With a group of friends just last week and not long into the evening, the conversation turned to issues currently affecting our society and world, and as usual, politics became a focal point. From here, questions were raised about the law, our government’s response to COVID and the plight of the Afghani refugees, and about doing what is just. Philosophically, the question was raised as to why the two cannot be one in the same.
When we reflect on the life of Jesus, and what he taught us, he essentially invites us to wonder about a life with God at the centre, and love for others that follows as a result of this. He challenges us to turn this wonder into a reality. It was this wonder in God and the potential that this brought to humankind that drove Jesus to do all that he did, especially to teach about what is just. And so, he turned into reality the wonder in which he approached life with God. His sense of wonder brought about a conviction for justice. He did not condemn people, he did not judge, he did not exclude people for whom or what they were and taught us that, to follow him, we must do the same.
However, for this reason that the Sadducees and the Pharisees (part of the Jewish hierarchy in the time of Jesus) wanted him gone. To love, to accept, to include others were all things that challenged the law that they not only oversaw, but also gave them power and authority. If the law, therefore, was compromised for justice, then so was their authority and power. Consequently, they decided that Jesus should be put to death. Jesus reminds them, however, that the law is there for the people, not the people for the law. Life, he explained, needs to reflect this.
If we are to truly call ourselves Christians, then we too are to follow the example of Jesus and turn our wonder of God into a reality, and thus fight for justice in our community.
St Brigid, in her community, realised her sense of wonder in God by creating a community that was inclusive and life giving. In doing so, she fought for justice. She, an ordinary person like you and I, showed us that it is possible for anyone to follow the example of Jesus and put God at the centre all things. Just as in her community, there are people in our community who for so many reasons are ostracised, judged, and suffer as a result of injustices. We need to understand that like her, we too can follow the example of Jesus and help to break down the walls of indifference and bring about justice in our community.
In these challenging times, more and more we are called to look deep into our hearts and connect to the wonder we see in God, and help bring what is just into our community, and when necessary, challenge the law.
Enrico Caprioli
APRIM
