For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,
so that everyone who believes in him might not perish
but might have eternal life.
John 3:16 Perhaps the most familiar passage in the Bible, but how many folks give much thought to the sentence that follows: "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world,
but that the world might be saved through him."
It seems to me that many 'Christians' are quick to condemn the world, and those in it. They see the rest of the world, especially the secular one, as 'evil'. The only folks worthy of blessings are those who are of 'their' flavor of the faith, those who their 'leader' has deemed worthy.
And woe to any who fall outside this narrow band. They are to be damned; be they of a different gender, sexual orientation, religion, etc.
They seem almost like the Pharisee, in the reading from
Saturday, who makes a point of saying how he is not like the tax collector, and how righteous he is.
Of course, I see much of the same righteousness from the rationalist/atheist community too. They see themselves many times as superior to their religious counterparts.
If only both sides, or all sides would remember that "He who exults himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exulted".
I've been thinking a lot of how I might be able to do more to live my faith, and the idea of volunteering again at the local
Catholic Worker House. I'm not sure that the place still exists or if the guy who runs it is still there.
But it seems like a good place to start. More on that to follow.