The disciples have recently returned from sharing Jesus’ Way of communion, love, and healing power with people. One consequence is disciples being targeted for persecution. Another consequence is disciples being targeted for acclaim. Thus, Jesus says to them, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest.” He does not want them to lose who they are in the public acclaim rising from the mob now clamoring after them. He is encouraging conscience, an inner wisdom and humility about loving service. The mob, any mob, is not living from conscience, nor will they witness wise humility for loving service. So it is that Jesus’ “heart is moved with compassion for them.” He says of the mob, “they are like sheep without a shepherd.”
Conscience is our own internal shepherd. If we are not actively conscientious, especially when we have external shepherds influencing us, troublesome consequences ensue. It is the condition of life under Militarism. Militarism is the military whose ubiquitous relationship model of obedience to a superior, social disposition of justifying the suffering that superior spawns, and the practice of sanctifying the violence that superior does, surround us. Militarism reduces us to foolish or gullible sheep because Militarism intentionally diminishes conscience. Militarism poisons the internal shepherd. We are weakened into the anonymity of a mob. We become an obedient citizen, a loyal worker, a good soldier, sheepishly docile members of a mob to a dictator type who lives off our acclaim. We laud an external ruler who fills up the void of our weakened self, our diminished conscience. It is how military units with their dictator commanders and mob responses are molded. It is a current molding with debilitating consequences for at its core it is a debilitating lack of conscience. The debilitation happens every time a lie is told and manipulated as true; every time a vulgarity is spouted and excused as irrelevant; every time a disabled person is mocked and eyes look away; every time a minority is victimized yet falsely blamed for victimizing the mob. It enables the dictator and their mob to claim godly control over the nation, over its people, schools, courts, press, finances, and all else, thus achieving their desired consequence.
Consequentialism is the historical name given to one example of a diminished conscience. It is the appropriately discredited belief that we can rationalize harmful actions by asserting the consequences will be beneficial – ‘The ends justify the means.’ It is the belief currently molding white evangelical imperialists. They justify their immoral behavior claiming god ordains their beneficial control. Enduring wisdom knows we can never do or excuse harmful actions claiming our desired consequence will justify them. We can never do so because each and every harmful action is a known violation of conscience. The consequence of intentionally and repeatedly violating our conscience about lies and vulgarities and discriminations and violences for a future consequence asserted as good is the current debilitation of Trump followers. They are gullible sheep without a conscience and without a shepherd because Trump is a dictator. They are a mob. They feel compelled to forcibly coerce the rest of us. Peacemakers are not led by people who repeatedly violate their conscience. We are not led by mobs. It is we who can lead members of the mob back to conscience, “Come away by yourselves to a deserted place and rest.”
Prayer: Spirit of Integrity, guide us to reach out to those molded into mobs.
Question: When have I stepped away from the mob to live from conscience?
July 22, 2018 Gospel Mark 6:30-34 Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
I just read 4 most recent commentaries: all very good reads, but this one stands out, maybe because it’s so relevant to the current UK Brexit politics that has claimed my interest. Conscience, indeed. Sheep without shepherd, indeed (extra poignant here where sheep are found around most corners).