In this weekend’s Sacred Scripture we hear from the Letter of Saint James again, and in this section of the Letter we continue to hear of the moral code that a Christian disciple of Christ must follow. James reminded us last weekend that once we hear the Truth of God we cannot ignore it—calling ignoring His Truth a “self-delusional” act. This reminds me of the 1920’s song “How you goanna keep them down on the farm once they’ve seen Par’ie.”

In today’s letter, St. James calls us not to create differences among peoples when God made them equal in dignity. Certainly there are differences among the talents and gifts God has given each of us. We are not all called to be surgeons or nurses, nor are we all called to be teachers, police or firefighters; likewise we are not all meant to be parents or priests, business leaders or missionaries. All gifts and talents are from the same God true— but given differently to different folks—all for the building up of His Kingdom. But what is of equal nature or value is our human dignity. For we are all made in Imago Dei (image of God a theological term, applied uniquely to humans, which denotes the symbolical relation between God and humanity. The term has its roots in Genesis 1:27, wherein "God created man in his own image…it is the human person themselves that is equal.

When we mortals view the human person differently based on the exterior—that is by the things they possess, either man-made or God-given, then we enter into the sin of partiality.

The sin of partiality brings us to see people differently— the homeless or the drug user, the mentally ill, the poor, the sick and vulnerable; even those of color, perhaps, or those who possess
power. We treat them differently, holding them in high esteem if they possess wealth, considering them less than human if they are ill, frail or poor. In the secular world they have come to
comingle the words “citizen” with “consumer,” for what one possesses, or provides to society, that then determines one’s human value. Pope Francis speaks well to this modern phenomenon, calling
the Church—and I don’t mean just institutionally but all who comprise the Body of Christ—to recognize all human worth as not as “being special” because we are good at sports or academics
or are physically beautiful or musically talented, but rather because we are in fact “marked by Christ”—the Trinity—by virtue of our Creation and baptism.

Thus this special marking or indelible mark—which we receive in and through our Sacraments—calls us then to live differently— don’t be self-delusional—but once we hear the Word of
God we must Believe It, Live It and Share It. “How do we get there from here?” Through the practice
of Faith, Hope and Charity (Love), the three daughters of Wisdom, the feminine aspect of God. These three Christian Virtues lead us to the moral code of conduct which Saint James writes
about in his Letter. “How then do I acquire these virtues, you ask?” St. James has that answer too: “petition God for whatever grace you need and He will bestow it upon you abundantly.”

But today our modern world wants to highlight our differences rather than to see them with the eyes of Christ—seeing our similarity—our essence—while embracing our differences and recognizing them as complementarian in nature. You see, when you listen to the Book of Genesis “Let us create them in our image, male and female…” we see that while God endows men and women with different characteristics, talents, and callings it is only through their complementarian nature—coming together— that they can accomplish God’s work. Political correctness and “weasel wording” by those who seek to eliminate our differences, today seen as evil and dehumanizing, miss the beauty that our differences—when unified in our human dignity—bring about in our world.

This may seem trivial or unimportant to many people,but certainly not to God as evidenced by His plan for salvation. But everything from removing “mother and father” from birth certificates and replacing them with “parent one” and “parent two” to the removal of personal pronouns from some college class discussions, means to eliminate the complementarian nature of God’s creation, replacing it with some sense of false feeling of equality all while making us blind to the singular and at the same time collective essence of our human condition: we are all equally children of God, adopted sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of Christ—and all are called equally to live in His
image. But I am sure all of this is politically incorrect. What a “crazy”, mixed-up world! Sorry again, my bad.