A file image of an Indian man shaking hands with a tourist. (Photo by By Anna Jurkovska/shutterstock.com)
Jul 5 2021
The latest letter of Pope Francis, his Encyclical, “Fratelli tutti” or “Brothers and Sisters All,” is one that should touch every heart, stimulate our minds, awaken our conscience, warm our emotions and motivate us to do good and make this a happier, just and better world. Can we humans ever unite as one humanity to change the world and together reach out to the downtrodden and the poor? Can we work together to lift from suffering the wounded, the excluded, the marginalized and unwanted, rejected, poor people in our neighborhood, community, town and city? That is the challenge posed by the letter of Pope Francis.
His letter is one of enlightenment, encouragement, hope and love. It is a mighty challenge for us to be true believers and followers of Jesus of Nazareth. It brings us back to the human and Christian values that established the dignity of humankind. It is a call for us to embrace and live out daily the values and principles that Jesus taught and lived and died for. This is the heart of Christian faith, a personal relationship with Jesus of Nazareth and a shared fraternity with each other as brothers and sisters in one family of humanity.
As members of this universal family, we will embrace unselfish concern, love and service for each other. Jesus gave himself no titles, others did that. They called him Rabbi, Teacher, Master, and Son of God. What Jesus called himself was “a member of humanity,” a “Son of Mankind,” as everyone of us are, members of the human family.
In this, Jesus was revolutionary and Pope Francis is repeating what Jesus taught: that we must love all others irrespective of whether they are one of our special group. All persons are to be our neighbors. He called us to put aside group loyalty, leave elite fraternities, cast away membership in sects, clubs and dynasties, upper and lower classes, tribal bonds, nationality, social status and prestige. We are to abandon all the bias and prejudices that goes with such select, exclusive closed groups that exclude and fear outsiders. The select group tends to exclude others and confront, despise and disrespect those on the outside. We must leave our group and join all others in a single family based on equality, justice, truth and doing good for others.
If personal family ties would cause us to reject, exclude or oppress others and separate us from the values of Jesus, we must cut the family ties. A shocking challenge for anyone who would be his true disciple even to the point of where we must love even our enemy. “Do good to those who hate you,” he said. It seems impossible yet that is the ideal that Jesus taught, that we are all one humanity in one world, and he lived and died for all of us.
As members of God’s single family, we share a common humanity, dignity, rights and respect. This is what Pope Francis is reminding us, that as human beings we must be caring and responsible for each other irrespective of skin color, citizenship, religion, gender, status or situation in life. We must also be caring for the planet, the environment and protect all living creatures. The universality of the loving fraternity that Jesus taught is one that demands we love one another and we do to others as we would want them to do to us. This is the heart of what Jesus taught.
Read the full feature in LiCAS.news.
