Hard of Face, Not Obstinate of Heart

EZ 2

Perhaps it's inevitable, working in a high school, to think a lot about the fronts people put up.  The people I spend most of my time with are so new to the idea.  Their fronts are so clumsy and some of them still remember it's dishonest and should be unnecessary.  Some of them object to doing so and are upset that the rest of the world finds this silly.

But I wonder how much of this warning to Ezekiel or the disgruntled chatter around Jesus in Nazareth was a matter of "hard of face" more than "obstinate of heart."  Because we've made it so embarrassing to be sincere.

I even teach about that transition in Hollywood.  From the super-sincere, emotional style of American Melodrama to the detached, cerebral, this-is-reality-not-sentiment Method Acting.  Which pretends to be more authentic while being afraid of almost any positive emotion.  Until we cloak love in irony, dramatic or comedic, and severely misunderstand just about every relationship in our pop culture.

Wouldn't it be humiliating to follow that kid from high school?  In a political revolution?  To a new spiritual experience?

How many cool points, how much status at work, would you lose instantly for standing there and being moved by what the prophet on the street corner was saying?

Are our hearts obstinate?  Or are we just embarrassed to find them pliable?  Are they growing more obstinate the more we harden our faces to keep people from being able to tell?