Love Without Boundary

Catherine Booth, co-founder with her husband William Booth of the Salvation Army, was an electrifying preacher. Wherever she went, crowds of people went to hear her message of hope: princes and nobles, beggars and homeless people. One night, after preaching in a certain city, a certain well-placed lady invited Mrs. Booth to dinner. The lady’s words of welcome as she arrived were: “My dear Mrs. Booth, that meeting was dreadful.” “What do you mean, dear?” asked Mrs. Booth. “Oh, when you were speaking, I was looking at those people opposite to me. Their faces were so terrible, many of them. I don’t think I shall sleep tonight!” “Why, dear, don’t you know them?” Mrs. Booth asked. “Certainly not!” the hostess replied.      “Well, that is interesting,” Mrs. Booth said. “I did not bring them with me from London; they are your neighbours!”

The Golden Rule, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Luke 10:27) is not just a Christian thing. Every conceivable religion and culture in the world has the Golden Rule in one form or another. Here is a sampling:

Judaism “What is hateful to you, do not to your fellow man. That is the law: all the rest is commentary.”

Islam: “No one of you is a believer until he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.”

Hinduism: “This is the sum of duty: do naught unto others which would cause you pain if done to you.”

Buddhism “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”

Confucianism: “Do not unto others what you would not have them do unto you.”

If the Golden Rule was so well-known in ancient cultures why then did Jesus spend so much time teaching it as if it was a new thing? It is because Jesus brought a completely new understanding to the commandment. The Golden Rule is understood differently in different religions and cultures. And the key to its understanding lies in the question that the lawyer asks Jesus in the gospel, “Who is my neighbour?” (verse 29). Who is my neighbour that I have an obligation to love?

Among the Jews of Jesus’ time there were those who understood “neighbour” in a very limited sense. The Essenes of Qumran, for example, required new members to swear to love the children of light and hate the children of darkness. For them, your neighbour is the one who shares the same religious persuasion as yourself. Other groups, such as the Zealots, would understand neighbour to include only those who shared the same nationality and ethnicity with them. The average Jew would not regard the Samaritan as a neighbour. They are outsiders. The circle of neighbourly love does not include them. Jesus came into a world of “us” and “them,” “us” being the circle of those recognised as neighbours, and “them” being the rest of the world regarded as hostile strangers and enemies of the people.

The new thing in Jesus’ teaching of neighbourly love is his insistence that all humanity is one big neighbourhood. Thus he broke down the walls of division and the borders of prejudice and suspicion that humans erected between “us” and “them.” To bring home this point he tells the story of the Good Samaritan. This man regarded as ‘Enemy Number One’ by the Jewish establishment simply because he is Samaritan, is the one who finally proves himself to be neighbour to the Jewish man in need. Thus to the question “Who is my neighbour” Jesus’ answer is: Anyone and everyone without exception.

The lady who invited Mrs Booth to dinner understood her “neighbour” to be limited only to those on her social and economic level. Mrs Booth reminded her that her “neighbour” should include the ‘nobodies’ of society. Like this lady, we all need to be reminded that the Christian understanding of

 “neighbour” admits of no borders. The time has come for us to identify and tear down all the borders we have erected between those who belong to us (and are, therefore, deserving of our love and concern) and those who don’t (those others who can go to hell). Sometimes these walls of division are religious in nature, as in the case of religious intolerance, or in the mutual distrust and hatred between those who call themselves “conservatives” and those who call themselves “liberals.” Other times they are ethnic and racial, as in the bad blood between Blacks and Whites in places like South Africa, some parts of India and parts of the United State. They could also be social and economic, as in the divide between suburban neighbourhoods and the inner-city. We are challenged to dismantle these walls. This way we work with Jesus to realise his dream of the world as a neighbourhood without borders.

Fourteenth Sunday of the Year: My Grace is Enough for You!

