And as he was setting on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.' And he said to him, "Teacher, all these things I have observed from my youth." And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. (Mk 10:17-22)
I wonder, Querci, will you believe that I mean no disrespect when I say this? What would the Catholic Church do if Jesus said this to us? I mean to Rome, the Vatican. What happened to, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics"? (Lk 9:3)
Ember
It is very easy to view thses things through the ego and the mind and to make excuses for how they DON'T apply to us and justify ourselves, but aren't we better off viewing them through the heart, in sincerity and humility to try and understand how they DO apply to us?
ReplyDelete"I know your works; you have the name of being alive, and you are dead. Awake, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God." (Rev 3:1-2)
The way I've heard that passage from Mark interpreted is that the problem with the rich man was not that he had riches, but that he loved the riches more than he loved Jesus.
ReplyDeleteSo, I'm not sure what you're implying...Is it that the Church is too tied to it's riches to follow Jesus all the way? Or are you thinking of a more figurative interpretation?
How do you think the Catholic Church would respond to Jesus in this hypothetical situation?
I’m not faulting the church for having riches. Let each man examine himself. However, it is quite clear, unlike at the time of the first apostles; the church has become and has been very wealthy and wields much power in the world and could now be considered “a rich man”. I am wondering, “Does the church love these things more than Jesus?” It is just a question to ask oneself.
ReplyDeleteIf Jesus said to the church today, “Go and sell all you have,” would the church do it? Or doesn’t that, in fact, seem like folly to the world. “What? We need the money and wealth to have power in the world and do the things that you want us to do, Lord. Who would listen to us otherwise? How would we spread your message? How would we maintain the hierarchy?” one might argue. By that logic aren’t we putting our faith in things rather than God? We are told,
“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I WILL NEVER FAIL YOU or FORSAKE YOU’” (Heb 13:5)
What if Abraham had not been obedient to God because of lack of faith? It would have been understandable for him to not obey God when God told him to sacrifice Isaac, because God had told Abraham, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” (Heb 11:18) Yet, here God was telling him to kill this son. But, Abraham trusted in God, “He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence he did receive him back and this was a symbol.” (Heb 11:19)
The whole point is that God accomplishes his work regardless of the circumstances. We need to have faith in that. We only need to worry about doing what we believe to be the right thing. We should not be lead with worldly concerns as a priority. It seems we have become so grown up in the ways of the world and have forgotten to be children in faith.
I’m not saying everyone, but I am saying certainly some people in the history of the church (maybe even most) are not guided by sincere faith in God’s ability to provide for his church and have been led rather by fear for the church if we don’t have “this” or “that” or do “this” or “that”. I say, “God’s will be done. And it will be. End of story. Don’t worry.” And just think, if through our disobedience and lack of faith God has accomplished so much, then how much more and greater things will he accomplished through those whom are obedient to him and acting through faith?
So you aren't trying to attack the Church or say that it is bad. You're asking if we are ever really take a good, hard, look at whether our Church is practicing what it preaches in ALL aspects, not just the customary ones.
ReplyDeleteThere may be some confussion over what I mean when I say, the Church. There is a sense of a Church established by Jesus which, in and of itself would be perfect, however, we, the body,the members, who are also called the Church, are not perfect and have not put forth a perfect image of it as of yet, that is, as a whole. Here is a quote from the Catechism.
ReplyDeleteThe Church, however, clasping siners to her bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal. . . "The Church is therefore holy, though having siners in her midst, because she herself has no other life but the life of grace. If they live her life, her members are sanctified; if they move away from her life, they fall to sins and disorders that prevent the radiation of her sanctity. This is why she sufferes and does penance for those offenses, of which she has the power to free her children through the blood of Christ." (Paul VI, CPG.19)(CCC 827)
I am saying we have failed to present the Church as a spotless bride for Christ up to now. How will that change if we are affraid to look at our failings? We have not been perfect. Saying so is not an attack, nor does it mean I think the Church is bad. My kids aren't perfect and they do bad things, and I call them on it, but I don't think they are bad. And really it is only someone who is mature that can look at criticism, whether it comes from a place of love, or not, and not take offence, but rather say, "How does this apply to me?"
I am sorry if I come across as being harsh sometimes, Querci. I appreciate that you always try to see where I'm coming from. I feel really passionate about these things sometimes and I want other people to feel it too. We are so close to having it all!