OP_052418

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the orland park prairie | May 24, 2018 | 21
Pastor Column
‘Rejoice and be glad’
The Rev. Michael Foley
Our Lady of the Woods
Last month, Pope
Francis issued an apostolic
exhortation,
which, when translated,
is titled “Rejoice and Be
Glad.”
It is a document about
Christian holiness. I know
that many of those reading
this column are not Catholic
nor even Christian, but
there are aspects of the
Pope’s wisdom that are
applicable to all of us who
seek to be holy, whatever
our religious background.
I also know that like
many papal documents,
only a small percentage
of individuals will actually
take the time to read
this. So, I will offer a few
nuggets that I think can be
useful to all. They are two
admonitions, two scriptural
perspectives and finally
a context for holiness to
flourish.
In the first part of the
document, the Pope warns
against two heresies that
were common in the beginning
of the church and are
present today. They are
Gnosticism and Pelagianism.
Let me summarize in a
sentence or two how these
dangers might apply to you
and I.
The modern version of
Gnosticism is that belief
that knowledge is the key
to solving all our problems
and to living a good life.
It is truthful that education
is helpful and necessary.
We can think of all the
advances in science and
technology that make our
lives better.
Yet, knowledge is not
the full answer. Intelligent
people have built bombs,
created weapons of mass
destruction and plot evil.
Germany in the 1930s was
the most educated country
in Europe; yet, that did not
prevent the Holocaust.
To be fully human is
more than possessing
knowledge. To be fully
human requires a spiritual
component.
Pelagianism in the modern
form is a belief that all
we need to create a better
world with our wills. If we
only choose to be better we
will be.
Once again, there is an
element of truth in this. The
human will is important.
We make all sorts of decisions.
Yet, there are also limits.
Anyone who has struggled
with addictions knows that
deciding to get better, while
necessary, is not the whole
story. There is a mystery of
what we call grace at work.
There are two biblical
perspectives that Pope
Francis uses to frame our
understanding of holiness.
We find them in the fifth
and 25th chapters of Matthew’s
Gospel. Again they
illustrate a wisdom that can
be helpful for any of us.
The first is that holiness
is, at least part, an interior
attitude.
Jesus says, “Blessed
are the poor in spirit …
Blessed are those who
mourn ... Blessed are the
meek … Blessed are those
who hunger and thirst for
righteousness … Blessed
are the merciful … Blessed
are the pure in heart.”
The idea is that holiness
begins with the attitude of
the heart. That is different
from thinking it or willing
it. We must open ourselves
to it.
We cannot stop there.
Holiness must be lived in
action. In Matthew 25, Jesus
says we will be judged
on how we feed the poor,
care for the stranger, reach
out to those in prison, shelter
the homeless and
more. In other words,
holiness is made visible in
service.
Finally, the Pope states
that holiness needs a community
to nurture it. In
America, we have a great
deal of emphasis on the
individual’s journey. Spirituality
becomes my truth,
while another person takes
another path. The many
self-help books marketed
illustrate this cultural idea.
From the standpoint of
religious experience, this
search for meaning within
one’s own life alone is
incomplete. We are part
of something larger than
ourselves, and therefore we
need our faith to form us.
This is, of course, a
thumbnail sketch of a document
that can be found by
going to the website “The
Holy See.” I encourage you
to read it, especially my
fellow Catholics. All of us
can benefit from appreciating
that holiness is found in
the most ordinary places in
our lives.
The opinions of this column are
those of the writer. They do not
necessarily reflect those of the
orland park prairie.
Pastor Column
Whose neighbor will you be?
Rev. Caleb Hong
Faith United Methodist Church
Back in February, the
Philadelphia Eagles
defeated the New
England Patriots in one of
the most memorable Super-
Bowls ever. Of course, all
I remember about the game
are the commercials.
This year, one commercial
stood out from the
rest. It is a commercial for
a car manufacturer involving
a pastor, rabbi, imam
and monk. The commercial
opens with a Jewish rabbi
picking up a Christian pastor.
Then, they pick up a
Muslim imam. Finally, they
pick up a Buddhist monk.
Together, they sing, laugh
and speed off to a football
game, where they are chided
by Catholic nuns for arriving
late to the big football game.
As they cheer their team
scoring a touchdown, the
commercial ends with the
words, “We’re all one team.”
I think Jesus might
rephrase the ending to say,
“We’re all neighbors.”
In the Gospel of Luke, an
expert in the law tests Jesus
and asks, “Teacher, what must
I do to inherit eternal life?”
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Jesus responds by asking
the expert what he thinks,
and the expert responds,
“Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, soul,
mind and strength,” and,
“Love your neighbor as
yourself.” Jesus says, “You
have answered correctly. Do
this and you will live.”
But the expert wants to
justify himself, so he asks
Jesus a follow-up question,
“Who is my neighbor?”
In essence, he’s asking,
“Who is not my neighbor?
Who don’t I have to love?”
Jesus responds by telling
a parable — one of the most
famous parables of all about
a man who was travelling
from Jerusalem to Jericho.
On his way, he fell into the
hands of robbers, who beat
him, stripped him and left
him for dead on the side of
the road. When a priest came
by and saw him, he passed
by on the other side. Likewise,
when another religious
leader came by, he (too)
passed by on the other side.
And then came a Samaritan,
who Jesus’ audience
viewed with fear, suspicion
and contempt. When the Samaritan
saw this half-dead
man lying on the side of the
road, he not only stopped to
bandage and care for him,
but he put him on his donkey,
brought him to an inn,
and saw to his ongoing care
and recovery.
Jesus closes the parable
by asking, “Who was neighbor
to this man in need?”
I’m sure y’all realize
that the “Samaritan” in this
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story is interchangeable. In
today’s context, we could
insert “Protestant” as the
person who stopped and offered
help. We could insert
“Catholic” or “Hindu” or
“Muslim” or “atheist” or
any number of other groups
that people view with suspicion
or fear.
Jesus’ point in this parable
is the reminder that
we’re all neighbors. God
longs for us to be neighbors
to one another, regardless
of our racial, social, even
theological differences.
Jesus invites us to love our
neighbors while recognizing
that God’s boundaries for
“neighbors” is much wider
than our own.
On a personal note, it’s
important for me (as a pastor
and as Christian) to be
involved in ecumenical and
inter-faith gatherings. They
help me know my neighbors.
They help me learn
how to love those whose
religious beliefs/practices
differ from my own. More
importantly, they help me
model for my children (and
my congregation) that we
don’t have to live in fear
and suspicion of those who
look different, dress differently,
even worship differently
than us.
So, I ask you: How do
you treat those who are
different from you? Whose
neighbor will you be?
The opinions of this column are
those of the writer. They do not
necessarily reflect those of the
orland park prairie.
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