terrypurple73 | (no subject)

The gospel this morning was about Jesus meeting the woman at the well in Samaria. Fr. Chrys said so well what I think needs to be at the heart of our faith and the way we live out our faith. He read the gospel first, as it's written in John, telling the interaction between Jesus and the woman. Then he told us the story again, telling it in a way the had Jesus condemn the woman (she's living with a man she isn't married to, and she's had five husbands) and her leave the well and Jesus. He said the story often gets interpreted in the second way, with Jesus condemning, moralizing the woman. But because Jesus simply acknowledges the truth of her life (acknowledges that she isn't married, but doesn't get all preachy about it), she's able to form a relationship with him, to talk with him and hear what he has to say. The gospel doesn't tell us if she repents her decisions or not, but it does tell us that she goes on to tell others about Christ, that she believes him to be a prophet, maybe even the messiah. If we could approach others with that same kind of attitude- not condemning their choices from some Christian moral high ground, but loving them for who they are and because they are- then followers of Christ would look really different, I think.
Fr. Chrys said that the last time he preached on this reading, one person left the church, and another wrote to the archbishop about him. ;)
The thing is that I don't go to some hippie-dippie Catholic church. It's far from Pax Christi in its wealth, its size, its often-disconnectedness. St. E's is small, a strong community, and it puts its money where its mouth is, where its faith is. Not that Pax doesn't, but St. E's relies on its parishioners in a much different way. And while St. E's is grounded in Vatican II principles (I wouldn't like it if it wasn't), it's not like the 10:30 Catholic Community out here, and social justice principles aren't preached each week in the homily. St. E's, and Fr. Chrys, meet this middle ground of pushing us to lead good, thoughtful, deep lives as Christians, while not moralizing all over the place about abortion, sex, and the infallibleness of the Church. St. E's is a place where I feel supported and affirmed in my faith, but still challenged to delve deeper into the way I live and how I bring my faith into this life I live.