to praise God for the discipline and correction which keeps us from slipping into the control of our ego driven passions. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus warns the disciples that the instruction and guidance of the Pharisees about the Law and the nature of God is flawed. He cites the distribution of the bread of Life to the Jewish followers and the 12 baskets remaining as a sign to the twelve tribes of Israel of the will of God to satisfy their hunger for Truth through Love and compassion. The "Jewish perfect number" of 7 baskets remaining from the distribution to the pagans proclaims the inclusion of both Jew and Gentle, the whole of humanity, in the saving Messianic Plan of God. The death to self and movement to inclusion are related and both are components of living deeper intimacy with God.