Thoughts on Church on Good Friday

"To be connected with the church is to be associated with scoundrels, warmongers, fakes, child-molesters, murderers, adulterers and hypocrites of every description.

It also, at the same time, identifies you with saints and the finest persons of heroic soul of every time, country, race, and gender.

To be a member of the church is to carry the mantle of both the worst sin and the finest heroism of soul because the church always looks exactly as it looked at the original crucifixion, God hung among thieves."

-- Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I., "The Holy Longing"

It tougher, I think, to be Christian, to be a member of the church, than to decide you're a spiritual self only, and not needing the fellowship, or the guidance of others wiser than you. It's easier to reject being a Christian and a member of the Church, and essentially your own god, center of your own universe, and put Self ahead of all.

I heard a woman call into Michael Medved's talk show saying Jesus never existed and religion is nothing but mind control. She said she was a "free thinker". That passed for self identification, all the while everything she said, all her statements, have been said ad infinitum by others. Her sadness and anger grew throughout the call, which is what most of her fellow "free thinkers" express. Intolerance, lack of knowledge, lack of understanding. I was saddened by her intolerance, ignorance and unhappiness. They call themselves freethinkers and 'brights', but don't exhibit either trait.

We in the Church know we are all too human, do all to many bad things, say all too many bad things. We do understand we do many good things, and say many good things. I would say it's harder to admit our humanness, and belong to a self critical, self correcting Church, and be Christian, trying to live up to the expression of that, than only have insults to believers, condemnation, and self congratulations to offer.

It is indeed difficult to be connected to the Church. It creates an environment for Love and growth that secularists miss out on. It's a constant reminder of our shortcomings. It's a constant reminder, with no excuses, of our humanness. There is sacrifice, yet nowhere near the sacrifice of Christ on this day over two thousand years ago.

Out of that sacrifice comes our salvation, our hope.