Bother about brother

The psalmist in the texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary today thanks God for Jerusalem as the city where the house of the Lord stands and the people go to stand where David was given power by God to rule. The building of the Second Temple in Jerusalem is the story of the Book of Ezra. Friar Jude Winkler tells of the practice of the Persian kings of the time of Darius to allow the exiles to return to their lands and re-establish their culture and religious practice. This enlightened understanding of the loyalty and appreciation of governing authority, which is the fruit of such policy, seems to be particularly lacking in Western democracies today where legislation to restrict religious observance is too close to our reality. The construction of the Temple in the time of Ezra and the decision of members of faith communities to act in particular ways in society continues to generate disagreement on methods and the ultimate motivation of the action. The discord on action is in tension with the Life of Love which is the example of Jesus followers to the world. Friar Jude cites some different understanding in the Christian community of the brothers and sisters of Jesus, mentioned today in the Gospel from Luke. He places this Gospel text in the light of Luke’s message that relationship to Jesus as a brother or sister is for all outside, the perfect disciple Mary, the Jews, the Gentiles and all who seek and act on the will of God. Creating divisions among Roman Catholic, Reformed and Orthodox Christians around full blood brotherhood, half-brothers or cousins seems to be contrary to the Gospel invitation to all. These types of tension continue to generate some of the detachment felt by too many who are living their journey to Jesus separate from brothers and sisters in established traditions.