By Stuart Hamilton
In my day job as a teacher, I’m often asked by curious (and cynical) teenagers, “Why are you pro-life?” I always draw upon Genesis to discuss the intrinsic value of all human life made “in the image and likeness of God” (Gen 1:26-27). More fundamentally, however, I often reply that to believe in the mystery of the Incarnation is to witness a God who values human life on an intimate, personal level. The life of Jesus Christ confronts, head on, every human endeavor that devalues human life.
Why do we protect the unborn? In the Annunciation, Mother Mary was given a choice: Would she be the ultimate servant to the Word of God, allowing the Word to enter this world through her, or refuse God’s plan? Mary was an unwed teenager, and in her culture, being pregnant outside of wedlock was a capital offense. If she were publicly accused, she could have been stoned to death. So more than an “inconvenience”, saying “yes” to this pregnancy was a very real danger to her life–one she never asked to endure. Yet she humbly submitted herself to God’s will for both herself and this child, saying, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) Mary’s “yes” to life, is a fundamental repudiation of every pro-abortion argument that could possibly be made.
Why do we advocate and provide for the poor and the vulnerable? When the Christ child chose to be born into this world, He came neither in worldly power, nor riches. He was born to an unwed Jewish couple who hadn’t enough money or influence to get a room at the inn on the night of his birth. He was born in a cave, amongst the beasts of burden, a citizen of Israel, one of the poorest, most neglected nations in the Roman empire. Consequently, when Jesus began his ministry, He chose to engage the neglected, the vulnerable, and the outcast. Jesus fed the poor, healed the sick, shared His teachings with prostitutes and sinners, and invited culturally hated outcast groups such as the Samaritans and “God-fearing gentiles” to hear the Gospel.
Why do we oppose racism and systematic oppression? As a Jew, Jesus was an object of prejudice and abuse of authority, from both the conquering Romans who treated their subjects as second class citizens, as well as the ruling economic class of his own people who were offended by his taboo breaking associations with “sinners.” Jesus didn’t just advocate for others–He bore their burdens in how He chose to live. He too was a homeless man–one forgotten and allowed to slip through the cracks of society–He received whatever meals and offerings charity would bring. Ultimately, He bore the burden of all human sin and injustice when He died, unjustly, as a criminal.
Why do we oppose the death penalty? Jesus was an innocent man who accepted all the cruelty and abuse of the corrupt legal system of his day. He died as a criminal, among criminals, and–if you think cogently about it–He died for all criminals. His accumulated suffering provoked witnesses to either mourning, conversion or disgust, typified by the thief to His left who cursed Jesus as a fool, the thief to His right who begged for mercy, and a Roman soldier–one of His torturers–who declared, “Surely, this is the son of God!” (Mt. 27:54) Somewhere between their responses is our own reaction to this “man of constant sorrows”, who was murdered by means of the death penalty.
In Pope Benedict XIV’s penultimate meditation on the life of Christ, Jesus of Nazareth (writing as Cardinal Ratzinger) he observed that as Jesus taught the beatitudes–Blessed are the poor, those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, etc.–He was speaking to His audience about the lived reality of Himself and His apostles. Similarly, in His greatest teaching on the final judgement (Mt. 25) He highlighted care for the sick, the poor, the orphaned and charity for the imprisoned as key factors in our salvation stating flatly, “Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” Christ’s incarnation, which we celebrate this Christmas, is sacramental proof for how much our God values all human life in all of its stages and circumstances, and a challenge to us to follow in His footsteps.
Archdiocese Of Louisville Family Ministries 