ordo amoris

Time seems to be taking on a life of its own in Trump-time and things might have happened yesterday or a few weeks ago – perhaps that is a result of Trump ‘flooding the zone’ in every possible way in the United States and beyond its borders.  A while ago? – United States Vice-president J.D. Vance used a theological term, ordo amoris, to justify the Trumpian approach the United States government is using in its actions to eliminate foreign aid. 

Here’s the statement by Vance on this:

But there’s this old-school concept—and I think a very Christian concept, by the way—that you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens in your own country, and then after that you can focus and prioritize the rest of the world.

Basically, Vance is using this principle to justify the approach by the Trumpian government to say charity begins and ends at home.  I guess he might grudgingly agree that if the needs of all Americans are met, they might give the few crumbs under the Trumpian table to non-Americans.  Putting aside the conclusion that the Trump government is doing everything they can to not share the wealth with people at home, this understanding of ordo amoris seems to be off base to say the least.

I must admit that I was unfamiliar with ordo amoris before it was used by Vance.  One definition on-line defines it this way:

"Ordo amoris," meaning "order of loves" or "ordered loves," is a theological concept explored by St. Augustine in his "City of God," emphasizing the importance of loving God above all else and arranging our affections in a way that reflects God's goodness.

I believe that Vance, who recently converted to the Roman Catholic faith, should perhaps review what Jesus Christ said about all this.  He stated, when asked which are the greatest commandment, replied:  

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these.

The account in the Gospel of Luke has a smart-ass lawyer asking Jesus in response, “who is my neighbour.”  Jesus responds with the parable of the Good Samaritan.  The lawyer was probably the J.D. Vance of Jesus' time, but he seemed to get the point that charity Is not restricted to the home-front.  Jesus chose the Samaritan to be the example to live up to because they were not who that lawyer or other Jews thought of as their neighbours.  They were, in effect, the black sheep of the Semite family. 

So, does odor amoris mean that we should give to foreigners in needs above those close to us – starting with our family and working outward and eventually getting to some person or persons we don’t know in a far away land – if there is anything left to give? 

Here is a good response I found on The Catholic World Report https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2025/02/10/vice-president-vance-the-good-samaritan-and-the-order-of-love/

The principle of the ordo amoris, however, is a counsel of prudence; it is not an absolute moral maxim; it presupposes that all other things are equal. But if all other things are not equal, our evaluation of whom to prioritize may change. A greater need in a more distantly related neighbor, which I can alleviate here and now, should often be given preference over a lesser need in a more closely related neighbor.

The principle in all this is Love.  This is the message of Jesus Christ.  The challenge of Christians is, how do we show the love of Jesus to our neighbours.  Something to contemplate and respond to on your journey.

  

Who is My Neighbour

Lorna and I received our COVID vaccine shots on Saturday.  We received the the PFIZER vaccine  but I would have been fine with any of the three vaccines approved currently.  I was very impressed with the process itself which was professionally accomplished - the clinic was well organized without any confusion or delays and staffed with a wonderful complement of medical professionals and volunteers.

It was the first of two shots and I felt that I am on my way to being well protected against the potential ravages of COVID infection- at least as it currently is manifesting.  As impressive as this was, I have serious reservations about how the Pandemic is being handled in my home province of Ontario and more broadly, and more seriously, in the world.

Looking at home in Ontario, I have to question why the focus for the most part is on age.  Admittedly, the effects of COVID infection have been most serious on the elderly and especially those in Long Term Care facilities.  However, this has ignored the impact on many of the most vulnerable i.e., those who are working in essential services such as workers in large facilities like meat packing plants and warehouses and those who have to take public transit to and from work.  I heard about a family member of an acquaintance who works with autistic children. This is, of necessity, one-on-one work where the teacher is face to face - literally – with the student who could not be required to wear a mask because of his condition.  The family member is not currently scheduled to receive the first shot until some time in May.  Lorna and I and many more in our situation could quite easily delay receiving the vaccine and be relatively safe maintaining our current regimen of limited contact and social distancing and always wearing masks when in contact with others. 

Aside from the issue of who is eligible to receive the vaccine, there is the intransigence of the Ford Government against providing sick leave benefits to workers which means many of the essential workers in lower paying jobs cannot afford to say home when they have symptoms of possible COVID infection.  This is a “no-brainer” and I am tempted to say in an unchristian moment that it should therefore be ready made for the Ford Government. 

