CN | The Church is the Most Corrupt Institution on Earth

 

The Church is not a museum for saints but a hospital for sinners.

Today, there are many revelations, disciplinary actions, and good constructive critiques coming to those who bear the name of Jesus together in the West. It is a good reckoning that reveals God is and always will be the Defender and Liberator who hears the cries of the enslaved and oppressed and sets them free. 

But sadly, this movement of the God who brings people out of darkness into light, out of oppression into freedom, is because we as His people have not honored His name with integrity and faithfulness. We too often have not sought His Kingdom first as the poor in spirit, nor are we known by many to be the merciful peacemakers He has called us to be as His people. We have settled too often for power, entitlement, reputation, rights, and wealth. We have hidden our sins and selfishness while condemned others for theirs. We don't look, sound, or act very much like the One we say teaches us everything we need to know to live abundantly. As one author wrote in the article "Integrity and the Future of the Church" in Plough Magazine:

We see young (people) walking away not because they do not believe what Jesus' Church teaches, but because they believe the Church itself does not believe what it teaches. 

A lot of them will conclude that the Gospel is just one more aspect of political theater or outrage culture or institutional self-perpetuation or worse (due to our false witness) ... Jesus put it, “woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes” (Matthew 18:7). We are losing too many of a generation – not because they are secularists, but because they believe we are. 

What this demands is not rebranding, but repentance – a turnaround. 

Stranger things have happened, and that’s good, because we will need stranger things. We need to be the people of Christ and Him crucified, the people of a Word that stands above all earthly powers and ... abides (John 15:4-5). Somewhere out there, there’s at least one fifteen-year-old losing his religion who needs to see if we’re such a people.

While the author cites R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion" as a somber song that captures some of the heart musings of those losing faith, my recent soundtrack for this has been Royal Blood's more raucous and defiant "Come On Over" which searingly sings:

So come on over, yeah, 

I went to Church and stopped believing. 

Yeah, so come on over, 

Well, there's no God and I don't really care.  

 

I'm on a train going nowhere, 

I ran away to make you care. 

This ain't my house and this ain't your home, 

Not when I'm feeling this alone ... 

What's your response when you read or listen to these words? Fear? Curiosity? Empathy?

Sadly, there are many of us who love Jesus and His Church, and who love our neighbors, who can be tempted to resort to defensiveness or despair when we hear this song and see its fruit among people who leave faith in Jesus and any connection with His Church. But such a posture breeds blame-shifting and bitterness that will not lead to the beautifully strange posture of repentance that I believe we need to have in order to be the people of Christ for such a moment as this who are ready to welcome people back when they return to the family of God.

Are we willing to pray and patiently wait for that day? And what should our posture be when we receive the backlash of those who in the meantime are angry and have no desire to return?

While I currently have the humble privilege to serve as a minister among Emmaus City Church, a local Protestant community in Worcester, Massachusetts, I continue to learn much from followers of Jesus throughout history (ex. my wife and I are reading through Stories of the Saints with our kids) as well as across the globe today who are part of traditions different from my own. One who I recently learned from is Fr. Josh Johnson, a black Catholic priest from Louisiana who provides another beautiful example of being a person who witnesses to Jesus among those who are angry and hurting. 

The story Fr. Josh shares below provides an example for how to be the poor in spirit in Jesus' Kingdom when someone says, "The Church is the most corrupt institution on earth"... 

"One of my most memorable conversations about God and the Church actually took place at a restaurant bar ... 

One Monday afternoon, I drove to Covington, Louisiana, to meet with my spiritual director, a hermit who resides on the campus of a Benedictine monastery and seminary college. After spiritual direction, I called a good friend of mine, Michael Lane, who is a professor at the seminary. It was his birthday, so I invited him to have a drink with me.

We met at a local restaurant and grabbed two seats at the bar. Within a few minutes of ordering our drinks, an elderly man approached us. "Excuse me," he asked. "Are you a real Catholic priest?" Since I am only thirty, I get this question often. Many assume that I must be a fraternity pledge in costume. I responded, "Yes sir! I am a Catholic priest." The man's strident tone surprised me ...

"I just want you to know," he said, "that the Catholic Church is the most corrupt institution on the face of the earth ... and priests are the most corrupt individuals in the world."

