by Dr. Jacob Mathew, Malankara World

In less than a week, we will come to the Feast of Sleebo, or Festival of the Cross, on September 14. After a very busy season of Shunoyo (Assumption of St. Mary) and the Nativity of St. Mary on September 8 and the Nativity Vigil with 8 Day Lent, things get quiet for a while. This year, September 14 also is the Thiruvonam Day [Millennials call this Ponnonam - I don't know who came up with that name. But with everyone rushing to erect flagpoles made of Gold (well, Gold plated if you want to be specific), everything is converted to God, including Onam.]

Sleebo Feast is the transition day for switching from Kyomtho Namaskaram to Sleebo Namaskaram. We will have more on this on our next issue. We will go into advent season, Christmas, Public Ministry of Jesus, Great Lent and Passion Week culminating in Easter. At Easter we will switch to Kyomtho Namasaram again. So, outwardly, most of the action takes place in the Sleebo period.

Today's Gospel reading (Mark 6:1-6) is something that is familiar to all of us. No honor in hometown. You may be recognized as Messiah by other people, but at home, Jesus is still a Carpenter, son of Joseph and Mary. They cannot see how Jesus can perform any miracles. And of course, Jesus could not because of their lack of faith. (Bible says, Jesus was amazed by their lack of faith!) Jesus paid the price for our sins, and so the grace is free; but we have to ask for it to get it. In Revelation, it is said that Jesus is at the door and waiting for us to open the door and invite Him in. He will not come uninvited. In this case, the door is not the physical door; but the door to our heart. If you want to see miracles happening, you have to have faith and invite Jesus into our heart. Jesus told us that if we have faith as big as a mustard seed, we can ask the hill to move, and it will move; but you need to have faith. Most of us don't.

The alternate Gospel reading this Saturday and Sunday morning are from Matthew 18:1-11 and Matthew 18:12-22. We have selected Matthew 18:15-20 for study this week. This passage talks about Church. In all the 4 four gospels, church is mentioned by name only twice, both in St. Matthew's Gospel. (St. Paul mentions church several times in his epistles, however.) We see them in chapter 16 when Jesus give the keys to the Kingdom to Peter and establish the church. In chapter 18, Jesus talks about how to handle conflicts in the church. Jesus is talking about how to solve the conflicts that will invariably pop up in an assembly of people.

This advice is very relevant today when we see problems in our churches in Malankara as well as outside Malankara. The article by Edward F. Markquart is a gem. I hope everyone will read it and apply it. He also talks about management of churches. Key, according to him, is to emphasize small groups. A church can grow big only when it gets small. It makes lot of sense. The other carefully selected articles are also very good. The best way to solve conflicts is to talk to the person in private and not to challenge him or her in public. If you cannot succeed in one on one conversation, then ask another person to intervene and so on till it is resolved. The key is to recognize that church is the body of Jesus and we should recognize that by having open fights we are hurting the body of Christ, the savior who died for us. It is also noteworthy that Jesus said when 2 or more people get together, He is in their midst. So, when we have that one on one discussion, remember that Jesus is listening and you will be made accountable for the outcome.

by Edward F. Markquart

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

Complaints Against The Church

If you have heard it said once, you have heard it said a thousand times, "The church. The church. All the church wants is my money. Money, money, money. They may start out gently and nicely but don't worry, they are going to slip into your life and then dip into your back pocket. That is just the way churches are."

Or, some say the church is absolutely dull. It is "dullsville." It is the same old platitudes over and over again. It is "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Same tune, second verse. "Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so." Over and over and over again. The same prayers. The same liturgies. The same sermons. The same ideas. The same phraseology. We have heard this so many times before that we can come to church, turn off the intellectual engine, sleep right through it, come back six months later and it would not be any different. Just like a soap opera in the middle of the day.

I love that paraphrase of Martin Luther's hymn, "Like a mighty tortoise, moves the church of God. Brothers we are treading, where we have always trod." Over and over and over again.

Others say, "The church; its people are kind of boring. It is not only the worship service which is boring, but church people are kind of boring as well. Stuff shirts. Pious prigs. Holy than thous. Religion is a crutch for weak people. Weak, sick and old people lean on their crutches.

And besides, the church is a bunch of hypocrites. They are Sunday only Christians. Do you know what that so-called Christian did to me on Monday? What a hypocrite. The church is a bunch of hypocrites, that's all. Church people are those who just can't kick the religious habit."

