From Msgr. Charles Pope
The hatred of the Church is growing in our culture and many of the ring leaders claim to know Christ and think they can find him only in purer air, a room of their own choosing. But Christ is found where he is found. The Pharisees expected to find the Messiah on their terms. But Jesus was found where he was found. He was not from the educated in Jerusalem, but of the peasants in Galilee. He spoke with a Galilean “hick” accent and walked among the poor, the nobodies, the sinners, the uninformed and unenlightened.
Today, the menu is a little different. In Jesus’ time it was a religious aristocracy that sneered at his followers. Today, the world is secular and those who sneer see believers as simple-minded, unscientific, unenlightened and intolerant. And we are sinners to be sure. Some of the charges against us are true. Actual sinners are we. The Church is a hospital for sick people who need a doctor. Some of the other charges of our sinfulness are less deserved: that we are collectively intolerant, hateful, bigoted, etc.
But despite all this, I know by faith that this is where Christ is found. Those who want Jesus without his Church not only seek him in vain, they risk reinventing him altogether. He is found where he is found.
2 comments:
Yes, a hospital for sinners, but sometimes even "Christians" must be isolated, perhaps amputated in order to prevent injury, even death to the rest of the body. In other words, people who refuse to see their sinfulness and continue to disrupt the life of the church may need to be uninvited. A hospital is little use to those who refuse to acknowledge their sickness but insist on attacking others. What do you think?
I cannot disagree with your point. In writing the post, I suppose I was only looking at those who had the desire to be "made well". But with God's gift of Free Will, one must make the choice to give up destructive habits and be cleansed.
Post a Comment