Romping with the Sheep and the Goats

The Catholic church in San Diego has barred the funeral and burial of a man based upon his ownership of two gay bars. John Aravosis wrote a piece about it that's worth reading.

The longer I contemplate the cultural changes that are in progress, the more I seek simple guidelines for my own thoughts, expressions, manifestations. Even complex situations can be broken down into components simple enough to cut through the superficial static, in my experience. I used to think that I had to be a certain way to be an activist; that I had to be angry, unyielding, dogmatic, laser-focused on a specific outcome with no apologies.

That is a legitimate way to be an activist. Don't think so? Then think of a spear. The tip has to be rigid to penetrate. The shaft, on the other hand, must be flexible. The thing won't work otherwise. So, there's another kind of activist role. If the goal is to engage in combat and win by wounding via penetration, a spear is mighty handy. Given that a significant portion of the population currently identifies with warrior archetypes, this can be a useful manifestation of activism.

And, as history has shown us, there are other kinds of activism. One form that holds my attention lately is from the Bible:

Matthew 25:31-46

31 "When the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd spearates the sheep from the goats, 33 and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at his left. 34 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, 'Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.'

37 Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry and feed thee, or thirsty and give thee drink? 38 And when did we see thee a stranger and welcome thee, or naked and clothe thee?' 40 And the Kind will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me.' 41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'Depart from me you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the deveil and his angels; 42 for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' 44 Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see thee hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to thee?' 45 Then he will answer them, 'Truly, I say to you, as you did it not to on of the least of these my brethren, you did it no to me.' 46 And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

Now, it's true that I don't actually believe in eternal condemnation. I'm including that portion of the text here because I wanted to be complete. But, neither do I think that the threat of punishment is the point of the story. The point, rather, is that if everything that is created is imbued with the spark of the Divinity, then the way that we treat each other is exactly the same as the way we treat the Creator.

Viewing each human being as a child of God ups the ante. When you consider the way parents feel about their children and how they respond to the quality of treatment they receive at the hands of others, it can really change your perspective. Us and Them dissolves into merely: Us.

In my sister's church, I heard the story of a place in Africa that has an unusual way of dealing with people who behave poorly. The operating assumption is that in order to do so, the person is literally out of his mind, has lost track of who he really is. The members of the community form a circle around the person and then, on by one, each reminds the offender of who he really is by sharing stories of his best qualities. The community rejoices in his lovingness, his generosity, his bravery, etc. This continues until everyone has spoken, even if it takes all day.

Can you imagine the effect that would have upon you?

So, I'm rethinking my style of activism. I wrote an email to the diocese of San Diego, reminding them of the power of Matthew's parable. Since I'm sure they've gotten lots of angry emails, I'm hoping that my message will stand out, will be, in a way, a soft spear of loving reminder to the heart.

Who knows? Might help. And, for sure, the feeling I carried with me afterwards lacked the bitter taste of an angry exchange. Though I'm far from the first to explore these ideas, I still feel a bubbling excitement: maybe I'm on to something.

~M

Copyright 2004 Seasmoke All rights reserved