What really drives me up a wall is the lack of civility rampant since the invention of the internet about EVERY issue under the sun! It’s really hard to be one of the few people in the world who is
pro-gun control but also an advocate for 2nd Amendment rights; an anti-abortion
pro-lifer and anti-death penalty advocate; a firm believer in traditional
marriage but at the same time a firm believer that I am not to judge
anyone’s heart—that is for God alone. By the way, for those who say they are not judging someone's heart but rather their actions, I must say I envy you for your clairvoyance skills. I simply don't have the power to know what is going on in someone else's heart--the only ONE who does is also empowered with endless mercy, so there is always that.
When I heard today’s Gospel (Mark 5:21-43) at Mass this morning, 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 and doubted. Yet today we heard 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. Have faith; that letting
go and letting God in. That letting go can be both 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.” (Wisdom 1:13-15) I can have faith when I see the 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, no matter what our political leanings are.
In a world arguing about everything from climate changes to Supreme
Court decisions and everything in between, it can be hard to have faith. We
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. Remember that God is in
control. As our Lord and Savior says “Do
not be afraid. Just have faith."
In the last week or so I’ve also been relying heavily on (MT
22:34-40). In today’s political and
theological hotbed, I am reminded of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Both the Sadducees and the Pharisees were religious parties in
Jesus' day. Both were critical of and were criticized by Jesus.
The Sadducees thought of themselves as "conservatives," as
the Old Believers. This is because they accepted only the written Law of Moses
as authoritative and rejected subsequent revelation. As a result, the Sadducees
denied many of the doctrines held by the Pharisees and by Jesus, including the
resurrection of the dead, the existence of angels and spirits, and the meting
out of rewards and punishment after death. These beliefs were thought by the
Sadducees to be Zoroastrian corruptions of the authentic faith of Israel.
The Pharisees, on the other hand, were a lay group more
representative of the common man. In addition to the written Law of Moses, the
Pharisees accepted as authoritative the rest of what is for us the Old
Testament, as well as the "tradition of the elders."
Whereas the Sadducees saw worship at the Temple as the main focus of
the Law, the Pharisees believed this to be but one component among many of
proper Mosaic observance. It was over the interpretation of the Law and which
understanding of it represented the authentic tradition of Israel that Jesus
and the Pharisees disagreed.
I guess my point is that Jesus essentially told both factions the
same thing: “You shall love the Lord,
your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This
is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The
whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.”
I’ve decided that I’m just going to not worry, but have faith, pray,love
my neighbor and above all love my Merciful God.
And if you don’t like it, tough.
LOL
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