Or, others say, "I can be a good Christian without going to church. I believe in Christianity, not churchianity. I believe that there is no need for me to come to church. I have my personal religion, my personal God. I don't need the church to be religious; all I need is God to be religious."

Still others say, "The church and its teachings are intellectually absurd. I no longer can accept the credibility of Genesis or the edibility of Jonah. Twentieth century people don't believe that stuff any more e.g. man swallowing a whale or a whale swallowing a man. That is all too much for me to swallow."

Others still say, "I have been burned by the church. When I needed the church, the church wasn't there to help. The preacher. You should have seen what he did to my husband. Talk about insensitive. If that is the way preachers are, you better believe that my husband won't come back, and after my run in with the preacher, I won't be back either. Preachers, for the most part, are fat, pompous, prigs who think that they are right and holier than thou."

Church in Gospel of Matthew

It is with these warm and comforting images of the church that we approach the gospel lesson for today. This is only one of two times that the word, "church," is used in the gospels. Of course, there is Mathew 16 when Jesus said, "You are Peter and on this rock I will build my church and you will have the keys to the kingdom."

We find the concept and language about the church in our gospel reading from Matthew 18 today. The basic idea is this:

"If you are having problems with a someone in church and that person appears to have some fault that is contributing to the conflict, go and talk "one on one" with your brother or sister. If you are still having problems and conflicts within the church, talk with two or three more people in the church. Three or four wise people are better than two. If that person still does not listen, then talk to the whole assembly. And pray about the conflict. Ask God to help. Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."

And so this passage for today is describing these inevitable conflicts in the church, and how to solve those conflicts with the Spirit, love and forgiveness of Jesus.

The word, "church," is a very common word used by the Apostle Paul, but in the four gospels, the word, "church," occurs in two places. Here in the Scripture passage for today from Matthew 18, and in Mathew 16.

Church, Ecclesia - Five Themes

So today I would like to focus on the Greek word, "ecclesia," which means church or fellowship. There are five themes in today's sermon.

First, I would like to begin by saying that Christ is the head of the church.

Now, that concept is not emphasized in Matthew, but it is emphasized in Paul's letters. It needs to be clearly said: that Christ is the center of the church. Christ is the head of the church. Everything around the church is focused on Jesus Christ.

You see, the temptation today is always to replace Christ with success. Many people think, "I don't want to be part of a Christ church; I want to be part of a successful church." It is a very easy trap to be caught by in American culture. … Now, for many people, they want to be personally successful so they also unconsciously want to be part of a successful church. Successful churches are to grow bigger and better, with pretty sanctuaries and pretty music and pretty programs and pretty people and pretty preaching and pretty talented leadership. The good news is subtly replaced by good times. The gospel is replaced by pretty and vibrant preaching. The cross of Jesus Christ which invites us to love and suffer with people around the neighborhood and globe is replaced by colorful programs. It happens very subtly. The cross is replaced by programs and activities. The social compatibility becomes more important than Jesus Christ. Social compatibility become more important than the gospel that Jesus Christ came to this earth as a human being in order to die for your sins and mine so that we can live with God eternally. Many people want to be part of a successful church. In fact, they are more interested in a successful church than a Christ centered church. They want a church that will meet their needs. This is especially true here in the United States.

I must confess that I cringe every time that I heard it and I have heart it often. This is not some pastor's church. This church is a congregation that belongs to Jesus Christ's church.

I have it on a pencil and therefore I remember this Bible verse often,

"He must increase and I must decrease."

The words of John the Baptist. Every time that I am scribbling with that pencil, I am reminded that Jesus Christ is to increase and we are to decrease.

And I guarantee you, if you have a problem with idealizing your pastors, you are going to be disappointed. For they are not going to care for you and love you in the way that you want. And if you are mesmerized with a quality of a program in the church, I guarantee you that in time, it too will deteriorate. For that is the way it is with all congregations.

One more thing: when you die and cross the bar and go to the other side of existence, a successful pastor or a successful church are not going to be there to meet you. Christ will be there to meet you. When you die and cross the bar, the person who will be there to meet you is Jesus Christ.

At the heart of all Christian congregations is Jesus Christ who is the head. The purpose of every congregation throughout all history is to lift up Jesus Christ, so that people are bonded to the beauty, the forgiveness, and the eternal love of Jesus Christ. When I think of the word, church, I think of the word, Christ.

