A bird’s eye view of how archaeology helps our study of scripture. 

The story of Jesus is well known. in addition to the gospels, numerous secular authors within 150 years of his life mention him. In addition, Josephus affirms that Jesus was called the Christ and that his brother was James, Pliny the Younger notes that Christians worshipped Jesus “as a god,” and Tacitus wrote that Christ, “suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus.”  No serious historian questions the existence of Jesus.  Numerous archaeological discoveries affirm and illuminate details about Jesus’ life as recorded in the gospels.  Here are the top ten discoveries related to Jesus.

10.  The Galilee Boat. In 1986, a severe drought in Israel resulted in the water level of the Sea of Galilee dropping several meters.  2 brothers went along the shoreline for archaeological objects and discovered the outline of an ancient boat in the mud.  The fragile wood, exposed for the first time in 2000 years, required skill to remove it safely.  It was submerged in a chemical preservative for 11 years before it was put on display in a local museum.

The “Jesus Boat” is approximately 27 ft long, 7.5 ft wide, and 4 ft. deep, and would have accommodated a crew of up to 15 men. It was typical of the style of vessel that fishermen like Peter, Andrew, James and John would have used.  Jesus crossed the Sea of Galilee in such boats, and even taught from a boat when the shore became too crowded.  It’s the only ancient boat ever discovered at Galilee and helps us understand the types of boats Jesus and his disciples used.

9. Synagogues  The remains of the synagogue at Magdala.

While some scholars have suggested the synagogue did not arise until after the destruction of the temple in AD 70, and that the references to synagogues in the gospels are anachronistic, archaeology has proven otherwise.  To date the remains of ten synagogues dating to before AD 70 have been unearthed in Israel, including at Capernaum. Structures were public buildings used by Jews for civic and religious gatherings.  The religious gatherings focused on the study of the Hebrew Bible and prayer.”  The archaeological record affirms the descriptions of the synagogues in the gospels and helps us understand Jesus’ role as a teacher within first-century Judaism.

8. The Pool of Siloam.  Jesus healed a blind man by putting mud on his eyes and having him go wash in the Pool of Siloam. 

In 2004, the Pool of Siloam from the first-century was accidentally discovered during repairs to a drainage system. Archaeologists were called in to excavate and unearthed a large pool that had at least 20 steps leading down from the street level into the pool.  Pottery from one end of the pool was used to date it to the First-Century AD.  Given that it was in the exact location that scholars had long believed the actual Pool of Siloam to be – and that it dated to the time of Jesus, it was identified as the actual Pool of Siloam where the blind man had washed to receive healing.

7. Jacob’s Well.  Jesus met a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well near Sychar and revealed to her that he was the Messiah.  Today, an ancient well located at the foot of Mt. Gerizim just south of the village of Askar is unanimously identified as Jacob’s Well by all traditions – Jewish, Samaritan, Christian, and Muslim.  A pilgrim account from AD 330 also identifies it as the well that Jesus visited.  French archaeologist Andre Parot once described the water from the well as “cool and pleasant-tasting…drawn from a depth of 128 feet.”  Today a Greek Orthodox church stands over the well.  While many modern tourist sites in Israel are of dubious authenticity, nearly all scholars agree is the actual location of Jacob’s Well where Jesus met the Samaritan woman and offered her “living water.”

6. The Southern Steps of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. A 61-meter wide flight of stairs led to the main entrances to the Temple complex; the easternmost portion of this staircase has been unearthed with alternating short and long steps. Jesus likely used these steps many times.

Josephus records that there was a wall on which there were warning signs in both Greek and Latin that forbade foreigners from going beyond that point on pain of death.  In 1871, a limestone slab with a seven-line warning inscription was discovered – the very one described by Josephus.  Jesus would have walked past these warning inscriptions many times. 

5, The Caiaphas Ossuary  He was the high priest who oversaw the trial of Jesus. The ancient historian, Josephus, records that Caiaphas’s full name was Joseph Caiaphas. In 1990, a construction team was building a water park near Jerusalem when their bulldozer plowed through the roof of a first-century tomb.  Archaeologists were called in and discovered a variety of ossuaries (bone boxes used in the first century), including an ornate one that was inscribed with the name “Joseph son of Caiaphas.”  Inside were the bones of six people, including those of a 60-year-old man which scholars believe are the remains of Caiaphas himself.

