MtM 42 - When every person is family

All people are called to contribute to mankind’s mission, each in his or her own way. But what is this mission, you might ask? Allow me to suggest this statement, “Mankind’s mission is to rule over and care for creation, bringing God’s image to the world.” There is a unity of mission across the world – perhaps even across the universe – with a variety of responsibilities and tasks. Since cooperation is a source of encouragement for everyone, it is important each person recognizes the significance and impact of his contribution. If our personal mission is to serve other people, then attention should be directed, firstly, to the needs of brothers and sisters who live inside our community and, secondly, to those who are outside. The old-school among us will recall that, since medieval times, the “corporal works of mercy” were essential deeds that would merit one a place in Heaven. Frankly, this concept sounds rather outdated and in need of a make-over.

I don’t mean to say the acts of mercy are obsolete, but the promise of heaven is too strange to inspire action today. I do not doubt charitable intervention is vital for society: feeding, clothing and sheltering the needy; visiting the sick and imprisoned; bringing hope to those grieving and suffering. What I don’t understand is why a reward is necessary, when Heaven remains forever unfathomably beyond comprehension. Would parents love children more if offered a bigger home or a better car? Is heroic patriotism motivated by prize, or justice by treasure? On the other hand, it escapes me why some people swiftly become charitable when diagnosed with a terminal illness. In this respect motivation is everything. If we assist others for a reward, then we are like mercenaries selling ourselves to the highest bidder. Likewise, is it humanitarian work if we seek promotion or election? Our motivation must be sincere for our actions to be worthy.

Everyone must do their part to improve society by offering their time, talent and treasure. Let’s build our future by correcting social structures that are unjust, create exploitation, force subjection and are labeled deceptively as “just the way things are.” I looked below a row of parked motorcycles: there were cigarette butts, cans, candy wrappers, even one sandal. Why? Since nobody took ownership of that gutter, it has fallen into indifference and abandonment. Further, there’s a careless father who, every night, flicks a spent cigarette downstairs before entering his home. Would he do it inside? Humanitarianism takes the care we have for our home, the love we have for our family, the pride we have in our achievements and makes them a lifestyle. Only when every service is respectful, every place is home, every person is family, will we be able to truly say, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”