• Bulletin Board, Announcements, Calendar
• Welcome and Website Protocol
• Editorial - Op Ed
• Article Archive

Print this page

Article Categories

• Book Reviews
• Open Letter
• Editorials
• Notes, Quotes & Comments
• Pastor's Study
• Project Millstones
• Sidebar Comments
• Weekly Message

Links

AMERICA Magazine
A balanced Catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits of the United States for an intelligent Catholic readership. Go online to subscribe.

Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

Bishop Accountability
Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

Search

Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

We are to be consecrated in truth.

Readings: Acts 20:28-38 Psalm 88:29-30, 33-36 John 17:11b-19

Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they may also be consecrated in truth. [John 17:18-19]

Read the Gospel very slowly and if possible, out loud and if necessary, three times! Although John’s literary style is quite complex, the farewell prayer of Jesus is as powerful as is Paul’s farewell message in Acts.

It is not likely that these passages are the actual words of Paul and Jesus. They are compositions that Luke and John or whoever wrote in their name and are based on the oral tradition of the sayings of Jesus and the preaching of Paul. They were written in the style of farewell addresses of prominent leaders of their times in order to win the attention of early believers to whom the message of truth was entrusted.

The ‘truth’ that is being proclaimed is not from a catechism nor is it a defined doctrine or dogma. It is the core truth about the God who spoke through the prophets and then through Jesus about the universality of God’s love.

During this time of immediate preparation for Pentecost, we are invited to think about our own responsibility to pass on the ‘truth’ of God’s goodness entrusted to us in Christ and how we are to live that truth in our daily lives, each in our own unique way. No one of us can do this alone and so we much join hands literally and figuratively within the community of believers everywhere.

To live the ‘truth’ is to live in the Spirit of Jesus Christ the fruits of which are charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, moderation, self-control, reverence, etc. I’m sure you memorized these ‘fruits of the Holy Spirit.’

These are the true ‘marks’ of our authenticity as believers.

Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Saturday August 20, 2011

And who is Jesus for you?
(“Chapter One”)

Biblical scholars maintain that Mathew had a reason for situating the dialogue between Jesus and Peter in Caesarea Philippi, twenty-five miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee. The area was scattered with as many as fourteen Syrian temples of worship of the pagan god, Baal.

The original city was named Panias after Pan, the great pagan god of nature. There was a huge cavern near the base of the great mount Hermon that was said to the abode of the gods but it also contain the headwaters of the Jordan River. Despite the small number of Jews in this area, their ancient faith was “in the air” as it were. Elijah crossed the Jordan and it was the Jewish belief that Elijah would return before the Messiah. That’s why John the Baptist was perceived by some to be Elijah. Jesus was baptized by John in the Jordan.

On the mountain stood an immense temple covered with white marble so bright that it appeared to mock the sun it reflected. It was built by Herod the Great as a testament to the “godhead” of Caesar who also referred to himself as ‘savior.’

In this dramatic setting, Matthew places this homeless carpenter, a penniless itinerant preacher with a faithful group of twelve disciples (later to be known as the twelve apostles) to impart his wisdom to them in the face of pagan gods and Caesar himself, a subtle yet remarkable challenge to Jew and gentile that God’s domain would eventually prevail.

There were many messianic figures in the Old Testament. A ‘messiah’ is one who is anointed by God, a ‘son of God’ to save the people. Matthew is convinced that Jesus is the long awaited Christ-Messiah, the anointed of God, the one so identified with God that he could be called ‘Son of God.’ He is Jesus the Christ. He marks this event as a turning point in Jesus ministry as well as a turning point in the life of the apostles.

“Who do people say that I am?”

Although there is some difference of opinion about the reasons for Jesus’ dialogue with Peter, all Christians seem to agree that Peter was recognized as the leader among the twelve apostles, this notwithstanding his eventual denial the night before his master was crucified.

