Christ: The True Organizing Principle

It's a scene becoming far too common. One time it's Paris, the next it's Jakarta, then San Bernadino or London or Madrid or, now, Orlando. Attacks by individuals or small bands of Islamist terrorists are too quickly becoming the "new normal" of the early 21st Century West. The secular media is full of talking heads bellowing at each other, saying the usual things about homophobia (in light of that the latest atrocity happened at a gay nightclub), gun control and Islamist terrorism, not always in that particular order.

I went around to different sites looking for the "Catholic" response - to get a feel for how people of faith have been approaching the issue. It wasn't a very exhaustive search, and I really didn't read any one post too closely. This cursory run through of what's out there gave me the sense that the focus tended to be placed either on, you guessed it, homophobia, gun control or Islamist terrorism, in that order, with a slightly larger emphasis on the first category over the second. People were either showing solidarity with the gay community, or else praying for the victims while pointing out that it was a gay club attacked (think, den of iniquity) so that those people really need our prayers. Then there was one criticizing those who pray for the victims while at the same time implying that a gay club is intrinsically more hazardous to one's moral health than other places would be.

What I found disappointing is that, for the most part, the Catholic blogosphere mirrored the secular press in many ways. The discussion still came down to political solutions and politically correct platitudes. By focusing on sexual politics, secular politics or terrorism (even though I believe that this angle gets closest to the heart of the immediate issue), we are missing the bigger reality. Things are falling apart — the center isn't holding. We are politically, socially and economically divided at home, and Europe, depending on how the Brexit vote goes next week, is on the verge of disintegration. Even if Britain votes to stay in the EU this time, the demise of the European Union will have only been delayed, not entirely prevented. Some thing new is happening, can't you perceive it? The old structures, both institutional and intellectual are no longer trusted. This comes decades after the religious underpinnings of society were undone. But the secular city was supposed to supply meaning and societal cohesion independent of faith? The purely secular society has failed, but even we in the Church seem slow to want to accept this reality. 

Sometimes I get the feeling that even believers have reduced God to something like the celestial clock maker, only a bit more involved after the mechanism has been set in motion. He made us with great care, and does continue to look after us, winding us, polishing us when necessary, but God is otherwise indifferent to our life choices, especially those concerning sexual morality. We can get trapped between two extremes, one is thinking that God is wrathful; constantly looking for an excuse to punish us. The other is to deny that God ever chastises His wayward children at all (the more common temptation right now). God does chastise, but woe to the one who assumes to know what should be punished or assigns themselves as the chosen instrument of divine retribution (therefore, count me out of the "Orlando Shooting was God's Punishment" camp, if one exists). 

No, God isn't a clock maker - He's a Father who tries to keep us in balance. He cares for us, tries to teach up, and gives us a swift kick when necessary. At the same time, if things are falling apart, it's not God's punishment necessarily. I remember good Sr. Rose Assumpta, my 8th grade CCD teacher. She had a background in biology. She explained that nature is set up in a particular way that if it's misused it will rebel. If we eat too much and of the wrong kinds of foods, we shouldn't be surprised that diabetes and heart disease may occur. If we dump waste where it doesn't belong, we shouldn't be shocked that poisoned water will lead to widespread illness. And yes, in as much as we don't want to hear it, if we misuse the gift of sexuality, physical ailments, as well as spiritual and emotional unhappiness, will follow. Is this God's wrath? No - it's natures way. As a good Father, God wants us to avoid these things - live in a balanced way, with Christ at the center, as our organizing principle. With Jesus and His Gospel at the center all the other aspects of our life will begin to fall in place, in proper proportion to the whole.

But what happens when, as a culture, we have made something else our organizing principle? What happens when we make the economic, the political or, increasingly, the sexual, the defining and organizing principle of our lives? 

We become centered on ourselves, either on our particular cadre, or worse yet on our personal selves. We care less and less about the common good and become obsessed with our rights, be they real or perceived. We are so obsessed with our personal identity that we fail to see the suffering of others, or the threats that surround us. We are no longer a part of a larger reality that transcends socio-polital categories, be they legitimate or contrived. To address the threats from without would mean having to move beyond ourselves and our perceptions, joining with others in common cause, and common sacrifice. Rather than joining together, we point fingers at the other identity groups we see as competing with us for preference. But when we face an enemy united such fractiousness can not stand. The society will collapse, not because of God's wrath, but because this is the nature of how societies fall. 

Obviously I believe that the only lasting solution to the present crisis is making Christ the organizing principle of our lives. Christ moves us beyond all the limited identities we are either born into or create for ourselves. Christ enriches those qualifiers that are worthy, dissolves those that are superfluous. Christ calls us to seek eternity while striving for peace and justice now. Only a society organized around the Gospel, who's political, social and cultural values are informed by discipleship in Jesus will be able to stand united in the face of a force bent on destroying us. 

I do not want to leave the topic of God's chastisement totally undeveloped. But before I get into that, I suggest you read Luke 13:1-5. (Yes, you have homework!)