Cult of Personality

Cults of personality expand the masks of celebrities into distortions of
false perfection. We create demigods from the clay of human beings, and
project upon them our own desires of virtue or corruption, imagining them
to be impossibly perfect saints or sinners. One can never be wholly
either. When the object of a personality cult wields power - political,
ideological, or theological - through words, office, or action, then
dangers of distortion appear. This is evident when our need for stability
crosses paths with a preacher or politician's charisma, projecting to them
holiness or perfection that belongs to only God.

We could take a cue from Orthodoxy, whose priests stand with their backs to
their congregation, leading a liturgy that is neither clever nor impassioned,
but simply beautiful, like stone smoothed by centuries of rhythmic tides.
It's an austere ritual, in the sense of - there's nothing new here; it's
sublime, in the sense of - creating a clearer view into Heaven. The priest
can be any priest. Who he is, what he looks like, how he speaks, and what
he thinks matter little. He hasn't written the service that he
officiates. It isn't about him or his prowess. He's an interchangeable
functionary draped in brocaded robes, obscured by incense, and, as such,
never points to himself, a flawed human, pointing ever and only to the
Perfection of the Mysterious Divine. That is the role of every priest or
preacher - invisibility, while making God seen.

Let's Pray: Dear God, let us see and follow only You. Amen.

Today's Thought Is: Thank God for universal human imperfection.