A second theme: When I think of the word, "church," I think of the word, "sinners," people like you and me.

In the gospel passage for today, we find that when somebody has sinned, another person goes and talks to him or her, and says, "You know, you are doing something here which is not real healthy for you and your family." But that person would not listen. So you get two or three other members of the church community and the three friends to and talk with their friend about this problem. But the friend would still not listen. Then the whole community of the church assembled together, perhaps thirty or forty people in those days, listen to the complaint. The complaint becomes public.

As you read this story in the gospel for today, you realize that the heart of the church is to help each other to deal with our sinfulness. The church, the friends at church becomes a family and we as a church family are to help each other with our imperfections, our unhealthy patterns, and the way we sin against each other and ourselves. The church is to become a family that helps each other with one's flaws. That is what families always do. We help each other to grow up and become mature people.

You are very unfortunate if you have no one to help you with your sinfulness and imperfection, with your defects of character, with the pieces of your personality which are not so healthy. We all have these imperfection, these flaws, these deficits. All of us. There is no exception. You are very unfortunate person if you have no one to talk with you honestly about your weaknesses in order to help you mature and grow into wholeness. That is one of the purposes of the church. We are to be like family who loves each other with loving honesty about our strengths and our weaknesses.

There is almost nothing worse in the world than religious people who think they are holier or better or less sinful than other people. I love the limerick which says, "The power of hell is strongest when the odor of sanctity creates the smell." Yes, the odor of sanctity does stink.

Martin Luther said a similar thing when he wrote: " O Lord, deliver me from Christian churches with nothing but Christian saints in them. I want to remain in and be part of a church which is a little flock of faint-hearted people, weak people, who know and feel their sin, their poverty, their misery, and they believe in the forgiveness of God." That is what Luther wanted. Nothing about colorful programs. Nothing about great music. Nothing about great preaching. What Martin Luther wanted to be part of community which had faint hearted and weak people who know and feel their need for forgiveness. Luther wanted to be part of a real family, a Christian family, a small family that cared for each other.

I like the following definition of a church.

"The church is somewhat like Noah's ark. If it were not for the storm outside, you couldn't stand the smell inside."

That is true. There is that smell to the church. The smell of sin. The church stinks. The church is filled with sinful people, but let me tell you, outside the church it is even worse. It is crazy out there. It is absurd what is going on in that world out there. Knowing how terrifying it is out there, I will gladly live inside the smell of Noah's ark.

At the heart of the church, we are like a small family who helps each other deal with our sinfulness. Is it not true that you need help? That I need help? To live as a human being because of the shadow side of our personalities? Do you and I not need help with that?

The church?
The church is Christ.

The church?
The church is a family of imperfect people who help each other mature in love.

The third theme for today is this: the word, "church," means fellowship, a gathering, a grouping.

The passage for today says that "wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." The church is a community of loving people. The church is a community of people who love you, know your name, and are concerned about you. Is it not important for you that as a member of a church, that people know your name? Is not that your right? That they know what you struggle with? Isn't that at the heart of a church? Where you are known and loved as a friend?

Yesterday was the seventh grade retreat. Those kids were wonderful. You can have a great youth program and have great singing and great energy around the campfire, but every one of those kids wants to be wanted. And the kids, in spite of the fancy camp and in spite of the fancy singing, and in spite of a fancy youth director, if a kid feels that he or she is not wanted and loved by their friends, those kids will not want to be part of it.

The same is true of us as adults. We want to be wanted. We want to be loved. We want people to treat us as friends. The church is a fellowship. The church is a community. The church is family.

Years ago, I read a piece of research that I found to be fundamentally true: I call it Friendship 1:7. If a new person at church has seven new friends within a year, one hundred percent of those people stay. If a new person has four or fewer friends, ninety-two percent drop out of the church. I know this is true from my personal experience. I know that people join the church because they like the vitality of the worship service or the vitality of the music or they like the vitality of the youth program or the vitality of the preaching, but such people will not stay at Grace Lutheran Church or any congregation unless they make friends. Koinonia. Fellowship. Family. Closeness. Connectedness.

Two years ago, some of us went to a church conference. It was called the "Meta-Church" conference. We were also the smallest church in that group of attending churches. The word, meta, means "change" in the Greek language. The point of this conference was that the fundamental change that is needed in all congregations is that small groups are to be at the heart of the church; through which people make friends in the life of the church.

