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Posts Tagged ‘modern day saint’

Mere Mortals

Posted in Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

That’s me still: acting like a mere mortal. Basic. Common. Plain. Simple. I’m working on the complicated stuff, but truth is truth and I’m still displaying mere mortal signs: jealousy and quarreling to name two.

I Corinthians 3:3
You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men [and women]?

Are there really people out there who don’t quarrel and behave jealously? Are they able to let go of what they want and allow the other person to have it? Are they able to let go of control? Are they able to state their opinion without an attitude, without demand, without guile? Can they trust unequivocally? Can they rejoice with those who have more, deserved or undeserved?

What is the opposite of a mere mortal? I assume it’s a saint? I’ve always had trouble with that label. Peppered throughout the New Testament, it’s a way of referring to the devoted and the believers. It’s more than just being “nice” or “kind” or “good.” A saint is a position of holiness. Some denominations set aside the “really” good ones and put their stories through all kinds of tests and research to qualify them, canonize them, and then broadcast them. And yet, Paul seems to use the word more blithely: believers as saints, followers as saints, beloved as saints, dead believers as saints.

It’s easier to find evidence that I’m a mere mortal than it is to find evidence that I’m a saint. Maybe today, eh? Maybe today I can declare it my “saint’s day.”

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On Virtue 3

Posted in Fifty days with Jesus, tagged , , , on October 14, 2008| Leave a Comment »

Am I virtuous?

Doubt it. I’d be hard pressed to call myself even close to virtuous. Why is that? Why is being virtuous or “morally excellent” such a high compliment that I’d be afraid to claim it as my own without feeling prideful as well … and probably, I’m guessing, others would think of me the same way.

And so, if it is true that we should be pursuing excellence and virtue, why does it feel nearly impossible to claim it or attain it? I know Proverbs 31 is one of the most popular discourses on being a “virtuous woman,” but I’m not sure it really resonants for me in this discussion. I find her more practical, clever, or wise than I do virtuous. (That is, until verse 30, where she is praised for her “fear of the Lord” or her faith, I would say.)

In fact, in today’s world, “virtue” (as a term) may carry a bit of a stigma. I can hear it now. “Oh, she’s so virtuous!” wink, wink. Or, it becomes synonymous with pictures of perfection that we tend to avoid putting such a label on anyone we know well, like a friend next door or an acquaintance across the aisle or a colleague at the coffee shop. We save up that designation for the “saints” like Mother Teresa.

We should be seeking the compliment, but it’s rarely heard. We should be giving the compliment, but it’s rarely spoken. That’s a sad commentary on our day and age.

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