Let Your "Yes" Mean "Yes"

What a couple of weeks it’s been in our nation!

Two weeks ago on Saturday morning the Church gave us a very powerful Gospel that has really stayed with me ever since I read it. In it, Jesus is giving his followers some solid advice for living life. The final lines are: “Let your 'Yes' mean 'Yes,' and your 'No' mean 'No.' Anything more is from the Evil One.”

Powerful words.

I think that there is one “yes” that covers every question. That “yes” is the one to life.

It was perhaps providential that this Gospel was given to us on a Saturday, the day that is dedicated to Our Lady. The first “yes” she gave was to the Holy Spirit, via the Archangel Gabriel. That yes, was a yes to life! John Paul II called this yes “decisive.” It was a yes that would change her life, and the life of all humanity. It was by this yes, that we were able to attain the fullness of life: eternal life.

The “yes” that covers all questions, is the “yes” to life: "to uphold the dignity of human life from the moment of conception, through all life’s circumstances, until its natural end.”

But you see my friends, our “yes” must mean “yes”, and our “no” must mean “no”…because anything more than that is from the Evil One.

We say “yes” to life then from the moment of conception. We say it at the border. We say it to the elderly in Nursing Homes. We say it to the addict. We say it to the sinner. We say it to the person who sits in the pew next to us at Church- even when we in our arrogance think they don’t belong there.

It means that we love and respect the woman who has had an abortion. It means that the father has a responsibility to the woman he has gotten pregnant and the life that has resulted. It means that we love and respect LGBTQ individuals. It means that we uphold the dignity and value of people with mental illness, disabilities, or addiction. It means that while enforcing laws we do so while respecting the dignity and value of the person who has broken that law: so someone who has come into this country illegally is still a person…a person who seeks to build a better life for themselves, which is more then we can say for some of our own fellow countrymen. It means that regardless of who started it, who upheld it, or which pictures are real and which ones are fake: it is immoral to tear apart families.

None of these things by the way are political issues, they are moral issues. Even more than that, they are the natural result of a nation that is not a culture of life. But we can change that. In fact, ONLY we can create the change, because a culture of life is cultivated right in our own neighborhoods, our families, and these very pews.

So the person who calls themselves pro-life because they are anti-abortion, should likewise care about the treatment of young children, and live a life committed to treating all their sisters and brothers with dignity and respect. If we are carrying anger towards another person, and promoting that anger to others we are not pro-life.

If we believe that an addict who overdoses does not have the right to recovery we are not pro-life. Many compare Narcan to Chemo saying that if addiction is a disease then people with cancer should get free chemo “like addicts get free Narcan.” Chemo is treatment. Narcan saves a person’s life so that they can pursue treatment…because the life of an addict has value. If that life is saved it can find recovery. A corpse cannot find recovery.

You see my friends the issue of being pro-life forces folks to step off their left or right political platform, and forces us to recognize that both sides of the political discussion have elements that are morally right, and elements that are morally wrong. That’s why our faith shapes our conscious, not our political affiliation. If our redemption was based on the White House or the Capital building we would all be doomed…regardless of who is the President.

Being truly pro-life isn’t easy, and no doubt everyone who read this at times were cheering, and at other times disagreeing. I would challenge every single one of us to look at where you struggle in the FULL definition of a culture of life…and simply ask God to work with you…that’s all…just to work with you. Ask God to show you how YOU can help build a culture of life. Here’s a hint: ranting on Social Media or parading outside an abortion clinic with a horrific image of a mutilated fetus is not the answer. Both of these in fact further tear down the culture of life. Disrespect never builds life.

Being truly pro-life is not always easy.

With God’s help, there is truly nothing that we can’t do. Imagine for one moment if everyone on the planet treated their neighbor with dignity and respect…Seriously…Close your eyes in prayer, and imagine what the world would be like! This doesn’t mean we have to agree with everyone. It doesn’t mean we have to support every politician. But if our “yes” to life means “yes”, then we at the very least recognize the human dignity of others.

Jesus models this for us throughout his life in so many ways. He did not ban Judas from the Last Supper, Judas left on his own. He did not throw Peter out when he called out his imminent betrayal, Peter left on his own. He did not throw out any of them, who would all end up betraying him. Why do we think that unity can be built by dividing and rejecting? Why would I want to try and force a baker to make my wedding cake if he disagrees with my sexuality? Is he the only baker on earth? What direction has this taken us? Now this one has the right to refuse that one, and that one has the right to refuse this one. Congratulations. But where does that lead us?

The Republican has the right to reject the Democrat friend.

The Democrat has the right to reject the Republican family member.

The anger and division in our culture is terrifying. We see it at every level: it’s in our workplace and our social circles. It’s in our newsfeeds and our conversations. It’s in our communities, neighborhoods, and even faith families. We can’t control everyone else. All we can do is tend to our own interactions, and hopefully inspire others too. Only we can build a culture of life- so let’s do it together! Let your “yes” to life mean “yes”, and let your “no” to anger and hate mean “no”…because rest assured, anything else is absolutely from the Evil One.