Justice, Christianity and Righteous Anger
The Gospel for this third Sunday of Lent, John 2:13-25, shows a side of Jesus we do not often get to see. Witnessing the abuse of the sacred space that was the temple in Jerusalem, his righteous indignation is aroused. He fashions a whip and uses it to clear out offenders, flips tables, and while it does not say that He did, I can imagine that He rebuked them with a tone that was harsh, and that He did not hesitate to raise His voice. Jesus, the God-man, saw a perversion of justice and took corrective matters into His own hands. How often we are tempted to do the same.
I was recently made to experience an exercise that was billed as a talk on biases in leadership. We participants were given a scenario in which there were several actors, one of whom is killed, and then we were asked to assign levels of responsibility for the killing on all of the actors, including the one who had met their unfortunate demise. As individuals we ranked them, split into random groups we were made to discuss and agree on a group ranking, then as a room we presented and discussed our group ranking and how we got there. So far, so good.
Then, the presenter revealed that the players in the scenario were symbols of racial groups, and that the exercise was drawn from a book published in 1978 that championed anti-racism and that one of the main antagonists in the scenario was metaphorically representative of white privilege. The victim of the killing was representative of minorities and marginalized groups. These revelations drew numerous approving responses, and then the wheels on the cart started to wobble when a member of the former group objected.
A couple of straight, white, Christian males spoke up and made their disagreement with this characterization known, drawing almost an hour of conversation that was geared at dismissing their points. In the end, a book on white fragility was recommended for further reading. The problem was still with the straight, white, Christian male and his unassailable grip on society. None of this was violent, and the tone was collegial in large measure, but underlying all of it is the notion of “othering” a group of people based on the immutable characteristics of race and gender (yes, gender is immutable, but I’ll save that for another time). You may have guessed it, but to be clear, I was one of the men who objected. I have not been able to let this experience settle, and I disagree that it is because I am fragile. I believe it is a righteous indignation.
So back to today’s Gospel. Using the words of the euphemism “what would Jesus do” to assess how I might deal with my own feelings on this, I am encouraged, but still not at peace. Seeing an injustice, Jesus responded to correct it forcefully. That is His job, and that kind of judgment and justice is His to dispense. As much as I wanted to push back and resist at this event, nothing seemed to have changed. My wish to flip tables and rebuke got me nowhere. And that is the place from which I sat to write this, wondering how to proceed.
I will proceed from the end of this Gospel. Jesus “did not need anyone to testify to Him about human nature. He Himself understood it well”. Jesus loves us, and is one of us. He is here and real and wants to be our consolation. He, and He alone, can put all things right. I will keep my trust in Him.
Saint Kateri , Canada’s Protectress
This was the title given to Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, by Pope Benedict XVI, when he canonized her on October 28th, 2012, along with six others, in Saint Peter’ Square (she had been beatified by Pope John Paul II back in 1980). With Saint Joseph as our protector, along with the Canadian martyrs, we seem to[…]Continue reading→
Remembering Father Alphonse de Valk
(Today marks the sixth anniversary of the death of Father Alphonse de Valk, C.S.B., a faithful, courageous and indefatigable Basilian priest, pro-life-and-family apostle, and the founder of Catholic Insight magazine. Here is what we wrote those on his entering into eternity five years ago, as we continue to remember him in our prayers and thoughts)[…]Continue reading→
My Name is Bernadette
April 16th is a propitious day, for besides the anniversary of Father de Valk’s death, who founded Catholic Insight in its print form decades ago, and the commemoration of the ‘two Benedicts’, mentioned in accompanying posts, today we also recall Saint Bernadette Soubirous, the young visionary to whom the Virgin Mary appeared numerous times at[…]Continue reading→
Canonizing Sister Faustina and Divine Mercy
HOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER MASS IN ST PETER’S SQUARE FOR THE CANONIZATION OF SR MARY FAUSTINA KOWALSKA Sunday, 30 April 2000 1. “Confitemini Domino quoniam bonus, quoniam in saeculum misericordia eius”; “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his steadfast love endures for ever” (Ps 118: 1). So the Church sings on the Octave of[…]Continue reading→
Divine Mercy Sunday – An Echo of Every Mass
Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe’… ‘My Lord and my God!’ (Jn. 20:18)). Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, and as we celebrate the end of the Easter Octave, we contemplate the wounded side of our Saviour, the Church’s source of life. On Good Friday in the[…]Continue reading→
Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów
We celebrate Saint Stanislaus today (+ April 11, 1079), in light of this Easter Octave, a bishop and martyr who accepted the episcopacy only at the direct order of Pope Alexander II. He proved a wise and courageous leader of his flock, put to death by his own king, Boleslaus, for rebuking the monarch’s ‘immoral[…]Continue reading→
First Holy Communion: Sermon from May 16, 1943
Here is a sermon from the good old days by +Rev. Msgr. Vincent Nicholas Foy (August 14, 1915 – March 13, 2017), from 1943. Readers may recall that Pope Saint Pius X, by the decree Quam Singulari in 1910, lowered the customary age of reception of Holy Communion – after the rigours of the plague[…]Continue reading→
In the Glorious Light of Easter, Alleluia!
Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory (Col. 3:3-4). The Resurrection of Our Lord and Saviour[…]Continue reading→
An Ancient Homily for Holy Saturday
The time between Good Friday and Easter Sunday is one of waiting, in silence, as the world wonders – anticipates – what will happen, after the death of Christ. We re-live this time each year in the anamnesis of our liturgy, and in turn look forward to the glorious re-creation of all things at the[…]Continue reading→
Europe’s Long Descent
(As we meditate on this day on Christ’s burial, and His descent into hell, it is fitting to ponder here with contributor Peter Marcus how the world seems to be heading there as well. The difference is that, although God cannot ‘redeem’ hell, nor those therein, He can and did redeem the world. There is[…]Continue reading→