Become More Aware of the Shadow

Devotional Reflection, Thursday, December 10, 2021

The week of the second Sunday in Advent

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrases for reflection from today’s reading:

25‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

Daily Office Lectionary Readings, (BCP, 937)

AM Psalm 37:1-18; PM Psalm 37:19-42

Amos 9:1-10; Rev. 2:8-17; Matt. 23:13-26

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 23:13-26

13 ‘But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them.Other authorities add here (or after verse 12) verse 14, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for the sake of appearance you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation 15Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.Gk Gehenna 16‘Woe to you, blind guides, who say, “Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.” 17You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? 18And you say, “Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.” 19How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; 21and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; 22and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it. 23‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others. 24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel! 25‘Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup, so that the outside also may become clean.

David’s Reflections

Gregory Orr, poet and English professor at the University of Virginia, relocates the underworld, the place of darkness and the unknown, to a location deep within the human psyche.

“The Entrance to the Underworld”

A common enough mistake:

looking in the wrong place.

It's not a fissure

in the earth, or crack

in a cliff face

that leads sharply down.

You were looking in the wrong

world. It was inside

you – entrance

to that cavern

deeper than hell,

more dark and lonely.

Didn't you feel it open

at her first touch? *

Today’s Gospel highlights the disparity between the outer appearance and behavior of deeply religious people and their underworld. In that underworld lurk concealed and hidden passions, greed, elitism, self-serving, and power needs. Outwardly, these religious people pray, give their money, make converts, and bear the marks of pious and genuine people.

We would be oversimplifying to say that Jesus’ adversaries here gave no thought to their inner life, that they only were concerned with externals. That simply is not true of the pious of Jesus’ day. We would be closer to grasping the complexity Jesus confronts here by acknowledging that no matter how concerned we are with our inner religious life much eludes us. Disparities and incongruities exist, not only between outer appearance and inner reality but also within our inner life itself.

Greed and elitism can coexist within with giving and a desire to serve. Prayer can coexist with self-indulgence. Making converts can coexist with pride and exploitation. The human psyche holds myriad complexities and inconsistencies within itself. Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, once referred to “our thorough and primitive duality.”

How does a person of faith begin addressing this complexity and incongruity within? Where does one start? A knowing nod of agreement might be a good beginning--simply to read this passage with an inward glance rather than a dance of glee at their evil and our superiority. Praying for and working toward greater self-awareness might be a next step. Just where are some of my incongruities? Where does my own duality make itself known? Another step might involve releasing the terrorizing ideals of perfection. Karl Jung, analytical psychologist, once quipped, “The taller the oak, the longer the shadow.” +

Delving into Holy Scripture and reading with an ear for our own condition would be another logical step. One theory of reading holds that what we notice in any text, what arrests us, reveals dynamics about ourselves, our own personhood, that we are repressing. We might also seek a spiritual companion, a person or a small group, who will give us honest feedback about ourselves and who will welcome ours about them.

This certainly is an open-ended list. What would you add? How do you go about listening for yourself? Perhaps journaling? Reflective, stream of consciousness writing? Perhaps monitoring and reflecting on your dream life?

Does it amaze you that God’s love for us remains profoundly steady and embracing. The God who loves us knows our underworld far better than do we. It’s sort of like having a best friend who knows all our hostile and critical thoughts about them without being daunted from loving us and being loved by us.

What was Jesus' aim here? We can only guess. How would he have responded if his hearers had embraced his criticisms? I imagine he would have found community with these people and would have treated them as he did his other disciples. Their failing had not to do with the duality; rather it had to do with their profound and intentional blindness to it.

*Gregory Orr, The Caged Owl: New and Selected Poems (Port Townsend, WA: Copper Canyon, 2002), p. 209.

+James Hillman, Insearch: Psychology and Religion, Second Revised Edition (Woodstock, CT: Spring Publications, 1994), pp. 133-134.

Collect of the Day, Second Sunday of Advent

Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 211)

A Collect for Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 124)

For the Nation

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 258)

In the Order of Worship for Evening

Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers, creator of the changes of day and night, giving rest to the weary, renewing the strength of those who are spent, bestowing upon us occasions of song in the evening. As you have protected us in the day that is past, so be with us in the coming night; keep us from every sin, every evil, and every fear; for you are our light and salvation, and the strength of our life. To you be glory for endless ages. Amen. (BCP, 113)

A Collect for Mission

Everliving God, whose will it is that all should come to you through your Son Jesus Christ: Inspire our witness to him, that all may know the power of his forgiveness and the hope of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP, 816-817)