Although Ellen DeGeneres is publicly known for her solid rapport with celebrities, a select few are expressing dismay and disappointment in her for attending a football game in which she sat next to and enjoyed talking with former President George W Bush. She didn’t apologize; she didn’t have to. Instead, she spoke about the controversy surrounding the ‘incident’ in a monologue on her show in which she urged people to be unconditionally kind to others. She said, "Here's the thing: I'm friends with George Bush. In fact, I'm friends with a lot of people who don't share the same beliefs that I have. We're all different, and I think that we've forgotten that that's okay that we're all different."
One of those celebrities who expressed dismay and disappointment with her labeled DeGeneres "increasingly out of touch with reality" in a Tweet. "Sorry, until George W. Bush is brought to justice for the crimes of the Iraq War, (including American-lead torture, Iraqi deaths & displacement, and the deep scars—emotional & otherwise—inflicted on our military that served his folly), we can’t even begin to talk about kindness," he wrote.
This reminds me of the crowds who challenged and tested Jesus following His miraculous driving out of demons and evil spirits. What are Jesus’s motivations, the crowd asks; in whose name does Jesus cast out the evil in the world? Jesus responds to the crowd, and to us – “every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house” (Luke 11:17). And so it is in our own lives – in our homes, with our families, and in contemporary times and the society in which we live.
How often is it that we allow our interpersonal relationships to become wounded and scarred because one placed their own needs before the other’s? And how often does the damage in those relationships multiply when Christian values such as grace, charity, and forgiveness elude us? This reflection affirms to me how important it is for us to discern the stirrings in our own hearts as we navigate the often-turbulent waters of the relationships in our own lives; to seek unity and solidarity at times when it is most difficult.
But Jesus doesn’t stop there. Rather, He reminds us that “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters” (Luke, 11:23). Jesus’s words here should resonate with us because they require of us a courageous commitment to the greater good. They are a reminder that the goodness inherent in our relationships, and our respective houses, is not for us alone but for something greater. And through it all, we are called to commit ourselves to the greater glory of God, for there is no middle ground, and no room to waffle. The message is clear, we cannot be for life with Christ if our actions reveal our hearts to be confused on the matter.
Jesus was sent to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom of God, the news that God is vanquishing evil and establishing His active rule over His creation. The Kingdom of Satan is being replaced by the Kingdom of God. The full establishment of God’s reign lies in the future, but it is already being inaugurated through Jesus.
Jesus is Messiah of word and action. With His ascension, He now sends us, His disciples, to announce the Good News of the Kingdom through healing, forgiveness, compassion, and in love for one another. God is doing a new thing in us. Can we see it? Can we perceive it?
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