-Hear Last Sunday's homily at this link: August 31 Homily
-This Sunday's Scriptures can be found at Sunday's Scriptures
-I will be celebrating mass this weekend at 5:30 on Saturday and 8:00, 11:00, and 6:00pm Sunday(visit St. Albert Website)
Church -it's Simple, not Easy!
That's right, Church, "ekklesia" as it is called in Matthew's Gospel (the convocation, literally) is a pretty simple-sounding reality in life. However, rather than simple I know "church" is anything but easy. The reason we can acknowledge that about "church" is because church is a gift from God of "relationship". And relationships are about love. And love ain't easy.
Church is the most basic and ancient of relationships. It is modeled upon the "relationship at the heart of all reality" - the Blessed Trinity. So church is about our capacity to love one another.
A long time ago I had a well-intentioned "Catholic-living-as-a-fundamentalist" sit in my office and describe for me why she didn't want to worship with me, as she said, "You are all about religion, Father, while I am all about relationship with Jesus." While that was a pretty insulting tactical barb she learned from her mega-church pastor, it very clearly revealed two things:
1. the lack of understanding of Jesus being preached by the non-denominationalists
AND
2. the ineffective messaging of the Catholic Church in the world today (even to our own members).
I must admit that when most Catholics hear the word Church (the English word for ekklesia ) they think of organization, hierarchy, the Pope, the Vatican, a rather cold and ancient INSTITUTION. That's a far cry from what the biblical word means (literally, "those called out") or what the church teaches and celebrates from the catechism to the Holy Mass.
The church is first and foremost the "loving relationship among believers in the Holy Spirit". That is what I have been preaching about this summer and calling, "communion". Church is the human, incarnate version of the life of the Holy Trinity. Communion. Church as communion is what we celebrate at every Mass - communion with God and neighbor. No Catholic can claim to understand Jesus if s/he does not understand him/herself as a part of the church living in communion.
The gospel this Sunday (in what is known as the Discourse on the Church) speaks of the nature of the church (which is unity) and the enemy of church (which is dissension). The greatest charge of the Christian disciple is to "love one another as the Lord has loved us." If one is a "follower" of Jesus who is not living in communion with the Church, then s/he is no Christian at all. Pope Francis said recently, "if your first name is Christian, your last name must be church."
Individualism, self-fulfillment, and the drive for personal salvation have blocked us from living the faith of Jesus which is communion in love of the brothers and sisters. Remember, "if you come to offer your gift to God at the altar and there recall that your brother has something against you, go and reconcile with your brother, then come and offer your gift." There is no real friendship with God when we are at odds with our brothers.
Have you understood your Christian faith to be such an inter-personal reality? How do you understand the simple truth about church? It ain't easy, right?
1 comment:
I've heard many people at St. Albert reflect on the spirit among the people at Mass on Parish Service Day. That experience of "Church" seems to me to be one example of what is being described in this week's reflection. Because when we come in the doors of the church on that particular day, there is a sense of love, compassion, and enthusiasm among the people who have been serving. It seems to not only build a bond between the workers and those they served - but also among the workers themselves. Much like what we experience with our own families at times of celebration, those times with our parish family seem to minimize tensions, and instead shared joy and mercy run high.
I am thinking that this is likely also the experience among our women today as they share themselves with each other at the Women's Renewal. I envision it being a time of deep communion with God and with each other - providing a balm to soothe sores that might be open, and a refreshment that enlivens and renews them in their faith.
I hope that these kinds of experiences among our parish family continue to grow and as a result spread beyond the doors of our church - helping us all to be agents of communion in our world.
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