Sermon by Mgr. Dr. D.J. Schoon, Bishop of Haarlem
(please forgive my poor translation from Dutch to English)
(Amersfoort) Brethren, there has been quite a stir this past week caused by the denial of communion to the actors in the Brabants village who have a same sex relationship. You must have seen in the newspaper and on TV, because it has been widely reported in the press. I do not like these skirmishes on the pulpit, and I would not were it not that our church is involved in the case. For me, it was reported by different routes, many Catholics in Brabant who were excluded - not only gay, but also divorced and remarried people. They sought an alternative and they are openly out to our church, we will not treat them the same way.
Now you know also that I am interested in the history of our church. And so I found a strange reversal. Because one of the reasons for our expulsion from Rome in the 17th and 18th centuries that led to the rupture between Rome and the Church of Utrecht, was precisely that we - the ancient Old Catholics - were accused to be too strict regarding the confession and communion. In those centuries-Old Catholic required a very clean conscience, if you wanted to approach the holy table. Today the situation appears indeed reversed: whereas now the Roman Catholic Church is acting strictly in respect of whom may participate in the Communion, the matter seems to us much simpler.The confession appears to be replaced by the confession at the beginning of the service, and let's face it: it is sometimes denounced as fast, too fast to really examine your conscience before God. And most of us then go to Communion every time. It all seems to run easily and smoothly and we seem not to be demanding on those participating in communion - but is that really so? You guessed the answer already
I would really like to say otherwise. We are called "Old Catholic" because we are guided by the old church, the church of the first ten centuries. In our church, the Eucharist is a sacred time, as is still the case in which the community members encounter each other as a communion fellowship with the risen Lord and not as an association. In celebration of the Eucharist - you understand that there is more than just receiving the host, we are the body of Christ, who is the head of that community . There is the profound meaning of the word communion: community. And then you understand that with this mystery, communion should be handled very carefully. We did in the 17th and 18th centuries and we still kept in the liturgy.
But what has changed? Maybe our church gives more credit to the conscience of every believer. This has to do with the social development over the centuries, in which citizens have emancipated, and have become articulate. All believers are considered by yourself to think and know what they do in their dealings with the Holy. Hence we have a synod, where the church in its full assembly makes decisions. So we are a church and this includes not only those who participate in communion. Is that easier? I think it is the opposite of easy: it is more difficult for Old Catholics, because you take responsibility for the churches activities, you are jointly responsible. In the church, we are all in communion with the Lord. Of course there is a government of the Church, which is responsible for a good business. But more importantly, we know that we celebrate the Eucharist not for a banquet, but it is something the risen Lord does for and with us. The Eucharist is the great gift of God to this world. And because the Risen Lord himself is the head of the church, no one can say that he or she is entitled to the body and blood. We are all more or less guilty before God, but in this meal with Jesus, we celebrate our resurrection from the dead, the exodus from our shortcomings, the victory over everything that keeps us small and limited. It is God's love that we celebrate and love to those who would wish to limit himself as God in his goodness is so plentiful?
If you put the famous words of St. Paul about love, keep in mind the circumstances in which he writes. Just before the part that we heard, because the apostle preached against the church at Corinth because they were quarreling. Each relies on the person by whom he or she is baptized - in short: there is the formation of parties and division. To overcome these divisions, Paul designates the church as the highest gift: love. And then you have to love what does not begin with our thoughts, our good intentions or capabilities, but the love with which the Lord God comes to meet us and we then have to meditate. It is the love God has for people, "which covers everything, believes everything, endures everything. It is this love that we are known, since by God, and it is through his love that we can respect and tolerate each other. Thus we form a community with Christ, a community with problems, but they tackle them in all humility to solve the problem.
The biggest problem in the Roman Catholic Church seems to me, that people are not actually involved in management or policy, and people are deemed to having accepted what the board decides. This means that the rulings are approved, but not supported by the base in the parishes. And before we start bragging that we are doing everything correctly in our church, we can look to our own adventures with the synodal process. Despite its difficulties, it should be well guarded. You can see low attendance at the council meeting where the agenda of the annual synod is discussed - there are plenty of open seats. [I may have written this backwards and the meetings are often very full. Here is the original
: En voordat we nu onszelf op de borst gaan kloppen, dat bij ons alles zo goed in orde is: ook in onze kerk is het synodale proces altijd aan avontuur, dat goed bewaakt moet worden. U kunt dat zien aan de opkomst op de gemeentevergadering waar de agenda van de jaarlijkse synode wordt besproken - we komen daar niet gauw stoelen tekort. ]
Actually, I think, this has to do with the core belief: it is not easy being a Christian. Like Peter in the Gospel who wanted to set up tents to make the vision of Jesus in conversation with Moses and Elijah, law and prophets, with the whole religious tradition of Israel. He wanted to hold on to this time. We are also inclined to what we value love, our securities and our habits, to want to hold on to it. But what is just the heart of that conversation that puts Jesus on the Mount? That his exodus in Jerusalem to accomplish. The mountain of the Transfiguration is the fulfillment of this morning, the mountain of the crucifixion, Golgotha. The glorious appearance of the transfigured Jesus on the mountain now finds its fulfillment in the death on cross soon. Only through death will come to the resurrection.
Therefore the question for every Christian: how serious do you think you are? How far dare you go in giving up security and customs, how far can your rules stretch to relativize the humanity which God created us to become in reality? The answer to this question is a matter of every baptized person himself. But if one goal is in mind; you want to inherit the kingdom of God. That you will know as yourself are known, live in the wholeness of our earthly existence as to be allotted, and then you will follow Jesus the hard way. The celebration of the Eucharist and communion that we share is our community ever to be completed in God's glory. Who will settle for less, who would want to live for less?
Amen.
