The religious leaders of Jesus’ day were a tad preoccupied with issues of "purity." The scribe’s advice to maintain purity was to avoid anything unclean. The scribes set and maintained boundaries. John Shea says “Jesus boldly crosses this boundary of clean and unclean. This boundary had become a division, and the division had lead to exclusion. Jesus represents God’s loving outreach to those whom society, in the name of holiness, had pushed away and whom Jesus, in the name of holiness, draws in.” Jesus is teaching us that the path of love sometimes requires that we cross boundaries.
The prohibition on meal sharing with the unclean was a particularly deep seated religious, social and cultural boundary and yet Diarmuid O'murchu says “For Jesus, there seems to be no doubt about the fact that the table always had to be open. Nobody, for any reason, was to be excluded. All are brought in till the banquet hall is full. Prostitutes, sinners, tax-collectors, the outcasts and marginalized of every type were welcome. Not merely were they the beneficiaries of some new bold hospitality, but they were the ones who had the primary right to be at table with Jesus. There is no moralizing or hints of getting all these wayward people to change their lifestyles. And it’s not some kind of patronizing reassurance or comforting gesture, for those who are oppressed either. Jesus’ countercultural and subversive agenda is to heal and empower the oppressed. All of which justifies the observation made by some scripture scholars: that Jesus was crucified because of how he ate.”
So many people have shared with me over the past 5 years how amazed and touched they were when Fr. Joe caught them after Mass and asked why they were not receiving Eucharist and then after listening to their various reasons encouraged them to come to the table and eat. I told Fr. Joe how remarkable I thought this practice was and he, of course, being the walking encyclopedia he is, had the name and verse of the encyclical that supports this pastoral practice right at his fingertips. Here is it, Pope John Paul II’s encyclical entitled Ut Unum Sint reads:
“It is a source of joy to note that Catholic ministers are able, in certain particular cases, to administer the Sacraments of the Eucharist, Penance and Anointing of the Sick to Christians who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church but who greatly desire to receive these sacraments, freely request them and manifest the faith which the Catholic Church professes with regard to these sacraments.” A source of joy indeed….
This brilliant piece by Fr. Tom Lumpkin expertly sums up our hopes for our communion here at CTR.
“We extend a special welcome to those who are single, married, divorced, gay, filthy rich, dirt poor, y no habla ingles. We extend a special welcome to those who are crying newborns, skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds. We welcome you if you can sing like Andrea Bocelli or can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re just browsing,” or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you are more Catholic than the Pope or haven’t been to church since little Joey’s baptism. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, junk food eaters. We welcome those who are in recovery or are still addicted. We welcome you if you’re having problems, or you’re down in the dumps, or you don’t like ‘organized religion,” we’ve been there too. If you blew all your money at the dog track, you’re welcome here. We welcome those who are inked, pierced or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throat as a kid, or got lost in traffic and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts, and YOU!”
Send your "Crazy Catholic Questions" to Lisa Brown at dre@ctredeemer.org or read past columns at: crazycatholicquestions.blogspot.com.
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