“WHAT IS THE CHURCH?” IS THE WRONG QUESTION
“Thus says the LORD: ‘You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel;
when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. . . . if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself.’” EZ 33:7-9
“Jesus said to his disciples:
‘If your brother sins against you,
go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
If he listens to you, you have won over your brother.
If he does not listen,
take one or two others along with you. . . .
If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.
If he refuses to listen even to the church,
then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector. . . . Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name,
there am I in the midst of them.’” MT 18:15-20
“WHO IS THE CHURCH?” IS THE RIGHT QUESTION.
The more I ponder Scripture passages like these the more convinced I am that we humans are the ones who have created structures, incuding in the Church, that put too much emphasis on organizating things, whereas, in God, a Trinity of “Persons” and in us, made in God’s own image and likeness, the emphasis seems to be on relating. (If you doubt that, look at the below-the-surface operational structures of creation, earth, plants, animals, even of our own bodies – blood vessels, heart, stomach and other organs, cells – not too much of which is much under our own control.) Maybe God made us this way as a clue to how we humans can know the truth about ourselves, each other and God, can know true joy, only once we have allowed ourselves to be in right relationships with God and each other. If we are the Church, and I don’t know how we can read the Gospels and not conclude, like St. Paul, that we “are no longer strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.” Ephesians 2:19-20 and Christ “is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” The Father “gave him as head over all things to the church which is his body.” Colossians 1:17-18 So, Who is the Church? We, consenting to be united in Christ, are the Church.
WE ALL ARE IN NEED OF FRATERNAL CORRECTION
But we are still neophites at being Christ’s Church. We need help to more fully comprehend this and to live this. Both the reading from Ezekiel and from Matthew make clear that each of us has an obligation to provide fraternal correction, not only for the sake of the individual but also for the sake of the community. In the First Reading Ezekiel speaks to his fellow Judahites during their time in exile, having been deported from their homeland and now knowing of the destruction of their holy Temple in Jerusalem. Yes, the destruction of the Temple was devastating to the Israelites, but Ezekiel turns their attention away from seeing the Temple as the “house of Israel” to seeing themselves as the only true “house of the God of Israel.” What is important is not the Temple made of stone but the edifice of God’s people. He asks them to turn their attention to what God really wants of them – that they be the Temple of God: one in mind and heart, cemented together by their common faith in their God’s ever-watchful, ever-loving, ever-close-by Trinity of Persons who has made them each, since the beginning of time, in God’s image and likeness, each of us, not forced, but, if we choose, being able to let God and each other into our lives and hearts.
THE TRUE HOUSE OF GOD
This is the true House of God. And whom has God “appointed watchpersons for this “house”? You, me and every created person, living, deceased or to be born in the future. That is really the primary calling that each of us has received. Do you and I believe that? Let’s ask ourselves.
Let’s each recall that God is present, right here, right now. Ask yourself in God’s presence: Do I believe that I, as an individual created by You and called by You to be a watchperson for Your House, that I am meant, with the help of your grace, to build myself and all of us into this “house of God,” this place, mystical but real, where God and God alone dwells?
How can we be as Ezekiel and Jesus in Matthew 18:15-20 say we can be? We are all flawed sinners. Yes, we are, but through our “made in the image and likeness of God” ability to forgive, we can!
THE SYNOD’S CALL FOR CO-RESPONSIBILITY
There have been multiple calls for Co-responsibility at every stage of the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality – that of the local, country, continental and world church summary reports. It is the third of five priorities on the US-Canada Report.
Co-responsibility. “A plea for renewed consideration of the mission of all the baptized, with specific attention given to particular vocations, was frequently mentioned. The discernment of how baptismal co-responsibility for the Church’s mission should be appreciated and achieved demands a better understanding of the roles of the laity in general, and of women and young people in particular. The theme of co-responsibility also touches the frequently raised issue of shared decision-making and the desire for more transparency in Church governance.” North American Final Document for the Continental Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod, page 20.
The Synod documents can be read and interpreted from many different points of view. Sadly, few of them agree with the “priorities” of the above Readings for the 23rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year A. As Pope Francis had often written and spoken, we tend to read these from the perspective of management and administration of the organization that supports the Church. Yes, these organizational matters have to be addressed. But even if they are made better in that, will that alone make us more of a Church that helps and guides us, ourselves and each other, to grow into the fulness to which God calls us – the “house of God”?
We are the baptized and we have a co-responsibility for this Church. As the Document continues, “Discerning a practical way forward on these issues will require consideration of current canonical norms and ecclesial structures. Intimately connected to this theme is the need for more integral formation for the whole of Christian life.”
We need not wait for the hierarchy to tell us (or for us to hear what the hierarchy probably in many ways has been trying to tell us) about “the need for more integral formation for the whole of Christian life.” We already know that God and each of us started our relationship with God at the very beginning of each of our lives. Since then, we, each one of us, has been choosing to recognize the God who is accompanying us or to ignore that God. On a scale of 0% to 100%, how close to fully committed to God am I right now? how close to fully committed to God are you right now?
And what am I (are your) going to do about that?
Sister Loretta
ADULT FAITH FORMATION
There are lots of websites and apps that each of us can use to aid us in finding out who we are, who each other is and who God is. We here at St. Michael’s have a lot of material on our website. From September through May we offer some adult faith formation sessions in the Parish Center. The format is an offering of some content on a particular faith-related subject and then some discussion among the attendees on the subject. Nothing forced. Attendees often participate by simply listening.
Here is a recent evaluation.
“I have enjoyed all of the topics. They have all encouraged a deeper look at our faith and how to live it, which we all need, especially these days! I loved the lesson on the 6th Commandment. It was practical and enlightening. I always enjoy anything by Bishop Barron – a light shining in the darkness! And I also enjoyed the lesson on the Gospel of Matthew. One of the best parts of the sessions is hearing the thoughts of the ladies and gentlemen who attend. I am in awe of how they strive to keep their beautiful faith the center of their lives. I look forward to seeing them, and you, again!
Suggestions:
A link to Pope Francis’ fatherly explanation of this passage in Matthew’s Gospel: Angelus Message for the 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2014