Enter Jesus, stage right

I was reading another blog in which the author entitled his entry something like ten ways we know our world is going to Hell. One of the examples he gives is a car commercial in which a child is ashamed of his parents choice of vehicles. They are redeemed, in his eyes, when they see the light and but the right car. Now he no longer has to hide himself from his peers. I had seen a commercial the other night in which a young girl has to force herself to eat her mother's cooking. If she only knew about some other sort of food product.

How sad that we are offering a message to the adult world that we do not simply provide for our children, but we have to provide the correct brand, type, or even color. Otherwise the child suffers and we are a bunch of numb-skulls. One of the Sisters from my grade school told us a story of when she worked in Peru, a child in her class had received new shoes. In actuality these were new used shoes. The boy would carry the shoes to school every day and set them next to his desk. When Sister asked why he wasn't wearing them, he replied he did not want them to get dirty.

Our culture dictates to us our needs and concerns. So we twist ourselves around, launch into debt, so that we can have the right things. It is not just a matter of materialism. I had an Aunt who was very wealthy, but kind, selfless, and totally detached from stuff. As Christians we really are called to be counter-cultural. Ours is about human dignity, justice and peace. Ii is not by accident that the gospel writers placed the story of the foot washing prior to the story of the Eucharist. Table fellowship and service go hand in hand.

St. John Paul the Great wrote about the priority of Christ in his Redemptor Hominis. Jesus Christ is the revelation of the Father's plan of salvation. But it requires that we seek out that which is true and good. Our concern of matters of justice and peace are not about being nice to people. There is a God-given sanctity that exists and must be upheld. We are in the image of the Father in heaven, through the Paschal Mystery of the Son.

Saint Paul will remind us to live a life worthy of our call. To be sure that call exists beyond our vehicle our the side dish we eat. Jesus is inviting us to be about something more.