Jesus and the Law of Karma

 It looks like the Huffington Post likes to post on my page. Today, this one showed up:



This picks up on the themes we have been exploring about the opportunities we are given to do the right thing and correct our past mistakes. Even the smallest events may present us with such an opportunity and show us that the universe (aka G-d) appreciates a good turn.

I had lost my keys, and was using my husband's keys. I was really worried about those lost keys, because I didn't want to get robbed, and I needed them to get in and out of our apartment. Still and all, life had to go on. My husband and I went out, and, as we were walking down the block, all of a sudden, we noticed a baby carriage rolling away toward the gutter. Not even thinking, I ran over and grabbed the carriage and stopped it from rolling into the street. My husband helped me steer the carriage back to safety. Needless to say, the baby's parent was very happy that we had done this. I was glad too—who doesn't like saving a baby? When I got home, there was a note slipped into my mailbox to go to a certain apartment because someone had found my keys. "Now that's instant karma," I declared. I knew somehow that I was receiving some kind of thanks for my previous action. I didn't do it for thanks, but I got thanks just the same.

This kind of event happens all the time. A person may not get thanks from where they should come from, but, instead, G-d answers. So, when the Evil One tells us that there is nothing we can do, it's clear that this totally untrue. We are always given opportunities like this—small and big—to make something better. Jesus said it best: "Ye reap what ye sow." One could just as well call it the Law of Karma.

When we see something wrong, we may very well be offered a challenge to do something about it. Even if it's only to walk in a protest, do an e-action for a cause, give money to a charity, or stop a stroller from going into the gutter, the opportunities are endless. We are not totally powerless. We can say "no" to things that we do not believe in. We can say "yes" to things that we cherish.

Hillary Clinton once famously said, "it takes a village." Yes, it does. It takes each and every one of us always grabbing any opportunity to make things right. It takes every one of us deciding, repeatedly, that we will not tolerate the things we think are wrong. We won't let racists tell us that our families cannot have friends and spouses of different ethnicities. We won't let people pick on our friends and family or our neighbors and coworkers. We won't let anybody bully anybody else. We won't vote for people who don't care about the "47%." We won't let the loudest, nastiest person win.

We should try to understand the other side of issues, but that does not mean that we should abandon what we hold dear to us. I'm still at the crossroads between the Church and the outside for that very reason, because my conscience will not let me be anywhere else. Still, I would rather hear the voice of Pope Francis, than that of hatred and cruelty.

Every action that we take, in essence, is a prayer. It's a prayer to G-d, saying what is in our souls. Knowing this, Pope Francis reminds us that we should let our prayers speak louder than the shouting of the Evil One.