Listening and Acting

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

I daresay most of us have heard the expression "saving face." It refers to the predisposition that we all have to avoiding shame and dishonor. The predisposition becomes more important in certain cultures. For instance, some anthropologists claim that the culture of the Middle East is driven by the two forces of shame and honor. People of the Middle East tend to do everything they can to avoid dishonor and shame.

This tendency shows itself in the Gospel on numerous occasions. Today's Gospel passage is one such example. Jesus praises Capernaum and belittles Chorazin and Bethsaida. Using Tyre and Sidon, two Gentile cities, Jesus makes the claim that they would have paid heed to the Gospel message had they been exposed to it in as these two Jewish cities had been. Jesus uses this kind of comparison/contrast as an effective way of shaming the people of Chorazin and Bethsaida.

Our Western mentality doesn't function in the same way; consequently, we tend to lose some of the impact of these statements. In a culture where the driving force is retaining one's honor and avoiding shame of any kind, this comment of Jesus would have stung. People of the West would probably react negatively to such a comment, but would justify their negative reaction by saying something like, "Who cares what you think?" People of the Middle East, however, did care how much others thought of them because for them the community, the family, the group was all important.

What does this passage have to say to us, people who think quite differently from the people of Jesus' time? We must look to the inherent message here rather than dwelling on the notion of "saving face." Jesus is making the point that we need to listen to the message and act upon it. This is important for people of any culture. Listening to the Gospel without acting is tantamount to not listening at all. God's voice cannot be ignored.