Thursday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
Years ago when I first started paying attention to the daily readings, I questioned why the Church picked so many of Paul’s long salutations to read in Mass. ‘Where’s the message?’ I thought. ‘What’s the point of reading so many fancy hellos?’ Depending on how you read it, between half and all of today’s first reading is Paul’s greeting to the Church in Corinth. I wanted to ‘get on with it’ and ‘get to the meat’ of what the Spirit wanted me to hear. Ironically, this probably caused me to miss it. But reading it today, in the midst of another church sexual abuse crisis (this time with additional allegations of cover-up by the highest levels of the hierarchy), perhaps we can appreciate it in a whole new way.
Paul, a controversial leader in the early Church, often endured suffering and disappointment. He was frequently beaten, imprisoned, and malnourished. People he baptized left him and the church. Churches he started fell into temptation and publically committed disgusting sins, both violent and sexual. He traveled to Jerusalem to tell the first Pope, Peter, that he was making a doctrinal error. But in the midst of it all, his letters are often upbeat and encouraging. This one begins with a blessing, followed by his thanks for the people he is writing to. Later in the letter he gives direction and attempts to settle their disputes and confusion. But first, he is grateful for God’s presence in this local Church. Somehow he finds strength for gratitude, instead of jumping right in to all they ways the world is messed up.
After expressing that gratitude, Paul is beaming with pride at the ‘spiritual gifts’ in the Corinthian community, and encourages them to remain firm, because ‘God is faithful.’ That was very helpful for me. As our collective disappointment with our leadership grows, many people’s faith is suffering. But in what do we believe? Do we believe in the clergy and bishops of the institutional church? Or do we believe in God? In times like these, we may not feel like being grateful; but it’s especially important to remember to practice gratitude.
God is faithful, even when (especially when) the people we trusted are not faithful. We are rightly angry about ministers’ abuse and the cover-ups. We are righteous to demand accountability of the clergy and bishops. But may our faith in God remain strong, even as our faith in men is diminished. May we be grateful for the graces that the Spirit continuously showers upon us, healing our wounds and strengthening us for the journey each day.
In this context, today’s gospel reading seems like a challenge to us all, but especially to ministers, to remain faithful. There are, and always have been, more holy men and women than corrupt ones. When faith in the church has been so seriously damaged, it is hard to minister; I myself served as a youth minister in a parish just after the female youth minister was fired (and lead out in handcuffs) for sexual abuse of a minor. People must have wondered, ‘will he do something just as bad?’ Again, the gratitude Paul expresses in the first reading is a powerful antidote to the darkness, anger, and mistrust that surrounds our Church right now. We are still feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and caring for the broken and addicted. We still proclaim the gospel of Love. God is still good. God is faithful. Love wins. If nothing else, let us be grateful for a God who promises to come at an unexpected time, and respond with justice both to our blessed leaders, and our wicked leaders as well.
-Chris Nieport