Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Sunday October 19, 2008

Two Different Worlds

“Two different worlds, we live in, two different worlds, we love in….” These are the lyrics of a popular song dating back to ‘whenever.’ I don’t recall the year and I don’t remember all the words but the song came to mind as I reflected on the Scriptural selections for this weekend.

Actually we live not in two but in ten different worlds: the world of family, the world of work, school and play; the world of politics, the world of commerce and the money market; the world of the media; the world of science and the world of art. We have multiple memberships in many different worlds.

Different though they are, they are not really distinct or truly separate. They overlap and at some level depend on and enrich one another.

The Scriptures this weekend deal with two different worlds, which at first glance seem to be foundational texts for the ‘doctrine’ of the separation of church and state.

Our founding fathers made it clear that there would be no establishment of an official religious institution or favoritism shown to one over another but that religious freedom would be guaranteed to all. This was in response to the theocracies of ancient worlds in which one religion was cast in the role of ruler resulting in religious tyranny, Catholic as well as Protestant. The principle of the separation of church and state has been advantageous for both. The demise of religious practice in Europe is not just the result of secularism but also the result of excessive interference by religious leaders into the political sphere. The Roman Catholic Church has succumbed in the past to religious totalitarianism and there are still strains of totalitarianism at in the Church today evidenced in the unwillingness of Church leaders to engage in genuine dialogue with the faithful in the pew.

The Second Vatican Council re-defined the Church as the ‘people of God’ clearly distinguishing its primary spiritual mission from its political role. However, although separate from government it is not detached or disinterested in the common good, public or political. It is an instrument of a spiritual liberation that also affects the common good. In fact, it can be and often is an agent for social change, the defender of the poor, champion of peace and the sacrament of God’s love for all people no matter the political state in which they reside. We do indeed hold a dual citizenship.

On the other hand, the state can hold religious institutions responsible for ethical behavior, public morality and accountable in the application of just laws.

Extremism at either end of the religious or political spectrum is tyranny and can only lead to the abuse of power and violence of one kind or another and the end does not justify the means. Our God is not a God of tyranny—liberal or conservative.

God used the pagan king Cyrus to free the Jewish people from the political extremism of his predecessor and from extremist tendencies even among the Jews themselves during their captivity in Babylon. In fact, Isaiah tells us in the first reading, that God “anointed” Cyrus that in effect made him a messianic figure and a prototype of the redeemer. Is this an outrageous assertion or what!

In Matthew’s account of the exchange between Jesus, the Herodians and Pharisees, the issue is not the separation of church and state but the superiority of God’s dominion over all—secular rulers as well as religious leaders. There is no goodness in this world without ‘Godness.’

It is our mission as a Christian church not to rule the world but to surrender to the dominion of God under the guidance of Jesus who is our true shepherd. This makes us not subservient to any secular or religious institution but responsible to God for the wellbeing of creation and the wise use of its resources, responsible for the wellbeing of our neighbors near and far.

The great Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador and martyr put it this way in his final homily at Sunday Mass on March 24, 1980:

“Our hope for a new world must not deaden but increase our concern (and our efforts) to improve this world, where the new human family is taking shape and which will, in some way, be a dim pre-figuring of a new age. Although we must distinguish carefully between temporary progress and the growth of the kingdom of Christ, the former, nevertheless, has a lot to do with the latter in so far as it can contribute to improving society… May Jesus whose body was offered up and whose blood was shed for [humanity], give us that strength to offer ourselves in suffering and in sorrow, just as Jesus did not for himself but in order that the world might know true justice and peace.”

“We know that every effort to better society, especially when injustice and sin are so ingrained, is an effort that God blesses, that God wants, that God demands of us.”

Within minutes of that homily, an assassin snuffed out Romero’s life but his voice will never be silenced.

“This [remains] our faith; this is the faith of our Church. We are proud to profess it in Christ Jesus, our Lord.” [Response to Baptismal Promises, Baptismal Ritual]

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