The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today warn us about attitudes of partiality and prejudice and challenge us to contemplate the origins of these temptations in our bodily experience.
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| Partiality and Prejudice |
The reading from the Letter of James is a warning against partiality, particularly towards the wealthy.
* [2:4] When Christians show favoritism to the rich they are guilty of the worst kind of prejudice and discrimination. The author says that such Christians set themselves up as judges who judge not by divine law but by the basest, self-serving motives.1
In Psalm 34, the psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued, can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone.
* [Psalm 34] A thanksgiving in acrostic form, each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this Psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order. The psalmist, fresh from the experience of being rescued (Ps 34:5, 7), can teach the “poor,” those who are defenseless, to trust in God alone (Ps 34:4, 12). God will make them powerful (Ps 34:5–11) and give them protection (Ps 34:12–22).2
Peter makes a declaration about Jesus as Messiah in the Gospel of Mark and shows his confusion when Jesus foretells His death and resurrection.
* [8:27–30] This episode is the turning point in Mark’s account of Jesus in his public ministry. Popular opinions concur in regarding him as a prophet. The disciples by contrast believe him to be the Messiah. Jesus acknowledges this identification but prohibits them from making his messianic office known to avoid confusing it with ambiguous contemporary ideas on the nature of that office. See further the notes on Mt 16:13–20.3
Steve Scholer comments that God calls us to follow his example and to form our conclusions about people based not on appearances, but on how they live their lives. He gave this very advice to Samuel when he said “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
As we go about our busy lives, let us practice looking beyond outward appearances and to try and discern if the Holy Spirit is dwelling within the people we meet, whether they be dressed in fine or shabby clothes. Let us look to their hearts and how they conduct themselves, just as God does. Trust me when I say it will require more time and attention on our part to make this sort of informed decision, but there might be an added benefit. In the process of looking more deeply at those we meet; we might also look more deeply at how we conduct our own lives and what fills our hearts. Hopefully, in the words of James we will be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him.4
Don Schwager quotes “Peter confesses that Jesus is God's Anointed Son and Savior of all,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"You see the skillfulness of the question. He [Jesus] did not at once say, 'Who do you say that I am?' He refers to the rumor of those that were outside their company. Then, having rejected it and shown it unsound, he might bring them back to the true opinion. It happened that way. When the disciples had said, 'Some, John the Baptist, and others, Elijah, and others, that some prophet of those in old time has risen up,' he said to them, 'But you, who do you say that I am?' Oh! how full of meaning is that word you! He separates them from all others, that they may also avoid the opinions of others. In this way, they will not conceive an unworthy idea about him or entertain confused and wavering thoughts. Then they will not also imagine that John had risen again, or one of the prophets. 'You,' he says, 'who have been chosen,' who by my decree have been called to the apostleship, who are the witnesses of my miracles. Who do you say that I am?'" (excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 49)5
The Word Among Us Meditation on James 2:1-9 notes that in his biography of St. Francis of Assisi, British author G. K. Chesterton uses an analogy to show how Francis’ whole way of thinking had changed as a result of his conversion. Deep in prayer in a cave outside the city, the young Francis surrendered his expectations of a worldly career with its honors and chose to live for the honor of God instead. When he came out of the cave, everything had turned upside down for him. It was, Chesterton wrote, as though Francis were “walking on his hands.”
Keeping our eyes fixed on the cross is one key to flipping our perspective. The more we see the love of the One who emptied himself, the more we will see the world differently. The more we see how Jesus reached out to people in need, the more we will be moved to give generously of ourselves. Like St. Francis, we will begin to treat every person, rich and poor, with the dignity and love they deserve.6
Friar Jude Winkler refers to Jesus attention to the anawim, the poor of the Lord, when he approaches the difficult subject of addressing the large donor. At Caesarea Philippi, Jesus instructs messianic secret to counter misunderstanding of a conquering Messiah. Friar Jude reminds us that the confusion of the apostles in Mark is connected to a desire for power and privilege over service as disciples of Jesus.
Fr. Richard Rohr, OFM, comments that in the West, we rely predominantly on “head” knowledge, but our hearts offer us plenty of information as well through powerful experience of awe and empathy, joy and heartbreak (even if we choose to dismiss it most of the time). But it seems to Fr. Richard that we have lost or ignored the wisdom of the body almost completely. He has often taught that if we are not transformed by our pain, we will almost certainly transmit it to those around us, and he is learning that we pass it on to future generations as well. Author and therapist Resmaa Menakem speaks directly about “bodily knowing” and the transmission of trauma from a historical and corporate perspective. Our tendency, reacting without contemplation, is to respond for our own self interest and act out of a pre judgement of others that is often not based in the compassion, empathy, mercy and love of Christ.
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