Week of 1 Epiphany, Thursday

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" (John 1:46).

Last night, as I watched bits of the news about the earthquake in Haiti, I came across Bill O'Reilly suggesting that aid to Haiti would be wasted because the government is corrupt and the money would never make it to the people who need it. His tone was knowledgeable, as if to say, "I've traveled there, so I know what it's really like." He also suggested that liberals with their reliance on a nanny state would be falling into the same old wasteful trap.

"Can anything good come out of Nazareth?"

The question is not new in our generation -- it's the same old cynicism masquerading as wisdom. Can anything good come from liberals? Conservatives? From Afghanistan? Iraq? Mexico? From the elderly? From the young? From women? From men? From gays? From lesbians? From atheists? From the religious?

It's easier to write off people and nations as a loss than it is to hope -- and more importantly, to work -- for something good.

Our conviction as Christians must be the same as our Lord's, that no one is irredeemable, that no one is a hopeless case, that no one is beyond the pale. We follow the Christ "who stretched out his arms of love on the hard wood of the cross that everyone might come within the reach of his saving embrace" (BCP 101). There are no qualifications here, no exceptions -- everyone.

Now, granted, we ought also to be smart about how we help and ensure that our efforts and contributions are being put to good use, but to succumb to hopelessness and wallow in cynicism is to put the lie to our Lord's extraordinary compassion toward us. And it puts the lie to our claim to his name.

Can anything good come from Nazareth? Of course!