Shooting the Messenger

26 August 2018 – 14^th Sunday of Pentecost

Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:52-69

“Lord, to whom can we go?  You have the words of eternal life”.  John 6:68

These “words of eternal life” are the True Treasury of the Holy Church; not the bank accounts.  And it is not only the priests and the pastors who have been entrusted with this Treasury; it is the whole congregation, every baptized soul; those who claim to be “saved” as well as those struggling to find their place.  We must still be responsible stewards of those material things entrusted to - and for - the care of the Church and its mission, but we must always be aware of the everlasting Treasury, the real “treasure” Jesus spoke of; that “treasure which moth cannot destroy, and thieves cannot steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

I might also add, that which is incorruptible even by corrupted hands.

I am compelled to share with you the heartache I am experiencing with this latest round of clergy abuse scandals in the Roman Catholic Church.  The Church of Rome must still be reeling from the same scandal that rocked the Church in the early 90’s and left many Catholics – including myself – not only disgusted but somewhat disoriented. 

We attended Mass at a church in Albuquerque one Sunday, and it was so familiar and so comforting to me that I began to wonder why I ever fell away.  It was a beautiful church, the homily was (as best I can recall) decent, and the Mass itself was as familiar as “home”.  I know my Southern Baptist wife did not share my feelings, but I think she would have been so willing if it would help to awaken my soul.

All was well in that moment … until the priest announced that this church’s portion of the scandal settlement had been assessed at $10,000.00.  He was announcing that they would have to raise the money somehow to pay their portion of what the archdiocese offered to some of the victims who had sued.  As if the congregation were somehow part of the problem.

Many would share my grief, and many more still do.  And while there have been bishops and cardinals – including the pope – expressing grief and dismay, one particular cardinal seemed more concerned with the loss of credibility than with the damage actually done.  Turn that thought inside-out as I did, and the article read like he is more concerned with the potential loss of revenue than with the damage done to so many souls.  To be clear, this is not what the good cardinal said.  It only shows how easily we can twist words when our minds are already made up.  The cardinal was right; credibility has been damaged, if not destroyed.

To be sure, the whole Church – Catholic and Protestant alike – is facing a crisis of credibility.  From the Church of Rome, to the non-denominational mega-churches and the mainline Protestant denominations, to the TV evangelists who live like nothing short of royalty, people see what is going on.  And it isn’t exclusively the Roman Catholic Church facing scandals of this nature.  Yet while these clergy and/or the institutions they serve have certainly given the Church as a whole a black eye, the very worst – THE VERY WORST – of it all is that the Gospel of The Lord and the historic doctrines of the Church are suddenly without merit.

The reality is that the messenger, rather than the message itself, is given far more weight and influence than any individual clergy person is entitled to.  The Gospel is still the Gospel.  The Truth, however “difficult to accept” it may be, is still the Truth.  And we are compelled to “seek”, to “ask”, to “knock”.  In the minds of mere mortal humans, however, the worth and credibility of the message are gauged by the perceived worth and credibility of the messenger.

So as Jesus began teaching about His flesh and blood as “real food” and “real drink” (John 6:55), it is little wonder many walked away!  The “messenger” seemed suddenly … unstable.  Jesus had been preaching and teaching Good News, hope, and redemption.  Up to this point, it was all good … until they thought they heard “cannibalism”.  Suddenly all He had taught and all He had shown up to that point?  Forgotten.  Now He was just a very strange messenger who no longer had a message.

Understand Jesus was talking to Jews.  The consumption of blood – any blood, but certainly human blood – is prohibited; “It is the life of the flesh” (Leviticus 17:11).  It would stand to reason, then, that the consumption of human flesh would be equally prohibited.  So of course, what Jesus is teaching is “difficult”!  And who indeed “can accept it”??  The answer, of course, would be whomever would stick around and ask more questions.  How many times have we rejected an idea out of hand only because it did not mesh with what we already think or believe?  Especially if it is a religious principle we were raised with and were told it must not be questioned?

This is what was happening with the dwindling crowd.  They took what Jesus said literally rather than metaphorically.  As that happens, as with us, any teaching that does not match a literal interpretation or an already-developed concept will always be “difficult to accept”.

Like muscles to the physical body, faith to the spiritual self must be stretched and strengthened, and there are no short-cuts to sanctification, spiritual “perfection”.  It will be hard, but I think that was Jesus’ whole point.  I don’t think He was deliberately trying to thin the herd, but He was also not going to simply tell them what they wanted to hear; He was telling them – AND US – what we need to know so that we may fully LIVE the Life to which we are called!

As St. Paul wrote to the Ephesians, there are “mysteries of the Gospel” (6:19).  And these “mysteries” require engagement.  They require effort.  And they demand our attention; for only when we finally arrive at The Truth will we finally be set Free from our doubts, our false assertions, and our hollow beliefs that do not benefit the whole Church.  We are now, and will always be, looking for the “Words of Eternal Life”.  For there truly is nowhere else to go.

Christ our Shepherd is showing us The Way.  His language and His parables are not “easy”, but those who draw closer to understand will find Life.  And in abundance.  Thanks be to The Lord.  Amen.