23rd Week OT
Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Notre Dame Seminary, NOLA
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Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP
Notre Dame Seminary, NOLA
It's a week after the 9/11
attacks on New York and Washington. I'm in my second year of
theology, and I want revenge. My turn to preach vespers rolls around
the weekend after the Towers fell. The lectionary requires me to
preach on Luke's account of the Widower's Mite. I can't do it.
Instead, I go to Zephaniah and read: “I will sweep away man and
beast. . .I will make the wicked stumble; I will eliminate the people
from the face of the land. . .[the nations will be] A field of weeds,
a salt pit, a waste forever. . .[pouring] out upon them my wrath, all
my blazing anger; For in the fire of my passion all the earth will be
consumed. . .I have cut down nations. . .I have made their streets
deserted. . .Their cities are devastated, with no one dwelling in
them. . .” Smiling, I imagine the A-10 Warthog and the FA 18 Hornet
strafing villages; Tomahawk and Stinger missiles laying waste to
terrorist hideouts; and tanks and Humvees rolling over barbarian
strongholds. To me, the wrath of God smelled like thermite and
American gunpowder. But as I took comfort in my revenge fantasies. .
.I remembered: I am a follower of Christ, a vowed religious. Is
vengeance mine to dispense? Do I judge righteousness? What does the
teacher say? What does he teach?
Jesus
asks us, “Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both
fall into a pit?. . .Why do you notice the splinter in your brother’s
eye, but do not perceive the wooden beam in your own?” No, Lord,
the blind cannot guide the blind, and I notice my brother's blindness
b/c it is easier to make myself the judge of righteousness than it is
to submit myself to judgment. I judged my nation's enemies in 2001
and appointed myself their executioner. They attacked us. They
murdered us. They destroyed families. They caused billions of dollars
in damage and started two obscenely expensive wars. More lives lost.
More families destroyed. More money wasted. And we here at home began
to dismantle our free republic in the name of safety and security.
Vengeance blinds. The self-righteous need to return hurt for hurt
leaves everyone hurting and no one to do the healing. As an American,
I needed a clear and aggressive response to foreign terrorism. I
needed vengeance. But as a follower of Christ and a vowed religious,
I needed ____________. What did I need? I cannot be greater than
Christ my Teacher. But can I be like him? Can I say and do all that
he teaches me to say and do? Can I forgive? Can I pray for the
terrorists? Can I see my own splinters and remove them before looking
for splinters in my enemies' eyes? The blind cannot guide the blind.
And the sinful cannot lead the sinful to righteousness. I know this.
Like
Paul, I can confess: “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and
an arrogant man. . .” But I cannot say that “I have been
mercifully treated because
I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief.” I believed in 2001. I
knew Christ in 2001. I was not ignorant in 2001. And I still wanted
vengeance. I was mercifully treated despite my sin, despite my
disordered passions. And I learned that academic degrees, religious
vows, priestly ordination – none of these insulate us from the
splinters we gather in the world. None of these compel us to dig
these splinters out. What – rather, who – will prompt us to
examine our judgments carefully; to consciously, actively search for
the splinters that blind us? Christ. And only Christ. “The grace of
our Lord has been abundant, along with the faith and love that are in
Christ Jesus.”
We
cannot lead others to places we've never been. We cannot guide others
to righteousness if we ourselves dwell in anger, greed, envy, lust,
or pride. We cannot lead from power, from compulsion, from
manipulation or fear. If we will lead others to Christ, we must be
like Christ, like our Teacher. We must lead with abundant mercy,
faith, and love. When the Towers fell on September 11, 2001, a
splinter found its way into my eye. I drove it deeper and nurtured a
need for revenge. But Christ – in his mercy – removed that
splinter. Now, I want to be like my Teacher. Lord, save the sight of
your servant.
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