Chapter Two:
The Way of Life
13. As
the Father sees in every person the features of his Son, the firstborn of many
brothers and sisters, so the Secular Franciscans with a gentle and courteous
spirit accept all people as a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.
Whoa! You mean that we must treat ALL
people the same—as equal to me—with love, respect, and grace—no matter who they
are?
In our modern day, our culture is
centered around boundaries, fences, and exclusion--but that is not the way of
Gospel living. As our prime example, St.
Francis shows us how to live a fully Gospel life by including everyone and
everything in his circle of grace.
Oftentimes, we hear or see the word solidarity in the speeches
and writings of our Pope and Bishops.
What they mean with this word is a unity or agreement of feeling or
action with all people. The
Merriam-Webster.com definition limits this trait to those individuals with a common interest; mutual
support within a group,
but the gospel does not limit us in this way.
Article 18 of our General Constitutions explains our Franciscan take on
this idea:
2. Rule 13 They should deepen the true foundations of universal kinship
and create a spirit of welcome and an atmosphere of fraternity everywhere. They
should firmly commit themselves to oppose every form of exploitation, discrimination,
and exclusion and against every attitude of indifference in relation to others.
3. Rule 13 They should work
together with movements which promote the building of fraternity among peoples:
they should be committed to "create worthy conditions of life" for
all and to work for the freedom of all people.
As you can readily see, our action under Gospel
to Life—Life to Gospel is inclusive of all people. We are challenged to exclude no one from our
circle of influence. In fact, we oppose
all discrimination & exclusion and work to incorporate all peoples into the
fraternity and freedom of our human family.
So, we must lay aside our narrow thinking
promoted by our politics that encourages us to exclude those who are not like
us. What we must remember is that the
hierarchy of belief is Gospel first, followed by political activity that is for
the common good, not limited to any particular group or faction. The self-centered ways of modern society have
no room in Gospel living.
In one of Richard Rohr, OFM’s daily meditations,
he quotes Peter Block, John McKnight, and
Walter Brueggemann in their book “An Other Kingdom: Departing the Consumer Culture” (John
Wiley and Sons, Inc.: 2016), xiv, xviii-xix).:
We invite you to a
journey of departure from this consumer culture. We ask you to imagine an
alternative set of economic beliefs that have the capacity to evoke a culture
where poverty, violence, and shrinking well-being are not inevitable—a culture
in which the social order produces enough for all. . . .
This departure into
another kingdom might be closer to the reality of our nature and what works
best for our humanity. . . .
Neighborliness means
that our well-being and what really matters is close at hand and can be locally
constructed or produced.
Their contention is that our consumer culture is
one of limiting and exclusion. They are
proposing a different approach that will lead to a post-consumer culture
of neighborliness and inclusion. As
Father Rohr says, “It sounds a lot like the Gospel to
me.”
As we delve deeper into the implications of
living in solidarity with all people, we will find that the church has a lot to
say in guiding us into a different, more inclusive lifestyle. In so doing, we follow in the footsteps of
St. Francis and, as faithful followers, become a counter-cultural force in
modern society. This is how we rebuild
the Church and modern society.
And so, we return to a
deeper consideration of Article 13 of our Rule.
24k Then God said: Let the earth bring forth every kind of
living creature: tame animals, crawling things, and every kind of wild animal.
And so it happened:25God made every kind of wild
animal, every kind of tame animal, and every kind of thing that crawls on the
ground. God saw that it was good.
26l Then God said: Let us make* human
beings in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish
of the sea, the birds of the air, the tame animals, all the wild animals, and
all the creatures that crawl on the earth.
27God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female* he
created them.
We are all familiar with
the story of creation, summarized in the preceding quotation from Genesis
1. Often, we emphasize the words which
follow this text, “…fill the earth and subdue it…” We believe that this gives us license to
do what ever we want to “be in control” of the earth, its resources, and other
people. Because of our cultural bias, we
believe that the first man and woman were white and, consequently, it follows
that we are just better that everyone and everything else. That is not what it says! The creation of man was the last thing in this
creation story. Even the implication of
Chapter 2 of Genesis is that everything else is created and THEN, AND ONLY THEN,
is a human placed in the Garden of Eden.
