Sometimes the bell ringing at the parish house means an unexpected visit of an unfamiliar visitor, looking for well and clearly defined help. After so many years I can say from my experience that the scheme is pretty similar each time. At the end of the story there is always a request for money. When I do a favour to the asking person, it’s guaranteed I will see him or her within 24 hours asking for more because of some ‘extraordinary’ circumstances or needs. Somehow it’s always a bit of an embarrassing situation for me, because on the one hand I know it’s a biased and at least incomplete story; but on the other hand as Christ’s spokesman and representative I ought to do what He teaches. In order to avoid any ambiguity let me recall today’s gospel: ‘I give you a new commandment: love one another; just as I have loved you […]. By this love […] everyone will know that you are my disciples.’ It’s inconveniently simple and clear: love is the only important criterion in order to be recognized as Jesus’ follower; all other things are secondary to it. So, my dear co-Christians, we are all between a rock and a hard place.
The cause of our difficulty lies in a common misunderstanding of the word‘love’ in its biblical or Christian form. Decent people are misled by it into wrong and completely unnecessary guilt, while others exploit that guilt shamelessly. If we want to understand ‘love’ in the right way, we should find out how Jesus and the Apostles practised it in their lives. In the New Testament giving money or food away is mentioned surprisingly rarely. And yet we have that indisputable certainty that it is ‘love’ that pushes and propels Jesus and the Apostles to action. The third chapter of the Acts of the Apostles tells us a story of a man crippled from his birth, who has been placed near the temple’s gate to beg for money. One day the apostles Peter and John were going to the temple, the man begged from them. Their reaction is really interesting. They stopped and Peter said: ‘I have neither silver nor gold, but I will give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ […]: walk! Peter then took him by the hand and helped him to stand up.’
Let’s look closely at that situation. The man has lived his entire life on dole monies, provided by passers-by. Despite all that money over the years, he’s still at the mercy of others, unable to look after himself. Peter and John don’t give him money, but – putting the miraculous aspect aside – help him to stand on his own feet. From that moment he is able to take his life in his own hands, and is no longer at the mercy of others. As the Acts of the Apostles reports, the man was ‘walking and jumping, and praising God.’ That’s the main objective of charity, love for another: to help them get back on their feet and take their lives in their hands.
In the Monty Python film ‘Life of Brian’ there’s a similar scene when Jesus heals a disabled man. But in that instance the man complains about it, because all of a sudden he’s lost his source of income, and is forced to find another way of living. Interestingly enough, it’s a genuinely charitable approach, as we get used to comfort and convenience very quickly. Something offered initially as support and help becomes expected, demanded and apparently deserved. These two different views of charity have recently clashed in fierce discussions on the welfare system.
One of the greatest benefits that Christianity has brought to the world is unconditional love. ‘Unconditional’ means it reaches the needy regardless of their race, gender, faith, age and so forth. ‘Unconditional’ means it doesn’t expect to be paid back. But ‘unconditional’ does not mean naïve and silly. Because at the end of the day each one of us is solely responsible for our own lives.