4. The Pilate Stone confirms that Pontius Pilate was Prefect of Judea.

All four gospels declare that the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, sentenced Jesus to death by crucifixion.  While his historicity has never been questioned,archaeological evidence for his existence was unearthed at Caesarea Maritima in 1961.  Excavations near the amphitheater revealed a limestone block inscribed with a dedication to Tiberius Caesar from “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea.”  The Pilate stone confirms that Pilate was the Prefect of Judea, governing as the gospel writers described. Furthermore, in 2018, a copper ring that had been unearthed during the 1968-69 excavations at the Herodium was cleaned, photographed, and analyzed revealing the Greek inscription, “of Pilatus.” Rings like this were common among Roman soldiers, and since the name Pilate is uncommon, many believe the ring was once the property of Pontius Pilate or one of his servants.  The Pilate Stone and the Pilate Ring provide archaeological evidence for the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate, who handed Jesus over to be crucified.

3. The heel bone of the crucified man.  Archaeological evidence for Roman crucifixion was unearthed in 1968. A construction crew accidentally dug up several tombs in northeast Jerusalem.  Inside the tombs were several ossuaries, including one inscribed with the name Jehohanan, which contained skeletal remains of an adult male, including his heel bone with a nail still embedded in it.  The anthropologist who examined the remains determined that Jehohanan had been in his twenties when he was crucified in the first century (ca. AD 7-66). Further study revealed that he had likely been crucified with a leg on either side of the cross and the nail driven in sideways through his heel. The heel bone of the crucified man affirms the description of Jesus’ crucifixion in Scripture. Furthermore, it counters the objections of critics who have argued that Jesus would have been thrown into a mass grave for criminals rather than have been dignified with a proper burial.  We now see that the loved ones of a crucified victim could retrieve the body and prepare it for burial it in a family tomb.

2. Tomb of Jesus in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre   There are 3 tombs in Jerusalem purported to be the final resting place of Jesus. The site with the oldest attestation to being the tomb of Christ lies within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  Archaeological research has demonstrated that this site was a Jewish cemetery in an ancient limestone quarry outside the walls of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’s death. This aligns with the biblical description of the tomb in which Jesus was laid outside the city walls.  The historian Eusebius wrote that the emperor Hadrian (2nd century) built a huge platform over the quarry and constructed a temple to Venus/Aphrodite (ironically the Latin/Greek goddess of love) over the tomb of Christ. This temple stood there until Emperor Constantine destroyed the pagan temple and excavated until he found the tomb of Christ. He then had a new structure (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) built around the tomb. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre has been restored and rebuilt several times since its construction.

During restorations to the shrine that surrounds the remains of the ancient tomb, experts removed the limestone slab that covered the burial bed of the tomb for the first time in almost 500 years.  Mortar samples from the structure surrounding the tomb were tested, confirming it was built in the mid-4th century and then rebuilt Crusader chapel in the middle ages, affirming the ancient written history of the site. “Although absolute proof of the location of Jesus’ tomb remains beyond our reach, the archaeological and early literary evidence argues strongly for those who associate it with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.”

The Nazareth Inscription is an edict from Caesar inscribed on a marble slab that imposes a death penalty in Israel for anyone caught moving bodies from family tombs, specifically “sepulchers tombs” such as the one Jesus was buried in. It is dates to the reign of Claudius (41-54 AD), and appears to be directed at a Jewish audience.   It is not common to see Caeser make such a pronouncement.  It was common for grave robbers to plunder tombs but not take bodies. Scripture says that Jewish leaders spread the lie that Jesus’ disciples had stolen the body to explain the fact that the grave was empty after Jesus rose from the dead.  This report reached the Roman emperor, who would have seen the new Christian sect as a dangerous, anti-Roman move

A different historical interpretation exists. Namely: “The context of the Nazareth Inscription clearly proves that it was written for Jews and not Gentiles and that it was almost certainly issued by Claudius in response to the story of the resurrection of ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’.”

Each of these discoveries is related to Jesus in some way, either representing a place he visited or people he interacted with, or an event central to his life.  Together they indicate that while scripture is not a history text, it is riveted in history and within the lives of real people.  They are the reason Jesus was here in human history—teaching us humans how to live.  The work of historians and archaeologists is important for many reasons but it is especially helpful in sorting through the predators who emerge over time.  We need people to help us recognize fact from fiction and reality from lies—such as occurred several years ago when a con man claimed to have found the ossuary of the apostle James. Thank God for those who seek truth within this field of study.

