Blindness and Contrast

The contrast in the attitude we have toward people of wealth and privilege and those who are poor and unnoticed is brought to our attention by the passage from the Letter of James in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today. The blindness we have to the value of all persons in the eyes of God is demonstrated in the way we treat generous donors in comparison to those who give less is mentioned by Friar Jude Winkler. The Gospel of Mark shows Jesus receiving the deaf man in the pagan territory of the Decapolis and using body fluids to symbolize the transfer of the essence of life and healing from Jew to Gentile. This traditional separation of the clean and unclean is demonstrated by Jesus. It is not well accepted. The Book of the Prophet Isaiah addresses the remnant of Israel to return from the exile in Babylon. The restoration of their life in Jerusalem will be based in the renewal of the Promise where God will attend to those in need and provide sight, hearing and abundant opportunity to the oppressed as His people renew their commitment to the marginalized in their community. The call to Christians for action in community is a call to justice, maintenance of the law, protection of rights and care of the widows and orphans. The political parties today seem to want to tear believers away from some of our mission. We can stand for traditional values but we cannot care for the sick, elderly and marginalized with the same political effort. The way of the social conservative too often ignores the work of the liberal activist in care of the disadvantaged. Rich, poor, healthy, sick, Jew, Gentile, male, female, gay and straight are all included in the Promise of Life.