Paparazzi are notorious for stalking celebrities, going to extreme lengths with extreme camara equipment to catch glimpses of the famous in unguarded moments.  The monetary payoff for such surprisingly candid shots is considerable, also prompting photographers literally to invade their targets’ personal space to the point of endangering their safety and wellbeing.  The difficult life and tragic death of Princess Diana continues to focus global attention on the obsessive and dogged actions of some to make the big bucks, to get the photo of the century.  She has not been alone in having her life served up as titillating fodder to satisfy the curiosity and yes, obsession of otherwise normal folks – even folks like you and me. 

Not all the photographic trail has been littered with compromising or invasive shots, yet even the constant quest to capture moments of stunning beauty or pictorial evidence of wholesome and happy relationships of the famously fortunate comes with a price.  The price paid by the celebrity is loss of privacy and the constant need to be absolutely guarded.  The price we, the consumers, pay [far beyond the cost of the tabloid or smart-tv monthly bill] is coming to think we have the “right” to such material simply because it is so readily available.  Other peoples’ lives are reduced to commodities for the consumer, their dignity greatly compromised.

            For several weeks now we have heard of Jesus, sometimes with his disciples, attempting to withdraw from the constant crowds tailing him.  At times in Jesus’ candid conversations with the disciples he orders them not to chatter about revelations concerning his identity as Messiah or that his mission would result in his death.  The gospel writers tell us that the disciples couldn’t fully understand what he was talking about.  We witnessed Peter, hasty to mop up the confusion, chiding Jesus and encouraging him to drop the topic.  The disciples wanted happy, stress-free lives as the celebrity’s close buddies – selfies with Jesus of only the nice parts, please!  Jesus’ swift and sobering answer silences them all.  Any avoidance of the full meaning of Jesus’ mission as Messiah is, for him, the work of the Devil.  This coming Sunday, the disciples further compound their mistakes by chattering away about which one of them is the greatest.  Again, they are using their discipleship – their ready access to the famous rabbi – as the cash cow opportunity to gratify themselves.

            The remedy Jesus offers is a cross to carry and a small child as the image of what life in God’s kingdom is about.  The life God in Christ offers is not about beating everyone else to the finish line, becoming the greatest, most famous, the most popular, the richest, or most stunningly beautiful.  These are the photographic targets of the Devil’s paparazzi.  They are the glitz and glitter which blind and numb us to holy relationship, to profound need, and the constant assault on human dignity and creation’s wellbeing.  Sunday’s second reading, again from James, further explains.  Jealousy, selfish ambition, gossip, and hatred are devilish, destructive forces at work, the wicked results of self-gratification.  Such activities compromise and dehumanize us as readily as those who most certainly are our victims.  For James, this is NOT the faithful practice of …religion that is pure and undefiled [James 1:27a].

            The apostle Paul might identify these vexing behaviors as “unspiritual thorns” which have embedded themselves deeply in the flesh of our being.  These self-destructive activities are NOT the “cross we must carry.”  Rather, they must be plucked out and the wounds they cause debrided.  On the other hand, the cross and the small child Jesus commends help us understand more clearly the gentle wisdom from above Jesus embodies as Messiah – God’s anointed.  A wise priest I once knew contrasted the vexing thorns of life to the cross each of us is asked to bear.  The thorns, as discussed, are the hazards and pitfalls of mortal life.  The cross Jesus offers is his invitation for us to take on the cares and responsibilities of living in abiding, sustaining relationships for the sake of those we encounter and for the sake of those we love.  The small child he presents to his disciples is the epitome of human fragility and need no matter how sturdy and rambunctious the tykes we know might seem.  Jesus’ and the apostle James’ references to children provide meaning to the African proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”  To care for them means to give up obsessing on ourselves as the center of the universe – in fact, it is God at the center, not any of us.  Abandoning selfish preoccupation is the holy path to losing oneself for Christ’s sake and for the sake of our circle of family, friends, and all we encounter.  Jesus’ point is simple: to welcome “the least” is to welcome Jesus.  When we begin to practice such holy hospitality, only then do we come to understand ourselves as God’s own children.

            John 10:10 reports that Jesus came so that all …may have life, and have it abundantly, and that is also what Jesus promises about the holy work of his disciples. Through our work and prayer, by our actions and faith, we assist in bringing forth God’s kingdom of peace and gentleness by striving for life that is gracious and abundant for all people.  The Devil’s paparazzi could never accomplish that!