We all want to be apart of something exclusive–to feel important and be selected for something set apart; to be better than everyone else.

Yet none of us wants to be excluded. But differences are a natural part of life. Not all of us are the same, with equal personalities, talents or how we conduct ourselves. Some have talent but don’t apply themselves. Some have high intellects but no tact or charity….you get the idea.

We all have various strengths and weaknesses so no one is innately superior to anyone else.

So why the aggressive push for inclusivity today?

It turns out we cannot be exclusive without someone being excluded. There can’t be an inside without someone being on the outside.

There is an Andy Griffith Show episode where the town deputy, Barney Fife (played by Don Knotts), wasn’t selected to be a new member of a highfalutin men’s group called “The Esquire Club”; but his friend and co-worker (and cousin), Andy Taylor (played by Andy Griffith), was.

It’s a funny episode that focuses on Barney’s fragile ego and high opinion of himself, but mostly on his pathetic attempts to be accepted by the men at all costs. It ends with imparting a lesson on the meaning of true friendship and fraternal solidarity.

Fraternal Solidarity

So what about fraternal solidarity? There are many today who would argue that Christianity is just a version of The Esquire Club, designed to malign and exclude certain groups of people.

They say that Christ Himself was against excluding anyone; and therefore all should be tolerated, living side-by-side in solidarity and good-will.

But is this really possible?

Do we really see solidarity around us? Look out the window: We see wars in the Holy Land and Ukraine, riots at colleges in the United States, an increase in violence and threats of domination, the butchering of Christians in Nigeria, and burning of 85 Catholic churches in Canada since 2021. (It turns out that after spending $8 million on excavations, no human remains of children were ever found in the “mass grave” near the Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia–only a few unmarked graves of priests and nuns.)

But I digress….

Do we really think that accepting and embracing anything other than Christ will lead to anything but tyranny and oppression by those in power?

Put another way, can mankind really have solidarity without Christ?

No. In fact, the further away we get from Jesus Christ and His teachings, the less harmony we will see.

The only way to unity and fraternal solidarity is through the individual renunciation of meaningless fancies and selfish wants, and by embracing Jesus by humbly observing His teachings proclaimed through the Church He founded.

At the Last Supper, Jesus summed it all up to His disciples very simply: “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). It is really that simple.

Is it inclusive? Yes, because anyone can do it. Is it also exclusive? The answer is also yes, because many choose not to.

Initiation

Like any decision, becoming a Christian doesn’t just happen. It starts with an initiation, known as Baptism.

Because it is also a Sacrament in the Catholic Church, Baptism is more than just the initiation into Christ’s family. It leaves an indelible mark on the soul that frees us from both Original Sin and actual sin, so we are “reborn” as sons and daughters of God (CCC 1272, 1263)

Since the graces received from Baptism is God’s doing, it doesn’t rely on our merit at all. We can’t earn Baptism; we choose to receive it, and live out our faith through it’s graces. (Or our parents do this for us until we reach the age of reason.) (CCC 1251).

The Rite of Baptism also frees us from the grip of the devil; the priest prays minor exorcism prayers over us, giving us access to true freedom so we can participate in the supernatural life of Jesus Christ (CCC 1237).

What a gift! So why can’t we all just automatically be baptized sons and daughters of God?

Why can’t God just be more inclusive and less divisive?

Like every other serious decision in life (i.e. marriage, changing jobs, moving), becoming a Christian involves making a choice.

And that choice allows God to “adopt” us by the merits of His Son.

Diversity

To want something diverse is a good thing. God loves diversity! Just go outside: He created such a diverse world that scientists have attempted to organize it all into groups, relegating all things into their respective taxonomic categories to keep track of and study them.

Though creatures living and nonliving alike are all different, they all have one reason for existence: to bring glory and honor to God. By carrying out their unique respective roles in creation, they give God glory.

Each creature works in harmony with the other–and what order there is! The entire universe isn’t just a mishmash of chaos; it all functions together to make one world.

In that sense, they are rightly ordered and, like an orchestra, creation comes to perfection in its many parts, making one beautiful symphony.

Since we humans are also His creatures, we also, should be rightly ordered.

And our choices and the way we live reflect the amount of order (or disorder) we embrace.

Exclusion or invitation?

Though some will assert that Christianity is about exclusion, I’m here to tell you that it is not. God wants us all to become His sons and daughters. But He gave us free will so we can either choose love or embrace the lesser things instead.

Jesus’ last command to His disciples was to go make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teach others to observe everything He had commanded them (Matt 28:19-20).

That means, unlike The Andy Griffith Show’s gentlemen’s club, Christianity is not about selection, but invitation.

On the flip side, it also doesn’t coerce or resort to violence. It’s the choice of each person to take it or leave it.

History teaches us that it is those who reject God’s invitation who exclude themselves, and seek instead to silence those who embrace Christ and His teachings.

Death, judgement, heaven and hell

In the end, we retain the power of choice. But one day, whatever the choice, it will be a permanent one.

None of us get out of this world alive. We are all subject to death and our particular judgement when we die. Death is the great “gatherer” and equalizer; and it excludes no one.

Yet until the end of our lives, or the end of all things (whichever comes first), God asks us to choose.

In the end, He wants to gather us, not exclude us, so that none may be lost.

And in the end, some will still choose to remain excluded, turning their backs on Him forever.

Veritas vos liberabit!