One of my favorite cartoons is Non Sequitur; in one Sunday strip, little Danae finds herself sitting next to an elderly man in the park. The ten year old says, “I gotta tell ya, Mister, …that’s an awful boring tattoo on your arm. It’s just a bunch of numbers.” The old man explains, “Well, I was just about your age when I got it, and kept it as a reminder.” Danae asks, “A reminder of happier days?”
“No,” the man replied sadly. “It’s a reminder of a time when the world went mad. Imagine yourself in a land where your countrymen followed the voice of political extremists who didn’t like your religion. Imagine having everything taken from you, your entire family sent to a concentration camp as slave laborers, then systematically murdered. In this place, they even take your name and replace it with a number tattooed on your arm. It was called the Holocaust, when millions of people perished just because of their faith…”
Little Danae was stunned by the old man’s story. Tears were running down her face, so she asked quietly if he kept the tattoo to remind himself of the evil the world is capable of doing. “No, my dear.” He said, “I keep it to remind you.”
Memories and the lessons of the past are what form us as individuals, as families, as communities, as nations. It is a shared memory of what we celebrate that binds us together as a faith community; the Christ, who is as real and dynamic among us today as he was on Holy Thursday in the midst of the apostles at the Last Supper so long ago.
We are Catholic because someone, like the disciples once did, shared their memories of the Good News of Jesus with us. They acted as the disciples did, sharing their awareness of Jesus. You may not see yourself as a disciple, but have you ever wondered what it takes to be one?
In his letter, Peter tells us that as Christians, we have the mission to bear witness to the Good News. “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence, keeping your conscience clear…”
This isn’t a mission you are being asked to do single handedly. As we heard, Jesus assured the disciples that they would receive an advocate, the Spirit of truth, who would empower them to do just that. On Pentecost, after receiving the Holy Spirit, they ventured forth and shared their memories of Jesus Christ with anyone who would listen. Generations later, we are here because we listened and have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to believe.
Now Jesus is relying on us, as his modern day disciples to share the good news with those around us. We do that best by example. Recall what he said. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” That is what being a disciple is all about. We take the love of Christ to the people around us, friend and foe alike. As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words. Nowhere in the gospels does Jesus speak explicitly about the Ten Commandments, but we do find many instances where he gives us guidelines for being his disciples. For example, consider the corporal works of mercy spelled out in the last judgment scene of Matthew’s gospel, which you will hear on the feast of Christ the King. How we treat others is a testimony to what we believe.
Every unkindness that one person does to another is done because there is an apparent lack of love in that person’s life. One who attacks others cannot know that God loves him or her unconditionally. A disciple teaches love by being loving and accepting others as they are. By teaching love, they are filled with peace. The more peaceful they feel, the more loving they can be.
Having been critical of the legalism of the Pharisees, Jesus aims to give his followers a new set of values and attitudes toward God, others and toward life itself. He is calling on us to love one another; that includes the stranger, the sick, the homeless, the African American, the native American, the homosexual, the ethnic minority, the imprisoned, the Muslim, the Jew, the relative or neighbor you cannot get along with…
“Whoever has my commandments and observes them is the one who loves me,” Jesus said. We have them but do we observe them? The tragedy of the Holocaust happened because too few in Nazi Germany kept them, condoning instead the evil of their leaders. So long as world leaders ignore the presence of Jesus and his teachings, the world is not better off. So long as the people they govern tolerate policies that run contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ, the world will fail to see Christ in their midst.
Many survivors of the Holocaust wore their tattoos to remind the rest of us of how inhumane we can become when we turn our back on God. Many Christians wear crosses or crucifixes to remind us of the unconditional love Jesus has for us, selflessly giving of his life so that we could experience the fullness of life in God’s kingdom. We need to remember the consequences of the past when we refuse to love and respect another person for whatever reason.
Our conscience can remain clear so long as we strive with the help of our advocate, the Holy Spirit, to live and share the Good News for as Peter tells us, “it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is the will of God, than for doing evil.” Other wise we are bound to let history repeat itself.