The Peril of "I Made You"
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I was thinking about Jesus chasing out the money changers in the temple. He wanted His Father's house to be about prayer. Those plotting Jesus' death were influenced by how much money they were losing. It had to be a political calculation, how much political capital did they use to rid themselves of Jesus who was clearly getting in their way? Obviously the spiritual battle was hidden, but the politics, most of us can figure out. Jesus' death sprang up from that instant at the temple.
The good news is Jesus' Kingdom is not of this world of corruption.
God's will is always for sin to be eradicated because sin is a death sentence for our souls. In this world it is easy to lose sight of that fact due to the struggles of obtaining our daily bread. But God never told us social justice was the reason He came into the world. He came into the world to save us from our sins.
Anyone who leads others into sin is committing a greater sin. We have a duty as followers of Jesus Christ to confess our sins, and to spend our lives working towards our salvation by avoiding sinful situations. That is the mission of our Church—eternal salvation for all who will accept Jesus and repent.
I fear that our Church leaders are spending too much time with worldly movers-and-shakers. We in the Church want and need them to worry about preaching the 'how' of salvation.
The world turns the same today as in the days of Jesus. Not much changes in it because it is grounded in sinful people. We are called by John the Baptist to repent. John the Baptist dealt with politicians not by having a conversation with them, but by preaching to them that they were sinners. He was the anti-political leader of his generation:
“For Herod himself...had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. For John had been saying to Herod, 'It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.'” Mark 6:17-20
Had Jesus' death occurred in 2020 rather than 33 A.D. I feel Pontius Pilate wouldn't have asked “what is truth?” but instead would have asked “what is sin?”
Emphasizing a political solution to poverty masks our Church's real mission, to lead us to repent of our sins. In our desire for real bread we've betrayed the Real Presence, how else could we have allowed a mere pandemic to rob us of our right to God's Eucharistic table? We must protest the surrender of what Jesus Christ Himself gave to us—His own Body and Blood in the mystery of the Eucharist. Woe to anyone who denies us this right!
We need our Holy Father to lead us like John the Baptist. St. John showed the powerful of his day that sin was worse than death. St. John pointed sinners to Jesus Christ.
Entrenched in this world is not where Catholics expect our altar to be. Jesus lived among us to teach us His Way. Let us pray for our Church leaders that they live and teach all, including the powerful, that Way.
Pope Francis COVID19 Editorial:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/26/opinion/pope-francis-covid.html
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Bible Quote Source: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/John-The-Baptist
A long time ago I thought I was a writer. Because my parents were practical, I went into teaching. About ten years ago, I began to write again.
I hold a B.S. degree in Elementary Education from Penn State University (University Park). I enjoy gardening, reading, Pittsburgh sports, and cooking, but not in that order. My regular job is being a wife and mother.
