A "LEVI" IN EACH OF US
Saturday after Ash Wednesday
Lk 5:27-32
“I will never go back to that church again, mother!” said a man. “Son,” his mother said, “I understand your disappointment with that parish church, but you have to go back to that church.” “But why?” the man protested. “What ‘why’? You must return to that church for two reasons,” replied his mother. “First,” she continued, you are already in your fifties. You are already old not to go to church. And second, you moron, you are the parish priest of that church!”
Are we disappointed with our Christian community because it is not perfect? Why, are we ourselves perfect? Do we refuse to join parish organizations because too many personalities with questionable morality already belong to them? Why, are we morally unblemished? Do we stay away from the Church because she “cuddles” sinners? Why, are we not sinners?
If we say that we are perfect, then are led to believe that we do not need anyone anymore. If we believe that we are morally unblemished, then we easily deceive our selves that we do not need the Church. If we say that we do not sin, then we are also saying that we do not need Jesus.
To belong to the Church of the perfect and the imperfect, of the righteous and the unrighteous, of saints and sinners is to recognize the indispensable need for Jesus who alone is perfect, is righteous, and is holy. To be part of this kind of Church is to have a part in Jesus, the only One who saves.
When we refuse to welcome sinners into our fold, we should provide an honest answer why we ourselves are welcomed in the same fold. There is a “Levi” in each of us.
Lk 5:27-32
“I will never go back to that church again, mother!” said a man. “Son,” his mother said, “I understand your disappointment with that parish church, but you have to go back to that church.” “But why?” the man protested. “What ‘why’? You must return to that church for two reasons,” replied his mother. “First,” she continued, you are already in your fifties. You are already old not to go to church. And second, you moron, you are the parish priest of that church!”
Are we disappointed with our Christian community because it is not perfect? Why, are we ourselves perfect? Do we refuse to join parish organizations because too many personalities with questionable morality already belong to them? Why, are we morally unblemished? Do we stay away from the Church because she “cuddles” sinners? Why, are we not sinners?
If we say that we are perfect, then are led to believe that we do not need anyone anymore. If we believe that we are morally unblemished, then we easily deceive our selves that we do not need the Church. If we say that we do not sin, then we are also saying that we do not need Jesus.
To belong to the Church of the perfect and the imperfect, of the righteous and the unrighteous, of saints and sinners is to recognize the indispensable need for Jesus who alone is perfect, is righteous, and is holy. To be part of this kind of Church is to have a part in Jesus, the only One who saves.
When we refuse to welcome sinners into our fold, we should provide an honest answer why we ourselves are welcomed in the same fold. There is a “Levi” in each of us.
posted by Fr. Bobby @ 4:00 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
your blog is very nice.. i hope i could find more like this.. and i hope more people can find your blog.. actually, i found it accidentally.. but i'm very thankful to God that i found it..
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