In 1993 a young Polish man was completely paralysed after a motorbike accident. Even his breathing had to be supported. But his mind remained sharp and clear. Despite the great care provided by his parents, he was feeling so isolated that in 2007 he applied to the President of Poland to let him die. Permission wasn’t granted for legal reasons; but his request prompted wide public discussion. However, and more importantly, his request attracted the attention of some charities and individuals. As it turned out, his request was in fact a cry for attention and love. Five years later, as disabled now as he was back then, he enjoys life and is an inspiring figure for many people. In Poland euthanasia is forbidden by law. But there were vibrant individuals, many of them inspired by Christian values, who really saved his life.
In today’s gospel Jesus foresees the hatred of the world that his followers will have to face. From the very beginning many Christians have come across disapproval, displeasure, contempt, physical violence, persecution and even death. There are parts of the modern world where openly declared Christian faith proves to be fatal. In our own country Christianity has its fierce opponents. We live in a society which massively questions, argues against and defies our beliefs and our morality. Apparently the Church is involved in the greatest battle of our times.
But we should expect hostility, shouldn’t we? That’s Jesus’ forecast and announcement. When we are hated or at least disliked, we are supposedly good Christians. But are we hated for good reasons? The positive answer seems to be obvious; we stick to moral principles, we follow the truth.
There is a very thin fine borderline between living according to our principles and being fundamentalists. As we value people who faithfully follow their own beliefs and rules, we are pretty afraid of those who are fundamentalist and regard them as potentially dangerous individuals. Sometimes distinguishing between these two attitudes seems to be difficult. I think it is helpful to make this distinction.
Personally I believe that principles and rules are something I keep for my very own life; they form my lifestyle, they influence my decisions, they affect my choice of friends around me. But I don’t expect that each and every person will share my values and lifestyle just because they are the best and in fact the only valuable ones. Moreover, I am always questioning and revising my attitudes to avoid fundamentalism in my thinking. And I’m ready to accept reasonable arguments to change my opinions.
Sometimes I have serious thoughts that the modern aversion to Christianity is not because of our principles but rather because of some sort of fundamentalism. In a country with so many different cultures, traditions, religions and beliefs any attempt to impose one particular ideology must meet strong opposition. I’m not all that certain that Jesus sent his Apostles to build Christian states as their principal goal; but I’m absolutely certain he sent them to build a Christian state of mind. Christianity implemented in civil law is worthless if it’s not rooted in people’s hearts. Do we need Christian law? Of course we do; most and foremost in our hearts. The rest will follow.
