Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
My son, Andrew, is obsessed with "Thomas and Friends" - a popular cartoon featuring a diverse collection of personified trains living on the Island of Sodor. In fact, my wife recently heard him making "choo choo" sounds in his sleep. The next morning she asked him if he had been dreaming about Thomas the Tank Engine and he promptly replied, "Yeth" (Yes). We've watched so many episodes of "Thomas and Friends" that I often find myself randomly singing the theme song throughout the day! Like many cartoons scripted for small children, lessons of honesty, compassion, teamwork, perseverance, and respect for authority are readily offered to the young viewing audience. However, I've noticed that "Thomas and Friends" does something that I rarely see other cartoons doing- something I like quite a bit. And that's this: the personal flaws of each character are obviously made known to the viewer, while never being glorified. It's no secret that Thomas can be a wise guy, Gordon is pompous, and the Troublesome Trucks are rude and mischievous. Even in the theme song, the children unashamedly sing that "James is vain" as the credits role.
So why am I bringing any of this up for today's reflection? Because I believe that this children's cartoon hits on something that I think can be a legitimate struggle in the life of a Christian, which is allowing our flaws, our imperfections, our weaknesses, and even our sins to be known to others. Considering my own life, this is something that I continually struggle with- never wanting to be seen or regarded as anything less than what I desire to be (let alone write about that very fact in a reflection read by hundreds). Instead, our tendency is to typically hide our weaknesses and to appear to put our best foot forward, particularly in the Christian life. This fact leads me to two important questions that I would like to raise for your reflection of today's Mass readings: As a disciple, do I first present myself as someone who has Christ? Or, willing to allow my personal flaws to be known, do I first present myself as someone in need of Christ?
Acknowledgement and public revelation of what we would probably prefer to remain hidden (including our personal flaws and sins) is seen in both today's first reading and Gospel. First, in the presence of the Lord, Isaiah quickly acknowledges his weaknesses and identifies himself as "a man of unclean lips, living among a people of unclean lips." Extending the point even further, Jesus makes it clear in today's Gospel from Matthew that "Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known." This may sound like an intimidating, even frightening reality, but Jesus reassures us: "do not be afraid... Everyone who acknowledges me before others I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father." And sometimes the best way to acknowledge Christ before others is by readily acknowledging our tremendous need for Him as poor sinners who don't always have it all together.
For better or for worse, how we present ourselves to others and how we present the Gospel to others are intimately connected. In a true paradox of evangelization, by acknowledging our weakness, we acknowledge Christ's power. By humbly acknowledging our sin, we acknowledge God's unfailing mercy. I often find that it's actually the folks standing in the confession line have the best witness of all! In this way, we present the Church as a hospital for the broken- a "poor Church for the poor" - a one, HOLY, Catholic and apostolic Church that is rightly called holy not "by her own merits but because God makes her holy" (Pope Francis, General Audience, 2 October 2013).
Pope Francis, in the previously cited Audience, said: "Throughout our history, some have been tempted to say that the Church is the Church of only the pure and the perfectly consistent, and it expels all the rest. This is not true! This is heresy!" The Pope himself, when asked to describe himself at the onset of his pontificate, humbly replied: "I am a sinner whom the Lord has looked upon." We are all in need of Christ! I think this unassuming, welcoming, and certain truth should be "spoken in the light" and "proclaimed on the housetops" as an unforgettable tenant of our discipleship.
As a community disciples, do we first present ourselves as a people who have Christ? Or, willing to allow our shortcomings to be known, do we first present ourselves as a people in need of Christ? This is the question for us today. May we humble ourselves to glorify God in our weakness and come to Christ in our need so that we may receive the grace to come to others in their need. Amen.
Ryan J. Mahle