The Suicide King

Turning the sword against our unruly passions  

James 4:1-10 

Beloved: Where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members? You covet but do not possess. You kill and envy but you cannot obtain; you fight and wage war. You do not possess because you do not ask. You ask but do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.   

          Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said something so startling I’ve never forgotten it. He averred that everyone carries a sword in their hands, and if we do not turn that sword against ourselves, and kill the unruly passions in our hearts, then we instinctively turn the sword against others. Let me illustrate this with my favorite story from zen Buddhism.   

          A senior monk and a junior monk were traveling together. At one point, they came to a river with a strong current. As the monks were preparing to cross the river, they saw a very young and beautiful woman also attempting to cross. The young woman asked if they could help her cross to the other side. The two monks glanced at one another because they had taken vows not to touch a woman. Then, without a word, the older monk picked up the woman, carried her across the river, placed her gently on the other side, and continued on his journey. The younger monk couldn’t believe what just happened. After rejoining his companion, he was speechless, and a hour passed without a word. Finally, the younger monk blurted out: “As monks, we’re not permitted to touch a woman, how could you carry that woman on your shoulders?” The older monk replied, “Brother, I set her down by the side of the river an hour ago. Why are you still carrying her?” You see, the older monk had turned his sword against his passions (his lust) and felt at peace, but the younger monk was still swinging his sword against others and looking for someone else to blame: the young lady, the older monk, the raging river, the monastic rule.   

          In the first reading today, St. James makes a similar point. He writes, “Beloved, where do the wars and where do the conflicts among you come from? Is it not from your passions that make war within your members?” In other words, your greatest enemy is not someone outside you – a neighbor, a spouse, a boss, a sibling, a mother-in-law – but rather yourself, your disordered passions and desires. It is because we do not plunge that sword we carry into our own hearts that we continue to wage wars against others. You see, a sword is fashioned to slay your enemy; the hard part is figuring out who’s your real enemy.   

          Whenever people come to see me for counseling, they are invariably upset about something someone else has done. They don’t like what their spouse does, or they object to some policy the school has, or they feel ignored by their friends, or they believe God is picking on them while others enjoy a carefree and peaceful life. I always try to suggest the person forget about others and see what they can change in themselves. Do you know how many times I’ve succeeded in doing that? Never. We’d rather swing our swords and lop off other people’s heads than plunge the sword into our own hearts and kill our selfish passions and desires.  We have a sword, but we don’t know who the real enemy is.

          By the way, do you like to play cards? Have you noticed the four kings and something odd about the king of hearts? He’s often called “the suicide king” because it looks like he’s sticking his sword into his head. That card always reminds me of what Fulton Sheen said: don’t use the sword to strike others, but rather to master your own hearts. The suicide king reminds me to slay the enemy lurking in my own heart.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!