(P)Jesus...
Illustration
(P)
Jesus stopped despite the crowd. Bartimaeus was embarassing for the Jericho Chamber of Commerce. His loathsome appearance, his noisy wailings, his constant begging -- those pictures weren't in the local brochure inviting the tourist dollar. But this social sore persisted. He would confront Jesus!
How much is the Church molded and shaped by crowd expectation? How far do the commerce brochures pull Christians away from their mission? The world wants the Church to maintain a posture of silent majority, keeper of all grand traditions, people who keep to themselves and keep still. The world wants the Church to remain occupied with its furnace problems, its internal political bickering, its concern for community status. That's what the world wants, but it's not what the world needs. The world will write this agenda for the Church: politeness, prosperity and passivity. Our Lord writes it "mission and ministry."
-- Anton
Jesus stopped despite the crowd. Bartimaeus was embarassing for the Jericho Chamber of Commerce. His loathsome appearance, his noisy wailings, his constant begging -- those pictures weren't in the local brochure inviting the tourist dollar. But this social sore persisted. He would confront Jesus!
How much is the Church molded and shaped by crowd expectation? How far do the commerce brochures pull Christians away from their mission? The world wants the Church to maintain a posture of silent majority, keeper of all grand traditions, people who keep to themselves and keep still. The world wants the Church to remain occupied with its furnace problems, its internal political bickering, its concern for community status. That's what the world wants, but it's not what the world needs. The world will write this agenda for the Church: politeness, prosperity and passivity. Our Lord writes it "mission and ministry."
-- Anton
