Where all Families are Holy

By Reverend Deacon Jerry Bauman

Our first reading today, (Sirach 4: 1-10) from the book of Sirach, was written around 200-175 BCE, in the time of Greek rule over the Middle East. The book of Sirach concerns itself with maintaining Jewish identity while living under Greek captivity. Sirach teaches that acting as a father to orphans and a husband to widows will be rewarded by God’s love and favor and it warns against neglecting or mistreating the needy, the poor, and the vulnerable. Compassionately helping others will draw God’s favor and neglecting them will have negative consequences.

The author attributed to our second reading, (James 2:14-24) James, was a well-respected leader in the Jerusalem church and likely had the authority to address the audience of Jewish Christians. James challenges us to examine our faith by observing the fruit it bears in our lives. True faith is not merely saying “I believe”. True faith is a call to action, real action, urging us to live out our faith by demonstrating love and compassion for others. This is not to say that works are the basis for salvation, but rather that works are the evidence of genuine faith that leads to our salvation. Genuine belief in God will naturally lead to outward expressions of our faith, especially in acts of love and service to others.

And in today’s Gospel (Luke 11: 37-53) from Luke, Jesus condemns the Pharisees and legal experts for their hypocrisy and misplaced priorities. They focus on how they appear in public and they perform their rituals with hearts full of greed and wickedness. Jesus tells them in no uncertain terms that they can’t continue to ignore the needs of others while comfortably remaining on their seats of honor. Jesus warns them of the consequences of their actions, emphasizing that they will be held accountable for their hypocrisy. There will also be consequences for rejecting the messengers God has sent and not embracing these truths.

A few months ago, I was asked why Holy Family wasn’t inclusive of the viewpoints of our President. And I gave it a lot of thought. So, forgive me if what I’m about to say sounds too political or partisan. I don’t mean it to be. I genuinely don’t. But as a Christian, I feel obliged to say it.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country think their church has all the answers and that the faith of others is irrelevant.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country believe that women are less than men.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country have to make difficult choices concerning feeding their families and obtaining healthcare.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country profess a pro-life stance that ends at birth.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country are mistreating their neighbors who are not white or speak a different language.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country want to close our borders and stop welcoming the stranger.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country are destroying the earth for profit because Jesus is going to come back and make it all new again.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country live in fear just for being who they are and loving who they are attracted to.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country can’t imagine a future different than ‘the way it has always been’.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country have to rely on oppressing others to feel better about themselves.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country are being erased because of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country feel the need to remove any history that makes them feel uncomfortable.

I’m deeply troubled by the way some in our country can’t tolerate my concern for others, my wokeness.

And, I’m deeply troubled by the way some Christians believe the Gospel message is about getting into God’s kingdom after we die and not about how we treat others while we are still alive.

What am I missing? How can this be OK in a supposedly Christian nation? How did we get to this place where more than half of the voters are influenced by beliefs that are different than our own. Many of our leaders today do not share the values of the bible they claim to believe in. And this is not about Democrats or Republicans, liberals or conservatives. It’s about Gospel values.

Simple things like feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, sheltering the homeless, defending the dignity of everyone. How do we get the change in direction necessary to return to the kind of country proclaimed as important by our founders. The kind where all people – and all means all – people, are equal?

Some people like to use the phrase, “Love the sinner, hate the sin”. It’s one of the most commonly misused phrases in all of Christianity, because you know what? It’s not in the Bible. It was coined by Augustine, the same Augustine who invented the doctrine of original sin, which by the way, isn’t in there either. People use this phrase, because it allows them a spiritual loophole for their hate while sounding churchy as they discriminate. But it is completely incompatible with the teachings of Jesus Christ who told us that we are to love our neighbor fully. Because Jesus recognized that if we hate any part of our neighbor, it stops us from seeing who that person is as a human being. It stops us from seeing that person as a child of God with inherent worth and dignity. If your spirituality requires you to hate something about someone else, then you need to ask if you’re really interested in following the teachings of Jesus and building a closer relationship with the divine. We need to see everyone as children of God with inherent worth and dignity.

Heck, sometimes, you have to wonder if our leaders even share the values of our founding documents that they claim to believe in. One of the fathers of the civil rights movement, James A Baldwin, once said that if, according to the Declaration of Independence, all men are created equal, why is it that some people still face oppression and have to fight for their fundamental rights? Why do some have to take their causes all the way to the Supreme Court to obtain America’s stated ideals of equality that others have enjoyed all along?

Think of the groups of people who always have to fight for their rights. I’ll tell you who it isn’t, it isn’t me! It’s not the white, straight, Christian males in this country. We are the privileged. The groups who have to fight for their rights are people of color – the LGBTQ community – non-Christians – women. These are the oppressed in America. These are the groups of people our country should be showing-up for instead of for billionaires. The people affected by what’s called systemic oppression; policies that keep people poor, hungry, vulnerable, and unequal. These policies cannot be changed by those being oppressed. Addressing these injustices ultimately lies with all of us.

What is the message for us this weekend? How do we show up with faith-fueled actions? The kind that our second reading from Jesus’ brother, James, talks about.

Let’s consider the actions of Miami’s Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who, a few weeks ago, rode a motorcycle to Alligator Alcatraz with the group “Knights on Bikes” to pray for the immigrants imprisoned there. When a bishop takes a stand for the dignity of immigrants, people take notice. Public notice – that says, “These lives matter.”

Actions like these, signal to Catholics that if you’ve gotten involved in MAGA’s cruelty, you have strayed from the Gospel Path. Supporting policies that keep people poor, oppressed, vulnerable, hungry, homeless, and sick is inconsistent with Christian values. When prayer happens in places of suffering, it becomes a cry to the heavens; a form of holy resistance.

And, do you remember that time when Jesus flipped the tables in the temple? He did that because he walked in and saw corruption. And instead of just promising thoughts and prayers, he went and he did something about it.

We may not have the same kind of money changers in the temple today, but we do have people exploiting religion in politics, hurting the most vulnerable in our society, actively voting to oppress and hurt their brothers and sisters. What we have to do is confront this misuse of faith that is hurting others by flipping the vote at the midterm elections. That’s a modern way of flipping tables.

What did Jesus instruct people to do more than anything else? It’s really pretty simple, Jesus instructed us to love each other, care for the poor, feed the hungry, and protect the vulnerable.

This quote from an episode of the Comedy Central show, ‘SouthPark’ sums it up!

“I’m so sick of people saying we may disagree politically, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

“If your political opinion is that children shouldn’t be fed, that the poor shouldn’t be housed, that the sick shouldn’t be cared for, that women shouldn’t control their own bodies, that Americans can’t marry who they love, or that certain people shouldn’t exist, then yes, that most definitely means we cannot be friends.”

“It’s no longer a difference of opinion, it’s a difference of morals!”