Just as we enter into the final phase of the Ordinary Time, we are reminded of what is important. It is the commandment to love. The scriptural context for this remains that of “testing” as the enemies of Christ were looking for any excuse to get Him into trouble. From the corpus of 613 commandments found in the Torah [the Pentateuch] Christ drew two commandments—from Deuteronomy (6:5) and Leviticus (19:18). He did not discard all the others but made these two the foundation for the rest. In this, Christ remained orthodox and yet He universally widened the definition of a neighbour from embracing only an Israelite to all Gentiles also.What does it mean to love God and neighbour? A question to elaborate the commandment will usually set us thinking in terms of “how”, meaning, concretely, how I may love God and neighbour. The first reading is a good example as it lists the “do’s” and “don’ts” of loving our neighbour. But, put aside the “how”, you would find that the commandment actually describes our fundamental orientation to both God and our neighbour. Now, the question is: “Why do we immediately resort to thinking of the “how””?
For us, the answer lies in a characteristic of the modern mindset which may be termed as a “show-proof” mindset arising as it were from a “scientific” mentality. A premise of science is to show forth proof for any statement that one makes. With regard to God, in the last 400 years or so, we have actually reasoned Him out of our universe since we cannot scientifically prove the existence of God. With God out of the picture, our focus shifts to humanity expressed through a commendable concern for the world. Without God, humanism seems to be at its best, doing what is necessary for the world to be a better place. However, one of the consequences of a secular humanism is a disdain for religiosity; which is an expression of the show-proof mentality. How? Take a look at the phenomenon of the dying churches, especially of Europe, filled with old women praying the rosary. They pray so much but what do they amount to? Nothing. In fact, people who pray so much are usually those who have no “connection” with the world outside. And worse, the criticism against those who pray or those who frequent church is that they do not practise what they preach. In short, the commandment to love God and neighbour has been reduced by a “show-proof scientific” mentality into a secular humanist project. If you love God, prove it by what you do (justice) and not only that, justice has become the only way to prove that God exists.
But any secular humanist project, any ethics without God is bound to fail. According to Pope Benedict, he says that “Man can build a world without God, but this world will end by turning against him”. We have seen ample examples of this project in the last 150 years. Nazism was a good example as Hitler tried to “construct” a perfect race. But, the most glaring one was the socialist project called Communism. Today, the EU may be described as another humanist attempt at building a world which is both just and equitable.
In order for the humanist project to succeed, it needs to return God to the centre of its vision. In fact, true humanism begins by acknowledging that Man is made in the image and likeness of God. Thus, humanism at its best is when Man discovers himself loved by God in such way that he responds joyfully by loving God and embracing God’s love for humanity.
Perhaps, you can see how the commandment given by Christ is more a definition of who we are than what we do meaning how we behave flows from an understanding and acceptance of who we are as loved by God. It is as Pope Benedict would say, “It is the reality of God that reveals and illustrates the mystery of Man”. Therefore, our love for humanity is a logical consequence of our fundamental attitude towards God. If you cannot love someone, it is not a proof that you do not love God. Maybe it is better explained by the fact that you have not arrived at loving God enough. And this is where many of us are at. We struggle to love God in our lives. It may be the greatest struggle of our lives.
The current crisis we have with regard to abject poverty and social deprivation is an indication of the crisis of orientation. If we want to live the commandment that Christ has enjoined upon us, we must return to what is fundamental. We begin by returning to God and not focusing on the “how” of action, no matter how pressing the situation may be.
Do not be surprised by what I have said because we are too quick to embrace activism. What do I mean? There is a flood in Bangkok, what shall we do? Do we pray first [ie, focus on God] before we think of what we need to do? Must we do one first before the other? No, by all means, reach out to support any flood relief work the Thais might embark upon. The point I am trying to make is reaching out to support the Thais in their flood relief action and much of what we do with regard to loving our neighbour (advocacy or activism) may just be natural expressions of our sincerity and not necessarily the articulation of our love for God.
Why is sincerity not enough? Firstly, ethics without God is incomplete. Secondly and more importantly, it does not take much to demoralise an activist especially when he or she faces the gap between ideal and reality. A good example is just before Mass. Some of us, a few of us, actually, park our cars in such a way that the residents of Section 10 have great difficulty removing their cars. They have routinely complained to us. A few of us give all of us a bad name. We need to anchor our love for neighbour on our love for God. It explains why saints are never surprised whereas a cynic is a failed idealist. Christians will consistently and constantly fall short of the mark and the saints are never surprised because they have the right compass. For them, the key word is “re-turning” to God—signifying a life-long struggle of orienting one’s compass towards God. In summary, love for our neighbour, no matter how hard it may be, will supernaturally follow when we have a right attitude with God and then the first reading’s “do’s” and “don’ts” become the logical expression of that love for God. Mother Theresa’s sisters spend long hours before the Blessed Sacrament. Their charity is founded very much upon their love for Jesus Christ.
