But by bothering with us by walking among men and giving us a model for life in this world, by having mercy on sinners he chose to be the early Church leaders true cultural trailblazers he made clear that political activism here is worthy of our time and effort. If its worth him living and dying and rising among us, its clearly worth our prayerful lives of engagement.
Not only does the reality and testimony to his presence among us as a man remind us that this place is important on our way home, that he is Truth itself should be the ultimate roadmap to the political activists.
As Christians, our involvement in politics is only as good as our faithfulness. We are politically active because of our love of God and man of our brothers and sisters in Christ.
In a January address to the Holy See diplomatic corps, the author of
Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Weeksaid:
I invite everyone to acknowledge the great lesson of history: How can anyone deny the contribution of the worlds great religions to the development of civilization? The sincere search for God has led to greater respect for human dignity. Christian communities, with their patrimony of values and principles, have contributed much to making individuals and peoples aware of their identity and their dignity, the establishment of democratic institutions and the recognition of human rights and their corresponding duties. Today too, in an increasingly globalized society, Christians are called, not only through their responsible involvement in civic, economic and political life but also through the witness of their charity and faith, to offer a valuable contribution to the laborious and stimulating pursuit of justice, integral human development and the right ordering of human affairs (Message for the Celebration of World Peace Day, 1 January 2011, 7).
Those words were delivered in a context of encouraging religious freedom and cautioning and admonishing against blasphemy laws and other threats to the practice of faith, and thus the very dignity of man. This contemporary battle recently took the life of a fellow Catholic, Shahbaz Bhatti in Pakistan.