Yes, we are special because we have been created in the “image and
likeness of God;” but that doesn’t give us an special status. In fact, if we truly believe that we are
following St. Francis, it requires us to become and remain “minore” (smaller,
lesser, shorter, lower). We are not the
Big Man On Campus that we would like to be.
Yes, Gospel living requires us to be the servant of all—equal in every
way to all others on the earth, no matter their status.
The Church reminds us,
225 It means knowing the unity and true dignity of all men: everyone is
made in the image and likeness of God. 50
358 God created everything for man, 222 but man in turn was created to serve and love God and
to offer all creation back to him:
What
is it that is about to be created, that enjoys such honour? It is man that
great and wonderful living creature, more precious in the eyes of God than all
other creatures! For him the heavens and the earth, the sea and all the rest of
creation exist. God attached so much importance to his salvation that he did
not spare his own Son for the sake of man. Nor does he ever cease to work,
trying every possible means, until he has raised man up to himself and made him
sit at his right hand. 223
360 Because of its common origin the human race forms a
unity, for "from one ancestor [God] made all nations to inhabit the whole earth": 226
O
wondrous vision, which makes us contemplate the human race in the unity of its
origin in God. . . in the unity of its nature, composed equally in all men of a
material body and a spiritual soul; in the unity of its immediate end and its
mission in the world; in the unity of its dwelling, the earth, whose benefits
all men, by right of nature, may use to sustain and develop life; in the unity
of its supernatural end: God himself, to whom all ought to tend; in the unity
of the means for attaining this end;. . . in the unity of the redemption
wrought by Christ for all. 227
361 "This law of human solidarity and charity", 228 without excluding the rich
variety of persons, cultures and peoples, assures us that all men are truly
brethren.
Unity, true dignity,
everyone, serve, love, offer back, raised man up, common origin, unity, composed
equally, human solidarity, and “…assures us that all men are truly brethren.” What these words tell us is that each of is
not individually special or raised up, but we are all made from the same stock
and are equal in the sight of God.
Understanding this concept carries with it the obligation to treat “…others
as we ourselves would like to be treated.” (Matt. 22:39)
As Franciscans, our “…gentle and courteous spirit accept all people as
a gift of the Lord and an image of Christ.” As much as one tries
you cannot find any words in any of this that create an exceptionalism for any individual
or group of people—not even apart from the entire created universe. That’s what St. Francis shows us with his
example: Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Brothers wind & air, Sister Water, Brother
Fire, Sister Mother Earth, those who grant pardon, those who endure sickness
& trial, and those who endure in peace.
His whole life was centered upon loving God and all of God’s creation with
his whole spirit.
Consequently, the Church instructs us
in our obligation and duty to live the Gospel with that solidarity in mind:
2212 The fourth commandment illuminates other relationships
in society. In our brothers and sisters we see the children of our
parents; in our cousins, the descendants of our ancestors; in our fellow
citizens, the children of our country; in the baptized, the children of our
mother the Church; in every human person, a son or daughter of the One who
wants to be called "our Father." In this way our relationships with
our neighbors are recognized as personal in character. The neighbor is not a
"unit" in the human collective; he is "someone" who by his
known origins deserves particular attention and respect.
1702 The divine image is present in every man. It shines forth in
the communion of persons, in the likeness of the unity of the divine persons
among themselves (cf. chapter two).
1935 The equality of men rests essentially on their dignity as
persons and the rights that flow from it:
Every form of social or cultural
discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race,
color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated
as incompatible with God's design. 40
Our Rule
says,
A sense of community will make them
joyful and ready to place themselves on an equal basis with all people,
especially with the lowly for whom they shall strive to create conditions of
life worthy of people redeemed by Christ.
