Friday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time(Click here for readings)
Jesus said to his disciples: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body thrown into Gehenna. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one of your members than to have your whole body go into Gehenna.
Strong words. Tough actions. Deep meanings.
Brazil and the World Cup. That's why I was a bit surprised when my thoughts immediately turned to Brazil, the World Cup, the thousands of workers protesting and striking, and the hundreds of thousands of fans suffering. How horrible. How regrettable. How disgusting! How does this relate to today's Gospel passage?
It's clear the protestors and strikers are taking advantage of all the spectators (most of them poor people) who are traveling great distances (and at great cost) to enjoy the World Cup, a once-every-four-year event. I find this simply appalling. They should have done this four years ago. Not now. This is entirely selfish and wrong. Now I'm not saying these poor workers don't have a case. They do. But they should not be infuriating guests from all over the world. This is wrong.
Even if our own life is miserable, why do we love to make other people's lives miserable? What is it about us that makes us like that? Why is it that if I am upset, then I need to make everyone around me upset? I know. Original sin.
Christ did not suffer so that we could learn how to make other people suffer. No! On the contrary, He suffered so that we could learn how to suffer patiently, lovingly, compassionately and mercifully.
Which brought me to my next thought.
Iraq and the Islamists. Almost immediately my thoughts went from Brazil to Iraq, and to the Islamists and the four thousand American soldiers who died there in vain(?).
Well, from all the news services, it appears as though Iraq is lost, lost to Islamist fighters, who have already begun to persecute Christians, enforce Sharia and behead their enemies and leave their heads on street corners. Of course, these terrorists are not aware of Christ's words (let alone the meaning of His words), but I find it amazing how Christ's words for today relate to current events! After all, how can some people think to behead others in the name of God if they themselves are full of sin?
If you notice, Christ only told his followers to cut their own appendages (if it causes them to sin); not those of others. What a difference in style and substance!
I don't hear it anymore, but once upon a time there were some folks who would often say that there was no "real" difference between the major religions. Clearly, they did not know what they were talking about.
Lets keep in our prayers the poor people in Iraq, especially the Christians who have no protection against the on-going genocide.
The persecution against Christians by Muslims is revolting, and no one wants to mention it because it might offend. This is not an isolated incident; Islamic terrorism against Christian communities happens in nearly all predominantly Muslim countries, and no one lifts a finger, least of all those with the power to correct this abuse. And this has a long repeated precedent in history from the founding of Islam--Mohammed and Jesus had very different careers, and their legacies will bear witness to this. Anyone with half a mind should recognize that this is not the same god at all, but asking anyone for half a mind might be asking too much. And what does UN do about this? Criticize the threaten to ostracize the Vatican for not welcoming abortion laws! It's interesting how "tolerance" has made the world a very cruel place for those who pursue goodness and truth sincerely.
ReplyDeleteJesus warns against this attitude from his disciples. The only way we can help others and live upright lives is to purify our hearts. A corrupted heart, a hardened heart that places its hopes on the deaths of others, causes sin, not the hands or feet that follow the heart's desires. No part of us should approve these acts of barbarism. Otherwise, we'd commit the same mistake as Americans who tacitly allowed the Holocaust to rage in Germany or the disgusting crimes of Japanese soldiers against Chinese. Like Edmond Burke said, "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." That's exactly what's happening today in these Muslim countries where terrorists act with impunity.
Do you honestly believe that we (Christians) are going to “win” this war with the fundamentalist terrorists (you use the word Muslims; I don’t) by fighting with their same weapons? “Hate”.
ReplyDeleteBenedict Augustine, we have so much more power in the way Jesus Christ lived His life: by dying to ourselves. We have this situation “in this world” where we feel like we are “losing”. What do you think Jesus would have done in this situation? Really. What do you think the word ‘non-tolerant’ means to Jesus.? Please give me concrete examples of how Jesus would live ‘non-tolerance’ in this situation. I’m trying to understand your point of view.
Thanks.
Jesus had plenty to say for the Pharisees, and he warned his disciples of the oncoming persecution on many occasions. This does not equate with tolerance, or what I'd call "enabling." He called out evil, and showed what true holiness consisted of, which is what I would recommend all Christians should do in this case.
DeleteMore importantly, he called for Christians to love, not tolerate. Tolerance is a negative (in the sense that one refrains, but does not actually do anything) value. Tolerance does not save lives, and it doesn't correct wrongs. It's the cowardly shrug of a people without convictions, hence its popularity in the modern secular world. The missionaries and saints throughout the ages confronted this kind of evil and spoke on it sincerely, often at the pain of death. The Crusaders wanted to free the holy land from the senseless slaughter of pilgrims by Muslim armies and bandits, and later defend Europe from Muslim encroachments. Had they not done so, Christendom would easily not exist, and we'd be under the rule of despots eliminating Christians wholesale as they did in all the countries that were not saved by the Crusaders. I know it's not politically correct to say this, but any student of history will quickly realize that a huge difference between Islam and Christian is one spread through conquest and the sword, and one spread through sharing the gospel and bearing the cross. The only reason Islam grows is because of birthrates, not conversion.