But mainstream contemporary Catholic biblical theologians also agree that Jesus did not blueprint the Church nor did he establish an organized institution called “church”. Although Matthew uses the word “church” it doesn’t have the meaning and application that we assign to the church as an institution. Rather, he was using the term in the sense of an ‘assembly’ or gathering of those who would come to believe on the faith of Peter and the apostles that Jesus was indeed the long awaited Messiah, Son of God, and in the words of John the Evantelist, “the way, the truth and the life.” This is not to deny the fact that the Church that eventually took shape as an institution is rooted in Christ. But it was never a hierarchical monarchy. The organizational structure of the Church evolved into what we call a hierarchical communion with the accent on ‘communion.’ It has continued to evolve over the centuries sometimes for good and sometimes not for good, e.g., it took on the political trappings of the secular state the most significant example is the period of the Papal States. Not a healthy development. But we can expect that it will take on new shapes and forms in the future under the guidance of the Spirit. Much of its future is dependent on its relationship to Jesus – “Who do we say he is?” and who are we in relation to Jesus?

The Church is multi-layered, multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. It defies juridical definition and though it surely contains elements of the kingdom of God, it cannot be equated with it – not yet. Elements of the assembly of God’s people may be found in other church or as they are called in Vatican II terminology, other ecclesial communities.

Peter was entrusted with the stewardship of this early assembly. But he was not the boosman. That’s what the keys symbolize as they did in ancient Israel when they were taken from Shebna, steward of Hezekiah and given to Eliakim, son of Hilkiah.

As Catholics we believe the Pope and bishops are successors of the apostles and that they are entrusted with a stewardship of service to the whole church. But the Pope is not an absolute ruler and the Church a monarchy. They are held to the wisdom of Jesus and must abide by the wisdom that subsists in the entire body we call the Church. They and his collaborators must dialogue with this assembly of believers as did Jesus with his companions and followers. The Spirit of God has been entrusted to the whole community of believers and it is in this dialogue that the wisdom of God emerges.

The manner in which the Pope and bishops exercise their spiritual authority is not neutral. It either nourishes the faith of believers or it diminishes it. This is particularly important in our own time when many Catholics view themselves as having one foot in and one foot out of the institution of the Church. At the same time, they view themselves as being well within the ancient tradition of Christianity and they should be recognized as such, Christians in waiting as it were. Ignoring the presence of the Spirit within the assembly of believers is a sin against the Holy Spirit.

“Who is Jesus for you?” and “Who are you for Jesus?” This question is implied in the first. Who are you, Peter? I’ll tell you that you are a rock, a foundation on which is built the faith of believers but in the words of St. Paul, we are stones that make up the church.

You and I are called to be witnesses, indeed, stewards of God’s word and of Jesus’ promises. Our witness to truth must be strong. Our faithfulness is assured if we remain committed to Jesus through the power of the Spirit.

“The tradition of faith and the shape of the Church are not inert elements simply passed along. Rather, they involve the dynamics of choice and performance; they must be practiced and lived in new times and situations. How we live out and thereby hand on the traditions of faith and the shape of the Church received from those who preceded us is crucial to those who in some distant future will look back to us as the unfinished Church in a world becoming. In that regard we are called prayerfully to ponder what new insights God’s Spirit, ever present in our midst, might be drawing the Church toward. We must ask which dimensions of the ever-young Church are not predetermined and unchangeable, but have arisen from past decisions that God is patiently expecting us to reconsider.” [Bernard P Prusak, ‘The Unfinished Church’, Paulist Press, New York/Mahwah, 1989.] _For a review of this book, please go to the website links on the home page or to the right and click ‘Book Reviews,’ then scroll down to The Unfinished Church.

Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom andknowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord or who has been his counselor! Or who has given the Lord anything that he may be repaid? For from him and through him and for him are all things. For from him and through him and for him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. [Romans 11:33-36]

Who is Jesus for you? And who are you for Jesus?
____________

For an an amusing but interesting ‘postscript’ to the article entitled “It Doesn’t Sing” click the link of the same title below and scroll down to the POSTSCRIPT.

See also another interesting to the Editorial-Op Ed on the ongoing sexual abuse crisis in the Church in Germany. Click ‘Editorial…” on the header above and scroll down to the POSTSCRIPT.