There’s a running gag in my house, involving my middle daughter, Hannah. When someone calls out to
her with “Oh, Hannah?” I jump in by shouting, “That means family!” A Disney-raised family like mine
gets the reference to Lilo and Stitch, where the explanation is, “Family means nobody gets left behind
or forgotten.” (Lilo and Stitch, Disney, 2002). But what does “family” mean? Are we not all brothers
and sisters, even the ones we don’t like? Even the ones who don’t like us?

We are one human family whatever our national, racial, ethnic, economic, and ideological
differences. – United States Council of Catholic Bishops, Solidarity

So, “family” means everyone. We are all God’s children. We are all responsible to make sure that
nobody gets left behind or forgotten. And this means more than just supporting the needy; it means
loving each other despite our perceived differences. Nobody gets un-loved. God loves everyone,
including sinners (read: us), and we, in imitation of God, should love everyone, even those who we think fall short of our perception of “good”. After all, who are we to judge whether the sin we perceive in others is any worse than those we ourselves are guilty of? Who are we to decide which sin is
serious than another?

Stop judging and you will not be judged. Stop condemning and you will not be condemned. Forgive
and you will be forgiven. – Luke 6:37

Does that mean a free-for-all, an absence of moral law, anything goes? Of course not! But what it
means to me is that, paraphrasing Fr. John Cavanaugh in the movie “Rudy”, there is One Judge, and I’m
not Him. It means I can’t say, “Condemn this one, but not that one.” We are charged by Jesus to love
everyone, and by “everyone” He means “every … single … one … without … exception”.
But to you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse
you, pray for those who mistreat you. – Luke 6:27-28

That’s taken from the Gospel reading. It was quite a challenge in its time, wasn’t it? The
Romans, who beat, tortured, and killed people, and seemed to enjoy doing it? The Jewish leaders, who
took every opportunity to try to publicly humiliate Jesus and his followers? The tax collectors, who
turned traitor and lived in luxury on the backs of the poor? Love them all, He said! He didn’t tell his
disciples to agree with these people, or to act like them, but He did say to love them.
So, love them. Pray for them. All of them. Oppose what you believe is incorrect behavior, of course,
but do not condemn people. Any of them. That One Judge? It isn’t you, either.

Jeff
(written February 2025)