Friday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time

 Lectionary: 459

Whoever listens to you listens to me.
Whoever rejects you rejects me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me."

"Do you know how to spell trouble?" One fellow asked me. "P-E-O-P-L-E!"  

He had isolated himself from family, neighbors, and colleagues, but was nonetheless unhappy. He spoke to a hospital chaplain, however; and sometimes spoke pleasantly of people he'd known. I hoped that, perhaps somewhere in the conversation, he'd notice the disconnect between his experience and his memories. He might yet decide to seek out old friends and family.  

The great scandal of our faith is that God uses human beings -- "vessels of clay" -- to carry his message of love. Although nearly everyone has had a moment when they sensed the personal presence of a merciful God, more often we learn of God from interactions with others. Our religion offers images and language to share our stories, and even to become a "people of God." 

But, fallen as we are, we often let a single unpleasant encounter sour us on people in general, and to become profoundly suspicious of the God they worship. Many people, as they leave, declare they'll find God in the woods or on the seashore, although they live deep in the city and rarely visit "nature." Nor do they notice how savagely indifferent nature can be. 

The scriptures invariably lead us back to fellowship and community. Our first reading today, from the Book of Baruch, recalls our readiness to acknowledge our common guilt and turn back to God's mercy. The prophet recognized that their ancestors had created a sinful culture; and they had bought into it. They could admit, "Yes we have been trouble. And we are ready to repent." 

There was an incident in my senior year at Mount Saint Francis Seminary that caused deep uneasiness among some of my classmates. Several of us had overreacted to the kidding of two friars about the long hair (OMG!) of a few students. Our anxiety almost erupted in violence. We discussed it long into the night. 

Several of us realized we'd cultivated a cynical attitude toward the school and our professors, despite our apparent intentions to seek ordination in the Church. Each of us -- and I can't say how many that was -- recognized his part in the near-riot. It wasn't just me. It was our grumbling, murmuring, and griping about the ordinary inconveniences of an excellent school. We had to change our attitudes about a lot of things; we had to come around to the Spirit that guided this small institution within the vast Catholic Church. The next day we apologized to the seminary faculty.  

Can a group of people repent? Yes, if we act religiously. A secular culture will never repent for it does not listen to God's voice. Competitors and consumers cannot trust each other that much. Entertainers and politicians who apologize when their wrongdoing is exposed are afraid of losing their base. I'm sure they suffer and some actually regret their behavior. What was I thinking? they might ask, But their remorse comes out of their fear of loss, and not an awareness of God's goodness or mercy. 

Penance admits one's evil intent, and remembers God's mercy and love. It finds mercy in the sacraments and among God's people. Those who believe in God trust one another; they set aside their suspicious impulses when God's spirit moves among us.

As the leaders of the Church meet for the Synod on Synodality, we pray that they will discover that Spirit among them. For God has a word to speak to the world through his Church.