We came back from that conference with a refrain ringing in our ears, "As the church grows larger, it must grow smaller." Every church present at that conference was committed to the principle that small groups would be the nucleus of the congregation. The most important task of a congregation was to get people into small groups.

I must confess to you that I check our worship attendance every Sunday because I am aware that if a congregation has fifty percent of its membership in worship, it seems to be a vital congregation. We usually have about fifty percent of our membership attending worship. But the meta-church conference suggested that sixty percent of our membership needed to be involved or connected with some small group in the parish in order to it to be alive and growing. I believe that their focus is healthier than mine. That is, I focus on the percentage of people in worship; they focus on the percentage of people involved in their family life called small groups. I know. Both are needed.

This past week, I received a congregational letter from a larger parish in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and in their newsletter, it stated that their number one goal as a congregation was to have sixty percent of their parish belonging to a small group. I wish that goal was permeating our parish as well.

Today, within our church, we have the kick-off of Koinonia Sunday where people are working so hard to get small groups started in our own church. Koinonia groups are groups of Christians who pray together, talk together, study together, become friends together. Koinonia groups are family groups.

I need to ask you a personal question: are you making new friends here at Grace Lutheran Church? Or are you one of those old time members who are content with your old friends? You have your old friends and that is enough. You feel inside, "I have old friends of five, ten, fifteen, twenty, twenty-five years and I don't need to expand my friendship circle. I have enough personal relationships." If that is your perception, you have lost the vision of the church. For the very heart of the church is to welcome strangers into your friendship patterns. Where you get to know these new people; when you get to know their names, know their history, know their daily concerns. And one of the best ways to do this is to be part of a small group, a family group.

Jesus said, "Where ever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them." There is no greater power within a congregation than that of a small group of Christians, caring for and loving each other, and lifting up each other in prayer and support.

A fourth theme: The church is to be a praying family.

In the passage for today, the Bible says, "Where two or three are gathered in my name, ask anything of the Father and I will give it to you." We know not to take these words literally. What the Bible said isn't always what it means. We know that. We have gathered in our small groups for many years and have prayed incessantly. Sometimes you can take the Bible literally and get yourself into trouble by the conclusions that you reach. If two or three people gather and pray for the healing of cancer of one particular husband, that does not mean the husband will be healed, simply because two or three Christians are praying for him.

But what it does mean is that there is something meaningful when a small group of Christian people get together and pray. It is one thing for me to pray alone. It is still another thing to pray with three hundred people at worship. But it is still another thing to get together with other Christians in a small group and pray for each other. Something happens that is very special.

"When two or three are gathered." Sometimes, only two of us are gathered, and the small group consists of only two people. Sometimes it is in a personal face to face conversation. Sometimes it is a conversation over the telephone. At the conclusion of the conversation, we simply pray for what we have been talking about. There is power when two friends pray together, and this happens in church families.

The last thing is this: The church is mission.

We, as a congregation, reach out to the homeless, world hunger, our day care. We all want to be part of a congregation that reaches out and is not focused primarily on itself. We love being part of a church which has many missions outside of itself. Being a homeless shelter. Having a day care that serves poor families. Sending our kids to the orphanage in Mexico and rebuilding Habitat for Humanity homes in Idaho. Supplying a medical clinic in Jamaica. Having a sister church in Haiti. Supporting our world hunger program. Inviting people who don't know Christ or have a church home into our congregation.

We like being part of a church which is mission centered, where the focus is not on maintaining our institution but serving the needs of others.

The church. The word, "church," is a great word. We are pleased that we have been baptized into this community of Christ. We have found our meaning in life through the church, the family who has taught us to live in the Spirit of Christ.

Amen.

by Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost

In a secret prayer read by the priest at the beginning of the Liturgy it says, using the words of St John Chrysostom, that if two or three agree together in all things, the grace, the power and the presence of God will be in their midst.

What is it then, what are the words that are so decisive in this prayer? I think it is not that two or three may agree from time to time, when they have a common interest or the same feelings, but that they are prepared to be in agreement, that is in harmony in all things, making the concerns of one the concerns of all; considering the sins of each one as being our own responsibility and not only the responsibility of those who sin; because if we were a true Christian community, how much support, how much help would every member of it receive in the struggle for integrity and life! So it is agreement, harmony in all things that is the precondition of the presence of God with power and grace, with exulting joy and love.

