"...if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
Jesus said to him, “‘If you can!’ Everything is possible to one who has faith.”
Then the boy’s father cried out, “I do believe, help my unbelief!”
As the Catholic priest-chaplain, I often meet former Catholics in the VA hospital who attend no church and believe they know their religion. Many received basic religious instruction in grade school, some attended Louisville's excellent Catholic secondary schools. Rarely have they attended Church since then; their sign of the cross is lame and their verbal responses to our prayers are feeble; but they're nonetheless confident of their standing in the Church.
But the surest giveaway of their loss of faith is their willingness to question God. Like the distressed parent in today's gospel, they don't respect any religious authority that teaches, heals, or leads. Some claim to have known priests personally; I suspect their pastors were too familiar with the young men. Boundaries were violated and the disillusioned boys lost respect for God and the Church. (Those violations were not necessarily sexual; in some cases they were just men being men, which is to say, acting like boys.)
Their skepticism of the Church's authority has been encouraged by the dominant Protestant ethos and by our secular culture. They believe that no one speaks for God, and the Bible is too ancient, controverted, and confusing to be taken seriously. Scripture may offer some useful proverbs; its mythical stories entertain children; but it has nothing to say to our time. They usually conclude with, "There is only one god and he doesn't care whether you go to church or not. Just so you're a good person."
On my better days I simply leave the room. There is no point in arguing with a patient in the hospital, especially over the question of faith. Persuasive reasons speak only to the persuaded faithful; winning an argument wins no one for God since God receives only the willing.
But I feel such sadness when I leave because, arguing themselves out of the Church, they remove themselves from her authority. We've all heard Jesus declare, "Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven; whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." Outside the Church there is neither authority nor sacraments to forgive, heal, or lead.
Some will argue that God's saving work surely goes beyond the Church. Doesn't Jesus save everyone? I wouldn't know; that's above my pay grade. But that minimalist model of "being saved" dismisses the Lord's commands to be salt for the earth, and light for the nations. They will not strive to enter through the narrow gate.
That attitude fails to inspire because it has no Spirit. When the young man asked what he had to do to be saved he was told, "Sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor. And then come follow me." He was not told to pay the taxes you can't avoid and stay out of trouble.
In today's Gospel the Lord challenged the parent's querulous hesitation. "If you can?" And the man responded, "I do believe! Help my unbelief." He buckled before the authority of Jesus, as we all must. Anyone can pray before an imaginary Jesus, an idol to suit their tastes. We kneel before the Lord of our Church.
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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.