Today’s first reading tells us how the Israelites were grumbling against Moses and God for bringing them into a desert where they were starving and upset with their plight.  They felt as if God had abandoned them.  They began to think that God hadn’t saved them from slavery at all, and that they would be better off back in Egypt where they would at least have something to eat.  All of a sudden, however, quail started falling from the sky, and they had “miraculous” food.  Not only that, but in the morning they found a honey-like substance on the ground that was like a dessert. 

Relieved at these wonderful, sustaining gifts from heaven, the people felt that God had saved them once again.  And Moses reminded them to not lose faith in a God who gave them “manna in the desert” which was their “bread of life.”  Scholars tell us that this reference in Exodus pre-figures the coming of a Jesus who would give us the “bread of life”—Himself—in the Eucharist (just as Moses pre-figure the coming of Jesus).  But there’s more.

This past week saw Jesuits around the world celebrate the feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus (the religious Order of men who are priests and brothers who put the initials “S.J.” after their name).  Drawing upon Old and New Testament sources, St. Ignatius offered guidance in his religious classic known as “The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius.” 

When watching the U.S. play Puerto Rico in the Olympics this week, I noticed that the head coach was Steve Kerr—a one-time Chicago Bull who played with Michael Jordan.  His first assistant there at the Games was Mark Few—the much-heralded coach of Gonzaga University’s basketball team that competes each year for the college championship.  Seeing him on the TV, I wondered how many people knew that Gonzaga is a Jesuit university (one of the 27 found across the U.S.A.).  I couldn’t help but think of the many times my being a Jesuit meant absolutely nothing to people who learned of the association.

Many moons ago, I had a conference with a Dean at Lake Superior State and hoped that my PhD in Anthropology might win me a role there.  Shortly into the conversation, I realized my visit to the Soo would accomplish nothing.  The woman was unfamiliar with Catholic priests employed at universities and needed to be informed of the longstanding reputation of Jesuits within higher education (at such schools as the University of Detroit, Boston College, Georgetown, and twenty-some others (all regarded as Class A schools, e.g., even the Jesuit school where I taught in West Virginia was identified by a national ranking service as the “Jewel of higher education in West Virginia”).  N.B. Due to economics, that “jewel” no longer exists.

Knowing this interview would go nowhere, I proceeded to educate this academic administrator.  I explained that the U.P. had cities named after Jesuits—such as St. Ignace and Marquette, and that Sault Ste. Marie itself was named by Father Marquette, S.J. (whose grave is in St. Ignace).  I think she may have violated the law when saying “You’re a little old to be seeking university employment aren’t you?”  Whereupon I told her that the average age of people receiving PhD’s in anthropology that year was my exact age!

Saginaw had a Jesuit connection when Henri Nouvel, S.J. celebrated the first Mass in the region—on Ojibway Island (a marker for which remains defaced by someone whose sense of history did not appreciate French priests on the Michigan frontier).  When the diocese blanded the Catholic high schools in Saginaw, Bishop Untener named the new entity “Nouvel”—after the Jesuit who said the first Mass, and because the word “nouvel” in French means “new” (as the high school would be the new institution—in 1985).

Jesuits received national attention during the Trump presidency when the president replaced the chaplain of the House of Representatives.  A Jesuit priest who both the Democratic and Republican House leaders had hired a few years earlier.  The priest had prayed for some issue that Mr. Trump thought should not have been prayed for—so he asked for his removal.  Steven Colbert periodically calls attention to Jesuits when he invites Fr. James Martin, S.J. to be a guest—someone Colbert humorously calls the chaplain of his nightly show.

This past May, Jesuit Greg Boyle, S.J. was awarded in Washington, D.C. the Presidential Medal of Freedom—an honor yearly bestowed on people who have made major contributions to humanity.  Google Greg’s name on YouTube and you can see/hear him present any number of commencement addresses he has given over the years.  His work has been with gangs in south-central LA where he started “Homeboys Industries”—a successful economic enterprise that has brought jobs to the poor and brought gangsters back into society where they make an honest living and raise their families.  I told him “I present people with the same sort of thoughts that you do, Greg . . . . . . only you do it a hundred times better than me.”  Some years back, 60 Minutes covered his work.

Now that you have a feel for some of my experience in dealing with the topic of Jesuits, it’s important that you know about the spirituality that Ignatius imparted to the Order he founded and the people who have adopted SJ spirituality into their lives.  Lay people today work at retreat houses where they guide people through this saint’s teachings.