Already in his own time St Paul said, "Alas, there are divisions among you". And these divisions destroy the unity which could be the place where God can act.

We must reflect on this very attentively because we cannot naturally, spontaneously love everyone; we find it very difficult to understand one another; we find it very difficult to bear one another's burdens, to endure each other; we find it almost impossible to consider the sins of one or another person as our own. And yet, if we respond to the shortcomings, the sins, indeed the evil there may be in someone by rejecting that person, we find ourselves separated from God, because God does not reject any one of us.

God became one of us at the cost of His incarnation, at the price He paid for love of us; not of the righteous ones - did not He say, "It is only the sick who need a physician, not those who are whole"? He came to share with that very sinner, with that unbearable person whom we reject, with the very people with whom we are at variance; He came to share not only our common humanity, but their destiny, their agony, their struggles. It is not in vain that Isaiah speaking prophetically of Christ, says that the weight of the sin of the whole world was upon Him.

Let us reflect on this, because if we want to become what we are not - a Christian community, a community of people who love one another earnestly, if necessary sacrificially, whose love is prepared to go as far as crucifixion, then we must learn a great deal about our attitude to each other. How can we contemplate the vision of the Cross if we are not prepared to carry one another's burdens, to identify in sympathy and compassion with each other?

How can we face the fact that God in His love gave His life for the lost while we reject those for whom He died, ignore them, would like to rule them out of our life because it would be so easy to live only with those people who are no problem for us? By this rejection we become alien to God, not by any action of His, or of anyone around us, but by our own free choice because we cannot accept those for whom Christ lived and died.

Let us reflect on this, let us conquer everything in us that prevents us from being at one with God, and then through this unity with God let us accept one another even if it be at the cost of our lives.

by Sarah Dylan Breuer

Gospel: Matthew 18:15-20

The Good News that you heard included an invitation: right now, as you are, you can be a part of something -- specifically, a member of the Body of Christ.

The tricky part is that the Body of Christ includes an awful lot of people who are every bit as difficult as we are.

Welcome to the church, folks. We only just encountered the concept a couple of chapters ago (in Matthew 16:18, the only other time in the gospels in which the Greek word ekklesia occurs), and now in Matthew 18, we're being introduced to church conflict.

In this Sunday's gospel, we get some very practical advice on how to handle it when someone in the church sins against us (yeah, I know that the "against you" part isn't in all of the manuscripts, but it does seem like a very helpful addition). The first thing we learn is that we're to approach the person whose behavior hurt us directly, and if at all possible, privately. Without others around, the person you're speaking with has room to reconsider without losing face -- and you have room to reconsider if the other person can point to ways in which your behavior has contributed negatively to the situation.

That's crucial, as at each stage of this process, the goal is reconciliation. The quiet conversation isn't just a necessary preliminary to a wonderfully juicy public drama, nor is it solely an opportunity to try to get one's way. Indeed, any more public confrontations that follow are about getting the parties directly involved to return to the table, where real conversation and real reconciliation can take place.

In other words, church conflict, if we're seeking to follow Christ in the midst of it, doesn't have to be a distraction from the mission of the Church; it can be a training ground for mission. It can even BE mission.

Let me unpack that. As Christians, we believe that Christ is reconciling the whole world and each of us in it to God and to one another. So when two Christians take their conflict as an opportunity to practice reconciliation, what they do in the Church can stand as a visible sign for the whole world of what we believe Christ is doing in the world. An outward and visible sign of a grace that we believe is happening in a broader and more mysterious way in the world ...

I'm saying that church conflict, as an opportunity to practice reconciliation, can actually be sacramental.

And at this point, I can understand it if you're saying to yourself, "well I could do with a lot less sacrament then." I know what you mean. If you take a peek ahead to next Sunday's gospel, you'll know that Peter knows what you mean too.

The bottom line is that Christian community -- all community, really -- is, as St. Benedict said, a "school for souls," in which we learn not just how to live, but also how to experience abundant life. Jesus knew something that experience has affirmed for me (after long enough -- I'm a pretty slow learner): we understand best and deepest how God loves and forgives when we are, in our limited but growing way, extending that kind of love and forgiveness to others.

So when you meet someone who's really difficult, someone who pushes your ability to stay present with them, stay in touch, and stay focused on God's love, rejoice and be glad in that day: you get to love them, in the process you get a sense of how God loves you, and folks looking on get to see how much you mean what you say about the church being entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.

