The
Problem: The Gospel That Is Jesus – Why Settle for Less?
Settling for less than a full
understanding of the Faith leads to a situation – one like we have now – that
is seriously problematic for the Church. Most significantly, this is because
such a state of affairs mutilates Christianity.
To be more graphic, it dismembers Christ. How else are we to put it if
our schools and churches give the people of God only the Head of Christ, His
teaching and His wisdom, but avoid any encounter with His Sacred Heart, even
shut out any experience of the awesome Love, Divine Love, which issues forth
from that Heart pierced and broken for us?
How can such a tragedy be avoided
when in fact Christians today embrace an idea of Faith that expects so little
in comparison to what God wants to give us in the gift of Jesus? Such a course
of action cannot but create a perilous state of affairs in the Church, yet this
is exactly the course pursued by so much of the Christianity witnessed in our
own day and time.
Is this an extreme conclusion on my
part? Ultimately each person must decide for themselves. But if one says there
is a full and vibrant understanding of Christian Faith resonant among the
people of God today, indeed it is difficult to see. For myself, I do not see it.
What challenging, compelling signs of vibrant Faith surround me and confront me
that I need to see but in fact do not see? Where is this vibrant experience of
God’s Love present in power to which true Faith leads, and to which it leads as
to its central focus and goal before it does anything else?
This is the fundamental task of true
Christian Faith: to lead exactly to this experience of God present in poawer to
the heart of every human being in and through the Holy Spirit of Christ’s Love.
But where is it? Or rather, where is He, the Lord in the Person of His Spirit
alive and present among us today? Where is this experience of His Love
pervasive and resonant among the Christian “faithful” of our own day?
Some may protest my provocative
questions as an outrageous challenge to the contemporary Church. But then, for
myself, for my own good, I only ask that you take me to what you see. I long to
see what you see if it would truly help me to notice powerful signs of His Life
among us that I have failed to observe.
What is it then that you see? Is it
the sight of seminaries and convents filled to overflowing with new vocations?
Is it perhaps a growing national movement of priests praying together daily in
their rectories? How about a capacity crowd every Sunday at your parish Mass;
or is it perhaps a Sunday Mass filled to overflowing with youth, youth “raising
the church roof” with songs and psalms of praise sung with the strength and
force of conviction? Maybe there are such movements, places, parishes and spirit-filled
happenings – the dreams of Jesus and Mary for the Church if you will - but I do
not see many, if any.
Rather, all too clear to ignore and
misconstrue, is a very different picture confronting us, in sharp contrast to
these beautiful dreams for the Church that I too long to see. Too clearly
present to ignore or obscure is the sight of so many areas of contemporary
Christianity – if you can call it that – pursuing a perilous course to ruin,
and precisely for no other reason than this failure to communicate the full
Gospel, a whole and full understanding of Christian Faith. And what
understanding of Faith is that? It is Faith that leads people first and
foremost to an experiential dimension of God’s transforming Love; Faith that
must lead to the power of this Love, Christ’s Love, as necessary and salvific –
a Divine Love that can be present and known to the heart of humanity, that can
fill the human heart to overflowing. And Jesus said, “If any man thirst, let
him come to me and drink. For, as Scripture says, from his heart there shall
pour forth rivers of Living Water.”
Yet the manifestations of Christian
Faith surrounding us today fall so far short of any such mission. Satisfied
with simply communicating Church doctrines, precepts, and faith formulations,
contemporary Church leaders pretty much leave out or ignore any effort to guide
the people of God to an encounter with the Risen Christ, “alive and still with
us”, present in power among us through the Person of His own Love, the Holy
Spirit. I can still remember the opening words of a Cardinal of the Church to
the assembled Confirmandi at my son’s Confirmation: “Don’t expect anything
miraculous to happen here here today.” So much for my son’s hope for his own
personal Pentecost. Was the miracle of Pentecost merely for the Apostles? Or
did the miracle of Pentecost - or for that matter, all miracles and powerful
manifestations of the Spirit – cease with the close of the Apostolic Age? I
think not!!!
So we are left with failure of the
Church today to truly evangelize, to proclaim a full Gospel message; to
proclaim like Paul a Gospel that is the power of salvation to all who believe,
a Gospel that will baptize us and confirm us with heavenly Fire, with the Holy
Spirit coming upon us and anointing us with a sudden “sound from Heaven like
the rush of a mighty wind” (Act 2:1).
Note: Interested in reading more? The "Hodge Podge" in its entirety is now available as an eBook in our website store. Peace to you, God Bless, Doug +
