Fourth Sunday after Epiphany
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Years after a major council, there are still disagreements about how to implement it. Parishioners from a major church participating in idol worship. Sexual immorality at which even pagans would blush. People trying to buy influence in the Church. A well-known archbishop telling the pope he’s wrong. Believers claiming they have access to what Jesus really meant. Faithful bishops being killed. Heretics infiltrating dioceses and claiming to speak with apostolic authority.
You might think I’m talking about the Church after the Second Vatican Council. Instead, I’m talking about the apostolic days of the Church. In our mind, we easily think that the first days of the Church were easy and trouble free. We often like to think of them as the golden age of Catholicism. And certainly God blessed His Church abundantly in the days of the apostles first spreading the Gospel. But Paul talks about how not everyone agreed with the Council of Jerusalem, which said that Greeks did not have to become Jews and obey the Mosaic law to be a follower of Jesus. People were buying meat sacrificed to idols. Paul condemns those in Corinth who are practicing immorality and tells them to be cut off for a time for their own good. Peter flip-flopping on whether or not he would eat with Gentiles. The early beginnings of gnosticism, claiming a secret knowledge of the true teachings of Jesus. Apostles being martyred at an alarming rate. Circumcisers saying that they are super-apostles, and that others should listen to them, not Paul. This was the early Church; not exactly a bed of roses.
In the State Police, each Trooper Recruit School feels like it was the last truly difficult recruit school, and that all the others that came after are easy in comparison. Inversely, we tend to think that our suffering is the worst, whether personal, economic, or ecclesiastical, and no one has had it as hard as we have. Do we have it hard? Certainly. There is still disagreement about the implementation of the Second Vatican Council, or some even doubt if it’s a real council (in case you’re wondering, it is). Pachamama. We are definitely reaping the fruits as a society of the sexual revolution. Economic scandals and worse are in the Church. Bishops arguing with each other and the Pope. Faithful Catholics of all states of life being martyred. Confusion about who speaks with authority in the Church. The waves are certainly crashing around the barque of Peter.
Did you notice in the Gospel that Christ’s first course of action is not to calm the waves. The first thing our Lord does is question the faith of the apostles. Why are you afraid? Why are you doubting? Then He commands the storm to be still, and it is. We keep calling out to the Savior, but maybe we feel like he’s not doing what we want Him to do.
Psalm 107 (106 in the Douay-Reims), verses 27-29 says
They reeled, staggered like drunkards; their skill was of no avail. In their distress they cried to the Lord, who brought them out of their peril; He hushed the storm to silence, the waves of the sea were stilled.
Christ, in calming the sea, was proving that He was God. He was proving His command over the waters, which were the ancient symbol of chaos and disorder.
But often times, we think that we should take the place of God and handle things ourselves. Again, this can be in our personal, work, or church life. Maybe we’re struggling with a family member, and rather than turning to prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we make a plan of action without consulting the Almighty. Or perhaps a fellow employee is not doing his or her job, and we feel upset that we are working hard, while the other person is not. Do we immediately “turn him or her in”, or do we pray for guidance and seek to understand if maybe that person has some other issues outside of work which are affecting his or her ability to do the job. Perhaps maybe we can even assist that person and help resolve what is going on, rather than simply seeking termination for him or her.
I know that many are upset with the recent suggested restrictions on the Extraordinary Form from Pope Francis and the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments. Even though Bishop Boyea has been quite generous in continuing this Mass and the access to sacraments celebrated in the usus antiquior, I also know that some have considered going to Masses celebrated by the Society of St. Pius X if they don’t have the access they desire. That approach isn’t staying in the boat and waiting for our Lord to help. That approach is jumping ship into a dinghy that is partially tethered to the boat. When there is no other option to celebrate the sacraments validly within a 30-60 minute drive, then yes, the Church does allow for sacramental participation in schismatic groups, like SSPX and even the Orthodox (if they allow it). But outside of that scenario, which does not exist currently here, participating in the sacramental life of a schismatic church is a sin against the unity of the Church, and I would advise, in the strongest way possible, not even entertaining that sinful attitude.
Is Christ no longer God? Has His promise to protect His Church suddenly failed? Can He who stilled the storm and waves not ensure the safety of His Bride, our holy Mother, the Church? If we leave, even for a day, we are implicitly saying that Christ cannot provide for us, that Christ cannot protect us, and that we must turn to those who have rejected union with Rome for the sure path. But those who have rejected Rome have never been the sure path, not even in the darkest days of the Church throughout the centuries.
Our current times may seem like the worst ever. For us, they may be. But it is not the end. Christ promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church is not unfulfilled. Yes, the storms rage around us. Yes, the waves are breaking over the ship, and we are, in some ways, taking on water. But if we stay in the boat in Jesus, then we need not fear, we need not doubt. If we leave, we can be sure that Christ will say to us, “Why do you fear, O you of little faith?” But if we remain, connected to the perennial truths of the faith which cannot change in the Church which always remains the Bride of Christ, we can merit to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Come, share your Master’s joy!”
