30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time C.  October 28, 2007.  Our Lady of Grace 7:30, 6PM. Sirach 35: 12-14, 16-18. 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18.   Luke 18: 9-14.

Self image is the opinion we have of ourselves in our hearts. It is based on the value that we place on ourselves as a person, on our achievements, on how we think that other people see us, on our social status and on our ability to stand on our own two feet.  In our culture we are almost obsessed with having a good self image.  Some of us grew up in a shame-based environment that taught us to see ourselves as bad boys or bad girls until we won the approval of others.  We may have even received our Catholic Christian faith in a in a way that emphasized guilt and shame.  In reaction many people struggle to see themselves in a positive way with a positive self image.  Others refuse to see anything but the positive side of themselves even when that means denying the weaknesses, sins and limitations that are an ordinary part of human life.

A good self image is about an honest and humble acceptance of who we are as human beings.  A good self image begins with a personal affirmation that God made each of us good in body, mind and spirit.  We were made in the image of God and nothing we can do will destroy the fact that we were made in God’s image and that God will always love and cherish the divine image in us.  In other words, no one has to prove that he or she is profoundly good and worthy because we were made good and worthy by the very fact of creation. Our first and most profound self image is always that we are cherished children of God and the enfleshed image of our Creator.

A good self-image begins with taking God at his word.  God made us good.  All we have to do is to accept what God has done with a simple act of faith.  Yet, there is another side to each of us.  Seeing ourselves simply and only as good can lead to arrogance, haughtiness and exaggerated self importance.  In today’s Gospel Jesus tells us about a man who was blown away by his own exulted opinion of himself:

Jesus said, “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one was a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector.   The Pharisee  took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself (arrogant people always pray to themselves, not to God), ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’   But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me a sinner.’  Jesus said, “I tell you, the tax collector went home justified and not the Pharisee; for whoever exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A very stern and unhappy woman went to see her doctor because she was not feeling well.  Her doctor began by asking her some basic questions.  He said, “Do you drink at all?”  She answered, “I never touch alcohol.”  The doctor continued, “Do you take time to relax in the midst of your day?”  The woman answered, “I am a professional woman.  I have many important things to do.  I don’t waste time relaxing.”  The doctor said, “Do you go to bed early at night.”  The woman replied, “I have no time for late night parties or for carousing, or wasting time with friends.  I am a very busy woman.  I am in bed at ten and up at six every day.”  The doctor said, “I think I know why you are unhappy and not feeling well.  It is obvious to me that the halo you are wearing is a bit too tight.”

Many years ago I read an article entitled “Are you Weak Enough to be a Priest?”   The title seemed strange to me because I had been taught that the priest was to be perfect and a glowing example of holiness.  I hid from my faults because they seemed to be a betrayal of my vocation.  For many years the Church hid from the faults of priests too, instead of dealing with them with honesty and courage.  The whole church has suffered because at least in public priests were wearing their halos a bit too tight.

The honest acceptance of weakness and limitations is an essential part of every Christian life including the life of the priest.  Weakness relates us profoundly to other people. It allows us to feel the human condition, the human struggle and the darkness that calls out for salvation in all of us.  The experience of weakness deepens both our sensitivity to human need and our personal need for prayer. The strength of our Christian life lies precisely in the weakness that seems to threaten it.  When we are imprisoned in arrogance we have only ourselves to pray to and our own goodness and strength to rely on.  When we accept our weakness and our sinfulness as a part of a healthy and honest self image we find our strength in God and in the people around us.

The great Apostle Paul counted himself among the greatest of sinners because he persecuted the Church of God.  Paul said, “I will boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.  Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12/10)

For an honest and healthy self image that embraces both our goodness and our weakness we give God thanks and praise.