Trust me on this one: as long as you need everybody to be happy and agreeable, you'll always be anxious, but once you find and keep hold of the joy and peace the Spirit brings in the midst of working for reconciliation in a tense situation, you'll know a bubbling fountain of energy and freedom that can only further your ministry and the ministry of reconciliation to which your congregation is called.

... love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor. ... Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. ... Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” No, “if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
-- Romans 12:9-21

by Msgr. Charles Pope

We discussed before how the Church is the Body of Christ and the place where we first and foremost find Him. We cannot really have Jesus without his Body, the Church, despite the privatized claims of many. Just as it pertains for a head to be together with its body, so too it pertains for Jesus the Head of Church to be united with his Body the Church. So, Jesus is at one with his Church and the Church is the place where we first and foremost find his presence.

But to say we find him here does not mean that people DO find him here. There are many issues that keep people from experiencing his presence here. There are also some practices we ought to better observe in order to better manifest the presence of Jesus. Let’s consider first some problems and then some remedial practices.

I. Problems

If Jesus is present in his Church then this is most evident in his action and presence in the Liturgy and Sacraments of the Church. Yet any cursory look into a typical Catholic or Orthodox parish would reveal little to indicate an obvious awareness of presence and action of Jesus in the Liturgy and sacraments:

A. Bored and Disengaged?

The assembled people, including the clergy often look bored, distracted and mildly irritated at having to endure the event. Where is the alert joy that one sees at sports events, or the visits of famous people? If Jesus is alive and ministering in this moment why do so many look more like they’ve come to get a flu shot? It is as though there is a wish that the whole experience will be as quick and painless as possible.

Some will argue that the many people are just reserved. But most of these same people are animated enough at a football game or political discussions. The answer seems to be more related to a lack of vivid faith and understanding that the Liturgy and Sacraments are encounters with the Risen Lord Jesus.

B. Perfunctory?

Further, in terms of the overall spiritual life of many of the faithful there is a perfunctory "Check off the God-box" observance wherein those who observe norms at all, such Sunday Mass or yearly confession, do so more as a duty than with eager love. The minimum is sought and only that is done. The box is checked and one seems relieved that the "duty" is done. It is almost as though one placating the deity rather than worshipping and praising the God they love and are grateful to. The upshot is that Sacraments are thought to be tedious rituals, and not transformative realities or a real encounter with Jesus.

C. Low Expectations

Expectations are also low when it comes to sacraments. Many put more trust in Tylenol, than the Eucharist. Because, when they take Tylenol, they expect something to happen, for there to be healing, for the pain to go away, or the swelling to go down. But do these same people bring any real expectations about the Eucharist or other Sacraments? Almost never.

Much of the blame for these low expectations is that priests and catechist have never really taught the Faithful to expect a lot. At best there are vague bromides about being fed, but little else is vigorously taught about radical transformation and healing.

D. Unevangelized?

The general result is that many in the pews are sacramentalized but unevangelized. That is to say many have received Sacraments and gone through other Catholic Rites of passage but have never really met Jesus. They have gone through the motions for years but are not really getting anywhere when it comes to being in a life-changing, transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. To a large degree the Lord is a stranger to them. They barely know him at all and are far from the normal Christian life of being in personal, living and conscious contact with the Lord.

II. Principles and practices

If these be some of our common problems, then what are we to do? Perhaps some of the following principles and practices can point the way.

A. Clarity as to the fundamental Goal of the Church.

Clearly the fundamental mission of the Church is to go to all the nations, teach them what the Lord commands, and makes disciples of them, through baptism and the other Sacraments. (cf Matt 28:20).

But making disciples and being a disciple is about more than "membership." To become a true disciple is to have a personal, life-changing and transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. It is to witness and become a witness of the power of the Cross to put sin to death, to bring every grace alive, and to make of us a new creation in Christ. This must become more clearly the fundamental goal of the Church. We cannot and should not reduce discipleship to membership.

The goal is connect people with the Lord Jesus Christ so that he can save them and transform their lives in radical and powerful ways.

B. Conviction in Preaching

Those who preach, teach and witness to others cannot simply be content to pass on formulas and quote others. Priests, parents, catechists and others must begin to be first hand witnesses to the power of God’s word not only to inform, but to perform and to transform. They must be witnesses of how the Lord is doing this in their own life.

