Kingdom Come

"All those dumb, old Christians--when will they figure that he ain't never, never gonna come?"


This week, Holy Week to many Christians around the world, comes on the heels of the election of the new Roman Pontiff, Pope Francis. This is the week in the calendar year set aside to usher into our consciousness, the greatest event of the Christian calendar, the death and resurrection of the Christ.

For those whose belief stops at their intellect, indeed this annual event is unintelligible. How stupid is it to think year after year that some dead guy is coming? Very stupid if one does not see themself in the process. The annual event is a time for reflection, for meditation upon the self and others and the ultimates in life, like what it is to live, to grow in love, to believe what we cannot easily perceive, to friend and befriend others, to commit ourselves to our communities and the common ground they can produce.

While these are identifiable Christian values, they are not limited to those persons who identify themselves as Christian. Many, many others will take part in just those same tasks under different names, in different seasons.
What makes the Christian focus on "the dead guy" so identifiable is that the story we learn is that he came at the behest of the Father, Lord Creator, that We, as his children, participate in those very same acts of Creation, and that from this the Holy Spirit guides, influences and maintains certain truths throughout the ages so that we, each one, may grow in love.
The love that was demonstrated on the dying cross by the Christ to "Love one another--love your neighbor as yourself,' and to do so at times is: to 'give up your life for a friend."
Here is the time of year that we are reminded by example that we have a friend in Jesus, no matter what our identified faith community is. The Christ comes for all persons, not just for the Christians.
Rejoice as he rises; for his rising raises us too.

The Worker

If I Had A Hammer
by Peter, Paul and Mary

Listen Here

I'd hammer in the morning

I'd hammer in the evening

All over this land

I'd hammer out danger 

I'd hammer out a warning 

I'd hammer out love between 

my brothers and my sisters 

All over this land 

If I had a bell I'd ring 

it in the morning I'd ring it 

in the evening All over 

this land I'd ring out 

danger I'd ring out 

a warning I'd ring out 

love between my brothers 

and my sisters 

All over this land 

If I had a song I'd sing 

it in the morning I'd sing it

in the evening All over this land

I'd sing out danger 

I'd sing out a warning

I'd sing out love between 

my brothers and my sisters

All over this land

Well I've got a hammer

And I've got a bell 

And I've got a song to sing 

All over this land It's the hammer

of justice It's the bell of freedom I

t's the song about love between 

my brothers and my sisters 

All over this land  

A bit about Jesus, the Worker: In Matthew 6:33 Jesus tells us: “But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” The Lord’s Prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

The common good is critical to the Worker. The Church teaches that civil law is legitimate only when it is rooted in the natural law and, because of that, the civil law will always be subsidiary, or subordinate to, natural law. The Church has long taught that civil laws that are not rooted in the moral law must be resisted and disobeyed. In fact, there is a long tradition in Catholic doctrine recognizing that an unjust law is no law at all.

In the words of St. Thomas Aquinas:
"Human law is law insofar as it corresponds to right reason and therefore is derived from the eternal law. When, however, a law is contrary to reason, it is called an unjust law; in such a case it ceases to be law and becomes instead an act of violence."  Summa Theologiae, I-II, q. 93, a. 3

It follows, then, that Catholic Christians have an obligation to resist or disobey unjust civil laws, even unto arrest or imprisonment. In the words of the Compendium: “Recognizing that natural law is the basis for and places limits on the positive (civil) law means admitting that it is legitimate to resist authority should it violate in a serious or repeated manner the essential principles of natural law.”

When some in the legal profession, however, use the civil law to thwart the rights of workers, they interfere with the natural moral law. This is a matter of grave concern for it threatens the very livelihood of workers and their families. Catholics, in particular, who employ the civil law to frustrate worker rights and the contribution that labor unions make to the common good, demonstrate, at a minimum, ignorance of Catholic teaching on the central importance that unions may play in the wider economic and social order.

Because of its conviction that the natural moral law is rooted in the eternal law, the Church has from its earliest days recognized the right of free association that can never be abridged by civil law. During the Medieval period recognition of the right to free association extended to merchant and craft guilds each of which united to seek benefits for their members and, because they were inspired by Catholic teaching, for the common good of society. In optimal circumstances, merchant and craft guilds worked together for fair prices and quality products for consumers, as well as for just wages and job stability for workers.
Source: http://www.catholicscholarsforworkerjustice.org