These words are the crux of the
matter. No matter who the person is we
willingly treat all people the same way—with love, grace, and mercy. We even have an obligation to care more especially
for “…the lowly.” In other words, we bend
over backwards to ensure that those without the gifts of others receive our special
care and devotion to help them understand that they too are worthy people
included in this great enterprise that we call life.
The Church has a lot to say about this
aspect of this aspect of our Gospel living:
1934 Created in the image of
the one God and equally endowed with rational souls, all men have the same
nature and the same origin. Redeemed by the sacrifice of Christ, all are called
to participate in the same divine beatitude: all therefore enjoy an equal
dignity.
1931 Respect for the human
person proceeds by way of respect for the principle that "everyone should
look upon his neighbor (without any exception) as 'another self,' above all
bearing in mind his life and the means necessary for living it with
dignity." 37 No legislation
could by itself do away with the fears, prejudices, and attitudes of pride and
selfishness which obstruct the establishment of truly fraternal societies. Such
behavior will cease only through the charity that finds in every man a
"neighbor," a brother.
1936 On coming into the
world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily
and spiritual life. He needs others. Differences appear tied to age, physical
abilities, intellectual or moral aptitudes, the benefits derived from social
commerce, and the distribution of wealth. 41 The
"talents" are not distributed equally. 42
1937 These differences belong to God's plan, who wills that each
receive what he needs from others, and that those endowed with particular
"talents" share the benefits with those who need them. These
differences encourage and often oblige persons to practice generosity, kindness,
and sharing of goods; they foster the mutual enrichment of cultures:
I
distribute the virtues quite diversely; I do not give all of them to each
person, but some to one, some to others.... I shall give principally charity to
one; justice to another; humility to this one, a living faith to that one....
And so I have given many gifts and graces, both spiritual and temporal, with
such diversity that I have not given everything to one single person, so that
you may be constrained to practice charity towards one another.... I have
willed that one should need another and that all should be my ministers in
distributing the graces and gifts they have received from me. 43
1938 There exist also sinful inequalities that affect
millions of men and women. These are in open contradiction of the Gospel:
Their
equal dignity as persons demands that we strive for fairer and more humane
conditions. Excessive economic and social disparity between individuals and
peoples of the one human race is a source of scandal and militates against
social justice, equity, human dignity, as well as social and international
peace. 44
1939 The principle of solidarity, also articulated in terms of
"friendship" or "social charity," is a direct demand of
human and Christian brotherhood. 45
An
error, "today abundantly widespread, is disregard for the law of human
solidarity and charity, dictated and imposed both by our common origin and by
the equality in rational nature of all men, whatever nation they belong to.
This law is sealed by the sacrifice of redemption offered by Jesus Christ on the
altar of the Cross to his heavenly Father, on behalf of sinful humanity." 46
1940 Solidarity is
manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for
work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where
tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by
negotiation.
1941 Socio-economic problems can be
resolved only with the help of all the forms of solidarity: solidarity of the
poor among themselves, between rich and poor, of workers among themselves,
between employers and employees in a business, solidarity among nations and
peoples. International solidarity is a requirement of the moral order; world
peace depends in part upon this.
Catechism of the Catholic Church
Recognizing that this citation is voluminous, it
must be recognized that the lack of equality and solidarity is, perhaps, the
greatest issue of our modern time. Our cultural bias is in favor of the long-held
view of “the survival of the fittest.” I don’t believe that our Gospel values
allow us to think that way. The
capitalist shouts, “Mine, mine, mine.”
The Franciscan quietly says, “We are all in this together. How may I
help you?” Perhaps, this is the
singularly most important distinction between modern life and Gospel living—a
counter-cultural way of living that places others needs before our own; being
lower, lesser, and smaller than everyone else; placing our lives in service to
others----following in the footsteps of St. Francis who mirrored Christ Jesus
in every way possible. Our challenge is
to do the same.
Pace e bene
