The Golden Rule

A reflection based on Matthew 7:6, 12-14

There is a story of a Rabbi who disappeared every Sabbath Eve, “to commune with God in the forest,” – so his congregation thought.  So one Sabbath night they appointed one of their cantors to follow the Rabbi and observe the holy encounter.  Deeper and deeper into the woods the Rabbi went until he came to the small cottage of an old Gentile woman, sick to death and crippled into a painful posture. Once there, the Rabbi cooked for her and carried her firewood and swept her floor. Then when the chores were finished, he returned immediately to his little house next to the synagogue. Back in the village, the people demanded of the cantor, “Did our Rabbi go up to heaven as we thought?”  “Oh, no,” the cantor answered after a thoughtful pause, “our Rabbi went much, much higher than that.”  
- Joan Chittister in There  Is a Season 

This Gospel reading of Matthew comes near the end of the Chapter on the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus tells us that the Law and the Prophets is contained in the well-known proverb, “Do to others whatever you would have them do to you.”  Our Rabbi in the forest certainly lived out this command. How often have we heard this expression of the “Golden Rule” and been challenged to look into our actions to see if we live out this teaching?

The “Golden Rule” is professed by all the great world religions. On the Internet over 750,000 sites are dedicated to the “Golden Rule.”  Although, some are companies/businesses – but many are related to religious principles.  This “Golden Rule” is found in many of the texts of various religions as well.
Buddhism – “Hurt not others in ways that you yourself would find hurtful.”
Confucianism: “Try your best to treat others as you would wish to be treated yourself, and you will find that this is the shortest way to benevolence.”
Native American Spirituality: “All things are our relatives; what we do to everything, we do to ourselves.  All is really One.  (Black Elk)
Pima Proverb: “Do not wrong or hate your neighbor.  For it is not he/she who you wrong, but yourself.”
Yoruba: (Nigeria) – “One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself/herself to feel how it hurts.”

For many centuries this life maxim has been influential among people of diverse cultures.  It can best be interpreted as:  “Treat others only in ways that you’re willing to be treated in the same exact situation.”  To apply it, we need to imagine ourselves in the exact place of the other person, on the receiving end of the action.  If we act in a given way toward another, and yet are unwilling to be treated that way in the same circumstance, then we violate the rule. The “Golden Rule,” has roots in a wide range of world cultures/religions, and is well suited to be a norm by which different cultures could appeal in resolving conflicts.  As the world becomes more and more a single interacting global community, the need for such a common standard is becoming more urgent.  

To live the “Golden Rule” effectively, we need knowledge, imagination, and grace.  We need to know what effect our actions have on the lives of others. We need to be able to imagine ourselves, vividly and clearly, in the other person’s place on the receiving end of the action.  

“Golden Rule” thinking has expanded as human identification and connection with others has increased.  Today, especially, through the Internet, world news, and global media, people identify with millions of individuals they do not know personally – groups that often are worldwide in scope. Think of how the world became aware of the need for relief efforts of tsunami victims, or of the hurricane survivors, or of drought and earthquake refugees.  Can we not begin to invite our children to become citizens of the world with an awareness of global issues so that they can choose to make a difference? Some of the issues that they will have to face as adults will not wait upon their intellectual skills and compassion. The time is now – always now - Some of these needs and concerns are: stewardship of our planet’s resources; the gap between the rich and the poor; hunger concerns ; Aids epidemic; water rights in the Great Lakes and elsewhere; immigration; sexism, racism, capitalism; Third World Debt;  Health Care; the role of the Church and the voices of the faithful, Capital Punishment – just to name a few.

The Gospel reading invites us to look outside of ourselves towards others, and notice the way that we are towards them, and the way that we treat them.  Let us pray that we can accept and be open to this call of the “Golden Rule” and live it out, - letting it get under our skin, and under our heart - knowing that hearing the call may be the beginning of opening ourselves to the work of Jesus in our hearts and actions especially towards others across our planet.

“A man once stood before God, his heart breaking from the pain and injustice in the world.  ‘Dear God,’ he cried out, ‘look at all the suffering, the anguish and distress in your world.  Why don’t you send help?’ God responded, ‘I did send help.  I sent you.”  (David Wolpe in Teaching Your Children About God)