Suffering is part of the human condition. Suffering is a key experience of Paul’s life. In today’s reading three times Paul asks the Lord Jesus to remove a particularly bothersome suffering – a “thorn in the flesh.” The actual “thorn” is  not certain; some surmise that Paul had a vision problem  hindering his ministry and so asks Jesus to remove it. Jesus’ reply to Paul is significant for Paul -- and for all believers.  Jesus does indeed hear Paul’s prayer and speaks directly to him, “”My grace is sufficient for you for power is made perfect in weakness.” Not the answer Paul expected or wanted! But Paul does hear Jesus and responds simply and humbly, “I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.” This encounter with Jesus becomes the foundation of Paul’s dealing with subsequent suffering. Paul is never hesitant to recount the sufferings he experiences; nor is he hesitant to witness to the power of Jesus experienced through them – “for when I am weak, then I am strong.” In the Letter to the Romans he catalogues suffering and concludes with an exhortation to persecuted Christians in Rome, “I am convinced that neither death nor life . .  .nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Paul’s lesson to believers is clear: we as disciples of Jesus should not expect that Jesus will shield us from suffering;   rather we should expect that  our weakness can become the occasion for experiencing the power of Jesus. I have always been scandalized by preachers – and there are many – who claim that following Jesus exempts believers from suffering and guarantees a long life full of health and material prosperity. These preachers belie the witness of Paul. And they belie the witness of Jesus himself! Today’s Gospel recounts Jesus’ experience returning home to his native place and teaching in the synagogue.  All his listeners ”took offense at him.”  The Gospels then recount Jesus’ progressive rejection, rejection leading to crucifixion and death – and to  eventual transformation and resurrection through the power of his most dear Father! Jesus is our savior and redeemer! His message is central to dealing with our suffering. Today’s readings ask us to reflect on whether we have  heeded Paul’s witness and brought our sufferings to Jesus – all our sufferings  -- trusting that in our personal weakness the power of Jesus can be manifested. Isn’t this the heart of the good news of the Gospel?

THE FEAST of ST THOMAS the APOSTLE: THE DOUBTING THOMAS

“Don’t be such a “Doubting Thomas”! I remember hearing that line as a child from adults or sometimes from other children parroting what they had heard adults say to them.

For a long time that phrase puzzled, even frightened me. It seemed to imply there was something inherently wrong, perhaps sinful, about not being certain about something. And when I finally connected its origin with St. Thomas, one of Jesus’ Apostles, I was even more confused. How can an Apostle be so wrong? Is it always wrong to doubt? Is it even possible not to have some doubt about lots of thing?

Despite the snickering of the other Apostles that I often picture, as the Resurrected but not yet Ascended Jesus approaches Thomas, I think Jesus shows understanding and compassion for Thomas’ doubt. Jesus does not condemn Thomas for not believing until he had seen and experienced the Risen Jesus for himself. Instead Jesus (and the author of John’s Gospel) teaches all of us generations and centuries later that we are blessed for believing without the benefit of physical confirmation.

Faith without doubt is certitude. Doubt without faith is cynicism. Although I have experienced moments of both certitude and cynicism in myself and others, I don’t think either extreme is often healthy or attractive. In my experience, doubt and faith can complement one another. Just because Thomas was not yet ready to believe his friends about seeing the Risen Jesus does not mean he lacked all faith. In fact, Thomas’s doubt probably led to a deepening of his faith after he experienced Jesus as Risen.

One other insight about Thomas is that he is the Apostle who insists on closely inspecting the wounds and suffering of Jesus. Thomas, perhaps more than anyone else, is able to face the heinous suffering of Jesus and take seriously the pain of the cross. Do we as Christians not have an obligation to take seriously the suffering of Jesus on the cross, the suffering of our world today, and be willing to follow Jesus despite that pain? We might be tempted not to inspect too closely the suffering of people today from war, poverty, disease, etc. But once we inspect these wounds ourselves, rather than doubt their severity we must face the truth and act accordingly.

For me Thomas is a saint and apostle who is down to earth, easy to relate to, and an inspiration for not turning away but for being willing to inspect and take seriously the pain and suffering of Jesus, the cross, and our world – no doubt about it!

Thirteenth Sunday of the Year: Faith Saves us!

Faith! When I read today’s Gospel, it made me think about how the people who followed Jesus at that time were lucky to see him in the flesh. I wonder at their faith in this man. I fear I might have been more like Thomas of another Gospel and doubted. Yet we read of the woman who knew she only had to touch his clothes and she might be made whole.  We hear Jesus say to the family of the young girl who they believed had died: “Do not be afraid. Just have faith.” 

Have faith. That letting go and believing. That letting go and letting God in. That letting go can be scary and freeing. While I might not have witnessed Jesus performing a miracle, I can still have faith that God can make me whole. I can have faith that though there is evil in the world, that “justice is undying.”  I can have faith when I see good in others, when I see people working to improve the lives of others who may feel forgotten. In those times and places, I can have faith that God is with all of us.

In a world beset by tragedy and sometimes senseless acts, it can be hard to have faith. I have to remember that miracles may be small, but I believe they happen all around us, if we could only see. Our faith should propel us to not only believe but to also act. Let your faith shine. Let God in. Believe that justice is undying, that by doing what you can, where you are, you can make a difference in the world.  Have faith!