Home Community Sunday Gospel Thoughts August 29, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time Reply To: August 29, Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

#1642
Phrogge
Keymaster

In the Gospel Story Jesus says of the Pharisees that they are “teaching as doctrines human precepts”. That sort of thing is still going on today in many versions of Christianity, include the Roman Catholic version.

There have been and are instances of preachers telling their people that God wants them to vote for or against certain candidates or issues, that it is an offense against God to wear a mask or get the vaccine, etc. In the Roman Catholic version of Christianity there are any number of laws that seem to have little if anything to do with God and more about maintaining good order in the church by keeping the people “in line”, including, but not limited to, declaring that certain persons created in the image and likeness of God (one of our basic doctrines) are “intrinsically disordered”; the way the system treats folks whose marriages have failed (some marriages between good people do fail) and marry again, and are prevented by the institutional system from sharing fully in Eucharist. Also, the way women who become pregnant outside of marriage are treated. There seems to be an excessive preoccupation with the genital aspects of sex.

Pope Francis is working to get rid of the clericalism built into the system by celibate male priests who for centuries have been making and enforcing the rules.

The institution seems to equate doing our best to follow Jesus with keeping all its rules and regulations, saying, in effect, if you want to get to God you have to go through us. Memorize the catechism, follow to the letter canon and liturgical laws and you will make God happy.

None of this comes from God. Jesus never did anything like this.