Is it adulation or adoration?

The dictionary tells us that adulation is "the act of admiring strongly." Adoration, of course, means worship (which is qualitatively different). You certainly don’t worship everyone you admire—at least I hope you don’t!

Some people who read the Gospels wonder how public opinion could have turned against Jesus so quickly. They’ll say, "It doesn’t make any sense. Jesus worked such incredible miracles. He healed the blind, the deaf, the lame. He multiplied food, he walked on water, he raised the dead! Aside from the Pharisees and a few others, most of those who witnessed these events responded very positively. They rejoiced; they were thankful. Why would they have turned against our Lord so completely between Palm Sunday and Good Friday?"

I think the answer to that question is rooted in this distinction between adulation and adoration. Did most of the men and women who encountered Jesus during his ministry come to adore him? I don’t think so. They only gave him adulation, not adoration. In other words, they treated him as a kind of celebrity! And, as Andy Warhol would say if he were still alive, "The world gives every celebrity his fifteen minutes of fame—and that’s it!"

Consider, for example, today’s Gospel story. Jesus miraculously heals a deaf man with a speech impediment. The acclaim comes immediately. The people praise him. They say, "He has done all things well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." And they begin to tell everyone they come in contact with. They make Jesus almost as famous as Richard Hatch of the "Survivor" game—not quite as famous, mind you, but almost.

Jesus, of course, couldn’t have cared less about all the notoriety. He wasn’t interested in adulation for the sake of adulation. This is crystal clear, I would say, from the manner in which he performs the miracle. At the beginning of the story St. Mark tells us that "[they] brought to [Jesus] a deaf man who had a speech impediment and begged him to lay his hand on him." What a great opportunity for our Lord to impress people! What a great opportunity to put on a show! I mean, Jesus could have waved his arms, jumped up and down, drawn down lightening from heaven, and made the guy well in spectacular fashion. Everybody would have said, "Ooh, Jesus, that’s incredible! Someday you’ll be written up in Ripley’s ‘Believe It or Not!’" But notice that’s not what happens. Scripture tells us that he "took [the man] off by himself away from the crowd." And it’s there that our Lord quietly healed him. No light show—no impressive display—no desire for acclaim.

And yet the witnesses still respond with adulation. But I ask you: how many of these people were ready to submit to Jesus as their Messiah and Lord after seeing this beautiful miracle? How many were prepared to adore him as God? Probably very few. That’s because adulation is easy—we give it to people sometimes without even thinking; adoration, on the other hand, is hard. Because adoration—true worship—requires submission and obedience!

Which brings me back to the question I began with: Is it adulation or adoration? For me—personally—do I really have adoration for Jesus Christ, or am I like those people 2,000 years ago who gave him adulation only? In this regard, how many people today are fond of saying, "I am a Catholic, but . . . " Let me translate that statement for you: "I’m a Catholic, but . . ." means, "I am someone who gives Jesus adulation but not adoration. I praise him with my mouth, but I proudly disobey him in this way: __________ (fill in the blank—by publicly supporting the destruction of innocent human life, by hating my neighbor, by contracepting, etc.)" This means it’s possible for a person to go to Mass every Sunday, and not be a true adorer of Jesus. Our Lord said that true worshipers worship "in Spirit and in truth." In other words true worshipers make every effort to submit to Jesus and obey him as he speaks to them through his voice on earth, the Church. And just how deep does this obedience need to go? I think St. James answers that question for us in today’s second reading—in that text from the second chapter of his letter. His message there is this: "If you truly love and worship Jesus Christ, then treat everybody with respect—the poor as well as the rich, because each and every human being is created in God’s image." James is reminding us that adoration of Jesus has very practical consequences—consequences for every dimension of our lives. It even should have consequences for the way we vote during an election year!

Did those with only adulation for Jesus ever change? Unfortunately, the Gospels don’t tell us, but perhaps some did. I certainly hope and pray that’s what happened. After the resurrection, some of them might have been converted through the preaching of one of the apostles, such that they finally began to adore Jesus as their Lord and Savior. But the bottom line is this: until their dying breath, positive change was possible for them. And the good news is: the same is true for us, and for every human person.