Settling for third rate
Ask yourself honestly if
you're shopping around for someone to tell you what you want to hear, or if you
are up to the challenge of the many "hard sayings" of Jesus...
It is easy to follow a champion who seems
invincible and is doing everything the way we think things should be done. It
is harder to follow a leader who is self-effacing and asks us to do the
"right thing", even when difficult and counter-cultural.
There are many, for instance, who applaud the
Pope when he stands tall for issues which they themselves see as worthwhile
causes; however, the same people look for a more moderate "popular"
standard-bearer when the Pope calls for peace, or social justice, or the
upholding of Christian standards of morality, or realization of the uniqueness
of Christ's revelation.
At the end of his life, Gideon, God's chosen
champion, was offered the kingship, but he refused, preferring to follow the
direction God had indicated rather than the popular whim (Judges 8:22-23). However,
after Gideon's death, his son Abimelech capitalized on the popular desire to be
like everyone else and have a king. But to become king, Abimelech had to kill
all his brothers, which he managed to do, except for Jotham, the youngest son
of Gideon.
Now we can understand the strange
"parable of the trees" narrated by Jotham in the first reading: The
citizens of Shechem weren't satisfied with the good reasons for which Gideon
(and possibly some of his nobler sons) refused the kingship (as did the olive
tree, fig, and vine). They kept asking around until they found someone who gave
them the answer they wanted to hear (Abimelech, who like the buckthorn, was
more than ready to be king!). Read the rest of chapter nine to see the tragic
price of settling for an ignoble, sleazy third-rate leader who is ready to
compromise principle in order to be popular! Then, ask yourself honestly if
you're shopping around for someone to tell you what you want to hear, or if you
are up to the challenge of the many "hard sayings" of Jesus, such as
His commitment to being ever-generous in His mercy, as the Gospel relates, or
His insistence on the importance of actually eating His very flesh, the Bread
of life, which was rejected by the majority as a "hard saying" (John
6:60-66).