To gather or scatter
Gospel: Lk 11:14-23
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/030724.cfm
We put labels on almost everything. We invent dichotomies to define who we are. With religious practices, we can define ourselves as traditionalists or progressives. Politically, we are liberal or conservative. Every affirmative statement has a negative statement. We think about who we are by defining ourselves as opposed to something else. In addition to these dichotomies, our society is predominately merit-based. We constantly rank and compare. These merit-based systems elevate some and minimize others.
Jesus exposed and confronted these ways of thinking. He challenged the divisive structures of his time by sharing a vision of a world where people are equal. For Jesus, a king was no longer greater than a peasant. He didn’t separate people as clean and unclean. He didn’t divide people into Samaritans and Jews.
For those who saw themselves as higher than others in society, Jesus was seen as a threat. They saw their value by how they compared to others. If others were seen as better or as equals, it limited their sense of privilege. This is a scarcity mindset as it sees the world as only having a limited amount of value to go around. If someone is given more, it has to be taken from somewhere. As one person’s situation improves, it makes another person’s situation worse.
We all succumb to this mindset. We elevate ourselves by putting others down. We put people in “for us” and “against us” categories. This way of thinking is easy to observe in others, but difficult to see in ourselves. When we see the success of others, we can feel less about ourselves, rationalize their success, or tear them down. When others succeed, we can transition them from being “for us” to “against us”. Everything was fine when we saw them as less than us, but now that they have been elevated, they are a threat.
Feelings of jealousy expose this way of thinking. When you feel jealous or think that someone is undeserving of what they’ve received, reflect on why it bothers you so much. In what areas of your life does this occur more prevalently? Why do you think that is? What can you do to challenge this way of thinking in yourself?
God is calling us to gather, not scatter. When we fall trap to this way of thinking, we scatter. Find a way to gather. Strive to be for others and not against them.
