November 17. 2022

Reflection

SELF  DESTRUCTION

People self-destruct.

Some do it slowly; some to it quickly; some do it dramatically.

When Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York State got caught with prostitutes, the press articles and TV commentators voiced various theories.

For example, "He wanted to get caught."

Someone else said, "People in high places think they are exempt from being caught. So it's a  power question."

Others said, "It's all connected and it's complicated.  It's being the son of a powerful father."

Others added, "What was he thinking or not thinking? Is he stupid?"

As priest - as male - as human - as me - I know we all do stupid things.  We self-destruct.

We don't get enough sleep - and we'e dragging ourselves like an overweight suitcasre.

Then we resolve not to do stupid again.

But we do.

Expet deja vu.

Expect more stupidity.

Expect repeat performances.

We overeat. We over indulge. We over mess up.

We want to be rational - but our inners can be more than an electrical system.  We have snakes, owls, and sharks in our deep  waters.  Probably an octopus or two as well.

St. Paul in Romans tried to get his hand on all this,  He said, "We don't do what we said we were going to do and vice versa, we do what we don't want to do."

St. Augustine - reading and reflecting on what Paul said - realized Paul was speaking my reality.

Don't we all?

Don't we all mess up and we ddon't know why.

It's the onging struggle of resolution vs. stupidity - sin and grace - recovery and fall - Genesis and Exodus.

"Father forgive me, I don't know what I am doing?"