Hypocrisy and the Church

Hypocrisy and the Church

Psalms 130:1-8

Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah.

Lord, hear my voice: Let thine ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications.

If thou, Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.

I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait, And in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord More than watchmen wait for the morning; Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.

O Israel, hope in Jehovah; For with Jehovah there is lovingkindness, And with him is plenteous redemption.

And he will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.

Ephesians 1:3-11

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ:

even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blemish before him in love:

having foreordained us unto adoption as sons through Jesus Christ unto himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved:

in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,

making known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in him

unto a dispensation of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him, I say,

in whom also we were made a heritage, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his will;

Note: The underlines in the above are mine.

I read a story yesterday in the New York Times and was appalled.

October 19, 2003

Losing a Church, Keeping the Faith

By ANDREW SULLIVAN

Last week, something quite banal happened at St. Benedict's Church in the Bronx. A gay couple were told they could no longer sing in the choir. Their sin was to have gotten a civil marriage license in Canada. One man had sung in the choir for 32 years; the other had joined the church 25 years ago. Both had received certificates from the church commending them for "noteworthy participation." But their marriage had gained publicity; it was even announced in The New York Times. This "scandal" led to their expulsion. The archbishop's spokesman explained that the priest had "an obligation" to exclude them.

The priest had an obligation to show mercy, compassion, and forgiveness. That is what Christianity is all about. Think about a church who causes all the sinners to leave. It will be an empty building, falling apart. If only non-sinners are allowed in the Choir, the only music will be the sounds of silence.

Was this a Christian act? We look to The Lord's Word:

Romans 12: 19.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Deuteronomy 32:35.

It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them."

Ephesians 4:31-32

Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

These two men have wonderful gifts. However, their priest has denied these gifts to his congregation. Further, the priest has shown the two men and the congregation of St. Benedict's that he is not a Christian and he and his superiors does not truly follow Christ Jesus.

What truly amazes and appalls me, is that this was not done because they were gay. It was not done because they were living together. It was not even done because they were engaging in sexual acts (although we do not know if this was the case). It was done because their relationship was made public!

The Parish of St. Benedict's Church did not care if they sinned (if they were actually sinning), they only cared that the relationship was publicized. Why is this? Why would the publicity concern them? The reason is simple and obvious.

These two men are suffering and their congregation will have to do with out their joyful singing because a few Catholic Priest abused their position and power to abuse children. They are suffering because of the acts of others. Is this truly the example a Church of Christ should be setting?

The Lord forgives the priests of St. Benedict's, as does Christ Jesus forgive them. I forgive them and I hope the two men who have been so grievously hurt by their paranoia and hypocrisy with find it with-in themselves to forgive as well. I will also pray that their congregants will also forgive them.

More than that, I hope and pray that those men of God will see their error and find the Lord.

Amen