One counsel Ignatius gave to generations of Christians is that they “Find, or discover, God in all things.”  This is what Moses and his fellow Israelites did when they saw the quail and honey-dew.  Besides grumbling about their problems (as we do), they looked at their experience and discovered or found God providing them with what they needed (in freeing them from Egypt and sustaining them on their journey to a land that had been “promised” to them by God).

The spirituality associated with this counsel further reminds us that we can grumble like the Israelites OR we can find God in all things—in some way or other.  Importantly, we can do so not just when we’re happy and well-fed and everything is going our way.  No!  When Jesus was born and we learned his name would be “Emmanuel,” we were told that this name meant “God is with us.”  And this means that God is with us not just in good times—but in good times and bad, in sickness and health, to death and beyond.  Harsh experiences can even force us to find God—in our effort to carry on.

Ignatius came upon this perspective when he was a young, playboy sort of nobleman at the court.  An adventurer, he relished bringing back the spoils of war and winning the admiration of the ladies.  However, when his leg was shattered by a cannonball, he was forever disabled—unable to walk as well as he once did.  His days of impressing superficial people had come to an end.  He was in a state of what he termed “desolation.” 

During his recovery, he asked the medical staff if they would bring him some romance novels to read.  They told him that all they had was a “Life of Christ” and a “Lives of the Saints” book.  Not what he wanted, he nonetheless read them and noticed how mood swings took place during this period of convalescence.  Namely, when he read about saints doing great things for people in different lands, he’d find himself fantasizing about doing something similar.  His spirit picked up and he experienced what he called “consolation.”

He noticed that when he fantasized himself accomplishing good things for people, he’d feel upbeat.  When he fantasized about living as he had before the cannonball injury, he experienced upbeat thoughts that would only last a short while—and then he’d go into a state of desolation.  This experience revealed to him that serving God’s people would be the road for him to travel.  Previously, he might raise his sword and proclaim: “For the greater glory of the king and for our greater glory.”  Now, however, he would proclaim “For the greater glory of God!”  This statement became the calling card of Jesuits.  All their efforts would be to promote the greater glory of God (in Latin, the phrase reads: Ad Maioren Dei Gloriam—often noted on the cornerstone of buildings as “AMDG”).

Go to a Jesuit college or high school, and you may well find the institution presenting a “Magis Award” to someone in its ranks who has gone the extra mile in helping what Ignatius referred to as “the Kingdom” (of Christ on earth).  Magis is a Latin word that means “the more.”  It refers to God calling you and me to always realize we can improve our efforts to live the Gospel.  I was reminded of this concept when hearing a line from singer Jackson Browne’s song that said: “Wherever I am, I’m a day away from where I want to be.”

You and I often enough think to ourselves that we’ve done our fair share of assisting some institution (family, community, world, activity, organization, etc.).  Or we think to ourselves that we know the score on some issue or other—and no one will change our minds on the matter.  We look at our lives and say “I’m retired.  Let others do what they can.”  Or we’re confined to the home and have little mobility.  We are resigned to having no role.

The concept of “the magis” stops us in our tracks, and tells us that our vision is not God’s vision.  As long as we exist, we are being called to be Christ-like in SOME way we apparently don’t see or acknowledge.  Ignatius calls us to seek the magis in whatever we are doing.

The “General” of the Jesuits (his title since Ignatius modeled the Order on a military regimen) when I entered was a Spaniard named Pedro Arrupe, S.J.  He might be canonized one day—so admired was he in leading the Jesuits.  He survived the A-bomb at Hiroshima and ministered to the wounded.  A concept he urged Jesuits to embrace was that all our institutions and ministries should aim to produce “Men and women for others.” 

You will help my ministry at John XXIII parish by continuing to be a man or woman for others.  You and I are called to find God in all things so that we can pursue the magis that God is calling us to perform (whatever our circumstances). We do our best in order to give glory to God—not ourselves.

 How might God be calling you to serve the Kingdom?

This past week, a crowd of 50 thousand Catholics attended the Eucharistic Renewal Conference in Indianapolis.  Appropriately, the Sunday’s gospel gave us a special “take” on Eucharist that tends to get obscured when hearing the institution narrative at each Mass (i.e., “Jesus took the bread, blest it . . . saying ‘Take this’” and “He took the chalice . . .”).  John’s gospel has no such “last supper” scene.  But John’s gospel this weekend is just as solidly Eucharistic as the other accounts.

