Homily for August 25, 2018.
_“He who is greatest among you shall be your servant; whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” *(Matthew 23:11-12)*_
We live in a highly narcissistic world. Never before have “Selfies” being so popular. As the popular musicians, Psquare, sang it: “nobody ugly anymore.” You only need to visit Instagram or other social apps for a few minutes to discover how much people are going crazy just gather as many likes as possible.
The truth is that this phenomenon is not peculiar to our day. In the time of Jesus, the best way of having a selfie was not with a smartphone, it was by dressing in a particular way, walking in a particular way and doing certain “holy acts” in public to attract as many likes as possible. And the people who were most guilty of taking such selfies were the religious leaders of the day.
What is wrong with taking a selfie? What is wrong with just being attractive and popular on social media? What is wrong with generating an online trend? After all, don’t these social media apps and advert companies pay lots of money for this? (For instance, a Kim Kardashian only needs to just smile a little online and millions of people will be liking, commenting and racking their brains guessing the meaning of her smile while her bank account swells infinitely).
There is nothing wrong with looking good and showing it off or even getting paid for doing so. There is nothing wrong with being holy before others (religious selfie). The only problem Jesus has with such behaviour is the LARGE GAP between what is shown to others and the reality on the ground. This is what I call the masquerade effect.
How do you feel when you see a beautiful person online only to discover in reality, the person is not even a female (or male) as they projected themselves to be online! Disgusting right? So also, Jesus was disgusted with these religious-selfie-stricken-leaders of his time.
So what is the solution? How can we free ourselves from this widespread malaria? The answer is simple: Ask yourself, “am I really this way or am simply wearing a masquerade?” Stop trying to impress people. Your life’s worth is not based on the number of people who love you or follow you online. Develop real friends instead; friends who can tell you your flaws face to face and make you work hard on eliminating your weaknesses.
Forget about creating a perfect image of yourself before world only to end up feeling depressed and worthless when no one is watching or liking. If you really want to be popular, then follow the Jesus-way: Become a servant to everyone you meet. Humble yourself before people, be a person of empathy. Become nothing to someone and you will be surprised how everyone will make you something.
As for those of us who are religious leaders, we must also be mindful of the masquerade phenomenon which manifests itself in a subtle form of us project ourselves as gods before our parishioners and faithful. As my Archbishop said last Saturday, a priest who is transferred and carries the people along with him to his new place has failed to let them know that he is not the Blessed Sacrament.
Let us pray: Lord Jesus, free me from the selfie-spirit; use me to draw people to you and not to myself. Amen.
*Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Saturday of the 20th Week in Ordinary Time: Ezekiel 43:1-7, Psalm 85:9-14, Matthew 23:1-12).
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