The light turned green and I was ready
to make a left-hand turn. Out of the
corner of my eye, I saw movement and a young girl pedaled past the front of my
car on what I assume was a small tricycle.
She wasn’t alone—she had two companions with her, but they had noticed
that the light had changed and waited on the corner for me to go.
Now the one on the tricycle actually
looked to be the oldest of the three; she didn’t exactly fit on the tricycle
comfortably—in fact it was hard to see the tricycle at all; I mostly saw her
knees pedaling as fast as they could. (It
reminded me of the circus clowns who ride on tiny bicycles, even though I’m not
much of a circus person!)
All I could think was, “I’m glad I
didn’t hit her, but she should have known better than to cross the street
without looking at the light!”
I have to admit that I sometimes “think”
the word “should”, but I try to avoid saying that word out loud. I do have a reason: when a person uses the
word “should”, he or she is suggesting superiority to the other person: “you should do this”; “you should say that”; “you should have known better”! What we’re really saying is, “I clearly know the
best way to act, better than you do!” It
tends to involve a superior attitude.
Of course, there are times when one
person does know better and it’s their job to help teach another, in which case
it doesn’t have to be a superior attitude.
That includes parent and child, mentor and apprentice, teacher and
student, lawyer and client, doctor and patient, etc. However, there is a tendency on the part of
many of us to bring that superior attitude into other areas of life. Don’t we at times think we know more than
politicians or coaches or friends or neighbors or our spouse?
This weekend we celebrate the end of the
Lent-Easter-Pentecost season with the Solemnity of Pentecost. At Pentecost, the promise made by Jesus came
true: the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. They began to understand more clearly the way
of Jesus the Christ and fearlessly proclaimed the Kingdom of God.
Did they know better than others? Yes, because of their experience. And they shared what they knew, but not with
a superior attitude. Maybe they used the
word “should”, but it wasn’t borne of superiority: they knew that their
understanding and their courage came from the Lord, not from within themselves.
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is never an
attitude of superiority; that comes from our own ego. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is a healthy
humility, which recognizes God’s great love for us all, friend and foe alike.
May we be always open to the presence of
the Holy Spirit.
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