Instead of the Last Supper’s ritual context, John gives us the story of 5000 hungry men gathered on a hill at the time of Passover.   John’s account echoes the first reading that told of how 20 men were miraculously fed when it seemed there wasn’t enough food to go around.  John’s crowd, however, was much larger—and Jesus saw to it that they were fed.

While we’re accustomed to hearing the words of consecration at Mass, this scene from John’s Gospel reminds us that the Eucharist is intended to feed us outside liturgical contexts as well.  We can gather anywhere and confess that we need to rely on nourishment that can come to us in social interaction (as when the crowd of 5 thousand experienced Him in a secular gathering).

Did you notice where this event took place?  Our old friend, the mountain once again signaled to us that something special was to take place!  God was about to make an appearance in some miraculous way.  John’s account no doubt reminded people of what we read in 2 Kings when others were miraculously fed.  Only this time, the crowd was much larger—and Jesus eclipsed the Old Testament’s wondrous event.

John didn’t need to report the Eucharist’s institution narrative that told how and when Jesus gave us the sacrament (i.e., “On the night before he died, he took bread . . . “).  John didn’t need to repeat what the other evangelists said because he referred to people “reclining” (a clear association with the early Christian custom of “reclining” at their Eucharistic gatherings). 

Just as the Last Supper accounts are associated with the season of Passover, so John states that the feeding of the multitude took place during Passover!  He is reporting the same reality, but it is taking place outdoors—not restricted to apostles only, but in the midst of 5000 men.  In this instance, the Eucharistic assembly is on a mountainside.  It draws people together where they are fed by the Master.  The same theological idea is thus presented to us in two different ways. 

Some might not like hearing scripture note that “men” were gathered, and that no reference is made to the presence of women.  Not referring to women is not translated in a broader way because the first century reality of gatherings would see men alone gather in numbers this large.  Mixing of the sexes did not occur in Israelite tribal society.  This tribal custom of men in one place and women in another was not unique to New Testament times.

Cultures globally have all sorts of behavioral rules about men and women mixing or not mixing in public or private.  For example, many groups have women’s quarters and men’s quarters—husbands and wives NOT bedding down together as is the custom in our American world.

I was reminded of teaching at Pine Ridge.  We’d have a high school dance, and girls would sit along the wall on one side of the gym and guys on the other side.  It’s just the way social life occurred—people dancing in the center if they wished to do so, and a few boys/girls talking—but a division quite visible.

A boy in the crowd is said to have carried with him a couple of fish.  This reference to fish is not just some arbitrary food that could have just as well been hot dogs (had they existed back then).  Rather, the Greek word for fish is “icthus” and that word was an acronym for early Christians.  Namely, “fish” (in Greek letters) stood for “Jesus Christ Son of God Savior.”  So the story about feeding an enormous population (the world?) with bread and fish is a lesson in Eucharistic theology.  The bread and fish (preserved in wine) symbolize the presence of the risen Lord in the breaking of bread Christian sacrament.  And the Eucharist is for Christians a new Passover meal, a new Moses saving the people, and a new Lamb of God.  If all this didn’t ring a bell for you, maybe you noticed how the story says that Jesus “took the bread, broke it, and passed it to all present.”  Sound familiar?  You hear those words at every Mass.

Hmm.  What more might be found in these verses?  Aha! 12 wicker baskets of bread fragments were left over.  Might that conjure up thoughts of the 12 tribes of Israel being fed by this Messiah?  And not only them, but others, too—since so much was left over.  Even enough to feed 12 new apostles perhaps?  You get the point.  This story is more than just a miraculous picnic meal in a mountain meadow.

On a nuts and bolts level, one need not connect all the dots of the above when they might simply benefit from this often told lesson.  Perhaps the presence of Jesus and the apostles was enough to inspire the boy, and others, to pull out what they carried with them—and share their food with others.  After all, the point of the Eucharist is for us to share our time, talent, and treasure with others.  Perhaps that’s the incident’s key message.

Or might the story’s point be addressing an aspect of our lives that raised its head in the time of Jesus, and in our own time.  That is, last week reminded us of the compassion Jesus felt toward those who were “like sheep without a shepherd.”  And this week, he again has pity on the people and wants to feed them.

