Last night I attended an annual diocesan event that wonderfully seeks to raise funds for ministries and initiatives dedicated to the younger Church. Bishop Thomas was the featured presenter and kindly fielded some questions after finishing his noticably well-prepared remarks.
What are the greatest challenges you face as the Bishop of Toledo?
I quickly catalogued the myriad of major problems facing our local Church wondering which ones he might select.
Reframing the original inquiry in terms of his two most pressing concerns, he unhesitatingly replied, “sin and apathy.”
His answer was not the repsonse I was expecting – not even close.
He expressed remorse, first, for his own personal sins, then for the sins of those in the Church and, finally, sinfulness plaguing wider society. Regarding apathy, he particularly lamented over the tragic reality of far too many members of the Body of Christ having lapsed into real indifference for God and neglect for neighbor.
Both concerns manifest self-consumption. Indeed, whenever I dismiss the teachings of the Lord Jesus and veer from imitating Him, I become a prisioner of my own impulses. Sin imprisons and how well we experience its awful affects! Apathy is equally alarming. This form of selfishness led the priest and levite right past the beaten and bloodied victim left for dead alongside the road in Jesus’ parable (Luke 10:25-38). So, too, does living supremely for myself – my goals, my recognition trumping all else – harden my heart in the very same way.
The author of the Letter to the Hebrews provides us with the remedy to these two most pressing concerns. On our part, humility and discipline are necessary: “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2 NAB).
Friends, let’s dare to stay in the contest by living today as the intentional disciples Christ calls us to be as members of His Body.