After he made his comments, he stood over me, staring at me silently. It was clear from his body language that he was not joking. So I paused for a moment before I responded, praying for the Holy Spirit to inspire me with the words that this man needed to hear. After what seemed like a long pause, I responded,

"Sir, I just want you to know that I agree with you, one hundred percent. The Catholic Church is indeed the most corrupt institution on the face of the earth, and its priests are the most corrupt individuals. I want you to know that you are looking at the most corrupt, broken, and imperfect Catholic priest there is." 

The man was visibly shocked by this reply, as was my friend sitting at the bar. I went on to tell him, 

"Sir, although Catholic priests, religious brothers and sisters, and laity are broken, imperfect, and corrupt, Jesus still chooses to dwell with us. In fact, two thousand years ago, He chose twelve very broken, imperfect, and corrupt men to be His apostles. Since Jesus is fully human and fully divine, He knew all the ways His apostles were going to show their brokenness. He knew all of their sins, both those they had committed before He called them and all those they were going to commit in the future. But guess what? He still chose them.

I then shared Jesus' prediction to the apostle Peter at the Last Supper that he would soon deny he even knew Jesus:

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail; and when you have turned again, strengthen your brethren. And he said to him, "Lord, I am ready to go with You to prison and to death." He said, "I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you three times deny that you know Me." (Luke 22:31-32).

Within a few hours, Peter had indeed denied Him three times ... Though Peter denied Jesus, and the rest of the apostles, except St. John, abandoned Jesus during His passion (see Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50), He still chose them to be the foundation of the Church. After His crucifixion and death, they were all in hiding, for fear of the Jewish and Roman authorities. They surely felt shame and guilt for having left Jesus in His time of need. So when Jesus appeared to them after the Resurrection, His words must have been particularly comforting to them: "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you" (John 20:21).

I told the man at the bar, "The Bible makes one thing clear about the apostles—they were broken and sinful men. But, despite their brokenness, they went on to become saints. Why? Because Jesus chose to remain in communion with them, despite their faults, and they chose to abide in their relationship with Jesus. They became the foundation of the Church as its first leaders, empowered by Jesus Himself to teach in His name. So it follows that members of the Church today have the same potential to become holy by remaining in communion with Jesus despite our brokenness, imperfections, and corruption."

Upon hearing these words, the man's demeanor completely changed. He went from being confrontational to being relaxed. I then asked him,

"May I ask you a favor?" Seemingly confused, he said, "Sure." I asked, "Will you pray for me, asking for Jesus to transform my corrupt heart into a saintly heart?" Still somewhat confused, he looked at me and nodded. "Yes," he said.

My own story in a restaurant where someone was disgusted sitting next to me ... 

The story above in Fr. Josh's life continues to disciple me in the Way of Jesus as of late. And if you're curious about a similar interaction I had in Worcester at Birch Tree Bread Company one day, email me and let's get some time together, and I'll tell you about the time an older woman said to me,

"If I had known you were a minister connected with the Church, I would have been so disgusted, I wouldn't have sat down next to you. But now, after listening to you talk to your friend, I have to ask you, 'Why do you follow Jesus?'"

P.S. Here's a bonus story about G.K. Chesterton choosing to follow Jesus and be among His Church as a philosopher in his day in England. As Dr. Tom Neal, a professor at Notre Dame Seminary writes:

G.K. Chesterton once said that his umbrella helped reveal to him why he knew the Catholic Church was for him. He said that whenever he went to visit with churches, he would customarily leave his umbrella by the back door during the worship service. In these church buildings, his umbrella would always be there waiting for him when he went out back. But the first time he went into a Catholic Church to hear Mass, his umbrella disappeared from the back of the cathedral. Someone had stolen it. His conclusion? 

If the Catholic Church offered such a generous and open doorway to the rabble, being a home for both sinners and saints, then he had indeed found a home where he could also fumble along into the Kingdom.

+ Conversation and Chesterton excerpts from Introduction: A Hospital for Sinners in Broken + Blessed: An Invitation to My Generation by Fr. Josh Johnson; also look for his recently released On Earth as It Is in Heaven: Restoring God's Vision of Race and Discipleship. 

Next post: CN | The Seamless Life: Coherence + Continuity (Surge Invite)

Here are links to other recent City Notes (CN) books:

A Time To Heal (Shalom); Saintly Swagger; Story of God in a Sanitation Truck; The Artistry of What's Next; Days of Song on Spot of Scorched Earth; Seeds of Hope in the Rain & the Dark

With presence, peace, and many blessings,

Rev. Mike “Sully” Sullivan

Email Pastor Mike | Website | Visit Us | Support Us | Facebook Us