Growing up, I learned many different jokes. Some of them were clever and also harmless. They made us laugh; they helped us to poke fun at ourselves and others. But they also could be used in a negative fashion. Some jokes were used to make fun of others based on superficialities pointing out that they were different from us.
Like jokes, at times our assessment of people can be based on surface judgments. Beautiful people, athletes, rich people, and celebrities may all be assessed in a positive or negative light simply because of their status. Poor people, people with physical or intellectual challenges, foreigners, and others different from who we are can also be assessed simply on appearance or other superficial ways.
One of the great gifts of my time in Camden was to challenge some of my assumptions about the poor. My sense of generosity changed by seeing how generous people who had so very little were. I learned hospitality in a new way from people who welcomed newcomers so easily but were so often not offered welcome simply because of their accent, the color of their skin, or on account of their country of origin. I also learned about my faith from a community who trusted deeply in God and God’s love despite the significant economic and social challenges they faced each day.
Jokes, by their nature, can be considered neutral but people are not. Each individual is unique and unrepeatable and beloved in God’s eyes. Polarization is often mentioned in our nation. It seems to me that can only happen when we choose not to see all others as God does, simply through the eyes of love.
Live Jesus!
Fr. Matt Hillyard, OSFS
