By KATIE GROSS
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany,
where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
While it is very true that it is difficult to be a Christian today, we must remember that followers of Jesus have always been subject to ridicule, even during Christ’s earthly ministry. There is just something about the true expression of Christianity that people have always misunderstood, and thus mocked. However, even when we feel as though nobody around us understands us, we can take courage from this Gospel reading in knowing that being persecuted and misunderstood is not at all a new phenomenon for Christians.
“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” This sounds like a familiar battle cry of those who mock Catholics: “Why does the Church have so many palaces when that money could go to the poor?” People who ask this question usually stand very smugly and wait for us to stumble in our response, all so they can win whatever petty argument they were looking to get into. However, we can look to the Bible and see that nothing has changed about these people—very rarely is their concern actually for the poor. They overlook the thousands of charitable institutions that the Church has founded, and do not bother to look at the specifics of their claims. Instead, their primary concern is usually for their own pride, or to appear superior to believers in some way.
I was absolutely appalled by a viral video that circulated a few years ago called “Sell the Vatican, Feed the World.” In it, a popular American comedienne sits and gives a two-minute pitch for why the Vatican should be sold and the money given to solve world hunger. A philanthropic intention, one might ask? Not even close—the comedienne then goes on to make horribly inappropriate remarks about Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI and claim that the Church was somehow the driving force behind the Holocaust. In fact, she even says at one point that she only wants to feed the poor to “get them off of the commercials on her 42 inch plasma screen TV.” Just as Jesus said, we can tell the goodness of a ‘prophet’ by his/her fruits, and the only fruits of this woman’s claim are bitterness and contempt. The point is that we must be wary of those who claim to be charitable, but really only want to attack and undermine what is holy. These people are just the same and just as wrong as those in ancient Jerusalem who were shocked by Mary’s actions. “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
“And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Unfortunately, as we know, the buildings of the Church are not under fire as much as the Christians themselves, who are the body of Christ. Every day in the Middle East, churches are getting burned to the ground and people are being killed for refusing to renounce their face in Christ. Right now, refugees are pouring into our own city of Dallas toflee communist and dictatorial governments that do nottolerate their faith. These leaders kill Christians because they cannot stand not being the highest power in the land. Even so, persecution should not cause us to lose heart as Christians. One of the strangely beautiful things about our faith is the more that it is torn down by others, the more it is validated. Jesus promised that those who radiated faith and love would have trouble in this life. Thus, those who persecute us are only proving our point. Those who make insulting comments or videos about our faith are only proving our point.
“And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.” Unfortunately, as we know, the buildings of the Church are not under fire as much as the Christians themselves, who are the body of Christ. Every day in the Middle East, churches are getting burned to the ground and people are being killed for refusing to renounce their face in Christ. Right now, refugees are pouring into our own city of Dallas toflee communist and dictatorial governments that do nottolerate their faith. These leaders kill Christians because they cannot stand not being the highest power in the land. Even so, persecution should not cause us to lose heart as Christians. One of the strangely beautiful things about our faith is the more that it is torn down by others, the more it is validated. Jesus promised that those who radiated faith and love would have trouble in this life. Thus, those who persecute us are only proving our point. Those who make insulting comments or videos about our faith are only proving our point.
In Holy Week, we must commit to praying for those who do not yet know that Christ died for them, or cannot bring themselves to believe it.
Great post, Katie. I'm glad to see you speak out on a big issue that everyone seems to ignore. Our brothers and sisters are suffering terribly in the Muslim and Communist worlds. Yet people apologize for the former group and set up shop with the latter group. We need to save these poor people, but instead we enable their oppressors while sanctimoniously finding fault with afflicted.
ReplyDeleteAs for selling the churches and the Vatican, I think these critics fail to realize who these things actually belong to - Catholics all over the world. No one own the churches; they are open to all believers, especially the poor. The Church is a sanctuary away from the utilitarian ugliness of the world. It is the one place where the poor and needy family can experience something beautiful, clean, and godly. To whom should we sell it? Big business? Big government? Then where will the poor go to pray and worship? The tenements where they live--away from the rest of the world?
Besides, the Vatican and other famous Catholic sites raise tons of money for the poor and bring loads of business to the surrounding communities. Who would even bother going to Rome without the churches, or Paris for that matter? I doubt anyone would feel drawn to the eyesore apartment blocks where the poor actually dwell. People who think it'd be smart to sell artwork and churches are simply ignorant and cowardly. They take cheap shots at the Catholic Church, who will take it kindly, and let the real villains destroy society.
If the church ever sold its "riches", then the rich would get richer and the poor would get poorer.
ReplyDelete