Jesus tells a parable about two men in the temple. One is a Pharisee who “spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector.’” But the tax collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven.” He “prayed, ‘O God, be merciful to me.’” Jesus concludes by saying, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Making eye contact signals attention and establishes rapport, indicating openness, honesty. We live in connection and in communion with others and our eye contact shows it. Eye contact, or the lack thereof, can also indicate status and pride in that status. The proud Pharisee looks up – to himself and looks down – on the tax collector. The lowly tax collector also looks down – upon himself. The tax collector internalized the Pharisee’s unloving judgment. David Graeber, in Possibilities, addresses how the supremacist class has always trained those they judge inferior to carry the “burden of avoidance.” We are guilty of pride if we do not avoid eye contact, if we speak the truth, or if we occupy a place in public. The master class instills fear should we challenge them rather than obey them. The dehumanizing relationship model is epitomized in slavery. A person is reduced to the status of a thing, denied voice, forbidden public place. Men, especially wealthy white ones, fear they are loosing their supremacy. They talk about taking back their country as if they owned it – but of course they did. Wealthy white men presumed to own its women, its Native people, its Blacks, its property, its institutions, its public places. Wealthy white men are intent on taking back their status and they are doing so by using a particular set of slaves – soldiers. From humanity’s earliest history supremacists deployed soldier slaves against people, especially people seeking to be free. By fighting for the master class, the soldier slave mistakenly believed he could gain status. Wealthy white men are intent on once again owning us and owning public life. They are intent on once again using their soldier slaves to weigh us down with the “burden of avoidance.” Using fear, intimidation, and violence the master class and its soldier slaves will burden us so that we avoid our human rights, our family relations, our acting as neighbor to one another, our going to work, our speaking the truth, our public place, our social presence, our civic engagements. They will burden us so that we avoid daily life together.
David Graeber counterposes our being trained in relations of avoidance with our living Carnival. Graeber observes Carnival as open and boisterous. It is the street life of the average person who looks down on no one and instead looks lovingly on all. We live our common life, free with one another and free of those wanting to enslave us. Supremacists’ pomposity and seriousness are met with humor and playfulness to magnify us. We celebrate life as a festival, filling it with music and magic. As such, we thumb our noses at supremacists. We work to ‘Veto the Cheeto,’ mimic rulers’ Twitter accounts, start libraries – specifically of banned books, craft Epstein pranks, spread memes and caricatures mocking their fascism, break up National Guard formations with naked bike riders, dress up in inflatable costumes and form a kazoo band when visiting ICE Detention Centers, participate in peaceful demonstrations like ‘No Kings’ rallies that free us from the burden of avoidance. Carnival behaviors lampooning warrior threats and practices are among those actions most likely to result in military defections. We are free from the master class’ judgment. We are free to look the soldier slave in the eye. We love the human being deployed to enslave us and we invite them to join us in our freedom. Heart to heart we live Carnival. We expose the pride of the master class and shepherd in the day when “whoever exalts himself will be humbled.”
Prayer: Beautiful Spirit, we are free
Question: How can I help soldiers be free, be they military, police, ICE, militia, …
October 26, 2025 Gospel Luke 18:9-14 Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time