Rebel Without a Cause

Learning to listen to our conscience  

Matthew 15:1-2, 10-14  

Some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands when they eat a meal.” He summoned the crowd and said to them, “Hear and understand. It is not what enters one’s mouth that defiles the man; but what comes out of the mouth is what defiles one.” Then his disciples approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” He said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”   

          Did you ever see the 1955 classic movie entitled, “Rebel Without a Cause”? It was the only lead starring role for James Dean, but the movie made him a legend and an icon for all troubled teens. Every teen wants to think he is as cool as James Dean. The movie is about a young man who’s in constant conflict with authority figures in his life: his parents, the police, the principal, and especially the school bully named, “Buzz.” (Why are all school bullies named Buzz?)  He navigates his teenage years with two friends, who are also rebels, named “Judy” and “Plato.” To me, though, the movie is more about a young man trying to find his moral compass, and seeing most authority figures as failures in that regard, except one wise police officer, Ray Frenick. Ultimately, Jim’s moral compass is configured by his conscience, which teaches him two rules: loyalty to friends, and standing up for what is right.   

          The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches in no. 1776, “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey…For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God...There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” You see, in his heart, James Dean was not a rebel without a cause. His cause was his conscience, the voice of God.   

          In the gospel today, we see Jesus playing the part of the rebel without a cause. Like James Dean, he constantly conflicts with the Jewish authority figures, often going out of his way to tweak their noses. This prompts his apostles to ask: “Do you know that the Pharisees took offense when they heard what you said?” And Jesus replies: “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.” In other words, the highest and holiest authority is the heavenly Father, whose voice is heard in your conscience, where he “plants” the seeds of his wisdom and love. That is, you may be a rebel without a cause to earthly authority, but you cannot rebel against your conscience, the voice of the Father.   

          Today ask yourself: who is configuring my inner compass, my conscience, or am I just a rebel without a cause? For instance, there are some people we listen to “get their take,” and conform our thinking to their way of thinking. Some people only listen to Rush Limbaugh, others will only watch Fox News, which is “always fair and balanced.” Others only watch CNN, which one friend called “the Clinton News Network.” Another friend loves Ellen DeGeneres. Who is on your Twitter feed? What “blogs” are you subscribing to? Whose columns do you never miss on the “OpEd” page of the paper? Now, I’m not saying you should or should not listen to these voices: they all have something worth considering and contemplating.   

          However, take time to listen to that “deeper voice” in your heart, where you are alone with God - without Rush, without Hilary, without Ellen, just you and God. That is your conscience and your compass, where every rebel finds his cause.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!