The common thread that runs through both of the readings for mass today, is that you can’t judge things by their outward appearance. God sees people and situations in our lives in an entirely different light than we do, and we aren’t God. The first reading for mass from the Letter of Saint James tells us not to judge people by their outward appearance. The rich seem to be worthy of our praise, respect and admiration because they’ve really “made something of themselves”. The poor might seem like they aren’t very smart, successful or maybe they are even viewed as failures in life.
Society judges people by the outside looking in. Peel away the exterior of the rich and the poor, and just look at the true character of a person and you may see a shocking transformation. What is the mindset of the rich? Their attitudes toward their neighbors? How have they treated other people during their lives? Fools gold looks real pretty on the outside but underneath, it is just an illusion. Real gold can take the test of fire and turn out more beautifully than all the other metals. The poor have everything stripped away that separates them from God and one another. Their trials helped to form them in goodness and holiness, made them more compassionate and loving to their neighbor, and they have learned to depend on God alone. Everything else vanishes. Only our love for God and one another, survives the test of time, all the way into eternity. This is the true gold that lasts forever.
The gospel today is about the same thing. Jesus asked his disciples “Who do people say that I am?” (Do you think he didn’t already know what the people thought of him?) Jesus needed to strip away the hearts of his disciples to expose what really lay inside them. Did they too, judge him from the outside looking in? Jesus asked his disciples, “But who do you say that I am?” Saint Peter’s true heart was exposed when he answered the Lord, “You are the Christ”. Saint Peter knew the truth, he saw past the externals enough to understand that Jesus wasn’t a prophet, but was very much different from the prophets. He was truly the son of God, the Messiah, the Christ that everyone had been waiting on.
The next thing Saint Peter does, illustrates the trap that so many of us fall prey to. Even if we become a good, holy person, with a heart of gold, and love God, and love everyone else with all of our hearts, we can fail to see the truth of things, the way that God sees them. The people of God have a tendency to only want to live the good parts of the gospel out in their lives. Love each other, be of service to one another, try to get along, not make waves, have disturbances or disagreements of any sort, and avoid all forms of unpleasantry, because that isn’t “Christian”. Christians are sweet and gentle and compassionate and loving and they don’t get into arguments or upset anyone. We are to work hard at squelching the negative feelings, and many uphold Saint Terese of the Little Flower as a wonderful example of this type of spirituality. Saints were made saints though, soley because of how they interpreted the gospel and lived it out in their own particular life circumstances.
Today’s gospel has a different perspective entirely. Sometimes a Christian is called to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, who upset the Pharisees so much that they killed him.
Arguments, provocation, negative feelings, going against the grain, unpleasant disturbances and disagreements was also very much a part of the life of Jesus Christ. Do not feel ashamed of yourself if you encounter these things in life, and others judge you because of it, because things are not what they look like from the outside looking in. The greatest scene, disturbance, provocation, arguments, disagreements, different points of view, etc. seemed to be a very great evil at the time of Christ’s trial and crucifixion. Jesus was viewed as a criminal, not as a good, religious person.
We all know how this turned out though. Jesus took the greatest evil the world has ever known and converted it, within his own heart on the cross, into the greatest good the entire universe, throughout time and eternity will ever know. Evil can be converted in a person’s life, into a greater good too. People are not what they appear to be on the outside looking in, at any particular time and in any particular circumstance of their lives.
Don’t let anyone ever make you feel ashamed of yourself because of your position in life, your job, education (or lack of education) and possessions. Don’t take it to heart if people judge you because your temper temporarily flares up, or if you have negative emotions from time to time, or if you don’t understand things correctly sometimes. Saint Peter did too. It might just mean you are on the right track after all!
Daily Mass Readings:
