Do to others as you would have them do to you.
The “Golden Rule” towers over our moral and ethical discussion. In so many ways it makes perfect sense. If there is a Natural Law of morality, as the Church insists – a law to which all reasonable men and women can agree – this teaching of Jesus is surely its starting point.
Just as every new born baby expects and deserves welcome, respect, courtesy, attention, generosity, patience, mercy and so forth – so should we extend these blessings to others. From the day we’re born we simply cannot survive without a generous dollop of all these gifts.
The golden rule assumes an ability to sympathize with one another. I know how you want to be treated because I know how I want to be treated. This innate ability has caught the attention of animal behaviorists who look for it among primates and other large animals. Apparently we are not alone in our sympathies; in fact we can sometimes feel with animals; and they, with us. Poets like Isaiah the Prophet and Saint Francis of Assisi felt the joy and sorrow of the universe.
I think of that sympathy as matching tuning forks. When you strike one, the other resonates. The sound travels through the air and the second fork is moved by those vibrations to pick up and sound the same note. So are human beings moved by one another. It is critical to our survival as a species and, we’re beginning to understand, to our planet. Those who lack the ability are psychopaths.
Veterans in the hospital find a natural sympathy for one another. They share a common experience and have similar needs. The men and women in the substance abuse rehabilitation program often discover even stronger vibrations as they share a common illness. But grace can move anyone to sympathy and the most grace-filled persons are the most compassionate. That's why we can turn to the sinless Virgin Mary. Although she is without sin, grace has taught her a deep resonance with all God's children. Too, this is why people who never served in the military, like myself, can yet minister in the hospital. Though much of our experience is different we are all human.
The most human of all is Jesus. He is so utterly human he is divine. I think this Golden Rule stands as a kind of proof of his divinity. The ancient world had similar teachings. The Book of Tobit urged people, "Do not do to others what you do not want done to you." But only Jesus could have revealed this law. Had anyone else thought of it -- and apparently no one did -- he would not have had the authority to teach it. It's too much to expect of a fellow human being unless one is willing to pay the full price of it.
It's beyond our imaginative powers to create such a law; but once it is revealed we say, "Right! Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
It's beyond our imaginative powers to create such a law; but once it is revealed we say, "Right! Of course! Why didn't I think of that?"
Revelation is like that. It make sense once we have heard the word; but we are never capable of thinking it up ourselves. It is clearly divine, and yet it is transparently human. That's how Revelation works; that's how God reveals himself as one of our own children.
The Golden Rule teaches us we are capable of far more generosity, compassion and courage than we ever imagined. It is well worth pondering.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.