How many of us enjoy (or never consider) going to a class reunion? It might take lots of courage to get together with your former classmates and friends. This kind of gathering where we meet people who we have known for a while but have not been in contact too often enforces us to revisit or face past versions of us that we no longer identify with.
I sometimes run into my old college friend, Tony at Theodore’s daycare. We used to hang out a lot. After graduating from college, we took our journey to find our place in this society. Now, we see how we’ve lived our lives quite differently. A couple of Saturdays ago, I ran into Tony at a soccer field with all our family members present. As he and I were introducing each other to our wives and children, he talked about how he was shocked to learn that I’ve become a very religious person. I wonder how he thought of me back when we were in college! One thing that is very clear to me in my interaction with Tony is that I can never function as his priest. This applies to my wife, Theodore, Henry, my mother, and sister. It’s not just because they know me very well and too frequently see my very human side which requires forgiveness but because they have developed a fixed image of me. This, in turn, means we generally think that we don’t change much. It’s like imagining that we are always remaining as the same entity. And so are others. We might have this inner dialogue: “I haven’t changed a bit and how dare you think you’ve changed and grown? I don’t see it. Don’t pretend!” This may be one of the reasons why prophets are neither welcome in their hometown nor heard nor taken seriously. “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.” (Mark 6:4) In the first lesson from the Book of Ezekiel, there was a prophet, Ezekiel among the Israelites but they didn’t listen to him. Instead, he was considered a lunatic. What does this unwelcoming nature of prophets in their hometown tell us? Is it about an HR policy on not recommending an internal hiring practice? Maybe. But this story of unwelcome prophets in their hometown is more than a hiring policy. It tells us about the impact of how we see ourselves on how we see others. Do we believe that we are biologically and spiritually changing? Take a look at our childhood pictures. Who is it? Is it you? It was but not anymore. Look at yourself in the mirror now. That we constantly change is a fact. We too often forget that this is an inevitable human nature that we tend to forget or set aside. If we accept this scientific fact, we admit others are also changing like us. Then the point is not about whether this person I have known for a long time can or cannot change. No matter what, every single person changes one way or the other. Even our old habits change. They either get worse or better, depending on how much we are aware of them and how much we want to turn them around. Once we acknowledge this reality of change that occurs to everyone and everything in this world, it calls us to see how this person has changed for better or worse. Which then invites us to examine ourselves. Have I matured to be a better human being? Have I grown to be kind, gentle, and compassionate to others and myself? The lesson this morning is about how much we are open to change that is always happening in ourselves and others. This constant change is, spiritually speaking, what the resurrection of Christ is all about. We are called to move beyond our past selves, renouncing our old unhealthy thoughts, feelings, and actions. As one toxic piece of me dies, a new piece of me sprouts in Christ. While holding on to this hope of becoming like Jesus, we hold this same hope of spiritual growth and maturity for others. If we consider that the person we see everyday changes, we become curious and open about this person. It’s not the same person though in our human eyes she or he or they look the same. Our spiritual attempt to notice changes in others opens up a new horizon in our relationships. You have heard me say in the past that we are a human “being” not “doing.” This is to pay attention to the primacy of our sense of being or existing before we judge our values based on the amount of our doing or productivity. I want to go a bit further than being. Let us not just be but also become. We are always a human “becoming.” We’re constantly becoming the image of God with the help of the Spirit. We’re becoming one with God in Christ in our action of parking the Eucharist. This becoming one with God in Christ is the key to our spiritual transformation, not merely a change of bad habits, in which we become what we’ve never thought of. God’s present for us is the present moment that we can turn things around for godly changes. Do we have this openness to the present moment of God, to ourselves, and others? If so, we’re able to hear the voice of God’s prophet who shouts for change of our heart, of our hostile culture. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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