Today the pastor provided what he called the meditation, what the GIRM says should be the homily and what we used to call the sermon. The GIRM was ignored. The text was a statement by St. John Henry Cardinal Newman, conveniently raised to the altars this very day, that Bishop Barron used in his "Letter to a Suffering Church.
Barron left some ellipsises. Our pastor had the comment, without ellipsis, on the AV and read it at the beginning of his, hmm, comment. It begins, in the book: "The whole course of Christianity is... but one series of troubles and disorder." It ends, after listing the sins of our past: "The cause of Christ is ever in its last agony."
The pastor likes lists, and he had one that summarized Newman. It began with "scandal, stupidity," and ended with "wickedness." In between were almost all the words in the English language that begin with "dis-" or"mis'-." He ran through the list two and a half times in the course of his comment, treating it as attributes of the Church.
Also following the bishop, he cited Paul's, "We hold this treasure in earthen vessels."
We are -- Paul, Baron and our pastor all agree -- the earthen vessels. He ended with a meditative prayer that, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, we will rise above ourselves.
Not a word about Naaman or ten lepers.
This bit, "The whole course of Christianity is... but one series of troubles and disorder..."The cause of Christ is ever in its last agony." reminds me of this passage from the Book of Common Prayer, which I believe is a paraphrase from Job:
ReplyDelete"Man, that is born of a woman, hath but a short time to live, and is full of misery. He cometh up, and is cut down, like a flower; he fleeth as it were a shadow, and never continueth in one stay.
In the midst of life we are in death; of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? "
Christianity - scandal, wickedness, stupidity. Troubles, disorder, agony, full of misery, a lord who is displeased human beings - seriously, this really doesn't make Christianity sound like a desirable way of life. Buddhism - the way of compassion. Maybe a more attractive option?
ReplyDeleteOh, I guess Buddhism would be a more attractive option if one wanted to be a Buddhist. And if all Buddhists had reached the highest levels of Buddhism, and none were earthen vessels still working on their wickedness, stupidness and disorder. Of course, if all members reached the highest levels of Christianity, it would be the more attractive option. Buddhism, of course, leaves out Jesus, which seems to miss the point.
DeleteNot only is Jesus missing from Buddhism, but so is heaven. Nirvana isn't comparable, it is described as the absence of desire and the sense of self.
DeleteBut I agree that this installment of Barron doesn't seem to succeed in making Christianity an attractive option. Sometimes the worst ambassadors for Christianity are Christians.
DeleteAnne and Katherine, I agree: it doesn't come across as something to which I'd want to commit my life.
DeleteThere are so many pitfalls to avoid. I guess this is one of them: in the quest to be honest and speak frankly, have it turn into a screed against the church. As bad, or probably worse, is seeking to defend the church by defending the indefensible. Nor is it the right approach to talk only about the good things (which are numerous) without acknowledging the reality of sin and failings.