Love above all

OF course, after the elections we can expect feelings of

highs and lows among us. The winners and their followers

understandably are joyful. And just as understandably also, the losers

and their followers are in some of kind of mourning mode. Let’s just

leave it at that.

  

            But let’s always remember that we are all brothers and

sisters, children of God. Irrespective of our differences and

conflicts, mistakes and offenses, we are meant to love each other

always. Let’s avoid becoming gloating winners and sore losers, marked

with anger and hatred, depression, resentment, thoughts of revenge and

the like. These actuations are actually inhuman, let alone,

unchristian.

  

            If we truly are Christians, we would know how to love one

another not only in spite of, but also because of our differences and

conflicts. That’s how Christ treats all of us. He came to love

everyone, including those who were against him, those who crucified

him. He at least offered them mercy.

  

            We have to learn from the example of Christ. He is the

“way, the truth and the life” for us. He knows what is to be man. He

knows our strength and weaknesses, and he knows how to handle them. He

is showing us how to deal with our human condition here on earth,

weakened as it is by our sin.

  

            And his example is marked with detachment not only from

his views, from his teachings, but also from his life. Yes, he was

clear and precise about what is right and wrong, what is good and

evil. He was very concerned about the cause of justice and the rule of

law. But in the end it is mercy, the summit of charity, that prevails.

  

            We have to understand that Christ came to save all of us,

and not just a few, the supposedly good ones. Precisely, he paid more

special attention to the ‘lost sheep.’ He went to the extent of

teaching us that we love even our enemies, and he acted out that

teaching by accepting death on the cross. Our relation with one

another should reflect this kind of attitude.

  

            As St. Paul would put it in his Letter to the Romans,

“Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore, love is the fullness of

the law.” (13,10) This does not mean that justice is done away with.

Love always upholds and perfects justice.

   

            It is just that a love-inspired justice is not one where

the mistake of one party is corrected by another mistake by way of a

purely punitive kind of justice. Such kind of justice is not real

justice, the justice that is meant for us, given our dignity as

children of God.

  

            A love-inspired justice also has its punitive aspect, but

of the kind that heals a person of his defect, corrects his mistake

and restores his real dignity as a child of God. It’s not just

punishing a guilty person for the sake of punishing alone.

  

            This love-inspired justice, I am afraid, is not yet known,

much less, lived by a great majority of the people today nor reflected

in our legal and judicial systems. It is the kind of justice that may

appear at first sight as unfair to the innocent party, since he

appears to suffer more than the guilty party.

  

            But this is the example of Christ. This is the kind of

justice Christ is showing us to follow and live. This is how he

resolved the injustice we committed against God. He was made to suffer

and did not complain. He just bore everything, showing us how precious

we are to him.

  

            We need to do some drastic adjustments in our

understanding of justice and charity. It will obviously require the

grace of God, our identification with Christ. It will involve a lot of

effort, willingness to suffer, detachment from the things of this

world and even of our life, magnanimity and a sporting spirit.