Let Strife Giveway
~ Today’s Gospel can be jarring to hear! How is it that Jesus, the Prince of Peace, states that he comes to establish not peace but rather division? Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom is a refining and purifying fire. His message that meets with acceptance or rejection will be a source of conflict and dissension even within families.
There are continuing debates in modern times as to if the Eucharist, that is, the eucharistic species, are, as Pope Francis said in his Apostolic Exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”), “The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.” (EG, 47) This is echoing St. Ambrose, who wrote, “If, whenever Christ’s blood is shed, it is shed for the forgiveness of sins, I who sin often, should receive it often: I need a frequent remedy.” More explicitly, at the end of that same paragraph, Pope Francis concludes, “…the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.”
Paul wrote, describing what was passed on to him regarding the Eucharist, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself.” (1 Corinthians 11:27-29) The judgment on who receives worthily, in Paul’s regard, is left to that person alone and their relationship with God, it seems.
Too often, we place artificial limits on who is welcome in our houses of worship. Too often, we pass frail and human judgment on others’ worthiness when it isn’t our place to do so. The church (and the capital-C Church) always welcomes sinners, always welcomes the lost, the cast aside, the ones who do not or cannot recognize their own worth, because this was integral to Christ’s ministry as well.
Sometimes we can sadly apply such “litmus tests” to those who want to share ministry with us, and sometimes the harshest human judgments are erroneously passed from one person to another, not when positions or beliefs are far apart, but when agreement on some matter is almost-but-not-quite the same. Sometimes these verdicts are reached not because of what someone believes, but because of how they speak or act (or choose not to) on those beliefs. These sorts of sad divisions must be healed, or not be created in the first place. In the words of “Ubi Caritas, “Lest we be divided in mind, let us beware. / Let cease malicious quarrels, let strife give way. / And in the midst of us be Christ our God.”
It is easy to forget, in church, in ministry, that we are all on the same team! Christ himself taught that “whoever is not against us is for us.” (Mark 9:40) Let us not place any artificial restrictions on who can pray, minister, teach, heal, sing, or love in Christ’s name, especially at liturgy.
Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.