Pope Francis: "When society is no longer based on the principle of
solidarity and the common good, we witness the scandal of people living
in utter destitution amid skyscrapers, grand hotels and luxurious
shopping centres, symbols of incredible wealth. We have forgotten the
wisdom of the Mosaic law: if wealth is not shared, society is divided...."
Today marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,
in which all of us are asked to implore from God this great gift.
Christian unity is a fruit of God’s grace, and we must dispose ourselves
to accept it with generous and open hearts. This evening I am
particularly pleased to pray together with representatives of other
Churches present in Rome, and I offer them a fraternal and heartfelt
greeting. I also greet the ecumenical delegation from Finland, the
students of the Ecumenical Institute at Bossey, who are visiting Rome to
deepen their knowledge of the Catholic Church. My greeting also goes to
the young Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox students sponsored by the
Committee for Cultural Collaboration with Orthodox Churches of the
Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
The Book of Deuteronomy sees the people of Israel encamped in the
plains of Moab, about to enter the land that God promised them. Here
Moses, as a kind father and the leader appointed by the Lord, repeats
the Law to the people, and instructs and reminds them that they must
live with fidelity and justice once they have been established in the
Promised Land.
The passage we have just heard shows how to celebrate the three main feasts of the year: Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks), Sukkot
(Tabernacles). Each of these feasts requires Israel to give thanks for
the good things received from God. The celebration of a feast calls for
everyone’s participation. No one is to be excluded: “And you shall
rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter,
your manservant and your maidservant, the Levite who is within your
towns, the sojourner, the fatherless, and the widow who are among you,
at the place which the Lord your God will choose, to make his name dwell
there” (Deut 16:11).
Each of these feasts requires a pilgrimage to the “place that the
Lord will choose, to make his name dwell there” (v. 2). There the
faithful Israelite must come before God. Though the Israelites had been
slaves in Egypt, lacking personal possessions, they are not to “appear
before the Lord empty-handed” (v. 16); the gift of each is to correspond
to the blessing received from the Lord. In this way, all will receive
their share of the country’s wealth and will benefit from God’s
goodness.
It should not surprise us that the biblical text passes from the
celebration of the three principal feasts to the appointment of judges.
The feasts themselves exhort the people to justice, stating that all are
fundamentally equal and all equally dependent on God’s mercy. They also
invite all to share with others the gifts they have received. Rendering
honour and glory to the Lord in these yearly feasts goes hand in hand
with rendering honour and justice to one’s neighbour, especially the
weak and those in need.
The Christians of Indonesia, reflecting on the theme chosen for this
Week of Prayer, decided to draw inspiration from these words of
Deuteronomy: “Justice, and only justice, you shall pursue” (16:20). They
are deeply concerned that the economic growth of their country, driven
by the mentality of competition, is leaving many in poverty and allowing
a small few to become immensely wealthy. This jeopardizes the harmony
of a society in which people of different ethnic groups, languages and
religions live together and share a sense of responsibility for one
another.
But that is not simply the case in Indonesia; it is a situation we see
worldwide. When society is no longer based on the principle of
solidarity and the common good, we witness the scandal of people living
in utter destitution amid skyscrapers, grand hotels and luxurious
shopping centres, symbols of incredible wealth. We have forgotten the
wisdom of the Mosaic law: if wealth is not shared, society is divided.
Saint Paul, writing to the Romans, applies the same thinking to the
Christian community: those who are strong must bear with the weak. It is
not Christian “to please ourselves” (15:1). Following Christ’s example,
we are to make every effort to build up those who are weak. Solidarity
and shared responsibility must be the laws that govern the Christian
family.
As God’s holy people, we too constantly find ourselves on the
threshold of entering the Lord’s promised kingdom. Yet, since we are
also divided, we need to recall God’s summons to justice. Christians too
risk adopting the mentality known to the ancient Israelites and
contemporary Indonesians, namely that in the pursuit of wealth, we
forget about the weak and those in need. It is easy to forget the
fundamental equality existing among us: that once we were all slaves to
sin, that the Lord saved us in baptism and called us his children. It is
easy to think that the spiritual grace granted us is our property,
something to which we are due, our property. The gifts we have received
from God can also blind us to the gifts given to other Christians. It is
a grave sin to belittle or despise the gifts that the Lord has given
our brothers and sisters, and to think that God somehow holds them in
less esteem. When we entertain such thoughts, we allow the very grace we
have received to become a source of pride, injustice and division. And
how can we then enter the promised kingdom?
The worship befitting that kingdom, the worship demanded by justice,
is a celebration that includes everyone, a feast in which gifts received
are available to and shared by all. To take the first steps towards the
promised land that is our unity, we must first of all recognize with
humility that the blessings we have received are not ours by right, but
have come to us as a gift; they were given to be shared with others.
Then, we must acknowledge the value of the grace granted to other
Christian communities. As a result, we will want to partake of the gifts
of others. A Christian people renewed and enriched by this exchange of
gifts will be a people capable of journeying firmly and confidently on
the path that leads to unity.