If Christians have it in their power to end persecution, then they should. If Christians have the freedom to voice their grievances, then they should. I'm so tired of Muslim terrorists killing and burning down churches without any kind of condemnation. All too many people, and many of them Christians, will either ignore it or say that we somehow provoked them or that it's just a cultural difference that can be overcome with kind words. All the while, Boko Haram, ISIS, Hamas, and other groups happily resort to extreme violence and false doctrine to make billions of people's lives miserable. If moderate Muslims don't hold them accountable, but in fact support them in many instances, they are complicit in this. Recent history has already shown that a simple change in government won't change this; the only thing that will change it is conversion.
I'm sorry it ruffles feathers that I specifically cite Muslim terrorism, but I'd be hard pressed to find this kind of destruction in predominantly Christian countries. A terrorist in the name of Jesus would be universally revile, and rightly so. Terrorism is incompatible with the gospel. I don't know if the same could be said for the Koran and the Haddith. In this regard, compare the different attitudes of Martin Luther King Jr., a Christian, and Malcom X, a Muslim.
I'm no relativist, and neither was Jesus or his disciples. They all knew that false religions and false prophets should not be tolerated, but refuted. Today, we don't refute anymore, but instead criticize those who do. I don't advocate violence against Muslims, but I do advocate a rejection of its teachings and the means employed by certain Muslims to spread it. We reject this through education and apologetics, but more, we reject it through holiness.
Jesus had plenty to say for the Pharisees, and he warned his disciples of the oncoming persecution on many occasions. This does not equate with tolerance, or what I'd call "enabling." He called out evil, and showed what true holiness consisted of, which is what I would recommend all Christians should do in this case.
DeleteMore importantly, he called for Christians to love, not tolerate. Tolerance is a negative (in the sense that one refrains, but does not actually do anything) value. Tolerance does not save lives, and it doesn't correct wrongs. It's the cowardly shrug of a people without convictions, hence its popularity in the modern secular world. The missionaries and saints throughout the ages confronted this kind of evil and spoke on it sincerely, often at the pain of death. The Crusaders wanted to free the holy land from the senseless slaughter of pilgrims by Muslim armies and bandits, and later defend Europe from Muslim encroachments. Had they not done so, Christendom would easily not exist, and we'd be under the rule of despots eliminating Christians wholesale as they did in all the countries that were not saved by the Crusaders. I know it's not politically correct to say this, but any student of history will quickly realize that a huge difference between Islam and Christian is one spread through conquest and the sword, and one spread through sharing the gospel and bearing the cross. The only reason Islam grows is because of birthrates, not conversion.
If Christians have it in their power to end persecution, then they should. If Christians have the freedom to voice their grievances, then they should. I'm so tired of Muslim terrorists killing and burning down churches without any kind of condemnation. All too many people, and many of them Christians, will either ignore it or say that we somehow provoked them or that it's just a cultural difference that can be overcome with kind words. All the while, Boko Haram, ISIS, Hamas, and other groups happily resort to extreme violence and false doctrine to make billions of people's lives miserable. If moderate Muslims don't hold them accountable, but in fact support them in many instances, they are complicit in this. Recent history has already shown that a simple change in government won't change this; the only thing that will change it is conversion.
I'm sorry it ruffles feathers that I specifically cite Muslim terrorism, but I'd be hard pressed to find this kind of destruction in predominantly Christian countries. A terrorist in the name of Jesus would be universally revile, and rightly so. Terrorism is incompatible with the gospel. I don't know if the same could be said for the Koran and the Haddith. In this regard, compare the different attitudes of Martin Luther King Jr., a Christian, and Malcom X, a Muslim.
I'm no relativist, and neither was Jesus or his disciples. They all knew that false religions and false prophets should not be tolerated, but refuted. Today, we don't refute anymore, but instead criticize those who do. I don't advocate violence against Muslims, but I do advocate a rejection of its teachings and the means employed by certain Muslims to spread it. We reject this through education and apologetics, but more, we reject it through holiness.
Benedict:
Delete"The only reason Islam grows is because of birthrates, not conversion."
I second that. If Catholics would be generous in having children and stop using artificial contraception, we would be in a better place. Muslims are the only ones having kids. Just look at Europe. It's a basket case. We actually have to have the Vicar of Christ tell us to "Have kids, not pets!" Sad.
Benedict, I am with you on a the PC nonsense. "Tolerance is a negative (in the sense that one refrains, but does not actually do anything) value. Tolerance does not save lives, and it doesn't correct wrongs. It's the cowardly shrug of a people without convictions, hence its popularity in the modern secular world." If the persecution were flipped (Christians v. radical Islam), there would be an international outcry.
Benedict:
Delete"The only reason Islam grows is because of birthrates, not conversion."
I second that. If Catholics would be generous in having children and stop using artificial contraception, we would be in a better place. Muslims are the only ones having kids. Just look at Europe. It's a basket case. We actually have to have the Vicar of Christ tell us to "Have kids, not pets!" Sad.
Benedict, I am with you on a the PC nonsense. "Tolerance is a negative (in the sense that one refrains, but does not actually do anything) value. Tolerance does not save lives, and it doesn't correct wrongs. It's the cowardly shrug of a people without convictions, hence its popularity in the modern secular world." If the persecution were flipped (Christians v. radical Islam), there would be an international outcry.