The more we read about how Jesus dealt with people, the more we can detect His type of speech if it is uttered by politicians or spoken in the workplace.  We can hear someone make a speech or talk to someone—and right away be detect if the person is speaking as Jesus would have spoken.  We know if someone speaks in the same tone of voice, and if the content of what they say echoes the Master. 

The story about loaves and fishes feeding 5000 does NOT report  Jesus saying to the crowd: “You should have planned ahead.  Don’t come begging from me.”  And we don’t hear him say “God helps those who help themselves.”  Scripture can both teach us how to communicate with others and also WARN US not to be seduced by voices that do not sound like something Jesus would say.

I don’t know what ground was covered in this past week’s Eucharistic Congress, but the topic brought to mind something that Mother Theresa had hanging in her room.  This is what it said:

“A Holy Hour before the Eucharist is important only if it leads us to a “holy hour” with those in need or those who will never be a human success.  Our Eucharist is incomplete if it does not make us respect and serve the poor and anyone in need. In receiving the communion of the poor, we discover our own poverty.”  As the spiritual writer, Louis Evely, wrote: “That man is you.” 

Today’s gospel tells of Jesus and the apostles needing rest after working with the people.  They sought a “deserted place” where they could relax, recover, and then return to their ministry.  I was reminded of what Catholic tradition has called a “retreat.”  This term refers to one taking time off from their regular schedule and spending time reflecting on their life and asking God for guidance and insight. 

When one enters the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits (the religious Order to which I belong), they make what’s known as a “30-day retreat.”  Based on what’s known as “the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius,” this period offers reflections for one to ponder and draw spiritual strength (just as one does physical “exercises” to acquire physical strength).  At the end of their training period, Jesuits make another 30-day retreat—having made 8-day retreats each year.  For some years, lay people have made the spiritual exercises of St. Ignatius, and even work at retreat houses where they direct anyone who wishes to make a retreat.

Some years back, corporations began to refer to their sales seminars as “retreats.”  Over time, businesses now speak of employees going on “retreats”—meaning the employees are being taught how to make more profits for the corporation.  Religion has no connection to this use of the word “retreat.”  The term has been hijacked from the vocabulary of Catholic spirituality. 

More importantly, today’s gospel reminds us of an important element of Christian identity—a trait that makes our identity as Christians a difficult one to live.  We’re told that Jesus looked at the “vast crowds” (that’s you and I) and felt compassion toward them.  He sees them as “sheep without a shepherd.” 

I’ve often been in a congregation, looked around at the people with me, and seen young, old, happy, and sad faces directed toward the altar.  My face is one of those people.  Each of us is seen by a God who lovingly beholds us and who knows what lies behind the faces we wear on any given day.  The “real presence” of God is at the Eucharist, and the God we seek is not there to belittle us, but to help us with whatever we hold within our silence.  Today’s gospel passage reminds us of Jesus having pity on us, and reaching out to us who have so many needs.

I’m reminded of another gospel incident—that told of Jesus calling us Christians to love one another.  We might too quickly think that we do care for others and are not a “bad” person.  But are we really loving or compassionate toward others?  Or are we loving and compassionate mostly toward our spouse, children, siblings, and extended family members?  We might think of ourselves as being a pretty good person in relating to our family and friends, but Jesus reminds us that “even the scribes and Pharisees” behave that way.  The gospel calls us to expand our circle to include more than just family and friends.

Extending this reflection further, think of studies that focus on the interplay of mothers loving their babies and babies loving their mothers.  Is their experience a choice, or a chemical action within our physiology?  After all, studies show that “oxytocin” (known as the “love chemical”) rises within both a mother and her baby when relating to one another.  Similarly, the family dog has this same increase ALONG WITH its owner when greeting one another after a period of separation.  The presence of oxytocin within us generates feelings of “love” toward another (child or dog).

Similarly, when one says “it was love at first sight” when they met a girlfriend or boyfriend—MIGHT relate to what are known as “pheromones” within the two people.  Studies suggest that we have a chemistry that sensitizes us to a certain chemical that attracts us to a certain person (or people).  This is somewhat parallel to a female dog in heat attracting males from miles around.  We don’t consciously inhale a person’s “scent,” but for some reason find one person more attractive than another—and we are drawn to that person.  This pheromonal activity is more subtle than an erotic response to someone.  You are attracted to someone UNCONSCIOUSLY.  Thus, inquiring minds wonder to what extent we are controlled by chemistry or by choices we make via “free will” or “cultural conditioning.?”

