EGO SUM PASTOR BONUS! The people respected the Pharisees because the people are respectful. They respected them, but they didnt listen to them. They went about their business... And this is why they followed Jesus - because he was a good shepherd: he wasnt a moralistic, quibbling Pharisee; or a Sadducee who mdd political deals with the powerful; or a guerrilla who sought the political liberation of his people; or a contemplative in a monastery - he was a pastor who spoke the language of his people, a pastor who spoke the same language as his people; a pastor who spoke the truth, and about the things of God. he never negotiated with the things of God, but he spoke about the things of God in such a way that people loved the things of God. Thats why they followed him. This is vital, and it explains peoples impatience when they hear priests and bishops talking about social or economic issues, or questions about foreign affairs in ways which imply that they have a special, moral authority by virtue of their office, People see, or at least sense, that this is not the case - that priests and bishops dont have that authority, and that their office does not underwrite it. What priests and bishops are required to do is to know who Christ was, and what he taught, and what its relevance is to each of us in the way we conduct our daily lives - and how it relates to our hopes, our fears, and a life of the spirit so often left unexplored. We need priests who are not working in the world for worldly aims, but who are working in the world for the same aims as those which were preached by the Saviour.
Posted on: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 23:54:46 +0000
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