By Father Casey
Last weekend we heard one of Jesus’ greatest parables, known as “The Prodigal Son.” Christians down through the ages have taken to calling it “the gospel within the gospel,” because it distills the whole wonderful witness of Christ’s life into a single story. When we wonder what God is like, we need look no further than this parable about a father who runs down the road to welcome home his wayward child. Jesus is clear: this is what God is like.
Unfortunately, most people around us, including far too many Christians, struggle to imagine such a gracious and compassionate God. They look around at our graceless world and they assume that this must be what God is like, too. Especially in these days, when it is common to think that everyone gets what they deserve, especially the poor and suffering, we can quickly conflate the ways of the world with the ways of God.
And for Christians, there is the perpetual problem of “whataboutism.” Sure, Jesus talks about a loving and gracious God, but “what about” all those other parts of the Bible where God seems a lot less merciful? “What about” the places in the Bible that have been used to defend things like slavery, the subjugation of women, or violent conquest?
The truth is that you can open the Bible and find a case for just about any action, if you try hard enough. But for Christians, the only “what about” that matters when we’re trying to figure out what to believe or how to live is the one that begins with, “what about Jesus?” And that means we don’t try to organize our lives around obscure verses of the Bible pulled out of context, but around the witness of Jesus as told in the gospels.
You can quote the Bible all day long, but if what you’re saying is contrary to the words and witness of Christ, you may be a Biblicist, but you’re not a Christian. Or put a different way, if the God we’re describing by quoting the Bible can’t be reconciled to the grace-filled father in the parable of the prodigal son, then the god we’re describing is not God.
Whataboutism is spiritual poison, friends. It erodes the Christlike character of the Church, and in a broader sense, it degrades the moral foundation of a society. Consider our contemporary politics. Rather than deal honestly with legitimate critiques, or take responsibility for their actions, the more common response by leaders these days is to deploy whataboutism to deflect and distract. There’s no admission of wrong, no apology for mistakes, no effort to correct harm…there is just a barrage of “what abouts.” What about what my political opponent did? What about that time they did something bad? What about this, or what about that?
This may work well enough to hold onto power, but it is a devilish tactic, soaked in cynicism and devoid of humility or honesty. We who know the way of Jesus must be on guard against such wiles.
This weekend we’ll get a beautiful story that once again puts whataboutism at the front and center. Mary of Bethany, sister of Lazarus, breaks the revelry of a lovely dinner party by cracking open a jar of costly ointment to anoint Jesus’ feet. In response, Judas asks (and I’m paraphrasing), “Yea, but whatabout what we could have done with all that money?”
There is some truth to his question, just like there is almost always a bit of truth in such whataboutism, which is why we have to consider the motivation behind it. Is this sincere, or cynical? Is this about curiosity, or concealment? Is this about trying to find the right and the good…or is it about trying to find an advantage for ourselves?
We’re navigating strange days, and if we are to make our way through them, we will need to hold onto the gospel within the gospel, and let go of all the whatabouts. We will need to practice grace and compassion, and shed cynicism and selfishness. We will need to cling to Christ, and not succumb to the temptation to put our trust in anyone or anything else.
Fr. Casey