They ought, if they are in touch with God to exhibit joy, conviction and real change. They must be able to preach and teach with "authority" in the richer Greek sense of the word. Exousia (the Greek word for authority) means more literally to preach "out of one’s own substance." Hence the summons is to speak from one’s own experience as a first hand witness who can, with conviction say, "Everything the Church and Scriptures have always announced are true, because in the laboratory of my own life I have tested these truths and found them to true and transformative. I who speak these things to you swear to you that they are true and trustworthy along with every Saint."

A first hand witness knows what he saying, he does not merely know about it. The video from Fr. Martin below speaks to this practice. Preaching, teaching and witnessing with conviction is an essential component of renewal in the Church.

C. Cultivate Expectation!

We have already noted that most people don’t expect much from their relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of us expect to and have met people who have changed our life. Perhaps it was when a spouse we met, perhaps it was a teacher, or perhaps it was a professional contact who opened our career.

But if ordinary people can change our life, why not the Lord Jesus Christ? And yet most people think that having tepid spirituals lives, boredom and only a vague notion about the truths of faith is normal. Really? Is that the best that the death of the Son of God can do for us that we should be bored, tepid, uncertain, and mildly depressed? Of course not!

We need to lay hold of the glorious life that Jesus died to give us, have high expectations and star watching our life be transformed.

Consider, as an image the woman who came up to him in the crowd and said, "If I just touch the Hem of his garment I will get well." Jesus was amazed that one woman in a crowd of thousands who were bumping up against him, one woman actually touched. He said to her, "Your faith has healed you." (Luke 8:47). Who has the faith, who has the expectation to be healed, to get well, to be delivered? King Jesus is a listening all day long!

D. Catechetical refocus

We have tended to teach the faith more as a subject than a relationship. And hence we focus on and measure success based on whether one can list the seven gifts of the spirit, or the four marks of the Church. Now, of course faith has a content that must be mastered, but without relationship to Jesus most people lose command of the facts shortly after the test.

We need to begin more with relationship. Get people, children and adults excited about Jesus, and joyful in what he has done and the motivation to learn comes naturally.

Some years ago I became a fan of Star Trek (in the late 1960s) Captain James Tiberius Kirk was all the world to me. Even though he was a fictitious person, I wanted to know all about him, where he was born, what he did, and thought. When I discovered the actor who played him I also joined the William Shatner fan club. I then wanted to know what Shatner thought about important issues, when he was born, what his favorite hobbies and activities were etc. Fascination drew me to a mystery of the facts about both Kirk and Shatner. You didn’t have to make me learn this stuff, I was way ahead of any requirements.

Do people think this way about Jesus? Usually not. And why not? Because we do very little to cultivate this fascination and joy. We teach more about structures, rules and distinctions than about Jesus. Again our intellectual tradition is important and essential. But without starting with a relational interest, we might as well be building on no foundation at all.

Jesus said, "Come and See" as an initiation. Creedal details came later and were important. But relationship was first. Friendship precedes all the facts, which come later.

Where in our catechism do we inculcate a love, respect and fascination with Jesus?

E. Come on, Testify!

Catholics and Orthodox Christians are terrible at testimony and witness. What is your story? How did you meet Jesus? What has he done, what is he doing in your life? Have your children ever heard you say you love Jesus? Do they know what he has done for you? Do parishioners ever hear their priests testify? Arguments and proof have their place, but without personal testimony and conviction, these truths remain abstractions.

There may come a time when, through arguments, you actually get a buy in. But then comes the question: "Well, that’s good news. How do I know its true?" And that’s when you have to convincingly answer: "Look at me." It’s not enough to state facts and quote others. At the end we have to know what we’re talking about, personally and convincingly.

Bottom line, that means we have to be converted, and having experienced conversion go forth as those who know the Lord, not just know about Him. I gave my testimony story here How I met Jesus. What’s yours?

Some problems and practices. How say you? Add your own!

by Msgr. Charles Pope

Scripture:

Matt 18:15-17
Matt 13:24-30
Luke 17,
Titus 1
1 Corinthians 5

The readings for today largely deal with Church order and discipline. Paul in his letter to Titus tells him:

For this reason I left you in Crete so that you might set right what remains to be done and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
(Titus 1:5).

