Liberty and Justice for All

 

Today marks two very different things in our country, but one is likely to be talked about more than the other. Most people will see the inauguration of the next president as far more important than the remembrance of a life given in service to the principle of equal rights for all. But the fight for proper treatment of all God’s creatures should always take precedence for Christians over the rise to power of any individual human being.

This past week I watched the movie “Cabrini”, which tells the story of Francesca Cabrini, a Catholic nun who fought for services and the rights of Italian immigrants in America and other poor people around the world between 1880 and 1917. She helped thousands of immigrants and established 67 institutions like schools, hospitals, and orphanages worldwide. With Martin Luther King Jr. Day on the horizon, I couldn’t help but think about how little has changed between the beginning of the 20^th century and today.

More than forty years after Mother Cabrini’s death, MLK Jr. was fighting terrific prejudice and opposition regarding civil rights for black Americans that mirrored the battle Cabrini had fought for Italian immigrants. And nearly sixty years after King lost his life, we are still struggling to treat every human being in America with equal respect. Programs and services are not the problem; human nature is.

Not surprisingly, Jesus was faced with the same kinds of issues in his day – the powers that be doing everything they could to increase their power while failing to treat marginalized people with the God-given respect they deserve. There’s something about our sin nature that is drawn to power and resists caring about other people above ourselves.

But the Bible makes it clear that all people are created in the image of God, and this includes every person regardless of race, color, economic status, or any other distinction. Each person exists because God thought they mattered; and God loved each of us so much that he was willing to send his Son to die for us in order to restore our relationship with him. No one is excluded. How God’s heart must break to see how little regard we humans sometimes have for those he loves.

So as we celebrate another Martin Luther King Jr. Day today and another Sanctity of Human Life month (January), let’s not get caught up in the rise of another human to a powerful position with the presidential inauguration also happening today. As our country’s founding document stated, we are all equal; and God loves each of us equally. And let’s make sure that, as Christians, we are modeling God’s love to ALL people and truly loving our neighbors as ourselves.