This Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time we hear explicit instructions from Jesus about how to behave with one another: “Love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; pray for those who mistreat you…” The whole list of instructions boils down to what is called ‘The Golden Rule.’ “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Simple and thought-provoking—this should stop us in our tracks as we open our mouths or act in ways that are selfish, angry, vengeful, mean-spirited and intolerant. Jesus goes on to remind us to stop judging and condemning one another—that all we do will come back to us—one way or another.
Virtually all the world’s major religions say that you cannot separate your love for God from your love for your neighbor. Even the nonreligious will affirm the idea of the Golden Rule. Some form of the Golden Rule has been around for thousands of years, but we seem to have lost a sense of its importance and its transformative power. Now is the time to reclaim the neglected common good and to learn how faith might help in that important task. Our public life could be made better, transformed, healed and enriched if only our religious and social traditions practiced what they preached in our personal lives; in our families’ decisions; in our work and vocations; in the ministry of our churches, synagogues, and mosques; in our collective witness. In all these ways we can put the faith community’s influence at the service of this radical neighbor-love ethic that is both faithful to God and to the common good.
The common good also requires concern for the entire world community. In 1963, Pope John XXIII introduced the phrase “universal common good” in the Catholic social tradition in recognition of the duty to promote the good of our neighbors around the globe as well as at home. If love is truly your purpose and path, it is time to double down on prayer. It means praying through participation in the life of our government and society, and through creating a civic order that reflects goodness, justice, mercy, and compassion—this is the very heart and dream of God for all of God’s children and God’s creation.
As we near the introspective season of Lent, we might decide that for Lent (and forever) we will all try to live by the golden rule—that would be challenging—but worth real consideration. We are reminded by St. Paul today that though we are like Adam—earthly—we also bear the image of the heavenly one—Jesus. I guess the question that we need ask is one we have all heard before: “What would Jesus Do?”
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
Virtually all the world’s major religions say that you cannot separate your love for God from your love for your neighbor. Even the nonreligious will affirm the idea of the Golden Rule. Some form of the Golden Rule has been around for thousands of years, but we seem to have lost a sense of its importance and its transformative power. Now is the time to reclaim the neglected common good and to learn how faith might help in that important task. Our public life could be made better, transformed, healed and enriched if only our religious and social traditions practiced what they preached in our personal lives; in our families’ decisions; in our work and vocations; in the ministry of our churches, synagogues, and mosques; in our collective witness. In all these ways we can put the faith community’s influence at the service of this radical neighbor-love ethic that is both faithful to God and to the common good.
The common good also requires concern for the entire world community. In 1963, Pope John XXIII introduced the phrase “universal common good” in the Catholic social tradition in recognition of the duty to promote the good of our neighbors around the globe as well as at home. If love is truly your purpose and path, it is time to double down on prayer. It means praying through participation in the life of our government and society, and through creating a civic order that reflects goodness, justice, mercy, and compassion—this is the very heart and dream of God for all of God’s children and God’s creation.
As we near the introspective season of Lent, we might decide that for Lent (and forever) we will all try to live by the golden rule—that would be challenging—but worth real consideration. We are reminded by St. Paul today that though we are like Adam—earthly—we also bear the image of the heavenly one—Jesus. I guess the question that we need ask is one we have all heard before: “What would Jesus Do?”
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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