<\/p>\n
It\u2019s amazing how easy it is to see what\u2019s wrong with other people, and yet, to be blind to our own sins and imperfections.\u00a0 We have two excellent examples of that today and the unfortunate consequences of each.<\/p>\n
First, there is the story about King David.\u00a0 David had arranged for the death of Uriah the Hittite so he could take Bathsheba, Uriah\u2019s wife, as his own.\u00a0 Nathan describes in detail what David did in a parable about a rich man and a poor man.\u00a0 David becomes enraged that the rich man took advantage of the poor man, and vows to take action against him.\u00a0 So in the first line of our reading Nathan courageously identifies to David that he, David, is the culprit who did it!\u00a0 David could not see the evil in his own actions when he was doing them.\u00a0 Rather, he was preoccupied with satisfying his own desires.\u00a0 But he could see the evil with ease in the parable when it was about somebody else.<\/p>\n
And then there is the Gospel.\u00a0 Most of us assume the woman was a prostitute.\u00a0 But the bible experts disagree because the woman wouldn\u2019t have gotten into the Pharisee\u2019s house as a prostitute.\u00a0 More than likely, she was a social climber, who was not practicing the Jewish law, and everybody knew it.\u00a0 But, it doesn\u2019t matter, because the essence of her involvement was the fact that the Pharisee was blind to his own sin.\u00a0 The Pharisee was self-righteous with regard to what the woman did; so much so that he couldn\u2019t see his lack of hospitality and his sense of superiority- in other words, his rudeness.<\/p>\n
These stories tell us that even those who are usually considered good and the most looked up to by society need to constantly be on their guard against blindness to their sins.\u00a0 David, who was chosen by God to be the secular king and was favored and blessed by God and devoted to God, sinned in this way.\u00a0 And the Pharisee, who was at the top of the religious segment of society, like a priest or Bishop in our time, was guilty of the same sin.\u00a0 Both David and the Pharisee were public figures who were looked up to and emulated as examples for the people.<\/p>\n
In both cases, their sins were rooted in pride and a lack of humility.\u00a0 They either didn\u2019t want to or didn\u2019t care to understand their own limitations; they didn\u2019t see the value in always loving the other person- but rather, they were concerned with their own agendas.\u00a0 And they didn\u2019t see how their actions affected others or how others would view their actions; others, who looked up to them and emulated their every action.<\/p>\n
This morning, we are celebrating Father\u2019s Day.\u00a0 It\u2019s that day when we honor Fathers and their roles in our lives.\u00a0 I can\u2019t help but reflect on the awesome responsibility that Fatherhood carries with it especially in light of the two stories we just heard.<\/p>\n
Children are such a vulnerable segment of society.\u00a0 They pick up on everything whether we realize it or not.\u00a0 Like Uriah the Hittite or the repentant woman in the Gospel, children can easily become unintended victims.\u00a0 Children need to be treated with love and respect by all who have charge over them.<\/p>\n
How can fathers who are being blind to their own sinfulness make sure that they don\u2019t lead children astray by?\u00a0 How do they avoid their children from emulating the weaknesses that they have that are emphasized by their blindness?<\/p>\n
In the second reading, we hear how Paul lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself up for him.\u00a0 Jesus loves all of us and gave himself up for all of us too.\u00a0 When fathers recognize the need to live as St. Paul did, putting others first, particularly their families; by dying to self and taking advantage of the graces God gave them to always be sensitive to God\u2019s will for them; then they become who they were really meant to be.\u00a0 They will have a good and realistic awareness of their real self and their role in the world.\u00a0 And that is true humility, a realistic awareness of one\u2019s real self with all the limitations as well as the gifts.\u00a0 That honesty of self reflects itself in how they behave.\u00a0 When your child emulates that kind of behavior\u00a0 you are on the right track because honesty shows in behavior of the truly humble person.<\/p>\n
Think about your own family; your own Dad.\u00a0 Think of an incident that happened when you really admired your dad.\u00a0 Chances are, it was a moment when he was being his real self.\u00a0 It was a tender moment of real and intense presence in your life; a moment in which his love, sincerity and honesty shone through; a time when he forgave you or asked for your forgiveness; a time when he just accepted you the way you were.<\/p>\n
And so, for all the dads out there this morning, our children and families are our most precious gift from God.\u00a0 Be your real self with your family.\u00a0 Remember one of our responses in this morning\u2019s psalm:\u00a0 \u201cBlessed the man in whom the Lord imputes no guilt, in whose spirit there is no guile\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 2 Sam 12: 7-10, 13; Gal 2: 16, 19-21; Luke 7: 36 \u2013 8:3 Dc. Larry Brockman It\u2019s amazing how easy it is to see what\u2019s wrong with other people, and yet, to be blind to our own sins and imperfections.\u00a0 We have two excellent examples of that today […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[214],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=342"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":343,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342\/revisions\/343"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.deaconlarry.org\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}