Do you remember the Stanford Prison Experiment? This was back in the 1971, held at Stanford. University (California, near San Jose). The experiment was designed by Phil Zimbardo. He created a study whereby student volunteers of Stanford were either put in the position of being a prisoner or a guard. It was to last for weeks, but after a very, very short period of time, it had deteriorated so much that many of the prisoners became very, very submissive, and many of the guards became quite brutal. And they had to actually stop the experiment because of the profound negative effect that it was having on these individuals.
It showed how context and situations can bring out the worst in us. That is, given the right setting we could all do brutal things that we never we were capable of. This is why so many of you parents are concerned about the peers of your children . . . because given a “negative situation” they could act in a way that you didn’t raise them to act. We all know this to be true. Every one of us here is capable of acting badly and dong harmful things. The Stanford Experiment demonstrated how real that is.
But the opposite is also true. That is, given the right positive setting, everyone (even the most hardened gang member or terrible criminal) is capable of doing great things. Doing even heroic things. We are all capable of being hero’s . . . or in Church language we say “we are all capable of being saints.” That doesn’t mean being perfect or being without sin, it means that there is good in each of you. You simply have to remember.
In the gospel story (which we call the Transfiguration of Jesus) the three disciples caught a glimpse of Jesus’ magnificence. They saw beyond “the carpenter’s son” and (for just a moment) viewed him in his magnificence and brilliance. Well, I believe that we all have magnificence and a brilliance. Not exactly likely Jesus’ but it is in you nonetheless. And all that you have to do is set up the situations and it will shine through.
For example, it doesn’t mean that you need to walk on water or cure some disease . . . but simple think beyond yourself, make an effort and help someone. It is as simple as helping an elderly person get up the stairs, or speaking up when you see someone getting bullied. Here’s the amazing part, according to Neurosurgeon Dr. James Doty who was featured last Sunday during the “On Being” radio program of MN Public Radio, “When we do a good action there is actually a release of hormones that affect us.” It is not just “feel good, touchy feely” thing, it has been scientifically proven to be an actual chemical change in your biological system (called our neuro-pathways).
When we do something kind or noble, we receive a chemical “high” which makes us want to do more. I know that you have all done some kind of noble things in your life. Recall them. Repeat them. They become contagious. Goodness brings forth goodness. Unfortunately the opposite is true: badness brings forth badness.
An example of this is “fear.” Once you start allowing fear to be your worldview, then everything becomes something to be afraid. I remember, as a teenager, I was babysitting my younger siblings and we watched a scary movie (which we weren’t supposed to watch) and with that frame of mind, every creek in the house became something to be fearful of. “What’s that?” was going on in my mind.
That’s why you can have people so afraid of other people. Even to the point of being paranoid at anyone who is different. And when that mind set keeps building onto itself, of course we want to feel safe and build walls around ourselves to keep all the “bad people out.”
This past week, Pope Francis addressed the notion of building walls. He said, "A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This is not the gospel,"
The gospel is about making connections and letting your magnificence bring forth the magnificence of others. But if you only live with a fear mentality then you will probably NOT recognizing another’s magnificence and maybe not even your own.
For are invited to be like Abraham in the first reading. We are invited into a covenant with God . . . where God says, “Believe in your goodness. Do good things. Don’t fear. And I will never leave you.”