Posted by The WORD in other words (2006) by Father Allan Meechan SVD – Oriental Mindoro
Tuesday 2nd Week of Lent
Our Church enables us to draw close to Jesus and to one another on the journey of faith. Lent is a time when this call becomes more intense. Yet today’s Gospel reminds us of a painful reality: we are often scandalized by the behavior of certain leaders in the Church or in our parish community.
Scandal, of course, does not come only from leaders. We all, in one way or another, scandalize each other. The danger is when we allow the sins of others to shake our faith to the point of condemning or even abandoning the Church.
The Church is holy in herself, for she is the Body of Christ, yet she is made up of sinners — bishops, priests, lay leaders, and ordinary members like you and me. As James Stewart once quipped: “God uses the good people, and the bad people use God.” In truth, we are all both: good insofar as we open ourselves to God’s will, and bad insofar as we exploit religion for our own ends.
Jesus Himself warned against hypocrisy (cf. Matthew 23), but He also promised: “The gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). The Church, despite her wounds, will never be abandoned by Christ.
We should never condone sin, but we can confront it with honesty, perspective, and sometimes even humor. Pope John XXIII, when asked how many people worked in the Vatican, replied: “I’m not sure, I’ve just got here, but I think about half of them do!” His humor reminds us that imperfection is part of human reality, even in the Church.
Yes, we are saddened by the failings of leaders and members. But as my professor once said when challenged about the Church’s sinfulness: “I’m not going to throw away the joy Christ has given me through the Church just because our archbishop has got a new Mercedes for Lent!”
The Church is a community of saints and sinners, but Christ remains her head. Let us not hinder His redemptive work by condemning or abandoning her because of human failings. Instead, let us cling to His promise and continue to walk together in faith.
“Lord Jesus, keep me faithful to Your Church despite her wounds. Teach me to confront sin with truth, but to remain rooted in hope, mercy, and love.”
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