Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ

Today the bishop has asked us to speak about the problem of racism. So, I would like to share some thoughts with you.

 Moses said to the people: I charged your judges at the time, “Listen to complaints among your kinsmen and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is an alien. In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no man, for judgment is God’s” (Deut 1:16-17)

Recently we have seen the ugly head of racism again, with the appalling death of George Floyd. Sadly, it never seems to be far away. In the outrage and protests that followed, it was good to see that there were people of all color protesting. People recognize how wrong it is. Even though there will probably always be a certain amount of it, the more people are made aware of it the better. Children are not racist or prejudiced. They learn it from their parents and others.

During ‘the troubles’ in Northern Ireland, where there was so much hatred between Catholics and Protestants, there were also many people who worked hard for peace and reconciliation. I remember several times after someone had been shot dead because they were Catholic or Protestant, family members saying that they wanted no retaliation and even that they forgave the killers. How were they able to do that? Because they had faith in God. Faith changes everything.

A priest friend of mine from the North of Ireland told me that sometimes he was invited into Protestant schools to help build bridges and for them to see that he was just a normal human being. He said that when he went into the classes of the young children, he had to take off his shoes and socks to show them that he didn’t have hooves. Their parents had told them that priests were the devil and that they had hooves. They were being taught to hate.

Jesus teaches us the opposite. ‘Love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you’ (Matt 5:43). We try to acknowledge the dignity of each person, whether we like them or not, whether we agree with them or not. It is striking how Jesus treated all the different people he met from different faith and cultural backgrounds: the Samaritan woman (Jews despised the Samaritans); Roman soldiers (the occupying force; equally hated), and several others who were not Jewish.

The death of George Floyd was truly shocking and it is good that it caused such a reaction, but racism and discrimination can be much more subtle than that. How do I treat people from any country? Maybe I think they shouldn’t be here. Maybe I feel threatened by them and yet all of our ancestors came from other countries and were probably discriminated against when they got here first. I think of that infamous sign from the early 1900s which said, ‘Irish need not apply.’ They were despised at the time. If your children went to live in another country, how would you want them to be treated?

^“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God. (Lev 19:33-34)

There is an English author and historian called Tom Holland, who is also an atheist. He says that in studying the ancient world he realized how cruel it was. The Spartans routinely murdered ‘imperfect’ children. Slaves were often used as things of pleasure. Monogamy was common and the poor and weak had no rights. What changed all that? Christianity. Christ helped us to see that each person has unique value and each person has the same dignity. No one life is of more value than another. I always cringe when I hear that expression ‘saving American lives,’ because it seems to imply that people who are not American are less important, or of less value. Is my life of less value because I am a foreigner?

All of us grow up with a certain amount of prejudice, though we don’t see most of it. What we think of as normal, is often prejudiced. That is why we have to keep going back to the teachings of Christ, to help us to see as He sees. What does He tell us? What does his life tell us? His death was for all people, regardless of what they believe, or where they come from. If we are followers of Christ, we must try and see others as human beings before anything else. If we were able to take away all categories from everyone we meet, we would just see another person like ourselves. That is what the Lord did and that is what He is asking us to do too.

We may not like certain cultures, or religions, but that is irrelevant. We all have things we do and don’t like. That doesn’t matter. Every one of us has the same value and will come before God in the same way when we die. When we mistreat or disrespect another person, we are disrespecting Jesus. We are offending God. Remember what Jesus said to St. Paul when He appeared to him? ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ (Acts 9:4). Saul was persecuting the Christians, but by persecuting them, he was persecuting Jesus. 'Whatever you did to the least of these, you did to me' (Mat 25:40).

After the Resurrection of Jesus, it took the Apostles a while to realize that they were being sent to all people, not just the Jewish people and this surprised them at first. God doesn’t discriminate.

To be able to remain neutral is not easy, but staying close to the Lord is the key to doing that. I often think of Mother Teresa’s work in Calcutta. Most of the people she brought in off the street were Hindu and Muslim. She didn’t try to convert them. She just cleaned them up and allowed them to die with dignity. That told people more about God than anything else. She was able to do that because of her faith in God. It helped her to move beyond cultures and faiths. She just saw human beings.

Moses said to the people: I charged your judges at the time, “Listen to complaints among your kinsmen and administer true justice to both parties even if one of them is an alien. In rendering judgment, do not consider who a person is; give ear to the lowly and to the great alike, fearing no man, for judgment is God’s” (Deut 1:16-17).