He adds that among other things, the men he picks be able both to exhort with sound doctrine and to refute opponents. Later in the letter we learned that people Crete tended to be unruly people and that there were many things that had been left undone and needed to be accomplished. (Titus 1:12).

If we look at the Church down through the Centuries, we will find what may be described as a human condition. There are good and wonderful aspects of Church life, and there are things that are painful and difficult. The Church also goes through periods which are better, relatively speaking. There have been times of grave difficulties disorder, as well as periods of relative order and tranquility. But to be clear, there is never been an ideal or perfect time.

In the 16th Century St. Charles Borromeo had a huge mess on his hands. Twelve million had just left the Church in the Lutheran revolt, and more were to follow. Clergy were poorly trained and disorderly, and the faithful were poorly catechized. It took decades to perform to restore reasonable order.

Our own times, show forth both light and darkness. In some areas, the Church is growing, even flourishing. In other areas there is great decline and the culture is in great disrepair.

Jesus takes up the theme of sin in the Church in today's Gospel. He says,

Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the one through whom they occur. It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him. (Lk 17:1-4)

But despite saying this, the Lord counsels great mercy among the members of the Church:

and if he repents, forgive him. And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, 'I am sorry,' you should forgive him.
(Luke 17:5)

Thus, while speaking of the need to discipline the sinner, he also speaks to the need to forgive seven times a day, a Jewish way of speaking that does not mean literally seven, but an abundance of forgiveness.

If the "woe" to those who cause scandal and the counsel to be merciful and forgiving seem in some tension, they are. Putting it another way, the Lord is saying to us, as for those scandalize others or fall into repeated sin, they are going to have to answer to me one day. But as for you, pray and work for their conversion, show mercy where possible, and leave many things up the God.

The fact is, we are not going to resolve every problem in the Church or in our families. And were we to try, we might create twice many more problems. Scandals and problems are inevitable. We should work to resolve them, and, as the Lord says, correct the sinner. But we should do it in a way in which we do not surrender our serenity or our love.

To be sure, there are texts in the Scripture that speak to us of disciplining in ways that bring an end to mercy and execute firm judgment, texts that speaks even in certain situations, excommunicating a troublesome brother. Jesus counsels of Matthew's Gospel:

If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the Church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
(Matt 18:15-17)

In other words there maybe times when someone needs to be considered excommunicated. Paul says something similar. 1 Corinthians 5 admonishes them to expel an incestuous brother in hopes that he may come to his senses to be restored to communion.

So there are times for strong discipline. But there are other times with the Lord counsels caution when it comes to severe discipline. Today's gospel is one example. Another example of the Gospel of the wheat and the tares. The message seems similar to the gospel from today's mass though it goes even further since there is not even evidence of theoretical repentance on the part of the sinner:

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. "The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?' "'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' "'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"
(Matt 13:24-30)

In other words, there is going to be a day of judgment, but not now. Repeated sinners, and those who cause difficulty in church life and mislead others are going to have to answer to the Lord. But some of that has to wait for the Day of Judgment.

Exactly when to use tough measures, or when to delay, and show mercy, is not always easy to know. These are matters for prudential judgment. Some of the scenarios above presume theoretical repentance. (I say theoretical since repeated sinners may often indicate regret or have "reasons" for their behavior, but not really have true repentance at any any authentic or meaningful level). And these sorts of judgements don't simply engage bishops, but also pastors at the parish level, and parents and siblings at the level of the domestic Church.

At any rate, in today's readings both Paul and Jesus seem to have the longer picture in mind. They seem to counsel an approach more akin to chipping away at the problem, through instructing and admonishing, teaching and putting things in place rather than to round up every erring brother and throw them into the ocean. Perhaps too, it is good to remember that in asking for all the scoundrels, the rascals to be rounded up and thrown out of the Church, we ourselves might not fair too well, for most of us are not unambiguously saintly. We too might just get taken out with the trash.

This does not remove the need for the more strenuous measures that both Jesus and Paul counsel elsewhere, it simply balances them and shows, that in Church life, prudential judgments about such things are necessary.

Serenity - God himself leaves many things unresolved in both the Church and the created order. There is a kind of serenity in recognizing this, and taking it to heart. While we may wish for, and strive for the perfect family, the perfect Church, There is serenity in remembering that some things are going to have to be left to God.

And God often waits, for: The patience of our Lord is directed to our salvation. Yes, He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:15,9)