That aside, the on-going pandemic has brought into focus the issue of who is my neighbour in this time of COVID.  I’m sure you are familiar with the parable of Jesus – the Good Samaritan.  In that story the lowly Samaritan was the neighbour to the Jew who was mugged while travelling.  The Samaritan was the last person his Jewish audience would have thought of as a neighbour.   Who are the Samaritans when it comes to the availability of vaccines?  It is fairly easy to see that essential worker are our neighbours because they literally are just that - the people who live in our neighbourhood.  However, what about the people in third world countries?  Those countries ae not going to have enough vaccines or the infrastructure to reach heard immunity in the foreseeable future, if at all.  If we follow Jesus Christ, we have the imperative to treat them as our neighbours.  Even if you don’t, there is a very good reason for the Western World to address this situation for purely selfish reasons. 

I have been hearing all of my adult life that the world is getting smaller and smaller.  Here is a situation where that truth is brought home in spades.  If the COID pandemic is allowed to flourish unchecked it will inevitably be a breeding ground for variants to the COVID strains some of which may be immune to not only the current vaccines, but ones that may be beyond the capability of science to address.  If such a variant or variants develop the current pandemic could be seen as the good times – if anyone is left to look back.  Whether we like it or not the world is now our neighbour. 

It is understandable that Western countries are addressing the needs of their citizens.  However, if we do not treat those on the other side of the world as our neighbours, we will be in serious trouble whether we follow Jesus Christ are our Lord and Saviour or not.  For those who are Christians I will close with a quote from Brian McLaren, a Christian writer:

Christian mission begins with friendship—not utilitarian friendship, the religious version of network marketing—but genuine friendship, friendship that translates love for neighbors in general into knowing, appreciating, liking, and enjoying this or that neighbor in particular. 

Blessings on you journey and please remember to social distance and wear a mask. 

Who is Your Samaritan?

Happy Labour Day (notice the Canadian Spelling of Labour with a u) to everyone in Canada and the United States.  This is one of the many holidays that we celebrate in common.  There is much in common between our two countries even though the differences seem to have become more of a breech in recent years with the great contrast between our two ‘Great Leaders’.  However, even Trudeau the Younger seems to be revealing that he also has feet of a clay-like substance.  Where are the Happy Days that we were promised?

That being said or ranted (albeit only a little rant which I didn’t set out to write) I must admit that this Labour Day Weekend was unusual for me.  I had to beg-off or bow-out of the two worship services I was scheduled to preside at yesterday because or flu-like symptoms that stuck around.  Lorna and I have for the first time in our joint memories, been sick at the same time with the same symptoms.  I noted this morning that our coughs were like a call and response.  However, we are both on the mend and we sound sicker than we feel this morning.  In respect to the worship services, fortunately was reminded that I am not indispensable and one of the lay readers stepped up and short notice and replaced me.  I do want to note that this was the first time since I was ordained that I was not was my not able to fulfill my scheduled Sunday worship duties. 

Bottom line is that I have a sermon that was undelivered and there is the eternal question if a sermon is unpreached, did anybody hear it?  In response, here is it for the most part as I would have delivered it so it won’t fade too quickly into the place where most sermons go to their eternal rest.

The Gospel reading in our prayer book is the well-known account of the ten lepers who are healed by Jesus and only one returns to give his thanks after he sends them to the priest to be declared clean.  The catch line in the story is, “and he was a Samaritan”.

  

I’m not sure if that should be read as a question or an exclamation.  When we hear of this account it is natural to think of the parable of the Good Samaritan which has resonated down through the millennia since Jesus told it.  Again, it has the same message; it was the Samaritan who did the right thing – who was the neighbour to the traveler.  The priest and the Levite stayed on the other side and looked the other way.  Have you ever done that when someone has approached you on a street for a hand out.  How easy it is to look the other way and ignore the request.

However, why did Jesus use the Samaritan in the parable, and why was it surprizing that it was a Samaritan who returned to give thanks to Jesus for his miraculous healing?

The bottom line was that Samaritans and Jews did not generally get along with each other.  That is something of an understatement.  Well, actually you could say that the Samaritans were closely related to the Jews.  They considered themselves to be descendants of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh who were the sons of Joseph. 

These tribes were considered half tribes making up the twelve tribes of the Israelites.  So, in effect it was what could be considered a family feud.

