Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
I can't say I've ever heard of anyone, Catholic or Protestant, who stopped the liturgy in progress to go and be reconciled with another Christian. However, it may have happened, quietly and quickly, during the Sign of Peace. The Lord knows there's enough quarrels in community that are easily resolved when the parties settle down; it could happen. Nor would the Holy Spirit mind the simplicity of their renewed accord.
This teaching from the Sermon on the Mount should remind us of how important our unity is as Christians. With very-nearly his last breath, Jesus prayed, "...that all may be one." A permanent schism within the Church -- and there are many -- can only do irreparable harm. I think of the Great Schism between the eastern and western churches of 1054, which, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica remained unaddressed until "Pope Paul VI and Patriarch Athenagoras I, following their historic meeting in Jerusalem in 1964, presided over simultaneous ceremonies that revoked the excommunication decrees."
The tragedy at end of the first millennium of the Church could only lead to another, the Protestant Reformation with its innumerable denominations. Further rips and rents in the fabric of Christ's garment created many sects which bear only a vague resemblance to the Church of today's patron, Saint Barnabas.
But perhaps the deepest cut of all is that between Christians and Jews. Though the separation into two religions may be necessary, and accord with God's plan of Salvation History, the animosity between the different religions is unnecessary and tragic. It led to the worst crime in human history, an unspeakable, unimaginable horror at the end of the second millennium. How is it possible that some believers in the Jewish Messiah categorically despise Jews?
Nor is anti-Semitism behind us; it is rampant and resurgent in the United States today. It reappears whenever a gentile society is stressed by economic concerns or demographic changes.
Not protesting against this tradition is not an option. Anyone who finds in the New Testament grounds for hatred should immediately seek the counsel of better interpreters; for we know that Satan often quotes scripture. Anti-Semitic and racist remarks and jokes are never appropriate in a Christian household. They should be challenged immediately just as we ask individuals to refrain from sexist humor and not to blaspheme the Sacred Name of Jesus.
We cannot expect this "original sin" of the Christian church to disappear from the world around us. But we must come away from that world and have nothing to do with their hatred:
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said: “I will live with them and move among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people.
Therefore, come forth from them and be separate,” says the Lord, “and touch nothing unclean; then I will receive you; and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6: 16-18
No comments:
Post a Comment
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.