“You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you ... (Matthew 5:43-44)This snippet from the Sermon on the Mount was part of the Gospel reading from yesterday (Sunday, February 23, 2020, the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A).
Does this passage speak to you? Are you persecuted? Do you have enemies who vex you, who cause you to suffer, who pose threats to you or those whom you love?
I spoke recently with a friend about this. He happens to be gay. And he has enemies who have persecuted him. His insight is that his enemies are people who formerly were friends or loved ones who became his enemies because they could not accept him as he is.
I consider that to be powerful witness, but I also have to admit that it doesn't resonate with my own personal experience. I'm not persecuted. I'm also not a person who is prone to conflict. If I have enemies, they are not top of mind.
Do you have any enemies?
Abraham Lincoln allegedly (and maybe really; although I have often seen and heard the quote, I have never seen or heard attribution) said, "I don't like that man. I must get to know him better." I try to live by that, but I must say that in my community organization activities we often ran into public officials who gave us lip service, but when saved their real service for our opponents or for the status quo. Can't say I like them a whole lot. And I don't love bullies, current POTUS included, very much either.
ReplyDeleteJim, you spoke of your gay friend. Unfortunately some of the people who persecuted him are likely to have been church people. Christians in general and Catholics in particular are not giving a stellar witness of supporting the safety of gay people. It is interesting that there is a bill before our state legislature affirming non-discrimination in the workplace for LBGQ people. People who write in our archdiocesan paper ( I'm speaking of the paid columnists, not the bandar-log of online chatter, who are likely to say anything) are trying to shoot down the bill, saying it is a Trojan horse that will be used as a cudgel to attack religious freedom.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the church erodes its witness by not supporting equality for gay peop!e. Though I don't know why any gay or trans person in their right mind would work for a Catholic institution, after seeing the arbitrary firings which have happened in some dioceses.
DeleteHi Katherine - you may be right regarding my friend. He didn't name any specific examples of people who betrayed him, but just based on what I know about him and his background, I think he had in mind family members and friends.
DeleteConceivably, you and the columnists in your diocesan newspaper could be both be right: the church has a bad track record for welcoming gay persons; and the bill in question could have "Trojan Horse" provisions that erode religious liberty somehow. It depends on the specific provisions of the legislation. If the bill in question simply prohibits workplace discrimination against LGBTQs, and has the appropriate religious exemptions, then I'd expect the Catholic Church to support it. If there is more (or less) to it than that, then the church might actually have legitimate grounds for opposing it. Around here, the Catholic Conference of Illinois (the state conference of Illinois dioceses) watches legislation and makes recommendations based on the actual contents of the bill.
I got a bunch of Amazon bucks for my birthday, and one of the things on my reading list is Father James Martin's "Building Bridges". I am interested to see how he parses the divide between justice and mercy, and morality in how the church treats its LGBT members. Has anyone here read it yet?
DeleteWhile there are people who are too paranoid, seeing hostility when it is not there, there may be as many or more who fail to perceive the hostility that is there. Other people often do not have our interests at heart.
ReplyDeleteI rarely have a strong initial positive or negative reaction to people. I deal with people through my intellect rather than my emotions. I found that very valuable in a very public professional life. I cannot remember attacking anyone personally. I always focused upon issues not persons. I rarely praised people except for the mentally ill. People knew they were my only favorites.
I take this passage a bit more metaphorically.
ReplyDeletePersecution need not be of the "I am out to get you personally" variety. Persecution can be the harm that resultS from assumptions, lack of empathy, or indifference.
We've all had to deal with that in some way, I suppose.
Sometimes we are our own worst enemies, or at least our bitterness, lack of affection, and prejudices are.