In this election year, all sorts of concerns are bubbling up as "religious" issues. Can Catholic candidates who disagree with some aspect of church teaching still call themselves "Catholic"? Should pastors deny Communion to politicians or other parishioners known to publicly disagree with church teaching?
If how one "thinks" about an issue, versus how one behaves, is a litmus test for fidelity, then just what "thoughts" of ours should be monitored?
If you're like me, it's pretty easy to get self-righteous about political positions. Whether its abortion, or the death penalty, or the war, I can get worked up about an issue and take a strident position. But when the topic becomes behavior, well, that's a different issue. I get humble very quickly.
Why? Because I tend to not do very much about what I believe, other than believe it. If the test for faithfulness to Jesus and the church is a matter of checking a ballot box, if you can vote your way into heaven, then take me to the poll! If the test of faithfulness to Jesus Christ is actually doing something --- like loving my neighbor as myself --- well, that's a different matter. I spend a whole of time working to take care of myself and my family. I think about it all the time. I rarely show this same amount of concern and action for others.
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus tells his followers a parable about a rich man and a poor beggar named Lazarus. The rich man ignored the beggar outside his door. When the rich man died, he was punished for his cruelty, while when Lazarus died he "rested in the bosom of Abraham."
The rich man begs Abraham for mercy, but Abraham reminds him how he ignored Lazarus' please for kindness. So the rich man asks Abraham to send messenger to his brothers who are still living, to warn them to be generous instead of stingy, and to be compassionate instead of judgmental.
Jesus reminds us in this story that we will be judged on how we live and behave, not on how we think. It is easy for us to say we believe the correct doctrine about God, Jesus and the church. It is a far different thing to live these beliefs --- to care for the needy, to be generous and not greedy, to be compassionate and not judgmental. This is the beauty and the tremendous challenge of the Christian faith. Christianity is, after all, not a religion of theory but of practice.
I'm not very good at following Jesus, but I'm pretty good at criticizing others. Of course, it's a whole lot easier to spot the flaws and inconsistencies in others' lives or viewpoints than it is to correct the flaws and inconsistencies in my own. Following Jesus requires that I change my behavior. Supporting a political position requires only that I agree to some words.
In the end, we will be asked not to account for our voting record but to account for whether we fed the hungry and thirsty, visited the imprisoned, and clothed the naked.
Personally, I'd rather be known for what I do than for what I think. Unfortunately, I have a long ways to go to get there --- I'm better at thinking than I am at doing. Jesus calls us not just to think differently, but to live differently. Bill Peatman writes from Napa. |