If we want to know what being a Christian means, we look at the words and actions of Jesus, Light of the World. He prayed in private constantly to his Father. He knew and believed in Jewish Scriptures and Tradition, including moral codes like the Ten Commandments. He prayed regularly with his community at the synagogue and temple. He enjoyed relationships and celebrations, like the wedding feast at Cana, yet he also led a disciplined, simple life. He believed in love for the poor and caring for them, sharing one's own money and goods with them - justice as well as charity.
Fr. Ronald Rolheiser says that for Jesus, these were the four non-negotiables of Christian discipleship and a healthy spiritual life: "a) private prayer and private morality; b) social justice, c) mellowness of heart and spirit; and d) community as a constitutive element of true worship." (in his book "The Holy Longing" )
Yet all of us struggle to keep these non-negotiable elements in balance in our own lives, so that we don't become one-sided in our spirituality.
Some of us believe in private prayer and private morality, but don't understand their connection to social justice. Like the prayerful woman who is irate with the Bishop who had a national reputation for his strong views on social justice issues. She scolds him
"Your Excellency, what I can't understand is why the churches, and people like yourself, are forever wanting to preach about economics, poverty, universal health care, human rights, and things like that, which are really not the concern of religion....Why doesn't the church stay where it's supposed to stay, inside the church, and teach us about faith, prayer, and the ten commandments...?"
The Bishop replies "....The Gospel's demand to help create justice for the poor is just as clear and non-negotiable as its call to pray and keep our private lives in order. Both, prayer and justice, are non-negotiable."
Jesus knew the teachings of the Jewish prophets: the quality of the people's faith DEPENDS upon the quality of their dealings with the most vulnerable in their land and society: widows, orphans, and strangers. "Thus according to the Jewish prophets, where we stand with God depends not just upon prayer and sincerity of heart, but also on where we stand with the poor. Jesus...takes it further. He identifes his own presence with the poor and tells us that, ultimately, we will be judged on how we treat the poor.....we will go to heaven or hell on the basis of giving or not giving food, water, clothing, shelter, and justice to the poor. How we treat the poor is how we treat God." (Rolheiser)
Some of us are strong in social justice, but lacking in private prayer and private morality. Like the young social worker who is a Catholic, but attends Mass only occasionally, basically has no private prayer in his life, and considers the Church's teachings on sex and marriage to be a medieval hang-up. He asks Fr. Rolheiser "Do you really think that God gives a damn whether you say your morning and evening prayers, whether you hold a grudge against someone who's hurt you, whether you..share a bed with someone you aren't married to? Do you really believe that God cares about these pettily little things? As Christians we are always so hung up on these little private things that we neglect the big picture - the fact that half the world goes to bed hungry every night, and nobody gives a damn."
This man too has a one-sided spirituality. He forgets that "private prayer and personal moral integrity in things, even in the smallest private affairs, are things that Jesus makes nonnegotiable within the spiritual life. He asks us to 'pray in secret,' to have a private, personal relationship with him, and through him, with God. Moreover, in Jesus' mind, the test as to whether or not we are in fact doing this, having a personal relationship with God, is not a question of whether we feel we are having one or not, but of keeping the commandments: 'If anyone loves me, he or she will keep my commandments.' In the Gospels, fidelity in keeping the commandments is the only real criterion to tell real prayer from illusion....It is true that we can keep the commandments and not be loving; but it is also true, and Jesus teaches this very clearly, that we cannot pretend to be loving if we are not keeping the commandments." (Rolheiser.)
Some of us are strong in private prayer, private morality, and social justice, but lack involvement within a concrete church community. Like the woman who is a woman of faith, faithful in prayer, faithful in her marriage, is a good mother, has a deep concern for justice - but does not belong to a church community. "In her view of things, personal involvement within a concrete church community is not of high value. She is not particularly negative on church, and even attends occasionally. Indifference is the bigger issue." (Rolheiser.)
But the concrete experience of being bound in a covenant commitment to a church community adds the "reality" dimension to our spirituality. Jesus lived out his faith life through worshipping God in synagogue and temple, alongside his fellow Jews, in spite of heckling and being misunderstood, and facing outright hostility.
"In parishes, as we know, we do not get to pick who we will be standing beside as we worship and celebrate various things together. A parish-type family is a hand of cards that is randomly dealt to us, and precisely to the extent that it is truly inclusive, will include persons of every temperament, ideology, virtue, and fault. Also, church involvement, when understood properly, does not leave us the option to walk away whenever something happens that we do not like. It is a covenant commitment, like a marriage, and binds us for better and for worse....Real churchgoing...gives us no escape, as we find ourselves constantly humbled as our immaturities and lack of sensitivity to the pain of others are reflected off eyes that are honest and unblinking.
"We can be very nice persons, pray regularly, be involved in social justice, and still not be fully responsible. It is still possible to live in a lot of fantasy and keep our lives safe for ourselves. This gets more difficult, however, if we start going to a church, most any church, especially one that is large enough to be inclusive." (Rolheiser.)
It's amazing how many people know everything about the lives of their favorite film stars, musicians, sports figures, and politicians, reading fan magazines, following them on Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter. They know who they're married to and what their favorite food is. They can list their films, recordings, and sports averages. Yet these same people do not know everything about Jesus, even if they call themselves Christians. They have never read one of the Gospels to become familiar with his words and actions. They excuse and even praise the faults of the people they idolize, and they refuse to admit the spiritual challenges that Jesus gives us for our lives. They buy into their heroes' lies and evasions, and refuse the fact that Jesus alone is our Way, our Truth, and our Life - and it's a balanced life that covers all areas of our living.
If we know Jesus intimately, then we know that we must do these things, as he did, and they're not negotiable:
- Pray, have an intimate personal relationship with our God.
- Know our Scriptures and our Church's teachings.
- Follow the Commandments and the Beatitudes, especially in regards to private morality and justice and mercy for the poor and vulnerable.
- Belong to a Church community.
And, since Jesus lives in the Now, all of these include:
- Welcoming the refugee and the vulnerable, including the poor, the homeless, the grief-stricken, and people with disabilities and mental and physical illnesses. These were the people whom Jesus spent time with and healed.
- Healing a wounded planet which we human beings are deliberately destroying even though God gave it into our stewardship.
- Building bridges of trust with people of different races, religions, ethnicites, and sexual orientations, since Jesus came to embrace the entire world, especially those in his time who were excluded and abandoned. Whom would he consider the most excluded and abandoned today?
- Sharing our gifts without pridefulness, anxiety, or fear.
We can check our own spiritualities by reading the signs of the times, the events of the day.
For example, concerning the terrible shooting in a Florida airport terminal, do we have any Christ-like compassion for the perpetrator, a young war veteran who was fighting the demons of post traumatic stress syndrome and mental illness, and did not receive help? Do we feel compassion for his family who were helpless to get him the aid he needed? Who had to watch him in the thrall of voices and delusions that he could not control? Do we pray for them? Do we ask why this happened?
And, whenever we see anyone speaking out honestly and courageously in defense of a vulnerable other, that person deserves our praise, not our ridicule.
Anyone who knows the tenets of Judeo-Christian morality has the right to speak out - and must speak out. We may not be experts in politics or economics, but we all, through the Holy Spirit, understand the need to pray unceasingly, love our church and world communities, work for justice and charity and peace, and defend the most vulnerable, excluded, and abandoned.
Increasingly in days to come, for us to be a Christian will be to pray unceasingly and courageously preach the Good News, whether it is popular or unpopular. ALL of the Good News!