The Perfect Community?

Homily for Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time

Andrew Greeley once wrote that some people are looking for the perfect community or church, a group of people free from all sin. “Sure, look for it. And if you find it, realize that the moment you join it, that community is no longer perfect.”

Jesus addresses himself in today’s Gospel text to a group of scribes and Pharisees. In yesterday’s text, these same men were thinking to themselves that Jesus had blasphemed by telling the paralytic that his sins were forgiven. Jesus immediately knew what they were thinking. Today the Pharisees and scribes have a different issue. However, this time, they address themselves to the disciples of Jesus. Once again, Jesus knows what they are saying. These two events should have been a powerful clue to the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus was, at the very least, an extraordinary prophet. They knew that only God could know what someone is thinking or could recognize what somebody was saying to others. Jesus has demonstrated that he can do both.

The words of Andrew Greeley could have been applied to the scribes and Pharisees. They did not associate with people they called “sinners.” Jesus’ response to them reminds them that he has come for all. No one is to be left out; the kingdom of God is for all, and particularly, for those who are in need of God’s grace.

Being a member of the Church does not mean that we are a member of a perfect group. The exact opposite is true. The Church is a gathering of untidy people like you and me who continually failed to live up to the ideal. We keep coming back to the Eucharist for that very reason; we need the help and forgiveness that flows from the offering of Jesus.