Just how bad is it
to be thrown out of synagogue?
You might wonder
whether it is the same
as being thrown
out of Church today.
We can certainly think
about the pains of losing
the church community,
but is this the same pain
that the first century Jew would feel
at being thrown out of the synagogue?
[PAUSE]
To be thrown out of a synagogue
means to be thrown out
not just of the synagogue community
but the whole community
around you.
It's like being thrown out of a village.
All you would be met with
would be abuse,
angry stares,
turned backs,
spitting
and maybe even a stone thrown at you.
To be thrown out of a synagogue
is a big deal.
[PAUSE]
Some of us
have had the experience
of being thrown out of Church
– not physically,
we have not been picked up
and thrown out.
But we have been made
very aware that
we are not welcome.
For many of us,
this is because
we have tried hard
to stay faithful
to the Church’s traditional teaching.
We have been thrown out
by being made unwelcome,
pushed aside,
ignored,
alienated.
And this is all because
we do not allow modern ideas
to enter into church teaching.
If a teaching isn't available
to those who come before us,
then it can't have been part of the Faith
from the beginning.
Church doctrine
only works if it is for
the whole Church,
past present and future,
not just for now.
This still isn't
quite the same
as being thrown out
of a synagogue
because that would
mean that even your family
would have to reject you.
Our Lord is very clear,
we are to uphold the faith
that He teaches us
over and above the teaching
that we receive from our community.
Current social norms,
customs and ideas
are not to be part of church teaching,
at least not substantially.
Our Lord says that we can expect
to be thrown out of the synagogue
when the Holy Spirit comes.
Does this mean that
He is responsible
for our trials and tribulations?
[PAUSE]
We suffer because
people don't want to see
what we have.
What they see is a faith
that stays true to its Founder,
one Whom they need to reinterpret
to make His teaching fit their ideals.
This means that this faith
cannot be changed to fit the society
in which we live.
We cannot change what is meant for everybody.
It is not those who are faithful
who caused the division in society,
but those who insist on implementing I change.
Of course,
that is not to say
that all change is bad.
Quite the reverse.
Science and technological advances
have indeed made life easier for millions.
There is progress in making people less needy.
The question really is what is the cost?
Change is good
if it seeks to bring the love of God
to all people and
follows the rules set before it.
It will not be able
to change the substance of what has gone before,
such as changing the meaning of
what it is to love,
but it will be able to change
how that how is that true love
is seen and experienced.
We can have electric light in church.
We can have air conditioning.
Our robes investments can be made of polyester.
Of course not everybody is comfortable with that,
but that is at least a matter of taste.
It does mean that
we cannot baptise with lemonade.
It does mean that
we cannot celebrate the Mass
with a cracker and grape juice.
[PAUSE]
We can expect trials
when we receive the Holy Ghost.
The Holy Ghost is not subject to Time
and He can move back and forth at will
between the Creation of the world and its end.
He is constant
just as our Lord Jesus
is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Therefore he bids us
to be steadfast
standing against a world
that does not want God
to be in control,
but rather wants the individual
to replace God on His throne
and take control of their own lives.
This is a diabolical deception!
We are always free to do what we want,
but we should be looking
to what the Holy Ghost wants in us
for He dwells in us
to make us righteous
to wash us,
justify us,
sanctify us
and fit us for Heaven.
That is His desire for us
and we are free to reject him.
We are free
to take control from Him
and lead our lives the way
that we think we want
but rather in slavery
to fashion and the whim of the world.
[PAUSE]
The Church does not throw people out.
At least, it shouldn't.
Rather, if a Church
is truly holding fast to the faith of Christ,
then we can be sure
that we have a place within it.
But we hold that place
by conforming to Christ.
We fall,
and make mistakes,
and we get angry,
and we storm off,
but there is always the way back,
there is always forgiveness,
there is always love.
If there isn’t,
then it isn’t the Church that we have left.
We can always return to Christ
and in returning to Christ
we return to his Church.
We always have a home with Christ,
the Holy Ghost,
when He comes will show us.
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