I watched a video that showed an African water buffalo repeatedly probing the ground with its horns trying to move something.  Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was trying to help a tortoise “get back on its feet.” After several uplifts of its head and horns, the buffalo was able to flip the tortoise aright.  It stepped back and just looked at the tortoise be on its way in another direction.  What on earth was at play here?  What prompted that water buffalo to help a tortoise that was struggling?

A goat put its head through fence posts, and couldn’t pull its head back out.  Being stuck this way, it needed help.  Along comes a goose who walks over to the goat and clamps its beak on the goat’s neck—trying to pull it back through the fence.  A woman came and told the goose she’d help, and the goose stepped back a couple of paces to watch.  The woman was successful and both she and the goose wandered away.  What on earth was at play here?  What prompted that goose to try and help that goat?

I read somewhere that dogs lick a cut as a form of medical assistance and that some chemical might be at play that aids in the recovery of a cut.  Show your scratch to a dog, and it will begin to lick it—not because it likes to lick wounds, but because it possibly “heals” wounds in this fashion.  If a dog sees that you have a wound of some kind—prepare to be “doctored.”

It seems that water buffaloes, geese, and dogs can be compassionate toward others—even those who are not their own kind.

When it comes to behavior within the animal world (remember we are in the animal kingdom), I’m reminded of people eating caterpillars, cats, and insects of all kinds when 99.9% of Americans would not eat any of these creatures.  A biologist friend of mine would invite students and faculty to join him whenever he collected cicadas to fry.  Not many people joined him, but those who did—thought they were tasty.  Just a few decades back, few Americans wanted or even knew about sushi.  Today it’s found in all grocery stores. Eating raw fish?  No way—yes way!

Hmm.  Are our behaviors totally “nature” or totally “nurture?”  Maybe some are learned and some genetic, or maybe some are a little of both?

I think of tribal groups around the world (your own ethnic background is included).  All have a name for themselves which translates to something akin to “people” (e.g., mountain, river, rice people, etc.).  All tribes also refer to people from other groups as something else—generally some sort of cut-down (e.g., big bellies, snakes, etc.).  The Nuer tribe in Sudan (Africa) thinks the worst name you could call another of your group is “Dinka” (the name of a neighboring tribe).  If you and I saw a Nuer standing next to a Dinka, we’d say something like “Those are two black guys standing over there.”).  But to a Nuer, those Dinka are 2^nd class citizens.  In short, as a Nuer grows up, they learn that Dinka are “low lifes.”  Biologically, however, the Nuer and Dinka have the same DNA.

A nun taught a class of kindergarteners that people from Central and South America were fleeing to the U.S. because of poverty, war, drugs, and death in their homeland—and that they sought new life here in America (the same story that applied to our ancestors).  After she told the children about these people, she asked: “How many of you think we should help these people find a new home here?”  All hands were raised.

This anecdote is not an advertisement for some partisan border policy. It’s instead a reflection on how the gospel calls us to treat all life forms with compassion.  As you know, people argue about immigration issues until they’re blue in the face—and have trouble getting consensus on anything.  Our concern here is a more fundamental one.  Namely, if Jesus tells us to love one another, we have to ask ourselves “Am I loving people outside my family circle?”  If Jesus says that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, his reference is to us being related to all people in the world.  And “loving” one another isn’t a romantic thing, but rather a conscious commitment to helping others any way we can. “Compassion” is the energizing value that moves us to act on behalf of the common good.  We thus “love” (assist, aid, care about, defend, make safe, etc.) all within the human family.  We DON’T retreat into clannishness or an “us versus them” way of life.

This posture is where the rubber meets the road in our identity as Christians.  It’s no easy identity to maintain—which is why we have to gather as often as we can at the table of the Lord.  We have trouble being a brother or sister in Christ to others.  But just because it’s tough to act this way—doesn’t mean we throw in the towel and just become brutish beasts pushing people aside in service only to ourselves.

The kindergartners showed an inbuilt response of compassion.  These young ones had not yet been tainted by “adult” prejudices against other people.  The children were like the water buffalo, the goose, and dog-doctors.  We adults have become far more selective in choosing to help others in need.  The tortoise and the goat sure appreciated the help they received.

The gospel showed that Jesus had compassion for “the vast crowd” of people who sought his help.  When addressing that crowd—symbolic of us—he could just as well have told them: “Learn from the water buffalo, the goose, licking dogs, and little children.”