Love, charity and façades

"beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ." (Col 2: 8)

Being Roman Catholic has primarily been part and parcel of our identity as Maltese. St Paul's shipwreck on Malta has often been mentioned in the debate on asylum seekers. This event has very much shaped our national identity and gave us two solid foundations: our faith and our hospitality (of "unusual kindness" - Acts 28: 2).

I am sure this is the truth about us, but is it the whole truth? It seems to me that, over the centuries, we have given too much importance to the words describing us rather than their spirit!

Providence seems to be showing us that Catholic faith has only scratched the surface of many people's hearts here. Blessed Mother Theresa said "Love until it hurts" - our Catholic faith in a nutshell. And boy is it hurting here in Malta at the moment!

It seems to me that it is hurting many to share one's own country, possessions and finances; but isn't this real charity? Catholic charity comes from the heart; from a spirit of love and not a spirit of self-righteousness or fake goodness.

A reading of Exodus 22: 20-26 and Jeremiah 22: 1-5, clearly reveals what Jesus's command means: "Go and learn the meaning of the words: Mercy is what pleases me, not sacrifice." (Matthew 9: 13) A command which reminds us of Hosea 6: 6: "for faithful love is what pleases me, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not burnt offerings".

We are witnessing a common phenomenon in our country: the phenomenon of 'us' and 'them'. These phenomena leads to navel gazing. It also leads to the creation of a false sense of group security and cohesion through the creation of a common enemy. The foundations of these false systems are fear, insecurity and unreal superiority.

With such attitudes we can never have a clear vision and come up with healthy solutions. This phenomenon is simply pure idolatry: an idolatrous worship of mere religious systems and national beliefs that demands the sacrifice of the other, for the survival of the 'us'. This 'us' is created and maintained on false ideology rather than true Catholic faith and sound Catholic values.

This phenomenon is not new at all; it is found in the times of Jesus, but a careful reading of the New Testament shows how Jesus dealt with this phenomenon. When Jesus steps in, idolatrous worship is destroyed. The "righteous" painfully discover that they were not adoring the living God but rather systems which created a false sense of security and fake group cohesion. The 'bad' guys discover that they are not so bad after all, but rather children of God who are dearly loved and embraced by Him.

It is worrying to see Catholics living in Catholic Malta becoming confused about what it really means to be Catholic, which in simpler terms means love, after all!

Jesus often called the "righteous" hypocrites or whitewashed tombs. Is this a warning that we need to hear in our country today? A bit of religious introspection will not harm us for sure at this stage!

Are we being hypocrites in practising our religion? Have we become whitewashed tombs? "The truth will set you free" - Jesus says in John 8: 32. May we have the courage to see and accept the truth and may the truth set us free!