WHO AM I?

 A REFLECTION FOR THE 7TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST

It seems like a strange question to ask ourselves who we are.  Unless we’re suffering from one of those unpleasant diseases that ravage the minds of some of our elderly neighbors, generally speaking we know who we are.  However, with today’s Gospel in mind and applying the idea of wolves in sheep’s clothing, it’s a suitable opportunity to examine our own character a little more deeply.  Sure, we know our name and address, we recognize our children most of the time, we have an idea what drives us, what are our goals, our beliefs, our moral values and our general character.  We even know, or hope we know, how we appear in the eyes of others.  But in this last respect, who are we really fooling?  Them?  Or ourselves?

 Let’s face it, we behave in totally different ways depending on who we’re talking to.  Have you ever been really, really tired, so that all you can do is grunt to your wife or husband while you moan and yawn and shuffle around?  And then suddenly the phone rings.  It’s a call from the teacher at your daughter’s school trying to arrange for chaperones for the next field trip.  Within seconds, your voice is bright and normal, you’re cracking jokes and in short, you’ve become a totally different person.  Which is the true “You”?  Or we go from complaining and griping about our boss’s personality and behavior one minute, to a façade of groveling politeness as soon as he appears.  What kind of phony people are we?

 The truth is, we all put on an “appearance” depending on who we’re with, who we’re trying to impress, who we like, dislike or respect, where they are on the social ladder, our relationship with them and so on.  We’re like chameleons, constantly changing our appearance to fit our surroundings and our company.  It’s part of our human nature, and worth noting as such.  It’s not that we’re pretending to be someone we aren’t, rather just adjusting out of politeness, convenience, self-interest or whatever.

 Where morality enters the scene is when we do actually pretend to be someone we’re not in order to take advantage of someone else, to exploit them for our own benefit.  This is where we become wolves in sheep’s clothing, predators who slip in among the flock to lead them to a bad place where we can devour them without hindrance.  Our Lord warns us to beware this type of personality, and it goes without saying that we must beware above all becoming this type of personality ourselves.