From the words of Pope Francis - dated 28/01/2017
“The world needs Christians to witness God’s mercy “through service to the poorest, the sick (and) those who have abandoned their homelands in search of a better future for themselves and their families,” he said. “In putting ourselves at the service of the neediest,” Pope Francis said, “we will experience that we already are united; it is God’s mercy that unites us”.
The Pope has spoken for all the Church denominations and asks us the question how we can call ourselves Christians if we do not follow the teachings of our Lord? This is a question I am trying to answer myself; am I doing enough, am I showing enough kindness to be a witness to my faith?
‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’
Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me’”
Matthew 25:35-40
Fundamentally and according to teachings, being a witness to Christ and faith is living with kindness everyday, not only with the way we treat others but how we think about other people too, and ourselves, and then putting that kindness into action.
Jesus gave us a new commandment.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
John 13:34-35
Our Lord gave all humanity the ultimate kindness; his sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins if we confess to them (whether we deserve it or not), and for me and all of the world to have the opportunity to have a personal relationship with God with the gift of the holy spirit.
“the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness”
Micah 6:8
Through my faith and my belief of the Trinity I think all Christians are obliged to strive to be kind until it is second nature to ourselves and for others. Think of it, if we were all kind what a wonderful world this could be.
“He has shown all you people what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God”
Colossians 3:12
So how can Christians say they are christians if they we do not welcome those who are displaced, homeless, refugees and those striving for a better life away from war and injustice?
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
Leviticus 19:33-34
The argument that I have seen put forward with regard to having a hard stance on migrants and refugees, and helping others more vulnerable in our society is that the bible says:
“Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”
1 Peter 2:13-15
And:
“Let all who are under a yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled. Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful on the ground that they are brothers; rather they must serve all the better since those who benefit by their good service are believers and beloved. Teach and urge these things.”
Timothy 6:1-2
There is a massive difference, however, of submitting to the laws of the land for the good of all, such as the ten commandments, to blatantly allowing our leaders to disregard the teaching of Christ through policies which are unfair and causing hardship. Timothy goes on to say:
“If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain”
Timothy 6:3-6
In a democracy we the people vote in our authorities, we the people accept the law of the land, and we the people have a responsibility to persuade our leaders that laws which are unjust should be changed, particularly in a christian country where laws do not accord with the things we have been taught on kindness, justice, grace and mercy.
"This is what the LORD Almighty said: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."
1 Timothy 6:1-21
There are so many teachings in the bible that teaches us the use of kindness, being a witness and welcoming people of all faiths and cultures.
Colossians 3:11, 2 Corinthians 9:7, Ephesians 4:31-32, Leviticus 25:35, Hebrews 13:2, Jeremiah 7:5 , Jeremiah 31:3, Jeremiah 22:3 ESV) Romans 2.4, Titus 3:4, Zechariah 7:10
Jesus also gave us the perfect parable of the Good Samaritan to instruct us. This parable has much to teach us now as it did when Jesus walked this earth. To put into some kind of context: the Jews hated the Samaritans to such a degree that they destroyed the Samaritans temples. The Samaritans likewise hated the Jews. The Jews refused the Samaritans participation with them in the worship at Jerusalem, and the Samaritans separated from all fellowship with them.
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was notorious for its danger and difficulty, and was known as the "Way of Blood" because "of the blood which was often shed there because of robbers.
“He asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise."
Luke 10:29-37
Because the Jews knew they were the people of God, the Israelites, there was a tendency to neglect, even condemn those who were non-Jews. Moses was instructed to prescribe legislation from God for the treatment of foreigners.
The meaning of the parable is clear, a neighbour is anyone with whom you come into contact with, showing love for anyone within one’s reach, including Jesus’ command to love our enemies.
It is on the the basis of this parable we must deal with our own racism, our attitudes to migrants, the homeless and those who are vulnerable. As a Christian we should also be seeking justice for, and offer assistance to, those in need, regardless of whatever group to which they belong.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself."
(Galatians 5:14)
We have come to a scary time in our world, once again, where we are seeing injustice, racism, and separation in practice. We are so much more connected to the world through social media and the information, dogma and rhetoric that discerning the truth from lies can confuse us. However, how can Christians sit idly by and not to show kindness to our neighbours, not stand up for those who are being persecuted by our own authorities and ignore what is going on in the world?
Some of us are lucky to live in countries with free speech, free to protest, free to influence our authorities, free to show acts of kindness that make a difference, free to be witness to our faith, values and following the teachings from our Lord. We are blessed that as Christians that we can unite with others and let our voices be heard.
Kindness in the bible has so many meanings for Christians and as John said:
let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and truth"
So now it comes to the crunch - what am I going to change, and what am I going to do to show kindness and what are you doing and/or going to do?
