The Light of the World

A recent survey by the Pew forum finds that up to 44% of adults change their childhood religious affiliation. The Pew researchers say the results reflect an increase in competitiveness and choices available for Americans. I disagree. I believe it reflects a narcissistic tendency among Americans to find “a god” that allows them the freedom to live their lives unimpeded by God, who has expectations and a plan for humans. It is a tendency towards paganism that is dangerous for society and deadly for souls. Not all things are relative. Some things are absolute.

The only group that grew according to this poll was Christians who were unaffiliated. This group went from 8 to 16 percent, doubling its size. What is unaffiliated? Did these people suddenly have their knowledge of God plop into their head, or was it handed down by an organization of believers? Jesus Christ did not hand us a book and say go and do as you please but believe in me. He have us an organization of believers who put together the New Testament and who worked and continue to work to be faithful to the teachings of their founder, Jesus Christ, and to pass on that teaching to future generations.

People often accuse my own Catholic Church of acting for its own interests but it is not an autonomous group of people hoping to grow and profit from the faith. There are no rich stockholders. Our Pope, lives in a Vatican apartment, has no immediate family other than His Church, no personal belongings to speak of, and receives no stock options, bonuses, or extravagant salary. The same goes for the bishops of the Church and its priests. Some may have personal family wealth, but it is unrelated to their position in the Church. Church salaries for its servants, even bishops and the Pope, are very modest and much below that of the lay people they supervise.

My Church and many large denominations would tell you that their Church is made up of people who claim the title of the Body of Christ, seeking to do the work of our Lord in the world so that others may know of His presence, become enlightened by His Gospel, and themselves become Children of the Light, followers of Jesus Christ. Where we gather in His name, there too is Jesus. When we reach out to the poor and needy, there too is Jesus. When we avoid bad behavior and choose the Good, there too is Jesus at work in the world. We exist for one reason and that is to serve Jesus Christ. What competition exists is, is or should be, for the saving of souls. My own Church is the largest charitable organization in the world, not because we want to be number one, but because we do the work Jesus sent us out into the world to do, a work that reveals His presence in the love it demonstrates.

I was recently asked innocently enough, why the Church did not do something, “in light of its vast wealth.” My first reaction was to state the reality of the situation, that the Church does not have a vast amount of wealth. A large Vatican building is, in fact, both a place of worship, an office building for a world wide organization, and living quarters for many of the Vatican staff. The treasures so often pointed to are not reflective of wealth but of heritage. They are art works handed down over twenty centuries and held in trust for the world. Until recently, with licensing, these art treasures were a drain on the Vatican treasury due to upkeep costs. We are very large, and thus a ripe target for lawyers, but our riches lie in works, not things.

The more important response is to question the very concept of Church. The Church is not an “it”. It is a “we”. We are the Church. Church teaching authority flows from the Vatican to the Bishops to the parish but the works of the Church and its finances flow from the parish to the diocese to the Vatican. We are the Church. It is not a thing outside of ourselves that we attend. It is us, our faith, our works, our support, our vocations, our hope, and our help. When the world looks upon the Church, it is looking upon us.

Perhaps instead of searching for a faith that fits their life styles, Americans should ask themselves, “Am I bringing forth the light into the world? Is Jesus present in my actions?” Certainly none of us is perfect for we all have faults. This does not make us hypocrites. We are a Church full of sinners for we are human. Because of this human weakness Jesus gave himself on the cross. He makes the impossible possible. We cannot save ourselves, yet Jesus gives us the way to salvation. We may think we cannot overcome our own sinfulness and faults, but Jesus makes this possible. If we allow Jesus to work in our lives we can become something new, a new creation, one made by the blood of the cross and the hope of the Resurrection. That is something you won’t find in any trendy, feel good, and believe in yourself club.

Father Steven Foppiano