Tune In WWJD

In yesterday’s Gospel we heard Jesus say he came to bring division.

Well, we certainly have division today.

We’re divided into polarized camps.

There was a recent editorial in the New York Times

From a liberal writer who was under attack from fellow liberals.

Because she didn’t rigidly echo their thoughts on one particular issue.

She was strongly liberal in almost all her beliefs.

But she was a little more conservative on that one issue.

So the pack savagely turned on her in social media.

This happened to be a fight among liberals.

But the conservatives are just as rigid—maybe more so.

Today, ideology, opinion and spin, trump thought, fact and truth.

We have to guard against becoming the hypocrites Jesus condemned.

Those who know what is right or wrong.

But act according to what is right or left.

We have to resist that polarization.

Again today, in our Scripture, we hear about division.

Paul speaks of division within ourselves.

Our individual, internal struggle with right and wrong.

The misery of doing evil despite our desire to do good.

But in today’s Scripture, we also hear about reconciliation.

About settling with our opponents.

And Jesus tells us we’ve got the tools to figure all this out.

Just like our ability to sense the weather.

We also have the ability to sense the truth.

At least the major truths.

The Father has revealed to [us] little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

The Lord [has taught us] his statutes.

So it’s reasonable for Jesus to ask us,

Why do you not judge for yourself what is right?

It is up to us to figure it out.

Not with blind, lock step, allegiance to any party.

Or to any faction.

But with what we know is right and good.

What, deep down within ourselves, we know is true.

Because of the revelations and the statutes we’ve received.

We’ve received many statutes.

But Jesus has boiled them all down into two simple commandments.

Love God with all your heart, soul and mind.

And love your neighbor as yourself.

Loving our neighbor includes working to reconcile with one another.

Because deep down we know of God’s mercy.

And we know he wants us to follow his example of mercy.

Jesus knows full well the difficulties of this world’s divisions.  
But he has given us the tools to overcome them.

Not only revelations and statutes, but also his own example.

So if we run into a really tough problem.

And we really can’t see a clear answer as to what is right.

We can always tune in and ask WWJD.

And I don’t mean ask some radical radio talk-show host,

Who’ll blast us with ranting group-think.

I mean ask that question that leads us to the ultimate example.

And the ultimate answer.

I mean literally asking, WWJD.

What Would Jesus Do?

Friday 29th Week of Ordinary Time

Lk 12:54-59   Read this Scripture @usccb.org