A pastor tells the story about one of his parishioners returning to the church: "Well," he said, "what brought you to this change of heart?" "It was a sermon," she replied. Sitting back and waiting to be complimented on some eloquent homily he had given, the pastor asked, "Which one?" "A sermon," she answered, "by Billy Graham, on television."
A little crestfallen, he later asked myself why he felt deflated. So when the
lady told him that she had decided to return to the practice of the Catholic
faith because of a fundamentalist sermon by Billy Graham, his feelings were
mixed. he was glad, when one of our sisters or brothers finds the way back to
the practice of the faith, but "Billy Graham," he thought. Well, at
least it wasn't one of those others!
This priest slipped into the age-old sin of "clerical envy." He thought only he could have preached so well as to bring one of his own former parishioners back to her faith. But no, it was Billy Graham.
The gospel has a "clerical envy" situation. It seems the apostle John and some of the other apostles had come upon a fellow using Jesus' name to cast out devils. So John thought Jesus might approve of John's telling this fellow to stop, since he didn't belong to Jesus' band.
Jesus gave John and the other apostles a lesson on humility and being open to the spirit. "Do not forbid him. No one who performs a miracle using my name can at once speak ill of me. Anyone who is not against us is with us. Any man gives you a drink of cold water because you belong to Christ will not, I assure you, go without his reward" (Mark 9:38-41).
Jesus shows himself as ecumenical. We might wonder, then, why there are so many different denominations. If all we have to do is give a cup of cold water to a thirsty person to prove ourselves Christians, our narrow-mindedness in judging others is out of place. If we adopted Jesus' broadmindedness, how many problems could be solved. Perhaps the shortage of priests is one. So let me go out on a limb with this story.
It is well known that women are excluded from the ordained priesthood in the Catholic Church. The official position is a flat no, and, many add, no hope for the future. What follows here is not dissent but one example of a woman who already serves although not ordained.
She is a Catholic nun who visits the sick and brings them communion in the hospitals and nursing homes. On one of her visits she prayed with a very sick person, aware that an old, and very sick woman in the other bed was listening. She went over when she was finished and the woman said to her, "Those prayers were beautiful; tell me are you a minister?" Sister was startled for a moment - she wore a cross, had a badge, seemed "official." It didn't seem a time for distinctions. "Yes, she said," I guess I am." And the woman with a huge smile took her arm and said," I knew they wouldn't hold our sex against us!"
It may be that people of the opposite sex simply cannot understand the genuineness and the pain of that remark. Their sex has been held against them - in law, medicine, business, teaching, all the professions, and in society for a long time, in many cultures for many centuries. But for that sick woman, perhaps speaking like a prophet, that time was ending. the experience.
In the Old Testament Moses hopes that all the people could be prophets; and Jesus tells his apostles not to forbid someone who is doing good in Jesus' name. Much food for thought in our world where factions and cliques pride themselves on keeping others out. We do well in imitating Jesus in his open-armed embrace of all peoples.
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends, especially the women who I have the privilege to serve as partners in ministry. They are hospital and college chaplains, parish administrators, social workers, doctors and teachers. Like the apostles may we learn to be open to their calling to serve Our Lord.
