Gettysburg Reminder

Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say immediately that it is going to rain–and so it does; and when you notice that the wind is blowing from the south, you say that it is going to be hot–and so it is. 

You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time? “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison. I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny.” (Luke 12:54-59)

Joe Biden on October 6 gave a campaign speech at Gettysburg.  His remarks remind us of this reading from Luke in which Luke says: “You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky; why do you not know how to interpret the present time?”  Biden highlighted the “present time” in the United States.  He said: “…As we stand here today, a century and a half later after Gettysburg, we should consider again, what can happen when equal justice is denied, when anger and violence and division are left unchecked. 

As I look across America today, I’m concerned. The country is in a dangerous place. Our trust in each other is ebbing. Hope seems elusive. Too many Americans see our public life, not as an arena for mediation of our differences, but rather they see it as an occasion for total, unrelenting, partisan warfare.

Instead of treating each other’s party as the opposition, we treat them as the enemy. This must end. We need to revive the spirit of bipartisanship in this country. A spirit of being able to work with one another. When I say that, and I’ve been saying it for two years now, I’m accused of being naive. I’m told, “Maybe that’s the way things used to work, Joe, but they can’t work that way anymore.” Well, I’m here to tell you they can, and they must if we’re going to get anything done…”

Luke also said: “Why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? If you are to go with your opponent before a magistrate, make an effort to settle the matter on the way; otherwise your opponent will turn you over to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the constable, and the constable throw you into prison.” Luke tells us to talk to each other and understand each other’s position by “making an effort to settle the matter on the way.”  Otherwise, here comes the judge who hands us over, and we find ourselves in prison, perhaps in adjacent cells staring and cursing at each other through the bars.  Such is malice and hate.

So, let us judge what is right using our Catholic consciences and Jesus’ teaching to fight for equal justice and to check anger, violence, and division.  

Deacon David Pierce