Pax Christi of Harrisburg hosted their annual Good Friday walk throughout downtown Harrisburg. Before the walk, the media interviewed Pax Christi member, and Catholic Worker board member, Rick Woodard. Rick put forth three ways we can follow the way of Jesus:
- We are to love everyone
- We are to forgive everyone
- Be not afraid to make the message heard everywhere
My freshman year English teacher in high school took off 5% on each essay grade for any usage of the words ‘everyone’ or ‘everything’. His reasoning was that there is always an exception to this word that the reader could find and so he wanted to force his students to be more precise with their word choice. However, I think Rick is correct that we, as Christians, are called to love everyone, forgive everyone, and make our message heard everywhere. There are to be no exceptions that the reader can point out. There is no person who we can present before God and say, “this person should not be loved”, “this person should not be forgiven”, or “this place does not deserve to hear your Gospel”. There is also scriptural evidence for this as well:
“This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35)
“Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.” (Matthew 18:21-22)
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
To view PennLive’s coverage of the event, including Rick’s interview, please follow this link. If you are interested in learning more about Pax Christi please reach out to Ann Marie Judson at [email protected] .