“See that you not be deceived,
for many will come in my name, saying,
‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’
Do not follow them!
The Gospel teaches us both to trust others intensely, and to practice careful skepticism about other people. If we believe in Jesus, it’s not for what he said of himself but what we saw him do, and for the testimony of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit.
As God’s holy people, we meet in a most sacred place to conduct an intensely personal, yet communal sacrifice. In union with the passion and death of Our Lord Jesus Christ we offer our hearts to Him and to His God and Father. To pray together is to lay our vulnerability before one another; we are defenseless in God’s presence. By our presence and, more especially, by the reception of the Blessed Sacrament, we declare our love for God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We are totus tuus, wholly thine. It’s entirely possible that some people, seeing us, will withdraw in embarrassment or laugh in derision.
If this confidence in one another is not immediately apparent when we celebrate the Mass, it is most obvious when we confess our sins to a priest. Not only do we trust that he will forgive us, we hope he never gives a second thought to what he has heard. It wasn’t meant for his ears; it should not affect the way he thinks of us!
And so we hear today’s gospel in the context of our openness to one another, “See that you not be deceived for many will come in my name.” Religion, despite its aspiration to mediate the mind and presence of God, is nonetheless of earth and resembles all earthly things. It can be abused. In fact, it’s so often abused some people suppose it is nothing but abuse. But the Divine Authors of both our Testaments always knew that; and the Church which remembers Judas Iscariot among the Twelve Apostles cannot forget it.
Saint Paul had stern words for those who suppose religion to be a means of gain. They are “people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth.” He went on to say,
Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that.
Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction.
Religion inevitably attracts charlatans who exploit the confidence we place in one another. They cause terrible scandal and will certainly suffer an unspeakable punishment.
Even as we hear Jesus urge us to “be not deceived” we should maintain our faith in one another. When Saint Paul insisted, we are saved by faith, that necessarily included our faith in one another; that is, the Church. Those who describe their religion as believing in Jesus without the company of the Church are like the husband who prefers a photo of his wife to the person he married. They worship a fantasy of their own imagination with little connection to Our Lord.
Catholics know that because we cling to the Eucharist; we meet the Lord face to face in the sanctuary of our Church, and time spent apart from the Mass is time preparing for the Mass.
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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.