As I walked down the sidewalk, I passed many men holding signs - big black signs with white lettering - all heralding the end of the world, the condemnation of sinners, and the Good News of Jesus. I hesitate to call these men Christian; while they did, apparently, believe that Jesus is the Savior of the World, they happened to be obnoxious These people were yelling into their portable mic-and-speaker systems, berating everyone, making sweeping judgmental statements, and generally working against a spirit of Christian kindness and gentleness. If there were a book written on "how to approach non-believers regarding conversion," these fellows would be breaking every rule.
Worse than their obnoxious strategy, however, was the nonsense that they were yelling. My favorite/least favorite quote of the day (depending on whether I choose to laugh or cry at this memory) was this: "YES, IT IS TRUE THAT YOUR BODY IS DYING. BUT YOUR SOUL - THE PERSON LIVING INSIDE OF YOUR BODY - WILL LIVE FOREVER!!!" The wrongness of such a statement boggled my mind. I confess that I had visions of wresting the microphones from these individuals and telling them to stop spouting nonsense, please, for the love of all that is holy and true.
As obnoxious, erroneous, and potentially harmful as these men might have been, however, I consoled myself with the fact that they weren't claiming to be Catholic. These men, doing and saying things that were questionable, at best, were not doing so in the name of the Catholic Church.
But that exception, that moment of "oh, well, it's just some crazy non-denominational Christians," is like looking down a tunnel and claiming to see the world. My experience that day at Comic Con is a particular instance of where the name of Catholicism was not being besmirched by Catholics. There are plenty of examples of where those within the Church - those claiming to be Catholic and assuming authority that they do not possess - do a very fine job of turning people away from it, from Jesus, and inventing needless obstacles to grace.
Some might justify their obnoxious, cruel, harsh, and judgmental language because "Jesus berated people, too. He even got angry and flipped tables. He cursed a tree once, too."
But let me just stop that train before it leaves the station and ask a question: wasn't Jesus the only person to flip tables in the Gospels?
... yeah?
WELL, HE WAS GOD.
Well, then, if you are God Incarnate, you can curse trees, berate people for their sins, and flip the freaking tables, because YOU ARE GOD. Oh, you're not God? Then put down the cyber rock and back away from the "publish" button on your blog, twitter, facebook, etc.
[Another note on the righteously angry Jesus episode involving table-flipping: it happened in the Temple. This did not occur in a Roman market or another place under the reign of Caesar. It was in the Temple, the place where God's chosen people gathered to pray. So if you're going to flip tables just like Jesus, might it not have to be the ones you find holding donuts on Sundays at your parish?]
So, then, if you're not God, you don't get to flip tables or condemn people. You don't even get to judge people.
That doesn't mean you are a moral relativist or that you don't believe an action is morally wrong. It doesn't mean that when you hear about what Planned Parenthood does - performing abortions in specific ways, so as to preserve various organs for whatever research facility happens to want them - it doesn't make you vomit and/or cry.
It means that you love those people. It means that you respect those people because they have just as much human dignity as you do. God doesn't love you more than He loves them. Yeah, read that sentence again. It's important.
I have come to believe that most people are sincerely good people. People want good things for themselves, probably primarily, but they also want good things for others. They recognize that there are just and unjust ways to treat people, they endeavor to act rightly. I don't believe the world is overrun by malicious, vengeful people. I do believe that the world is overrun by sinners. I believe that there is no human person living upon this earth who stands as an exception to that. There is blood on every human being's hands, and it's the infinitely most Precious Blood in existence.
I can believe all of these things and still firmly believe that abortion is always wrong. It always involves killing a human being. There is no contradiction, no tension, between the ways of truth and the ways of love. Pope Francis has declared the upcoming liturgical year to be a year of mercy. He is putting the spotlight back on human actions and the necessity of them being primarily & essentially merciful. He is becoming famous for his treatment of others, for his words and actions that emulate Christ's mercy. In doing so, he is following a tradition as old as the Church herself.
To appease those who might prefer to take a Doctor of the Church as an authority on these things, here's what St. Thomas Aquinas has to say: "Now is the time for mercy, whereas the time to come will be the time for justice only. Thus the present time is ours, but the future will be God's alone."
I pray that the love and peace of Christ be with you all.
No comments:
Post a Comment