Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
I
think we can get caught up with power and authority. We want power, and we want it badly. We want to control our own lives, our
own destinies, and we want to be able to not have others exact that power over
us. No matter whether you have
very little power or a lot, I think we all want to have more and more
power. When we look at the issue
of power and authority in the Church, the scene is often expressed as a
battlefield with the priests and the bishops on one side, and the laity on the
other, trying to fight for control of power in the Church. So often, when the question of why the
Church cannot ordain women comes up, the argument quickly turns to power: power
to teach the faith (as if we just make it up as we go along); power to decide
where the money goes; power to administer the sacraments. The question, not just from women, is
often, “Why should an old man (though Bishops Boyea and Raica I’m sure would
not think of themselves as old) be able to tell me how to live my life?”
But
our first reading reminds us that being named a watchman or shepherd is not
about getting a cushy job. True,
there are fewer earthly concerns that I have to worry about: I have a house
provided for me, a food allowance, and a certain job security. But, Ezekiel tells us in the first
reading that the shepherds that God has appointed have to worry about the lives
of the sheep. I may not have to
worry about a roof over my head, but I have to worry about whether or not I am
sufficiently helping people to grow in a relationship with God and to choose
good and avoid evil. St. Joseph is
a relatively small parish in the Diocese of Lansing (673 parishioners or so on
the books), but that’s a lot of people to care for!! Ezekiel, prophesying in the Name of God, reminds the
shepherds of Israel, the religious leaders, that if they do not warn the people
to follow God, to choose good and avoid evil, then they, too, will perish for
the sins the people commit, against which they were not warned. The same holds true for me: if I do
not, by my life and preaching, help you to grow closer to God, to choose good
and avoid evil, then I will suffer punishment, too.
Bishop
Raica, on his ordination card, quoted St. Augustine, who took up a similar
theme. And while St. Augustine was
talking about being a bishop, the same could be said for a parish priest:
From the moment
this burden, about which such a difficult account has to be rendered, was
placed on my shoulders, anxiety about the honor shown to me has always haunted
me. What is to be dreaded about the office I hold, if not that I may take more
pleasure (which is so dangerous) in the honor shown to me than in what bears
fruit in your salvation? Whenever I am terrified by what I am for you, I am
given comfort by what I am with you. For you I am a bishop, but with you I am,
after all, a Christian. The former signifies an office undertaken, the latter,
grace; the former is a name for danger, the latter a name for salvation.
Being a priest is not
about having a job with honors placed upon it; it is about helping you to gain
salvation. And for those who are
only concerned about honor, a terrifying judgment awaits!
But,
Jesus reminds us in the Gospel that it is not only priests who have
responsibility for each other. All
of us are called to help each other on the pilgrimage to heaven. No longer are we to say, with Cain, “Am
I my brother’s keeper?” When
someone sins against us, we are encouraged to deal with the issue ourselves,
not as if we are judge and jury, but so that we might be able to bring
reconciliation to the relationship.
We start just between the involved parties, then bring in witnesses if
there is still no healing, and then, and only then, bring in the Church, to
apply the wisdom of the entire Mystical Body of Christ so that reconciliation
can be obtained. I’m not in this
alone. Yes, I have certain
responsibility as a priest to help guide you in living a Christ-centered life,
but we all have a responsibility to help each other live that same
Christ-centered life. If it’s just
me, I know I will fail. But if we
work together to encourage one another, and even to hold each other
accountable, then the Kingdom of God can be proclaimed more effectively and
with vigor in the great unity of our one faith, and the diversity of the People
of God.
I
love being a priest! I love being
able to serve you, and hopefully drawing you closer to God. Are there great responsibilities? Yes. To paraphrase Jesus, to whom much has been given, much will
be expected. But I wouldn’t trade
it for the whole world!! Do I love
being a priest because of the power and authority? No. I love it
because it is the way God has called me to serve Him, and, in serving Him, to
serve you. For you I am a
priest. With you I am a Christian.
