Saint Luke gives us much to ponder in Sunday’s gospel, including the Golden Rule. “Do to others as you would have them do to you” is an important lesson for every generation, and certainly for our own times, as well. Now, with the diverse types of social media, it seems that “doing unto others whatever I feel like doing” has become the way people tend to operate. What most people would be afraid to say directly to others they more readily communicate by electronic means. There’s still a lot of good in people, but I’ll admit that I need frequent reminders of this timeless teaching of our Lord.
I couldn’t help thinking about how harsh our social discourse has become, especially in light of the last verses in yesterday’s gospel passage from St. Luke. Jesus said, “Stop judging, and you will not be judged. Stop condemning, and you will not see be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven. Give, and gifts will be given to you; a good measure, packed together, shaken down, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. For the measure with which you measure will in return be measured out to you.”
There appears to be a growing harshness in how we communicate with one another when we are not physically present in the same space. Using emails, texts, tweets and more, is one step removed from in-person contact, and that seems to permit a suspension of the Golden Rule. Why is that? Are we just angrier these days, or have we just thrown respect and civility out the window? Who will raise the standards for greater respect and charity? I believe we all need to embrace a higher standard.
Children are growing up in a world that is certainly harsh and unfriendly. One of the things I frequently notice in the letters that our students preparing for Confirmation send to me is their comments about how welcoming the Church is. Surrounded by negativity in a world that makes them feel isolated and self-conscious about everything, our confirmation candidates are pleasantly surprised at how caring the people of their parish community really are once they get involved. Young people experience the world as cold and abrasive, especially in their use of social media. How pleasantly surprised they are when they get to know the good people of their own parish and experience welcome and kindness in others.
The Golden Rule is pretty basic: the more we live by it the more it counters the “everyone for themselves“ mentality. We have to believe in the words of our Lord when he said, “The measure you measure with will be measured out to you.” The best way to find this out is to promote it, and the best way to promote it is to live it ourselves. Some might say this is so basic that it goes back to kindergarten, where we learn to say, please and thank you. While it is that basic, I believe it requires a daily immersion in the Word of God, so that as Saint Paul says, we can “put on the mind of Christ.“
The author, Matthew Kelly, often talks about being “the best version of ourselves.“ It would be a simple experiment to quietly yet intentionally strive to live by the Golden Rule for a week or so while paying attention to what gets “measured back“ when we do. Certainly, there will be those who don’t trust us because they’ve been hurt before. However, I believe we will also notice how pleasantly surprised people can be when we are genuinely Christ-like and charitable in what we say and do. This certainly ought to be the outward sign of our baptism, lived out. These are the kind of spiritual exercises in which we ought to be engaged as our pursuit of genuine holiness.
The solution to many of the challenges we face in this world, whether personally, in our communities or internationally, might well begin by applying the Golden Rule. While we can’t change the world, we can change our part in it, starting right at home. We can make a difference in how we act in public and in how we use social media. Taking the “high road“ of virtue and goodness can ripple out so much that it may inspire others to do the same. From our behavior, our conversations, and our use of technology, let’s show the world what Jesus taught us. My friends, let’s start the ripple!
