Recently I suggested, at the morning Mass of the memorial of St Bernardine of Siena (20th May), that the congregation should buy “empat nombor ekor”. The number was 8647. It seems that 86 is the code for killing and 47 denotes the current US President.
The background of this lottery number is that it was spotted by the former head of the FBI while he and his wife were walking along the beach. He posted it on X and it created a political kerfuffle. Those who hate Trump supported Comey’s claim of blissful ignorance. Apparently he did not know the real meaning of 8647. Those who love Trump felt that it was yet another incitement to assassinate the President.
There is an unprecedented level of hatred arising from a political fissure that is rending that country apart. Sadly, it is not only a land far away. Hatred is also something which we may be familiar with. The whole election of the Pope was rife with speculation on who the next Pontiff would be. The betting that took place merely indicated the cracks and crevices that we have been experiencing.
Liberals wanted a Pope who will continue the pace of change so that the Church can keep up or conform to societal norms. Conservatives preferred a Pope who can roll back the perceived deviations that we had made under Pope Francis. It is lamentable that there exists such a sad division in the Church where opposing parties simply disdain the other.
Sadly, our division is sign of forgetfulness too. We have forgotten who the Church is supposed to be. Instead of praying for a Pope that we need, some have hoped for Pope to mirror their philosophical or theological stand. Right or wrong may not be the issue here. Forgetfulness is. The Church belongs to Christ. Rightly so, that before the descent of the Holy Spirit, Christ prayed for His Church to remain united.
There are two great sins against the Body of Christ. The first is the sin of heresy. Heresy is a sin against the unity of faith. The second sin against the Holy Spirit is schism. It is a sin that breaks up the Body of Christ.
Perhaps it is fortuitous that we have a son of St Augustine who has ascended the throne of Peter. Divisions are aplenty but charity must trump all else. Politics which is supposedly the art of friendship, of negotiation, of compromise has become, for many of us, a poisonous chalice. We not longer enter into a conversation but instead we are on the look-out for weaknesses to exploit, in order to gain the upper hand. Ultimately this does not serve the people because the politics of poison cannot build up the community. It destroys and renders the community even more fractured than it should be.
We are living in an age where our philosophical persuasion or theology tendency are divided and fractured which makes reaching across the aisle rather arduous. The result is that minds alike tend to create bubbles or echo chambers where tribes of the same bent can hear their biases confirmed or even amplified instead of being challenged. These safe havens provide security rather the promote self-reflection. In the end the good that we want to achieve and hope to gain is negated by the divisions we have.
Christ was correct for He prayed for the unity of his followers or of his disciples. Anyone who claim himself to be a Christian must be an apostle of love and of unity. It is true that that things can be wrong. It is true that we need to say things as we know it. In other words, we are held accountable by what we know to be true. But it is also possible that we speak the truth with love.
The challenge we face is that “truth” is now a servant of an economy hinged on material wealth geared towards entertainment and amusement. Thus we have billionaires and celebrities lecturing us on how we should organise our lives. To be fair, possessing wisdom and being a personality, a celebrity or billionaire are not mutually exclusive. A billionaire or a celebrity can also be wise in the ways of the Lord. But by and large these so-called elite have arrogated upon themselves a platform which they believe is theirs by virtue of their status or they feel themselves entitled to, to berate us on how we should live. Yet, we know that some of their private lives cannot even muster a simple scrutiny of morality.
The ability to speak truth must come from a position that recognises that we are in the world but we are not of the world. Thus, it is not wealth or fame that allows one’s voice to be louder. Rather, whether we be richer or poorer, what is crucial is that we are united in the love of Jesus Christ and animated by a faith we profess in Him. The world is diverse and plural. If there is unity to be forged, it must come from persuasion rather than pressure, conviction rather than compulsion. Differences or diversity do not have to result in division whereas imposition of uniformity will not result in unity. Instead, it will foment divisive resentment. More than ever, in a world diverse and divided, what is needed is charity and in a quote somewhat attributed to St Augustine which we might take note of: In all things inessential, let there be diversity. In all things essential, let there be unity. Above all, let there be charity.
