For the way Jesus responds to a question in today’s Gospel, he gets into trouble, not only for breaking the laws respecting the Sabbath, but also for the way he calls God his father, since with this terminology, Jesus would have been equating himself with God.
Throughout history, many people who see God differently get into trouble with the Church, but often when they are long gone, the view can be seen more objectively and can be better appreciated. I think of Teresa of Avila, one of my favorite saints. She lived in Spain in the 16th century right after the Protestant Reformation. Because of her attempts to reform the Carmelite religious order to which she belonged, and because of her very mystical vision of God, she was questioned and harassed by the Church authorities of her day. In our own day, we have theologians like Sister Elizabeth Johnson who teaches at Fordham. She wrote a book about how people experience God in their lives in the modern world, and she also has been condemned by Church authorities.
We are called to see the world through the lens of our faith, so see where God is speaking to us and to view his presence in the reality of our lives. I think of the different groups with whom I celebrate mass as pastor of St Jude - the Hispanic community, the youth, our young at heart group, the residents at the correctional facility and at the state hospital, and the students at Millsaps College. That is quite a variety of outlooks that make up our Church.
Lord, we thank you for the way you are present to us in the reality of our lives. May we continue to walk with Jesus on his journey to the cross. May we continue to walk with him and to hear him speak to us.
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