The Commandment to fall in love with God and to respect, cherish, shelter and protect our sisters and brothers is not as easy as it sounds. The Golden Rule, 'Do unto others as you would have them do unto you', sounds easy until we start to grow into it.
John Sobrino, the great Latin American Prophet said, the processes this Golden Rule begin in us, come to an end, and then start all over again. We always need to be asking how the life that we are living mirrors the loving heart of the tradition. We always need to be asking if we have become obsessed and over anxious about externals? We always need to be asking how much of the life that we are living is a staged show. The heart is on the inside and cannot be easily observed. External behaviours and objects can be seen and scrutinised. The heart is hidden but hands are available for inspection. And so it goes that those who see themselves as the great guardians of the truth get busy inspecting and commenting on externals. They become experts in making rules for others to live by. The questions they ask are trivial because they have forgotten the important ones. They no longer see the difference between Gods Commandments and human customs. But Jesus, the Beloved Son of God, lives out of the heart and stays at the centre. From there, he prophetically confronts their hypocrisy and their seeming inability to hold the inner, hidden movements of Love and the outer ways this Love should be embodied. Most of all, He is dismayed by their lack of compassion and their obsession with human taboos. And so, the Beloved Son of God asks for a return to moving from the inside out. He asks them to engage in the difficult work of making their inner darkness visible. For it is only when they have the courage to see themselves as they really are that they can begin to change. But they just can't do it. So they use one of the laws they have made - to bump Him off.
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November 2020
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CATHOLIC PARISH OF ST JOSEPH & ST MARGARET CLITHEROW
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HA (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871
St Joseph’s Church. 39 Braccan Walk, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 1HA (Directions)
Tel: 01344 425729
Email: stjb@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk
South Berkshire Pastoral Area
The parish is part of the Diocese of Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Roman Catholic Diocesan Trust registered charity 246871