This is a reflection on the Mass readings of the day.
There is a strikingly ordinary pair of lines at the close of today’s gospel, which could apply to any Christian child in grace: “The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
The child grew and became strong. A pleasant line, but an incredibly ordinary one–in stark contrast to the portentous utterances of Simeon and joyful acclaim of Anna the prophetess. There are no words, not one, about the child Jesus doing anything wondrous, anything that any other blessed child might not do.
This ordinary summation of the entire childhood of Jesus seems to reflect and fulfill St. John’s admonition in the first reading to avoid love for the world, for “…enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world.”
Immediately we hear John’s words and consider the life of Jesus, and we think, “I am not worldly. I am not pretentious. I am ordinary. I am on Jesus’ side in this equation.”
And surely, we are. But perhaps there is a bit of room for further self-examination here. For, there are surely very few in the world who would call themselves pretentious. And yet, we know well that there are many in the world who are, in fact, pretentious.
Have we ever dreamt of having our full worth recognized by the world, in some way? Of our talents receiving full recognition? Has this not in fact at times congealed into an actual objective, a hidden motive that has driven real exertion and effort on our part?
At first glance, the quest for due recognition may not feel like pretention. But consider this: The infinite value that you perceive in yourself, while in the light of God’s love is legitimate and objectively real, is a characteristic of every one of the billions of human beings walking the planet. If each were to receive his/her “due recognition,” the planet’s productivity would grind to a halt. There would be no time to do anything but recognize each other.
It is for this reason that any longing for due recognition may truly fall under the heading of pretention. And when you think about it, it is this longing that typically leads others to acts that we acknowledge as pretentious.
Just as true accommodation of the need for due recognition would grind the world to a halt, we must recognize in our own lives that, if we were truly to obsess on love of neighbor, we would discover that there is not nearly enough time in life to accomplish all that we want to accomplish in that realm.
And certainly, as in the childhood of Jesus, there would be not time for pretentious acts seeking vain recognition.
Ideas for conversation with the Lord: Ask Jesus to purify the inertia and impetus of your heart so that it is filled with a desire for the happiness of others. Ask Him to send the Holy Spirit to fill your heart with the same obsessive passion for the happiness–especially eternal happiness–of other persons that He displayed throughout His life.
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