FatherAlbert
06-16-2008, 09:30 AM
Why I Prefer to Follow Christ Than Call Myself a “Christian”
We all have two major choices in life: to choose good or to choose evil. Are we prepared to challenge the world with the message of hope, healing, and restoration that Jesus Christ makes possible through his life, death, and resur-rection?
Has any of us attended to the meaning of our individual lives in relation to God's wish for us: to allow Him to provide what only He knows we really want and truly need? Are we committed to following the Christ to the cross and beyond: to join Him as faithful followers in the world to come?
I speak from my experiences in life and also as a priest and a Benedictine monk. Anyone can substitute another symbol for Jesus: Buddha, humanism, morality, etc. As a democratic nation and the leader of the world through our Constitution and Bill of Rights, we must respect the values upon which this, the potentially greatest nation on earth, was founded: basic human freedoms and the equality of all persons. This is the choice we make to stand firm and to speak out when any of our brothers or sisters are deprived of their freedoms and not treated as an equal. That is the choice for good. That is the challenge we all face each and every day of our lives.
At this time in the history of our beloved country, “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” I challenge all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus to consider the following.
As our nominee for president has so often and passionately stated: "We need drastic change in how we do business as the 'greatest nation on the planet.'" We must now refuse to continue with business as usual: the promotion of greed and power on the part of a few to the detriment of the welfare of the ma-jority. Yes, this is the land of opportunity; however, for much too long that opportunity has been reserved for the entitled class, the privileged minority.
I challenge my candidate, Barack, together with Senator Clinton and all other people in positions to effect change by choosing good, to create an environ-ment in which all who live in our land and who come to these shores are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, religion, ethnic ori-gin, or status as a "legal" or "illegal" residents.
I challenge our new government under non-partisan leadership to abolish slavery and indentured servitude in every corner of this nation before we at-tempt to "fix" what we see as problems in other lands among other peoples. Whether we follow the Buddha or Jesus, or follow basic humanitarian princi-ples without need of a "Supreme Being," we must begin to realize that war never creates peace; war creates wealth and more power for the powerful and poverty and victimization of the vast majority. There is never a justification for war, especially if you are a faithful follower of Jesus. That is why I prefer not to be referred to as a "Christian" in America. Too many of them have turned away from Jesus’ mandate to "love one's neighbor as oneself." Rather than pronouncing with pomp and circumstance, "God bless America," why not substitute the action of blessing each other which is God's will for all hu-manity! Yes, let us bless one another! Let us transform this wonderful nation to truly reflect the best that democracy can offer to the world: freedom from greed and the acceptance of personal freedoms for all who have come and for all who will come in the future. The one requirement is that one must choose good over evil to be welcomed.
This is my personal view garnered from all of my life’s experiences. Am I idealistic? Definitely! Quixotic? Maybe! However, I firmly believe that we are here on this planet to learn how to love one another and to accept the many differences that exist among us. As my mentor, Joan Chittester, says: “Noth-ing we do can change the past; everything we do can change the future.” One by one we can effect change by choosing good over evil. I have all hope that good will overcome evil if we accept the challenge to see each other as broth-ers and sisters, all potentially doers of good in this world.
Blessings in Christ and Benedict to all my brothers and sisters whoever and wherever you are,
Father Albert OSB
We all have two major choices in life: to choose good or to choose evil. Are we prepared to challenge the world with the message of hope, healing, and restoration that Jesus Christ makes possible through his life, death, and resur-rection?
Has any of us attended to the meaning of our individual lives in relation to God's wish for us: to allow Him to provide what only He knows we really want and truly need? Are we committed to following the Christ to the cross and beyond: to join Him as faithful followers in the world to come?
I speak from my experiences in life and also as a priest and a Benedictine monk. Anyone can substitute another symbol for Jesus: Buddha, humanism, morality, etc. As a democratic nation and the leader of the world through our Constitution and Bill of Rights, we must respect the values upon which this, the potentially greatest nation on earth, was founded: basic human freedoms and the equality of all persons. This is the choice we make to stand firm and to speak out when any of our brothers or sisters are deprived of their freedoms and not treated as an equal. That is the choice for good. That is the challenge we all face each and every day of our lives.
At this time in the history of our beloved country, “the land of the free and the home of the brave,” I challenge all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus to consider the following.
As our nominee for president has so often and passionately stated: "We need drastic change in how we do business as the 'greatest nation on the planet.'" We must now refuse to continue with business as usual: the promotion of greed and power on the part of a few to the detriment of the welfare of the ma-jority. Yes, this is the land of opportunity; however, for much too long that opportunity has been reserved for the entitled class, the privileged minority.
I challenge my candidate, Barack, together with Senator Clinton and all other people in positions to effect change by choosing good, to create an environ-ment in which all who live in our land and who come to these shores are treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, religion, ethnic ori-gin, or status as a "legal" or "illegal" residents.
I challenge our new government under non-partisan leadership to abolish slavery and indentured servitude in every corner of this nation before we at-tempt to "fix" what we see as problems in other lands among other peoples. Whether we follow the Buddha or Jesus, or follow basic humanitarian princi-ples without need of a "Supreme Being," we must begin to realize that war never creates peace; war creates wealth and more power for the powerful and poverty and victimization of the vast majority. There is never a justification for war, especially if you are a faithful follower of Jesus. That is why I prefer not to be referred to as a "Christian" in America. Too many of them have turned away from Jesus’ mandate to "love one's neighbor as oneself." Rather than pronouncing with pomp and circumstance, "God bless America," why not substitute the action of blessing each other which is God's will for all hu-manity! Yes, let us bless one another! Let us transform this wonderful nation to truly reflect the best that democracy can offer to the world: freedom from greed and the acceptance of personal freedoms for all who have come and for all who will come in the future. The one requirement is that one must choose good over evil to be welcomed.
This is my personal view garnered from all of my life’s experiences. Am I idealistic? Definitely! Quixotic? Maybe! However, I firmly believe that we are here on this planet to learn how to love one another and to accept the many differences that exist among us. As my mentor, Joan Chittester, says: “Noth-ing we do can change the past; everything we do can change the future.” One by one we can effect change by choosing good over evil. I have all hope that good will overcome evil if we accept the challenge to see each other as broth-ers and sisters, all potentially doers of good in this world.
Blessings in Christ and Benedict to all my brothers and sisters whoever and wherever you are,
Father Albert OSB