The Golden Rule

Homily for Thursday of the Twenty-third Week in Ordinary Time

In today’s Gospel text Jesus gives us high and never-to-be-fulfilled ideal. However, if we are going to be honest with ourselves, there will never be a moment when we can sit back and say, “Well, I’ve satisfied that obligation completely. Next, please.” At the very least, this tough teaching of Jesus is meant to prod us continually. We will never reach an intellectually satisfying solution. Only in practice, in daily life, can we learn the truth of such words as, “Give and gifts will be given to you.”

Yet we have to admit, the Golden rule that appears in the middle of this Gospel text, is actually part of the writings of every religion known in today’s world. Let’s look at just a few examples:

(Islam) – "None of you [truly] believes until you wish for your neighbor what you wish for yourself."

(Buddhism) – "Do not do to others what would hurt you if done to you."

(Hinduism) – "This is the sum of duty: do not do to others what would cause pain if done to you."

(Judaism) – "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. This is the entire Law; all the rest is commentary."

(Jainism) – "One should treat all creatures in the world as one would like to be treated."

If you would like further examples, I would encourage you to your Internet browser to search for “the Golden rule.” Sometimes the principle is stated positively and sometimes it is expressed negatively. However, this common principle is at work in every formal religion. Consequently, we must be honest and admit that the only thing that separates Christianity from these other religions is the fact that we have in Jesus a model for this kind of behavior. Jesus goes to the extreme length of dying on a cross in order to put flesh on the bones of these ideals.

Even though we know that we will be constantly working at this ideal, we cannot simply dismiss it as an impossible dream. The hero of the literature of every society holds up this principle as the guiding light for our lives.