Once again there are stories in the news media of a priest's criminal acts of pedophilia and a bishop's reluctance to address the crimes.
In today's gospel Jesus' follows his dreadful parable about scandal in the Church and millstones around the neck with a thoroughly rational but breathtakingly radical teaching, "Cut it off!"
Too often I see in the hospital men with red, swollen calves and feet, and blackened toes. Obesity, diabetes and tobacco take their toll on the vascular system, causing cellulitis. I am no doctor and I make neither prognosis nor diagnosis, but it's not hard to see what's coming. They will have to amputate. As terrible as it sounds, the Veterans are usually relieved by the news; the pain of these dead limbs has become unbearable.
But amputation is not as radical as it sounds. To be healthy, we often have to put certain things out of our life. As Saint Paul said, "When I was a child, I used to think as a child...; but now that I have become a man, I have put away the things of childhood."
In the following of Christ, as we grow and age in grace, we must undergo many amputations. I can't eat as much as I used to. I can't work as much as I used to. I can't party till the wee hours on Friday night and show up at work on Monday as I did more than once. Some habits and attitudes must be left behind. Biases and prejudices about certain types of people must be abandoned. They may have been socially acceptable in the 1960's but they are sinful today.
When the Lord points to something in me and says, "Forget it," it's poison from that day forward. I have no choice but to let it go.
The Church has had to amputate some of its old habits, and it's not been easy. But not to do so is worse. Just when we thought our new best practices were taking effect, a bishop was discovered fudging. Bishop Robert Finn failed to report suspected child abuse to the authorities and faces two years probation for misdemeanor. Jesus was not kidding when he spoke of plucking out eyes and amputating hands and feet. If you would be his disciple you better get serious.
But amputation is not as radical as it sounds. To be healthy, we often have to put certain things out of our life. As Saint Paul said, "When I was a child, I used to think as a child...; but now that I have become a man, I have put away the things of childhood."
In the following of Christ, as we grow and age in grace, we must undergo many amputations. I can't eat as much as I used to. I can't work as much as I used to. I can't party till the wee hours on Friday night and show up at work on Monday as I did more than once. Some habits and attitudes must be left behind. Biases and prejudices about certain types of people must be abandoned. They may have been socially acceptable in the 1960's but they are sinful today.
When the Lord points to something in me and says, "Forget it," it's poison from that day forward. I have no choice but to let it go.
The Church has had to amputate some of its old habits, and it's not been easy. But not to do so is worse. Just when we thought our new best practices were taking effect, a bishop was discovered fudging. Bishop Robert Finn failed to report suspected child abuse to the authorities and faces two years probation for misdemeanor. Jesus was not kidding when he spoke of plucking out eyes and amputating hands and feet. If you would be his disciple you better get serious.
Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna,
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.'"
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.