BY SHAY CULLEN
LET US turn our minds and hearts to the spiritual values of life.
This is the sacred time of year when we recall the life and death and resurrection of Jesus, the man from Nazareth. His life commitment to goodness and self-sacrifice as a champion of the poor and the oppressed led to his arrest torture and execution at the hands of the unjust and cruel authorities. He and his mission did not die and disappear forever nailed to the cross of the Roman execution squad.
His person and his mission live on in people of faith. He rose from the dead and the life-giving values he gave the world; unselfish love, compassion, justice, mercy, human rights and dignity have changed the lives of millions.
By his example, his teaching, storytelling and wisdom he inspired generations to be his followers. He called everyone to repent, change their lives and become people of God not people of the selfish greedy world. But the powers that ruled were hard of heart, they opposed him, they spied on him, they sought ways to accuse him of heresy or an act of subversion so they could stop his transforming and liberating work.
He had no riches, exercised no power, only that of love and friendship, he challenged the rich and the powerful, he called them to repent, have compassion for the poor, the sick, hungry, dispossessed and downtrodden people. He challenged them to share their wealth, help those striving to reform society, and make it into a “Kingdom”, not of selfish pleasure seeking people, but the Kingdom of people that love goodness, justice and the poor. He wanted a complete change of mind and heart and equality for all.
When asked by those seeking his favor and wanting to be named as the most important, he shocked them all when he selected a child from the fringes of the crowd. Children were without status or position and he selected a child and said “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” (Matthew 18)
The most forgotten and most vulnerable of all were the children and he established their inalienable rights and dignity above all else.
This great truth revealed by Jesus of Nazareth has been downplayed and forgotten throughout history and the rights of the child have been established only in our generation. The Convention on the Rights of the Child and many national and international laws are now protecting them. But not being well implemented. They are much too late for millions of abused and neglected and starving children throughout history and even until today. Not all people or societies respect and implement child protection laws and give them the respect and care they are due. (To be continued)/PN
