Word to the Wise
Saturday, May 16, 2009 - Saturday in the Fifth Week of Easter
[Acts 16:1-10 and John 15:18-21]If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, the world would love its own; but because you do not belong to the world, the world hates you.
These are very somber words from Jesus. It is a warning that the disciples can expect to be treated just as he was treated. The "world" is a very large reality but in the Gospel of John it means basically all those who reject Jesus and his mission. In our own time and western culture, it is the world of secularism which stands in opposition. At best this world will admit to religion as a private set of opinions that has no universal value. Therefore, all morality is a matter of private choice or mutual agreement - there is no objective truth other than what can be measured by scientific instruments. These secular values are held in many ways by many people but the one thing that comes consistently as a result is resistance to any religious truth or matters of faith as a guide to public policy. The irony is that under the guise of separation of church and state, the secular values actually create a "church" of their own which they then impose on religious believers as a matter of public policy! The best current example is a proposal that would compel Catholic health care institutions to offer procedures such as abortion or tubal ligation on demand! In non-Catholic institutions, a similar proposal would eliminate a "conscience clause" which would allow Catholic health care personnel to decline participation in any immoral action without prejudice to their employment! This is not the only area. Schools are structured so that religious values have no place in instruction, etc. etc. There's an old expression: The one who would sup with the devil had better use a long spoon! We must live in the midst of human society but we do not have to discard our religious faith as the price of it. If it gets difficult, remember that Jesus warned us it would. AMEN
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