Sunday Inbox Inspirations
11th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Cycle A
June 18, 2023
Relativism
Pope Francis, and before him, Pope Benedict XVI have often talked about the problem of relativism.
They see a tendency, especially in our Western world, to hold nothing as absolute. They say that many people have come to think that nothing is for certain.
This tendency toward relativism is taking place in an atmosphere of great individualism, where I see myself as an individual person as absolutely primary. My goals and my desires are seen as the most important thing.
The dictionary defines relativism in this way. It is “the viewpoint that what is true or false or good or bad depends only on persons and circumstances.”
And so, I alone, by myself can determine what is right or wrong for me. Our Popes are pointing out the problems with this mindset.
Now, it is true that all religions and all persons of good will have aspects of the truth. But not everything depends on what I think or what I feel, with no reference to any basis or norm beyond myself.
Our Catholic tradition holds that there are some absolutes, some things that are certain and definite. We see some of these absolutes in today’s readings and I want to highlight them for us.
Absolutes
For starters, we believe that God is love and that God loves humanity. In our second reading, Saint Paul says, “God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
The idea is that God has this unconditional love for us. This is an absolute.
And then, we Catholics and all baptized Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God. Once again, in our second reading, Saint Paul says, “We were reconciled to God through the death of his Son.”
The idea is that the divine presence, the Almighty God has emerged in our world in the person of Jesus of Nazareth and forged a oneness between God and us. This is also an absolute.
Next, we believe that we are to live out of this new relationship with God. We call this relationship God’s covenant with us.
In our first reading, the Lord God says, “If you hearken to my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my special possession.” This means that we need to carefully form our conscience, our inner compass of right and wrong, of good and bad, and then live out of this.
We form our conscience from two primary sources: 1) the Scripture, which is the inspired Word of God, and 2) the Church, which tries to apply this Word down through the centuries. Forming our conscience in this way and living out of this covenant relationship with God is also an absolute.
And finally, we are to live with a care for human life. In our gospel passage, Jesus sends the apostles out to “cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons.”
Scripture scholars tell us that we are to interpret this on both a physical and a spiritual level. So, for example, “curing the sick” means caring for those who are physically ill, and it also means providing emotional and spiritual support to those burdened with their responsibilities in life.
“Driving out demons” means helping those who are caught in a physical addiction to alcohol or drugs, and it also means praying out, praying out the spiritual demons that can possess us, like racism or sexual permissiveness. Living with this care for human life is also an absolute.
Conclusion
There are other absolutes.
These are the ones I see in today’s readings. They are opposed to a mindset of complete relativism where what I think or feel is all that counts.
And, very importantly, these absolutes are not restraints holding us back and they are not hurdles to jump through to get to heaven. Instead, these absolutes or certainties free us, they free us to live with direction and purpose, and they lead us to become whole and holy persons.
Fr. Michael Schleupner
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