A reflection on Luke 10:13–16 for Friday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time.
In today’s reading, Jesus speaks harshly to Chorazin and Bethsaida. People there saw his works, but then carried on as though nothing new had happened. My first idea is to picture someone I wish would pay more attention to Jesus. A few names come to mind in my head. I see their faces. Maybe I need to read the passage again.
We as a faith community can be surrounded by signs of God and still fail to respond. The Church speaks over and over about listening to God. But when his call comes by way of someone whose experience makes us uneasy, we can find an excuse not to listen.
For example, a woman tries to speak about harm done to her and says she was dismissed. A divorced Catholic may wonder whether there is still a place for her. Another woman tells us that her child stopped coming to Mass after being treated as a problem to solve.
As “faithful Catholics” we might want to explain the teaching or defend the priest. We will point to the good work the parish does. Sure, those things are important, but searching for an answer before the person has finished speaking means we haven’t been listening.
I do love the Church. The prayers and sacraments have been a longstanding part of my faith, as have its people. That makes it harder to ignore how those of us who “belong” can mistake our own comfort for proof that everyone feels welcome. We know which pew to sit in. We say the right responses in unison with the correct inflection. Someone else might have hesitated just to walk through the door, and I didn’t even see.
Jesus says that rejecting those he sends is rejecting him. I don’t know if every person who challenges the Church speaks for Jesus. But he spent a lot of time with people whom respectable religious communities found unacceptable. Sometimes I’m slow to recognize that he continues to do that.
Repentance on our part can begin by letting someone say what they need to. And then we have to take their words seriously enough to change our response. A warm welcome in the atrium means little when the person who was been hurt is left to carry the whole burden of finding their way back.
Chorazin and Bethsaida had already seen Jesus’ works. They had the chance to respond. I pray that when Christ asks something of us through an unexpected or challenging voice, we’ll listen and act on what we hear.
Lord Jesus, give us the patience to listen when someone tells us they have been hurt, and the humility to believe we may need to change. Help your Church make room for voices we have overlooked. Teach us to respond with honesty, care, and courage. Amen.
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