Father Koch: The struggle over how to exercise religion Is ageless
August 29, 2024 at 4:29 p.m.
Gospel reflection for Sept. 1, 2024, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the criticisms of the Church that comes from the outside, and also from those who are disaffected by the Church, is that we have too many rules and laws. Some people feel that the laws of the Church have just replaced the Mosaic Law and are as much a stumbling block to living the life of faith as Jesus implies that those laws were for the Jews of his time.
But of course, Jesus never actually criticizes the Mosaic Law. He is the fulfillment of the Law. He said that the Law would not pass away until the completion of creation. So, when Jesus sounds critical of Law, what he is actually saying is that he finds the interpretation, expansion and application of those laws by the Scribes and Pharisees to be problematic.
Some people find comfort and consolation in the laws of the Church and the various traditions and pious practices that form the rich and varied fabric of our Catholic faith. All of our devotions, traditions and pious practices are intended to enrich our faith, strengthen our growth as disciples of Jesus, and add a deeper sense of fullness and meaning to our lives. When these practices become burdensome, or we impose them on others without their understanding or appreciation of their own traditions and spiritual needs, then they do become void of meaning and an imposition instead of an aide.
What does the life of discipleship require of us? Yes, faith is first. Faith is the gift that God gives to us so that we might respond to his bounty, his love and his mercy. But then, what else is there?
In the Second Reading, St. James give us an insight into what we do next. He wrote: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Reading through the Gospels, paying specific attention to Jesus teaching on the nature of what we call religious practice, it would seem that here James offers a good summary of the teaching of Jesus.
James, as he represents the more Jewish faction within the apostolic church, holds to the importance of obedience to the Mosaic Law, even for non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith. It is, therefore, with that background, that he emphasizes the necessity of the care of widows and orphans which is itself a clear demand of the old Law. More than any other class of people in the ancient world, orphans and widows stood as the most vulnerable. They lived outside of the normal parameters of societal protection and were easily taken advantage of or abused. Through the Law of Moses, they were protected. They had rights to property, inheritance, and a place within the community.
Our question as disciples is to uncover who are the widows and orphans today. We can look to the elderly, many of whom are abandoned in long-term care facilities; we look to the preborn who are endangered more so than any other class of persons; immigrants, especially those who are seeking asylum, pose new opportunities for our attention. And yet, single parents, and young children remain highly vulnerable. Even as I write this now, hundreds of families are lined-up outside of my window, coming for the distribution of backpacks of school supplies for their children. Many of them went to the food pantry as their next stop.
We as a Church do remarkable things to tend to the needs of the downtrodden from conception to death, but that does not often translate to we as individual Christians doing the same. It is easy to throw money at something, to place an envelope in the collection basket or to post a check. Nonetheless it is a demand upon each of us to put our faith into practice – to practice a “pure and undefiled” religion. Today there are many among us who are in the position of the orphan and the widow. We must all focus on their needs so that we might continue to do the work that Jesus calls us to do.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Sept. 1, 2024, 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
One of the criticisms of the Church that comes from the outside, and also from those who are disaffected by the Church, is that we have too many rules and laws. Some people feel that the laws of the Church have just replaced the Mosaic Law and are as much a stumbling block to living the life of faith as Jesus implies that those laws were for the Jews of his time.
But of course, Jesus never actually criticizes the Mosaic Law. He is the fulfillment of the Law. He said that the Law would not pass away until the completion of creation. So, when Jesus sounds critical of Law, what he is actually saying is that he finds the interpretation, expansion and application of those laws by the Scribes and Pharisees to be problematic.
Some people find comfort and consolation in the laws of the Church and the various traditions and pious practices that form the rich and varied fabric of our Catholic faith. All of our devotions, traditions and pious practices are intended to enrich our faith, strengthen our growth as disciples of Jesus, and add a deeper sense of fullness and meaning to our lives. When these practices become burdensome, or we impose them on others without their understanding or appreciation of their own traditions and spiritual needs, then they do become void of meaning and an imposition instead of an aide.
What does the life of discipleship require of us? Yes, faith is first. Faith is the gift that God gives to us so that we might respond to his bounty, his love and his mercy. But then, what else is there?
In the Second Reading, St. James give us an insight into what we do next. He wrote: “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to care for orphans and widows in their affliction and to keep oneself unstained by the world.”
Reading through the Gospels, paying specific attention to Jesus teaching on the nature of what we call religious practice, it would seem that here James offers a good summary of the teaching of Jesus.
James, as he represents the more Jewish faction within the apostolic church, holds to the importance of obedience to the Mosaic Law, even for non-Jewish converts to the Christian faith. It is, therefore, with that background, that he emphasizes the necessity of the care of widows and orphans which is itself a clear demand of the old Law. More than any other class of people in the ancient world, orphans and widows stood as the most vulnerable. They lived outside of the normal parameters of societal protection and were easily taken advantage of or abused. Through the Law of Moses, they were protected. They had rights to property, inheritance, and a place within the community.
Our question as disciples is to uncover who are the widows and orphans today. We can look to the elderly, many of whom are abandoned in long-term care facilities; we look to the preborn who are endangered more so than any other class of persons; immigrants, especially those who are seeking asylum, pose new opportunities for our attention. And yet, single parents, and young children remain highly vulnerable. Even as I write this now, hundreds of families are lined-up outside of my window, coming for the distribution of backpacks of school supplies for their children. Many of them went to the food pantry as their next stop.
We as a Church do remarkable things to tend to the needs of the downtrodden from conception to death, but that does not often translate to we as individual Christians doing the same. It is easy to throw money at something, to place an envelope in the collection basket or to post a check. Nonetheless it is a demand upon each of us to put our faith into practice – to practice a “pure and undefiled” religion. Today there are many among us who are in the position of the orphan and the widow. We must all focus on their needs so that we might continue to do the work that Jesus calls us to do.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.