What then was the basis for this feud?  Well, it probably won’t surprize you that it was religious.  The Samaritans’ bible was the Samaritan Pentateuch based on the torah, the first five books of the Hebrew bible.  You only have to look at Christian Church history to know how many wars and battles and schisms have been fought over what tis the true bible and in what language it should be written.  It still comes as a surprize to some people that Jesus did not speak the Queen’s English or Latin or even Greek.  But I digress somewhat.

If that was not enough, there was more to this feud than just the Holy Book or Books.  There was also a dispute over which place of worship was the true place.  This is mentioned in the account in John’s Gospel of the Samaritan woman at the well who encounters Jesus.  She tells Jesus that the mountain is the centre of their worship.  Of course, the centre of the worship for Jews was the Temple in Jerusalem.  She poses the question to Jesus when she realizes that he is the Messiah. Jesus affirms the Jewish position, saying "You (that is, the Samaritans) worship what you do not know" which seem to settle the question for Jesus’ view of the true religion.

There was also the question of the Samaritans worshipping idols in addition to an impure form of temple worship.  Of course, the problem of idol worship and false Gods such as Baal, was an ongoing one with the Jews which the prophets railed against and prophesied doom if the chosen people did not repent and return to the one true God.   

  

There were other differences in beliefs and practices but bottom line is that they both worshipped YHWH and had the same foundation to their religious beliefs.

It reminds me of a great sketch I heard once - I think it was one of Garrison Keillor.  In the story, as I remember it, two men meet and begin to talk.  They discover they are both Lutherans.  They go through the various branches and divisions of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and so on and find they that they are both members of each division.  Finally, they come down to a rather obscure branch and find they find themselves on different sides of the branch.  The one responds to the other, “die apostate”!  It is amazing how we can find things that divide us rather than things that unite us. 

Who would the Samaritans be in your life?  Who would Jesus have to substitute for the Samaritan to make his point in telling you the Parable of the Good Samaritan or the one leper who returns.  Who would he have to identify to shame you into realizing you are finding division rather than unity with your brother and sisters?  Would it be a Palestinian if you were a Jew?  Would it be an American if you were a Canadian who felt superior to those Americans who are so divided in their politics and seemingly everything else?  Would it be those refugees that land on one of our borders?  Would it be you next door neighbour who isn’t a good neighbour? Would it be a member of your congregation who acts in ways you do not approve of?  Would it be a member of your family who you find embarrassing?  Would it be a member of your family who comes out as gay or lesbian?

And he was a Samaritan. 

Jesus commands us to love one another as he loves us.  He commands us to love one another and yes even to love our enemies.

Who is your Samaritan?

Sermon July 9, 2017 4th Sunday after Trinity

Luke 6: 36

It appears at first glance that the Gospel writer got it wrong.  Luke tells us that Jesus told a parable to his disciples.  However, what he says does not appears to be a parable—a least not the kind we are familiar with.  When we think of a parable we think of a story with a message.  Certainly there are many examples of this; the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son or as we heard last week the parable of the lost sheep and the lost coin.  One source numbers Jesus parables at 46.  So there are a lot of stories with a message.  They are not all presented as stories but most are. 

Often there is a twist at the end like the prodigal son where the wayward son is not given a chance to throw himself on the mercy of his father.  There are ones that surprisingly seem to uphold negative behaviour such as the Parable of the Dishonest Manager.  This is one of the most puzzling in which a manager is dismissed by his master and he connives with the people who owe his master money to cheat him.  Jesus concludes the parable by having the master commend the dishonest manage—go figure.

However, what these all have in common is that they are presented as stories.  Indeed one definition I looked up defines the parable exactly this way, “a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson”.  However, the same source does give a second definition, “a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like”.

In today’s Gospel reading Luke presents Jesus telling his disciples what Luke calls a parable.  However, it doesn’t fit either definition.  It certainly isn’t a story.  It is only a list of characteristics and traits of people that are not positive; the blind leading the blind, the disciple not being above his master, not seeing the beam in your own eye.  He calls us all hypocrites.  This is a bit closer to the second definition.  However, there is no indirect meaning here; Jesus is telling us directly, do not be like this.

There is certainly a lesson in here for us.  So that is possibly what Luke had in mind when he calls it a parable.  The parable always contains a lesson, even when it is not always easy for us to get it right away.  I particularly like it when his disciples complain that parables are hard to understand; I am with them on that.  Jesus occasionally does relent and givens them and us the meaning of the parable as he does in the parable of the sower who sows on the bad soil and the good soil—thanks be to God for that. 

