Mk 4:26-34 Looking For Him

Mk 4:26-34  Looking For Him

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Mary said, “Son, why have you done this to us?  Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.”  And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 

Be yourself!  And you can be anything. 

Yep!  I know.  Here I go again.  I’m sorry to say this but I also have a problem with this saying.  I know what you are thinking?  Why so much time on such useless things?  Believe me, I wish I didn't think so much!!!  But I do.  And I think it is important that we, as Christians, begin to speak a language that is different from our secular brothers and sisters.  We have much more to offer than they do.  But before we can offer anything, we need to understand some things. 

What's wrong with this?  Of course it makes sense Father!  It means be true to yourself and you can be anything you want to be!  But how can I be anything other than myself, especially if I am demanded to be true to myself?  It would make more sense to say, “Be yourself!  And you will be… yourself!” 

Father!  If you set your mind to it, you can be a great singer!  Really?  I can?  But doesn’t that take training, correction, changing or mastering?  Doesn't that open us up to criticism, to correction?

Alfonse!!! If you are true to yourself, you can be a priest!  Really?  But doesn’t that mean being like others, like the Lord’s disciples?  Like Jesus Christ?  Yes, but you can be unique!  Oh…like Judas, right?

Enough!  Yes, enough!

Be yourself!  And you can be anything.  I looked around but could not find a single ancient author that said something like this.  What I did find instead were artists like Oscar Wilde, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Judy Garland, Jim Morrison, Frank Zappa, Marilyn Monroe, Marilyn Manson, etc… that did.  Isn’t that interesting…

My question is “Why now, but not then?” 

Why were you looking for me?  Now this is something new and refreshing!  This is what I found among the ancients.  Why are you looking at me?  Plato said, “Don’t look at me.  I’m just the messenger; Socrates was the teacher.”  Buddha said, “Don’t look at me; look at my philosophy.”   John the Baptist said, “I’m not Him; I’m just a prophet.”  Only Christ said, “Believe in me.  I AM”. 

I AM who I AM.  How can any mere man say something like this and be honest?  I am not myself and I never will be!  I am the product of so many things, good and bad.  I am a product of the genes given to me by my family.  I am the product of the upbringing that I received; the schools I attended; the neighbors I hung out with; the faith that I received or did not receive.  My past may haunt me, enlighten me, disturb me, move me, encourage me or discourage me.  To say “Be yourself” is insane and insulting!  How can I “be myself” if someone never let me be? 

To say, “Be yourself!” is like saying “Be your own god”.

Not even William Shakespeare had the courage to encourage Hamlet “to be himself!”  How could his tragic protagonist do so with his world collapsing around him?  Instead, he asked a question, “To be or not to be?”, for he knew, that by being ‘himself’ he could end up killing himself. 

Shakespeare only gave Hamlet two choices.  Maybe there's another choice:  To be someone else and true to thyself.

In my Father’s house.  Mary was a young teenager in her Father’s house.  She heard the voice of an angel because she was in her Father’s house.  She could give her yes to God because she lived inside her Father’s heart.  Mary was true to herself because she was full of grace!  She was someone else by being true to herself. 

Why does the ‘modern girl’ have to be a sick little girl?  Why does she experience so much pain, sadness, depression and anxiety?  Why do she hurt herself, abuse herself and offer herself for so little?  I truly believe it’s because we don’t give them a chance to be true to themselves; to be “full of grace.” 

So many children are over taxed.  We expect so much from them.  We demand that they grow up and that they do it quickly.  We expect them to be thin.  We tell a child, “Be yourself!” and quickly airbrush over them, paint them, cover-girl them or hide them under a ton secular expectations.  We encourage them to “get noticed” in elementary school, have a boyfriend in middle school, dye their hair and wear fake nails in High School.  We’re shocked to learn their still adjusting after a divorce or when a stranger moves in.  We expect them to settle just fine with two moms or two dads.  We expect so much from them except to be full of grace.  We expect them to be successful in any home, except in their Father’s home.

Mary’s goal in life was not so much to be herself; but rather, to be full of God’s grace.  St. Paul's was similar when he wrote, “It is no longer I who live in me but Christ who lives in me.” 

Everyone:  Be true to yourself by being open to God's grace.