RESPECT

"Judge Randolph: Lieutenant, do you have anything further for this witness?
[Jessep defiantly gets up to leave the courtroom]
Col. Jessep: Thanks, Danny. I love Washington.
Kaffee: Excuse me. I didn't dismiss you.
Col. Jessep: I beg your pardon?
Kaffee: I'm not finished with my examination. Sit down.
Col. Jessep: Colonel!
Kaffee: What's that?
Col. Jessep: I would appreciate it if he would address me as Colonel or Sir. I believe I've earned it.
Judge Randolph: Defense counsel will address the witness as Colonel or Sir.
Col. Jessep: [to Judge] I don't know what the hell kind of unit you're running here.
Judge Randolph: And the witness will address this court as Judge or Your Honor. I'm quite certain I've earned it. Take your seat, Colonel. "
from the movie A Few Good Men. (1992)

The dialogue above is part of one of the great courtroom scenes in modern cinema.  Col. Jessup, played to a tee by Jack Nicholson, takes great offense that Lt. Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise, does not address him with respect and the proper title and then commits the same offense against the judge.  Col Jessup demands respect.  Judge Randolph has earned respect.

Respect can be earned or it can be demanded.  One type of respect is freely given.  The other is proffered out of fear.  Respect can be given to an elder for what they have accomplished or just because they have lived a number of years.  Respect can be given to people in authority because of the uniform or badge they wear.  A character on TV recently said "If they have a gun I always call them sir."  Respect is given to teachers, clergy, doctors, nurses and firefighters becuase of the service they are capable of giving.  Respect is given to parents because of the life that they helped create.

Or not.

Respect doesn't seem to be valued much these days.  Disrespect seems to rule the day.  Doors are not held open.  "Hello" and "Good bye" are often left unsaid.  The magic words of  "please" and "thank you" have been forgotten.  At a recent liturgy attended by a large number of teens, an elderly man was seen to stand to give a pregnant woman a seat when none of the teen age boys would do so.  Respect and politeness do not seem to valued.

It was recently suggested to me that high schools should have a period of time each day set aside to address issues of etiquette, respect for others, common courtesy and awareness.  I have pastored a parish with a high school for 16 years and have commented that as I stand outside of the school at dismissal, 95% of the students will walk by without so much as a nod of the head, let alone a greeting.  

Maybe it is old fashioned, but we need to instill a sense of respect in people.  We need to acknowledge that other people exist.  That we are not alone.  That other people have value.  John Donne reminded us that "no man is an island."  We stand shoulder to shoulder with others and need to treat each other with respect.  If we begin to respect others a little more, then perhaps our glass darkly will be a little clearer.

Lazarus and the Rich Man

In St. Luke's Gospel we hear Jesus tell the story of Lazarus and the Rich Man.  The Rich Man lived high on the hog with a fine home, great meals, stylish clothes and great friends.  Outside his door lived Lazarus, poor, ill, alone and cold.  Both die and Lazarus rests at Abraham's side and the Rich Man lies in torment.  The Rich Man asks for Lazarus to give him a drop of water.  Abraham says "no".  The Rich Man pleads for his family and is told that Moses and the prophets are all they need.  The Rich Man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers thinking that someone coming from the dead would get them to change their ways.  Abraham says "no".

I got to thinking about the Rich Man this week.  He knew Abraham so he must have been a believer.  He had a family that he cared about.  He knew success.  What made him ignore the poor Lazarus encamped outside of his door.  Initially, the Rich Man may have tried to shoo Lazarus away.  Perhaps he stepped over or around him.  I think that after a while he just didn't see him any more.  Lazarus just blended into the background out was out of the Rich Man's sight.  He became like a spot on your living room carpet that after a while you no longer see it.  Only when someone points it out do you see the spot.

It can happen that we just don't see things any more and that can be so sad.  Many years ago a couple came to see me about their marriage problems.  They were a successful, suburban couple with three children and all that money can buy. During our visit the wife said "I have not been happy for two years."  Her husband, in all honesty, said, "Honey I didn't know that."  He just didn't see it.  Her sadness had faded from his vision.  Work, soccer practice, music lessons and school had so filled them both that they became blind to each other.  They faded from each others view.  Like Lazarus, whom the Rich Man no longer saw outside his door, their mutual sadness lived in a blind spot in their heart.

What is it that we fail to see?  Is it the poor or the homeless?  Is it our own faults?  Is it the pain, or joy, that our beloved feels?  Is it the quiet goodness of people around us?  Is it the Lord who comes in so many ways throughout our days?  We need to look harder at what is around us.  He need to eliminate the blind spots.  We need hearts filled a yearning to see more clearly.

We need to polish our Glass Darkly.

We See as Through a Glass Darkly

The vision that we have of the world around us is tempered by what is present in our hearts.  Loves and joys along with fears and dread color what we see.  Reality is only as objective as our subjective perceptions of it.  Two people may look upon the same sight and see something completely different. For both, what they see is true for them.  Their hearts have defined the images.  When someone shares what they see, it may be different from what someone else sees, but still the truth.

For ancient believers, the face of God was too awesome, to powerful to see.  When God walked before them they averted their eyes or veiled their faces for fear of being consumed by the face of God.  Their vision of God was clouded by the veil.  St. Paul spoke of this when he said that what we see now is an indistinct image of God - God as viewed in a cloudy mirror or through a glass, darkly.  He spoke the truth, as he saw it.  He longed for heaven when he would see face to face.

When we share what we see, what we believe, we hope to allow others to see our vision or version of the truth.  We share to persuade sometimes, to enlighten perhaps, or just to allow others to see what we see.

In this blog I hope to share what I see or think or feel about life and love and God and faith and hope and yearning.  I believe that all of us have stories to tell.  This is my attempt to tell my stories and share the vision that I have colored by what is in my heart.