Thinking Anew
IT IS almost impossible to appreciate the implications of the Christian belief that every man, woman and child is uniquely precious to God.
The consequences of such a belief are shattering, for it calls into question not only the way we treat many of our fellow human beings, but the military, political, economic and social policies which are considered reasonable by so many of us today.
It was especially significant, therefore, when President Obama, on the day of his inauguration, said that ideals cannot be exchanged for expediency – implying that human rights and human dignity, the things that belong to human happiness and wellbeing, are paramount and must not be compromised.
He was pointing his people in the right direction.
The theologian Hans Küng maintains that whether we are Christian or not we have to admit that the purely humane, basic norms and values of the past, such as those referred to by the president, are Christian in character:
“It was the Christian mind and spirit that enshrined the values of human dignity, liberty, justice solidarity and peace.” Küng suggests that Jesus reveals the God “who does not always demand but gives; who does not oppress but liberates; who does not make people ill but heals. . .He is the God who prefers the prodigal son to the one who stayed at home, the tax collector to the pharisee, the Samaritan heretics to the orthodox, the prostitutes and adulterers to their self-righteous judges. . .It was for this God and his wonderful kindness that Jesus pleaded. For him he spoke, fought, suffered and was executed.”
This understanding of God suggests that we cannot be selective in the way we treat each other. Everyone has the right to be treated with respect and dignity. No one can be left out. That is easy to say, but difficult to apply in a world where we often abandon ideals to protect our interests or accommodate our prejudices.
We see this tension in the struggle of Christian Beyers Naude, a high ranking clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa some years ago. He was highly regarded for his strong theological defence of the apartheid system. But as he witnessed the increasing maltreatment of his black neighbours, he returned to the scriptures seeking to justify the brutal system. He had little success and began to have doubts.
The Sharpeville shootings of 1960, when dozens of black protesters were killed, was a turning point. He formed a multiracial institute to bring different racial groups together and as a result was ejected from his church and endured violent threats and deprivations, including house arrest for some years.When he made the break with his own church he knew his stand for gospel values would be costly. He told his wife: “We must prepare for 10 years in the wilderness”; but this prospect did not prevent him from making his courageous stand. For him expediency gave way to the ideal. Nelson Mandela later acknowledged him as a “great Afrikaner prophet”.
In tomorrow’s Gospel reading we travel a long way in time and style from the Washington spectacular back to the humble source of that Christian mind and spirit spoken of by Hans Küng. Jesus is in the synagogue at Capernaum speaking to local people who are astounded at what he has to say. The essence of his message is that God cares for and values everyone without exception and those who claim to be his followers have a duty of care for everyone without exception.
Thankfully, this message of hope, shared with small groups in remote places long ago, inspires men and women, from the least to the greatest, to his day.
“Speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. Speak out, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” – Proverbs 31:8-9.
GL