Fr Sean again.
Jesus’ Church: A Structure, A Mission, A Method
Jesus came to establish the God’s Kingdom on earth (Mt 14:17). He calls everyone to, “Reform your lives! The reign of God is at hand” (Mt 3:2). He founded His Church to be the visible sign of God’s reign here on earth. Only membership in God’s Kingdom on earth guarantees eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus wanted His Kingdom to be a visible sign of His continued presence on earth after He had returned to His Father so He gave it a structure when He picked and trained twelve men to be His Apostles. From the Apostles He chose Peter as the “rock” on whom He would build His Church (Mt 16:18). He gave the keys of the Kingdom to Peter with the authority to bind and to loose (Mt 16:19), to forgive sin and to withhold forgiveness when repentance and a firm purpose of amendment were lacking. This Church, with Peter as head, would be the sign of His Kingdom established on earth wherein Jesus would be heard with the ears of faith, seen with the eyes of Faith, touched with the hands of faith, tasted with the tongue of faith, and smelled with the odour of faith in the Sacraments. Thus He promised His Apostles and their successors: “And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!” (Mt 28:20). Jesus, after His resurrection, chose to broaden the structure of His Church’s leadership by choosing seventy-two disciples, priests, to assist the Apostles in carrying out His Church’s mission. Jesus, as Head of His Church, made Peter His Vicar on earth with the other Apostles in union with him. They, in turn would be assisted by priests and deacons whom Jesus would call to ministry through the Apostles’ laying hands on them ordaining them to carry out the mission Jesus gave Peter, namely to, “Feed my lambs, tend my sheep, and feed my sheep” (Jn 21:15-17). Thus Jesus set up His Church’s hierarchical structure. This counters those who say they don’t believe in organized religion or the sacramental priesthood. I guess they believe in disorganized religion that matches their disorganized lives. The purpose of religion is to put order in one’s life both individually and communally.
Jesus’ vision was for all people to “have life and have it to the full” (Jn 10:10). The mission entailed the enablement of men and women to unite with the Author of Life, namely God, from whom they were separated through their sinfulness. Because of the sin of Adam and Eve, unity with God required repentance and forgiveness of sin. Jesus empowered Peter and the other Apostles to make forgiveness of sin possible by giving them, and through them His Church, the power to reconcile sinners to God in the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick and Holy Mass. Bestowing the Holy Spirit on them, Jesus proclaimed, “‘As the Father sent me, so I send you.’ Then He breathed on them and said: ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold them bound they are held bound” (Jn 20:21-22). This divine power is possessed only by the Church founded on Peter and nowhere else. Thus Jesus gave the Sacrament of Reconciliation to His Church to be administered through the priesthood to repentant sinners. In this Sacrament the removal of sin eliminates the obstacles between the creature and the Creator, thus enabling God to pour His life into the repentant and forgiven member of His Church. When this happens we experience Jesus’ gift of peace that no one else can give. Just before His Ascension, Jesus said to His Apostles, “Peace is my farewell to you, my peace is my gift to you; I do not give it to you as the world gives peace” (Jn 14:27). Peace flows from justice, which is about being right with God, with oneself and with one’s neighbour. Justice means that we give God His due, namely worship and obedience; we give ourselves our due, namely to be God’s image and likeness; and give our neighbour his or her due which is to treat him or her as we would want to be treated ourselves. Then we receive the peace Jesus wants us to give us. This was the gift Jesus commanded the seventy-two priests to bring to those whom they visited. He bade them that, “On entering any house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If there is a peaceable man there, your peace will rest on him; if not it will come back to you” (Lk 10:5-6). Jesus meant for His disciples to be bringers of peace by calling people to act justly, repent, seek forgiveness and believe in the Gospel. Genuine peace is possible because a merciful God gives us another chance to act in a just manner towards God, ourselves and our neighbour. Jesus told them to “cure the sick and say to them, ‘The reign of God is at hand’” (Lk 10:8). He is talking especially about the spiritually sick. As the sign of God’s Kingdom the Church promotes freedom, love, justice and peace for all people. God wants each person to be free, loving, just and peaceful. Thus we become fully human and fully alive giving glory to God.
Jesus gave His Apostles and disciples a methodology to foster His mission’s success. Outside of God’s Kingdom there’s neither freedom, love, justice, nor peace. Knowing that the materialistic and sinful world would be hostile to His Church as the visible sign of God’s Kingdom on earth, Jesus cautioned the leaders: “Be on your way, and remember: I am sending you as lambs in the midst of wolves” (Lk 10:3). He didn’t want them to be under any illusions that serving His mission in the world would be easy. He warned them to keep moving lest they get bogged down and discouraged. Discouragement is one of Satan’s lethal weapons. Satan loves to see Church leaders discouraged because he wants them to quit. To prepare the bishops, priests for this temptation, Jesus taught them, “If people of any town you enter do not welcome you, go into the streets and say, ‘We shake the dust of this town from our feet as testimony against you. But know that the reign of God is near” (Lk 10:10-11). Despite being unwelcomed they still had the satisfaction of testifying to God’s presence in their lives despite those who rejected them. God also reinforced their vocation as witnesses to Jesus’ living voice in the world: “He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me. And he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me” (Lk 10:16). Jesus confirmed that He and His Church are one and that His Church speaks on His behalf. Whatever is done to His Church is done to Him. St. Paul was made aware of that when Jesus confronted him for persecuting Jesus’ Church, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). Jesus and His Church are one because she is His Bride.
Jesus has given His Church a visible structure in which He calls people to Him and speaks His truth to them. The mission He has given His Church, under the visible leadership of the successor of Peter and his successors as the Bishops of Rome, is to bring peace to people by calling them to “act justly, love tenderly, and walk humbly in God’s sight” (Micah 6:8) . Jesus makes this possible by giving us His Church on whom he has bestowed His vision and to which He has given a visible structure, a clear mission, and a definite methodology. Thus the Risen Jesus continues to be present here on earth offering His glorious body to His Father on behalf of His Church in the celebration of each of the Sacraments and especially in every Holy Mass. (fr sean)
15 Ways To Derail Yourself
1. Begrudge those who succeed.
2. Deny your mistakes and blame others.
3. Make your phone your best friend.
4. Focus on doing well rather than on being well.
5. Focus on short-term rather than on long-term gains.
6. Act as if you are always right.
7. Always try to please others.
8. Reach beyond your abilities.
9. Keep playing when you are losing.
10. Think that you know it all.
11. Treat others as if they were your clones.
12. Think that you can’t be outsmarted.
13. Think that you can control others.
14. Live by fear rather than faith.
15. Treat others as inferior to you.
Topic: Forgive So We Can Live and Let Live (Read 182238 times)