The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
The life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave his life for me.
Most people, when they are children, like to play "Let's pretend." They pretend to be Mom and Dad; or they pretend to be a police officer, a priest, a clown, a circus stunt man, or some other adult that they admire. Sometimes playing "Let's pretend" involves dressing up in Mom's high heels or in a towel draped to look like Superman's cape. Other times, it's all in the mind, no costumes...but they go through the motions, put on the manner of the person they are pretending to be, walk and talk as if they were that person and generally try to behave like the person they are pretending to be.
This is fun, of course, but it is also a way of "trying out" different personalities and different ideas about life. It is one of the ways children learn about the world, by playing that they are in different jobs or different relationships or have different work to do. It's a good and normal part of growing and learning.
BUT...some people go on playing "Let's pretend" after they are too old to do so.
We all know people like that. The teenage boy who tries to act like a tough street guy. The girl who acts so sweet and innocent but who in her real life swears a blue streak or sleeps around. The parents who pretend to be perfect, loving parents when friends are visiting, but then when the company goes home, they abuse their children. The businessman who is always giving money to charity, and getting his photo in the paper, while he refuses to give his workers a fair wage or proper insurance coverage.
Some psychologists say that everyone has a real life and one or more role-playing lives.
For some people, it can be a way of escaping from the stress of their everyday life. But for other people, it can be a very dangerous thing, indeed.
The reason it can be dangerous for some folks is simple: we become what we pretend to be. Long ago, in the time when Greece ruled the world, a few hundred years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem, actors in the theaters were called hypocrites. This was because they used a mask or false face to hide their real face. If they were playing the part of Zeus, the king of the gods, the mask would have a long white beard on it, and so on. They didn't use costumes, just masks and their regular clothes.
Today, the word hypocrite means someone who is trying to be what he or she is not. Remember the examples we just named? If we "live into" the act that we are trying to do, we run the danger of it becoming a habit. And then we are hypocrites, because we are not truly what we seem to be. This is what Paul had to say about why he scolded Peter. Peter, like Paul, was a Jew, and was supposed to eat kosher food and live according to Jewish laws. But every time people from the conservative Jewish group in the church came around, Peter would start acting Jewish again. when they were gone, he would eat any food with anybody. He was pretending to be a perfect Jew, even though he was now a Christian.
And that can become a habit, that "acting a part." We all have seen how it works. A young man or woman goes to boot camp. They cut the recruit's hair, give him or her a uniform, teach them to march, teach them the other things soldiers or sailors must know. They make sure the young people do exactly what a soldier or sailor has to do, every day, 24/7. After three or four months, the person has actually become a soldier or sailor. The same thing happens in other groups: monasteries, seminaries where people study for the ministry, ballet school, athletic training. Put on the right uniform, force the person to act THIS way, and you will change the person. And this is also the way people are brainwashed by cults or in prison camps.
Paul, you see, was afraid that Peter would go back to being a Jew, instead of continuing with the job Jesus had given him: leader of the new church.
Every time I read this letter Paul wrote to the church in Galatia, I stop and think. Am I being myself, or am I "putting on" some role or part or way of life that is not truly mine? If I am, why am I doing it? Am I trying to make myself become a better person, or am I trying to make people respect me or think of me as wise, rich, powerful or famous?
These are questions we all need to ask ourselves every now and then. We need to be sure that we are trying to become good, holy Christian people, not people that will become famous or rich or powerful for the wrong reasons...usually pride. We need to try to make sure that the way we act is the way we really are. We need to try to live and behave in such a way that the image of God, given us when we were made by him, shines out to others. Amen.
