November 5, 2023: What Do You Do When The Shepherds Are Bad?

What do you do when the shepherds are bad? That’s the question that Father Loomis asks today in light of the readings. Jesus addresses the vanity of the office and abuse of power of the Sadducees in today’s Gospel. Similarly, the vein of corruption proceeds through all of the Church’s history. Jesus ordained Judas to the priesthood, and then he betrayed Christ. A corrupt bishop put Joan of Arc to death for his own political advantage. The corrupt priest, Martin Luther, led the Protestant revolution that splintered the bride of Christ into a million pieces. Similarly, today some priests and bishops insist on sowing confusion, division, and scandal in the Church. So what do we do? Father Loomis says that there are generally 3 answers to that question, two of which can be very dangerous. He says our best option comes straight from the psalmist… ”Oh Lord my heart is not proud nor my eyes haughty. I busy not with great things, nor with things too sublime for me.” God’s plan can be messy… but it’s not our place to change it. It is not our place to rewrite His plan for salvation. Instead, like the psalmist, we must “lean on God like a child on it’s mother’s lap.” We are called to trust- not to do nothing- but “to stay within the confines of the Lord’s plan for salvation, trusting that the Lord is acting even through the chaos.” