Blessed are the meek, not the arrogant

By Mary Regina Morrell
© Catholic Online 2005

"Our awesome responsibility to ourselves, to our children, and to the future is to create ourselves in the image of goodness, because the future depends on the nobility of our imaginings." Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

This morning when I went on-line to check my email messages the first image that hit me was a photo of eight men and women scantily dressed in bathing suits and pinned-on fig leaves. They we standing on a rock ledge and served as the "Humans" exhibit in a London Zoo. An attached article explained:

"Warning: Humans in their Natural Environment'' read the sign at the entrance to the exhibit . . . Visitors stopped to point and laugh, and several children could be heard asking, "Why are there people in there?'' London Zoo spokeswoman Polly Wills says that's exactly the question the zoo wants to answer. "Seeing people in a different environment, among other animals ... teaches members of the public that the human is just another primate,'' Wills said.

More than the photo, I realized it was the response of the zoo spokeswoman that disturbed me, in particular her use of the quantifier "just." As a Christian who believes deeply that we are "made in the image and likeness of God" I believe that such a quantitative stance diminishes the nobility and grace that belong to children of God. We are called to live fully the potential holiness, honor, and integrity with which we have been imbued. Yet, anyone who lives aware will acknowledge the frequency with which we each fall short of those gifts.

Perhaps it was my own frustration with that reality that caused my initial cynical response to the zookeeper's explanation to be one of, "It seems there's a great number of us who haven't made much progress over the years." The behavior of many often reduces them to the level of animals, or worse, as humans choose freely to wound each other with their words or behavior.

Maybe I was still thinking about the episode yesterday in our town where a woman was accosted by an ex-policeman in plain clothes who was attempting to detain her for leaving her dog in the car for five minutes while picking up a prescription. She was physically injured, arrested and, in the power struggle, the former police officer allowed the dog to get out of the car. The animal promptly ran away and was killed on a near-by highway.

Or maybe I was thinking of the reality of government and Church leaders who become so drunk with self-righteousness that they become blind to the poison of their arrogance. Or maybe it was the frequent stories of family and work environments where breeding self-importance leads to loud, uncharitable displays of disrespect; demoralizing words of condescension, or the disingenuousness that erodes trust.

But no matter what was on my mind at that moment, I am always reminded that Jesus railed against such behavior. It is not Christian, neither is it human, if human means more than "just another primate."

I guess that's up to each of us.

________________________

Mary Morrell is author of the well-loved book Angels in High Top Sneakers, from Loyola Press, as well as a number of reflection journals available from the Diocese of Metuchen, Office of Religious Education, 732.562.1990, ext. 1310.

Contact

Diocese of Metuchen
http://www.diometuchen.org NJ, US
Mary Morrell - Associate Director, 732 562.1990

Email

mmorrell@diometuchen.org

Keywords

noble,arrogance, self-importance, meek

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