However, in our parable today there is no mistaking Jesus’ message.  In the beginning of the passage he tells us directly: judge not so you won’t be judged; do not condemn and you won’t be condemned; forgive and you shall be forgiven.  In the parable portion he is less direct; he poses a question.  Perhaps that is more parable-like; can the blind lead the blind?  He gives a direct answer—no, they will both end up in a ditch.   Perhaps this is not completely direct.  I don’t believe Jesus was speaking of people who have eyes that do not see.  He is taking about people who are blind in other ways.  Then he switches back to a direct statement; a disciple is not above his master. 

Perhaps some of Jesus’ disciples were getting a bit above themselves and Jesus wanted to give them the proper perspective.  Then the kicker, take care of the beam in your own eye rather than the mote—a truly tiny thing— in your brother’s eye. 

All this set’s up what seems to be an impossible standard for us to live by.  Indeed we are even told that everyone who is perfect shall be as his master.  Jesus seems to be saying that we should strive to be perfect.  Indeed, in the Gospel of Matthew (5:38) Jesus tells us, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect”.  This certainly sets the bar pretty high. No, let’s not mince words; it sets the bar at an impossible level.  How are we supposed to strive to be perfect?  It really is impossible for any human being to be perfect.  Aside from Jesus himself, is there anyone in history who was ever perfect?  Not that I am aware of. 

In fact, I think there is a great danger in trying to be perfect.  We can easily try to hide our imperfections from others and more importantly from ourselves.  Unless we are able to be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings—those aspects of ourselves we don’t really want to acknowledge, Carl Jung calls it our shadow— we will not become the people that God intends us to be. 

I don’t believe that Jesus truly expects us to be perfect.  He was, after all, fully human as well as fully divine.  He also knows us too well to expect that of people.  I have found a better translation of the word which is usually translated in these passages as perfect.  One source translates the original Aramaic, which was Jesus’ native language, as ‘all-embracing’ rather than perfect.

That is something which we can all strive to do and be.  Be all-embracing as your heavenly father is all-embracing. We can embrace life, all of God’s creation and strive to live as God intends.  Let us be all-embracing.  Amen 

Who is My Neighbour

The heart rending picture of Alan Kurdi, the drowned three-year-old, from Syria who washed ashore on a beach in Turkey is one of those iconic pictures which has captured the conscience of people in Canada and around the world.  We can only hope and pray that this picture may result in some good in the response to the ongoing refugee tragedy.

I didn’t need anything to bring the picture to mind since I saw that picture.  However, the Gospel readings for the last two Sundays in the Book of Common Prayer brought it into even great focus for me.  The Gospel readings from both Sundays involve Samaritans.  Two Sunday ago, the Thirteenth after Trinity, was the well-known parable of the Good Samaritan.  Here the Samaritan is the good neighbour who tends to the Jew on the side of the road while the priest and the Levite pass by on the other side.  The Gospel for yesterday, the Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity accounted Jesus’ healing of the ten lepers.  The one who returns to give him thanks is the Samaritan—the other nine were Jews. 

It is good to remind ourselves that the Samaritans, in Jesus’ time, were the outcasts of the family.  The Samaritans inhabited the former Northern Kingdom during the Babylonian captivity.  The Samaritans worshipped the gods of the invaders along with YHWH and intermarried with them.  The Samaritans opposed repatriation of those returning from exile.  A great animosity arose between these close relatives and continued to Jesus’ time.  Jesus uses the Samaritan as an example of the despised outsider who is the true neighbour to the Jewish traveler by the road side and the one who gives thanks to God for being made whole.

If Jesus was walking amongst us today I have no doubt that he would be using the refugees from Syria in the account of the Good Samaritan and of being made whole.  We have a responsibility as Christians to respond to this refugee crisis.  I must admit that it took that heart rendering picture of Alan Kurdi to move me to action.  Beyond that it is up to us to shame our government into action is responding to this crisis.  It is most unfortunate that our government would wait until there is demand from the general public to do the right thing.  I was—shall I say highly disappointed— that the minister of citizenship and immigration, Chris Alexander would try, incorrectly, to blame the media’s inattention for the fact that the Canadian Government’s response had been totally inadequate.  The government system to respond to the refugee crises seemed to deliberately prevent most applications for refugees being processed. 

I trust this particular refugee crisis will pass in time.  However, one of the lessons here is that there is always a Samaritan who we want to treat as the despised outcast—and it doesn’t have to be on some foreign shore.  As Christians who are called to follow the teachings and example of Jesus we cannot wait for another heart rending picture of an Alan Kurdi to make us act.