The fullness of our brotherhood

We are all brothers and sisters for the simple reason that we are all children of God. Unless we relate our relationship with one another with our relationship with God can we come to that conclusion that we indeed form one family, committed to love one another irrespective of whatever.

Otherwise, our attitude and behavior toward all the others would simply be constrained by the many conditionings here on earth-biological, cultural, historical, social, political, etc. These factors, while having their legitimate value and role in our life, do not capture the whole truth about our relationship with one another.

Of course, to be aware of this wonderful, fundamental truth about ourselves, we need to stir ourselves constantly by the impulses of our faith. We need to do this to ward off the danger of getting so familiar with the others as to fail to recognize the fullness of our brotherhood and to behave accordingly.

We need to see others the way Christ sees all of us. It is he who shows us how to treat one another. He commanded us to love one another as he himself has loved us. And his love that went all the way to offering his life for all of us.

We have to be most wary of our tendency to take the others for granted, considering them only physically or socially or politically, etc.  Let's remember what happened to Christ when he visited his own people in the synagogue. (cfr. Mt 13,54-58)

They did not realize that Christ was the very Son of God who came to save all of us. They were scandalized by the many good things that he did and said, since they considered him only too humanly. "Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary…"  They could not consider him beyond those human categories. This is a classic example of the saying, "Familiarity breeds contempt."

This can happen to us in our relationship with the others. We can look at them only too humanly that we fail to realize that each one of us, no matter what human condition one is in, is a child of God, an image and likeness of God, who may have sinned, but who is also redeemed by Christ. Christ died for each one of us!

We need to train ourselves to consider the others beyond our human categories and natural conditionings. And, of course, the model for this is none other than Christ himself.

We have to train ourselves to consider the others beyond our unavoidable differences, let alone, the mistakes and offenses that we can commit among ourselves. Each one of us has an intrinsic dignity that is above the sum of all our thoughts, words and deeds.

Even if a person is completely dumb or is a criminal, he is still a child of God unless that person himself knowingly, willingly and therefore culpably disowns God. Otherwise, he is still our brother whom we have to love with the love of Christ. It's a love that understands everyone, is willing to bear all the weaknesses and sins of men, is eager to offer forgiveness, etc.

This is the fullness of brotherhood that we are supposed to live among ourselves!

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