Since Sunday, I’ve had several people ask me where they could learn more about the word, “Mu.” I first learned about this concept from Father Gregory Boyle, a Catholic priest and founder of Homeboy Industries. Based in Los Angeles, Homeboy Industries is the largest gang intervention, rehab, and reentry program in the world. Similar to our sermon series, Father Boyle resists rigid dichotomies. He finds them limiting and unhelpful. He even finds them harmful.
In his latest book, “Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Times,” Father Boyle writes about the harm of labeling some people “good” and others “evil.” He believes people are more complicated than these labels. In our current political climate, Father Boyle challenges me with his understanding that people are not really evil but unwell. I hear Father Boyle wanting us to ask different questions. Questions like, “What must have happened to cause a person to act in such a way? Did they have all the same resources and positive opportunities? Were they nurtured in a loving environment?”
Here is an excerpt from the book where he writes about the concept of “Mu”:
