21st Sunday in Ordinary Time (Fr. Simham)

by | Aug 22, 2020

WHAT IS CHURCH FOR YOU

“You are Peter and on this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of the underworld can never hold out against it.” Friends, Today I want to share and reflect with you about an important topic called “Church”. The church which Jesus built on the rock of St. Peter. In fact all of us who are baptized are the members of the church; is it not? What is the church for you?

Unfortunately Church is one thing which is not properly understood in this world.

1. When I say church, the first thing that comes to mind is the building. St. Anne’s church, Our Lady of Good health church, St. Paul’s Church, St. Mary’s, etc. We often compare which church is beautiful. We look at it as a structure. And you know that real church is not the building.

  1. Next thing that comes to mind when I say church is the authority. Often we hear people complain ‘Church is against abortion, family planning’ and so on and so forth. Here church for them means authority. Pope, bishops, priests and so on. Church is not just these too.
  2. For some church is like a concert which they attend every week. When you go to a concert, you file into an auditorium. You sit in rows and watch something happening on the stage up front. If the concert is any good, you feel lots of positive emotions. You leave feeling uplifted and satisfied by the performance. Church, for many people, is just like this, only better, because you don’t need a ticket, and don’t even have to pay anything if you don’t want to. This is one of the reasons some people say that catholic liturgy or mass is boring. No guitar or drums or strings etc.
  3. Others think of church like a school. A school of morality. Some parents bring their children every week at least till they teenagers, to teach them religion and morality. They think it is their responsibility to teach them religion and morality to their children. Where to teach it. Take them to the church.
  4. For others, a church is like a club, perhaps a social club or a service club. We have regular meetings. We have members and a process for joining. Members can become leaders in the church. We do lots of different things together, including service projects and social gatherings. At church, as in a club, we make friends and find a centre for our socializing.
  5. Many people today see the church as some kind of store. A store where you get what you wanted. Church is for them a place where you can buy, spiritual products: Sacraments and graces. I feel sad when some people ask me innocently, How much is mass? Or how much do we need to pay for mass or baptism or wedding? I always tell them ‘you cannot buy the sacraments or graces. What you give is a small gift to the celebrant. You are not buying sacraments. And again some say “If the church you attend provides what you’re wanting to consume, you continue to go there. If that church stops meeting your needs, you think nothing of finding a better church, just as you might switch markets or clothing stores. Go to other church, they will do it for you.” As simple as that.
  6. It’s also common for people to see the church as something like a hospital. When you’re physically sick, you go to a hospital to get well. Similarly, churches promise to help you overcome your spiritual ailments. Both hospitals and churches have professional experts to help you heal (doctors, priests). Both hospitals and churches are staffed by people who care, or at least that’s the way it should be. Many churches and hospitals even share similar names: St.Thomas Hospital/Church, etc.

Friends, to tell you the truth, these were not the things Jesus had in mind when he said to Peter “On this rock I will build my church.” The word that was originally used was a Greek word called ’ecclesia’. This comes from the combination of two words ECC (which means ‘out’) and KALEO, which means ‘call’. So the Greek word “ecclesia” is correctly defined as “the called-out (ones). However, even before it was used in the Bible this word was used to indicate a civil body of select (called, elected) people. Jesus borrows this word and uses it to mean a community of his followers. People who are ‘called out’ to be his followers. People who are called out to follow his ‘way’. Referring to the first Christians St. Peter says “you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, holy nation, a people set apart.” So for the first Christians it had a significant meaning. They were a people who were specially called to be different from other. To be Children of light. Leaving the old way of life and living a life of truth, honesty and service.

This is what it means to be a church for us today. In a world of hypocrisy and dishonesty you as a member of the church are ‘called out’ to be truthful and honest. From the world of hatred and jealousy you are ‘called out’ to be loving and generous. From the world of grudge and malice you are called to be forgiving. From the world of atheism , you are called to be faithful. You can go on adding to the list. Church is a community which professes one faith in Christ and which is called out to follow one way, that is Christ‘s way. Amen

Fr. Showreelu Simham