Merchandising is out in the stores, and it's unbelievable. This hasn't happened since the prequels came out not too terribly long ago. Here's a fun video about it.
Now, as the merchandising goes into full blast, as I say, it reminds me of the time when the prequels came out, and Star Wars was back in the forefront of public thought again. And it reminds me of one of the few moments I found enjoyable about the Star Wars prequels - namely, Episode 1, the Phantom Menace.
In that particular episode, you saw Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan going through the planet core in a submarine of some kind. I know it has a name, and I'm not interested in what that name is. But yes, they move through the planet core, and on their way through, they get attacked by some enormous creature. And that massive aquatic creature seems set to devour their entire submarine, until said massive creature, said Leviathan, is scooped up by some other, larger sea creature, who tears up the previously assumed massive fish as though it was nothing. When that happens, Qui-Gon wisely says
There's always a bigger fish.
Best
line of the entire prequel trilogy right there. The absolute best
one. There is nothing in the prequel trilogy that compares to it,
mainly because it's true. It's always good to get something true out of
your media, no matter what you're watching, and in this case, even
though the prequels were dreadful, they have some truth to them.
Now,
there is always going to be a bigger fish. That's something that is
going to plague you for your whole life, as long as you grade things on a
curve. Which we all do. If you want to know how much you grade on a
curve, think only on your time in the grocery store. Think of how
judgey you get about the content of everyone else's carts, and how you
feel about what they're buying. I know, I know, we shouldn't do it, but
we all do. If you see a cart loaded up with all sorts of tut, then
it's incumbent upon you to 'tsk tsk' about it, and to rank yourself in
relation to everyone else in the grocery store. You come off looking
good, even if your choices are bad, if they're next to someone else
whose choices are even worse. And that's fairly key to understanding
all of this.
For
you see,in this world, you are in contact with other people all the
time, and being in contact with them, you either subconsciously or
consciously compare yourself to them, their choices, their status, and
everything else. You compare yourself, you weigh yourself in the
balance, and hopefully are not found wanting. In other words, you are on a curve constantly, in competition with everyone else in the arena of your own mind.
But
there's a snag, which is that you, as an individual, are going to be
dealing with bigger fish. Bigger fish all the time. There's always a
bigger fish. And this comparison between each other, this jockeying for
position in the rat race in our own minds, there will always be a
bigger fish. And it leads to lies. It leads to social lies that plague
us.
On a curve, you will always find a bigger fish. There is always going to be someone bigger and better than you, someone who has it more together. Someone who is richer than you, who has a bigger house, a newer car, a more upt to date cell phone, and all that. As soon as you acquire something, it is worthless as far as keeping up with the Joneses, you know. Worthless because things move on, and there will always be a bigger fish. But in the Gospel reading, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that he doesn't grade on a curve. Well, not really anyway.
If you know God, then you'll know that you're dealing with something that is in every way immeasurably superior to yourself. The comparisons, the fishing, all that goes away, and goes away rapidly. it recedes, when you try to compare yourself with the Almighty. So that big fishing is gone right there, but when Jesus looks at you, he doesn't do so as someone among many, He looks at you as you. He looks at you and sees your individual condition. As though there was nobody else in the universe. Just you.
In a sense, the Christian faith is predicated on this, that there is a bigger fish out there, bigger than all the rest, and certainly bigger than you. Jesus Christ, our Lord, he's the one who offers up to us the one standard of correction, the one measurement by which we are all measured. The standards and law of God, which are pefect. That's the only thing we are measured next to, and we are found wanting.
So do yourself a favor, and drop the curve. There isn't a curve. It doesn't exist and never did. You think it did, but it only exists in your mind, like the spoon from the Matrix. And if that's to esoteric, think of the way that Jesus tells you to pray. Think of how he tells you to fast and how he tells you to give. He tells you to do this all in secret, so your left hand won't know what your right hand is doing. Why is that? Partially so you'll know there isn't a curve.
