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How many of us have seen the newly released documentary, They Shall Not Grow Old?
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Using real footage from World War One, the movie weaves together seamlessly horrific images of war with very human stories of youth and friendship.
As one commander remarked, “When they came to us, they were frightened children. They had to be made into soldiers.”
Some were as young as 15.
Watching these boys scramble through muddy trenches together while under fire made it easier to understand the old adage, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”
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While not universally true, suffering has a way stripping away the things that divide us.
In fact, suffering can unite us.
That’s been true in foxholes, cancer wards, the Bahamas, and even in today’s Gospel.
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In the Gospel, ten people are afflicted with leprosy, a devastating disease that cripples your hands and feet and makes your skin look like it’s boiling.
Nine of the people with leprosy were Jewish. And one of them was a Samaritan.
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Jews and Samaritans hated each other.
Any honorable Jew in good health would never associate with a lowly Samaritan; Samaritans were losers.
Yet we find this Samaritan welcomed into the colony of the nine. Why?
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Leprosy destroyed their prejudice.
Like dodging bullets in a foxhole, these men were united in their suffering. They were no longer Samaritan or Jew; they were brothers.
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That’s a lesson every society could learn from, including our own.
Think of how much time is spent in the news cycle or at the water cooler talking about how different we are.
We’re divided along racial, social, political, economic, and religious lines. But when these externalities are stripped away, we’re all the same within.
On the surface, we could say every person is made in the image and likeness of God – and therefore equal.
But is there something else, even something more uncomfortable, which unites us?
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Sin.
As Saint Paul says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
Though our sins may be different and vary in frequency, at some point each of us has been guilty of judging our neighbor, either with disdain or a jealous eye.
What the Gospel challenges us to do, then, is to let go of any prejudice or judgment in our hearts, accepting the fact that we’re all in need of redemption. All of us have fallen short of the glory of God.
Instead of seeing what divides us, then, focus on what unites us – namely our need for redemption.
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The other side of the coin is this: we’re also in need of love.
That cranky neighbor, the rebellious teenager, and the person who unfairly cuts you off on the road – they’re all like me…they’re all like you.
They’re all sinners in need of love.
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How much time do I spend thinking about the faults of others?
And how might I shift that focus to loving my neighbor instead?
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“There are no atheists in foxholes.” Nor are they black or white, rich or poor; they’re a band of brothers. Their suffering unites them.
Similarly, there should be no judgment among Christians. We know we’re all in need of redemption and love.
Seeing ourselves as equals before God, how might we better love one another this week?
How true, we are all in need of love but we find ourselves focused on getting even or trying to convince our neighbor to think like us. After 9/11 our country was in shock and we looked to each other for strength with the feeling of camaraderie. We were united!
Amen! Let’s pray for unity bounce again, not focusing on our differences, but our shared need for love and acceptance.