Memorial of Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyr

Cheers for
Bellarmine University

Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him.

There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name
who can at the same time speak ill of me.
For whoever is not against us is for us.”

Listening to the radio on the way home from the VA hospital the other day, I heard a fellow insist that many businesses are coming around to a more ethical way of thinking because it’s good for business. Callers argued with him; they pointed to this scam and that scheme foisted upon American consumers, investors and taxpayers. A few people have gotten filthy rich at the expense of millions of their fellow citizens. Without denying much of the chicanery that has characterized the newsworthy crimes of the last  thirty years, he maintained that the broader culture of business – all those who are not crooks – is concerned about climate warming and global poverty.

More importantly, they believe that ethical business is good business. It will pay off financially as well as in virtue.

The howl of the skeptics reminds me how easy it is to be cynical. It is not difficult to believe the world and its denizens are going to hell in a hand basket. It takes faith to believe that God is still in charge even in the secular world of economics. If medical doctors cannot find a soul in the body, and economists cannot find God in their mathematics, both are still operative and real.

Wisdom, who breathes life into her children and admonishes those who seek her, insists that the right way is the right way, honesty is the best policy, and crime never pays.

Justice is not simply a way of doing things. Justice is an operating principle in the universe; it rewards goodness and punishes wickedness. While short-term gains at the expense of long-term values are always tempting, justice will prevail. Even the entrepreneur who makes his pile and gets out two steps ahead of the law will regret his coup, as will all those who knew what he was doing but went along anyway.

In today’s gospel the disciples complain to Jesus about their “competitors.” Someone else is healing in the name of Jesus. But the Rabbi is not concerned about it: whoever is not against us is for us. He has great confidence that things can work out just fine without his micro-managing his brand name. Jesus is not suspicious of strangers just because they’re strangers.

The Catholic Church has long maintained that our faith is reasonable. Our morality is largely based on “natural law,” a set of principles which reasonable people of any culture can understand and practice. Because reliable witnesses saw the Risen Lord and saw him revealed as the Son of God, it is not irrational to believe in his resurrection, or that he conquered death and sin, or that he will come again to judge the living and the dead. If these mysteries defy explanation, that does not mean they did not or cannot happen. Given the credibility of our witnesses, it would be more irrational to claim these things never happened. Finally our faith in God also includes a basic confidence that justice will prevail. That is neither irrational nor idealistic.

But it is nevertheless faith; it is a conviction that acts generously, freely and boldly while the skeptics cling to their narrow vision and short-sighted wisdom.  

Mark Twain once said, “Faith is believing in what you know ain’t true.” That is an American definition of faith, but not a Catholic definition. We believe on the foundation of Revelation and the assurance of reason.