Surrounded by loud, ostentatious prayers, surrounded by generous givers, you end up focusing on the curve, focusing on what other people are doing and how you stack up. You get isolated, concentrating on what other people are doing, and your need to compete, and your need to decieve to compete. It's almost always a bunch of lies, you know, people lying to look better, and doing a reasonable job of it, standing before each other and being proud as peacocks, and even when you try to compete, you know it's a sham. That sort of thing can and will break you, which is why Jesus wants you, in your religious life, to bring it back to him and to you. He wants your focus not to be on everything else that may get in the way, on the curve that doesn't exist, on the fish that can and will get in the way, and rather on him, and his relationship with you.
For Jesus knows something important that you are frequently tempted to forget. His body and his blood were given and shed for you. In baptism, we echo the words that tell us that the promise is for you. This is for you, as an individual. Not for you as a point on the curve, but you as the only one. Even if you were the only one, Christ would have shed his blood for you. There's no curve, and there never has been. There has only been you, and Christ, and his love for you. That's it. Is there a bigger fish? Yes, and he's called Christ. Is there a bigger fish on the curve that you should worry about? No, because the curve isn't there.
On a curve, you will always find a bigger fish. There is always going to be someone bigger and better than you, someone who has it more together. Someone who is richer than you, who has a bigger house, a newer car, a more upt to date cell phone, and all that. As soon as you acquire something, it is worthless as far as keeping up with the Joneses, you know. Worthless because things move on, and there will always be a bigger fish. But in the Gospel reading, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that he doesn't grade on a curve. Well, not really anyway.
If you know God, then you'll know that you're dealing with something that is in every way immeasurably superior to yourself. The comparisons, the fishing, all that goes away, and goes away rapidly. it recedes, when you try to compare yourself with the Almighty. So that big fishing is gone right there, but when Jesus looks at you, he doesn't do so as someone among many, He looks at you as you. He looks at you and sees your individual condition. As though there was nobody else in the universe. Just you.
In a sense, the Christian faith is predicated on this, that there is a bigger fish out there, bigger than all the rest, and certainly bigger than you. Jesus Christ, our Lord, he's the one who offers up to us the one standard of correction, the one measurement by which we are all measured. The standards and law of God, which are pefect. That's the only thing we are measured next to, and we are found wanting.
So do yourself a favor, and drop the curve. There isn't a curve. It doesn't exist and never did. You think it did, but it only exists in your mind, like the spoon from the Matrix. And if that's to esoteric, think of the way that Jesus tells you to pray. Think of how he tells you to fast and how he tells you to give. He tells you to do this all in secret, so your left hand won't know what your right hand is doing. Why is that? Partially so you'll know there isn't a curve.
Surrounded by loud, ostentatious prayers, surrounded by generous givers, you end up focusing on the curve, focusing on what other people are doing and how you stack up. You get isolated, concentrating on what other people are doing, and your need to compete, and your need to decieve to compete. It's almost always a bunch of lies, you know, people lying to look better, and doing a reasonable job of it, standing before each other and being proud as peacocks, and even when you try to compete, you know it's a sham. That sort of thing can and will break you, which is why Jesus wants you, in your religious life, to bring it back to him and to you. He wants your focus not to be on everything else that may get in the way, on the curve that doesn't exist, on the fish that can and will get in the way, and rather on him, and his relationship with you.
For Jesus knows something important that you are frequently tempted to forget. His body and his blood were given and shed for you. In baptism, we echo the words that tell us that the promise is for you. This is for you, as an individual. Not for you as a point on the curve, but you as the only one. Even if you were the only one, Christ would have shed his blood for you. There's no curve, and there never has been. There has only been you, and Christ, and his love for you. That's it. Is there a bigger fish? Yes, and he's called Christ. Is there a bigger fish on the curve that you should worry about? No, because the curve isn't there.
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