A SERMON FOR THE SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT
One of the most unpleasant
aspects of life today, one that I don’t ever remember experiencing to this
degree, is the horrible degradation of everyday etiquette between people who
happen to disagree with each other.
There was a time when people could have arguments, whether political,
religious, or any other subject, without resorting to a screaming match and
vying as to who can come up with the nastiest name to call their opponent. But those times are past.
It happened gradually, but
quickly. I think that much of the blame
can be attributed to the folks on TV. When
we first noticed it, we may have experienced some inappropriate exhilaration,
as we heard “our guys” putting “their guys” in their place. But then, as similar responses were returned,
they spawned a whirlwind of invective that rapidly spun out of control. Today, there are very few venues left that
allow for the polite exchange of ideas and viewpoints. It’s the nature of the media with its lust
for ratings, coupled with the out-of-control career ambitions of its individual
talking heads, that continue to propel the standards ever downward. How long will it be before every news program
becomes a Jerry Springer Show, with people throwing chairs and wrestling each
other to the ground? And should we
expect the same thing in the hallowed halls of Congress? We’re not far from it.
Today’s Epistle from St. Paul would
seem to have the antidote for all this disgraceful behavior. The Apostle points to the things that were
written aforetime for our learning, the Holy Scriptures. If only people would follow the advice they
contain, we could all “with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.” If we read
the Gospels and act, as St. Paul says, “according to Christ Jesus,” then we may
expect that “the God of patience and consolation grant us to be likeminded one
toward another.”
Our Lord, after all, did condemn name-calling. He told us that those who call others “Raca”
or “Fool” would be guilty of the judgment, and that there is no place for such
talk in the mouths of his followers.
While we should certainly follow his example, and exhort others to the
truth—and that includes all moral truths—we should do so with all patience, forbearance
and tolerance, and above all with charity.
Patience isn’t easy when we’re dealing with…—how shall I put it without
calling them names?—let’s call them the inadequately educated. Tempting though it may be to describe them
with an array of well-chosen adjectives, we must always remember that this is
not the most productive way to put across an argument. If we go on the offensive too quickly, and
what’s worse, if we actually are offensive, the debate is over and lost
already. The whole point of discussing
opposing points of view is to persuade the opponent that yours is the
correct one. And calling people names,
shouting at them, making snide remarks, none of that will effectively persuade.
We can fairly quickly determine,
when we’re discussing things with someone, whether they are of good will not,
whether they’re really interested in knowing what the truth is. That doesn’t mean they already agree with
us. On the contrary, we find them attached
to something that isn’t true. But they’re
willing to offer cogent arguments to support what they believe. It’s up to us, then, to come back at them
with even better arguments to persuade them that what we believe is true. If it’s a religious argument, we may even know
it to be true. But that absolute
knowledge of faith should not make us arrogant in our speech. We must adjust our methods according to many
factors—the receptivity of the person we’re speaking to, his intelligence, his
personality, how much time we have, whether we’re standing in the pouring rain,
and so on. But never with bitterness,
sarcasm, or violent words. They just don’t
work. In fact, they’re
counter-productive, pushing the opponent to entrench himself all the more
firmly in his own false convictions. So
remember the God of patience St. Paul talks about.
When it comes to disputing with
those who are not of the faith, the better we know that faith, the more
chance we have of convincing others to join it.
Our faith will provide us with the demonstrable facts we need to back up
and prove our arguments. This is one
reason we should never stop learning about our faith, reading about the true
history of the Church, analyzing her dogmas and beliefs, particularly the most controversial. It’s all part of our ammunition as we “confess
God among the Gentiles,” as St. Paul puts it.
But what about those who don’t
have good will, who just don’t want to know the truth. These are the ones who cut us off constantly
as we’re trying to make a point, who obviously think they know better than we
do and just don’t care to listen to any other point of view other than their
own. They’re all set to accuse those who
don’t agree with them of hate speech, who want to take away your first
amendment rights to have an opinion of your own. With folks like this, it’s better simply to
walk away. After all, what’s the
point? If you can’t find any common
ground on which to build an argument, then don’t waste your time. You’ll just end up getting drawn into a
screaming match. No point in that.
Without faith, there can be no oneness
of mind and mouth. It’s our faith that
unites us with other people. To be
Catholic is to accept the universal truths of the Catholic Church, to be of one
mind with other Catholics who accept the same truths. These truths and principles provide us with a
prism through which we may see all other aspects of life, moral, political,
social, whatever. We can look at controversial
issues like illegal immigration, sexual orientation, gender mutation, taxation—anything—
through the eyes of our faith, which, if they see straight, will be the same as
the eyes of God. This is what enables us
to be “likeminded one toward another.”
We may still have minor
differences of opinion but as Catholics we should be likeminded when it comes
to the important things. We should
be. If all the world were truly
Catholic, there should be no more fighting, no more wars, no more crime
even. But alas, we’re human, with a
fallen nature that constantly draws us away what should be. But that’s our own internal battle, the one we
should fight with ourselves, not with our neighbor. Whether we’re Catholic or not, disagreements
are bound to arise. Being a good
Catholic, however, enables us to deal with these disputes in the right way,
that is charitably and effectively.
To sum up, it’s time to try and
enter into the Christmas spirit, with its message of peace to men of good will. No matter what others believe or how badly
they act, we can work with them and discuss things profitably, providing they do
have that good will. And that makes it
all the more important we preserve the same good will in ourselves. Advent is a time of preparation, and this is
one of the most important ways we can get our souls ready for the coming of the
Christ Child and the peace on earth that he brings to men of good will.
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