These lines are being written in Ireland, where it always rains, where Protestants fight Catholics, where bogs and leprechauns abound. Or do they?
Truth to tell, the climate in Ireland is milder than in Berne. The Irish Republic has numbered many non-Catholics among its influential politicians. The "Protestant" king William III, victor at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, carried the Pope's banner with him. And the country's agriculture cannot be dismissed with the word "bog". Things are far more complex than superficial impressions suggest.
The media around us invite us to make instant judgments. At the moment, the talk is of "evil men". But none of us is fully good. Why can we not talk of evil deeds rather than evil people? For God loves us all, and even the most corrupt and distorted person is not outside the reach of God's grace! Think of Paul, who "persecuted the church of God" (1 Cor 15:9 and Gal 1:13).
Deliberately taking life is an evil deed, and Matthew's record of Jesus' words reminds us that God notices even the death of a sparrow (Mt 10:29-32). But Paul, who "consented to the death" of Stephen (Acts 8:1) was granted one of the acutest visions of Jesus as he travelled to Damascus. It is not for us to judge whether the people who act in evil ways are candidates for God's forgiveness!
If we are quick to judge, we lose the chance to listen. A burning topic in today's world is the relationship between Christians and Muslims. How many of us really know what Muslims think about Jesus, about the Christian church, about mankind's relationship with God? How many of us can explain words like jihad or fatwa except in the context of today's politics? How many of us have an image of Islam as a religion that incites people to destroy and to impose their will on others?
Jesus was a listener. Again and again, the stories in the gospels tell of his insight into what people really thought and what they wanted. A woman touches his coat, a man climbs a tree to see him, a group of people invite him to condemn an adulteress, opponents seek to trap him into a political declaration. In all of these situations, his reaction is the same. There is no simple answer, save to love and to listen.
Jesus listened and seldom, if ever, judged (and if he judged, he judged actions and not people!) We too need to take time to listen, to think, and to try and see all the sides of every situation we find ourselves in. The world is not as simple as we thought it was. May we see clearly where evil lurks, and may we seek in all our actions the ways of peace.
HD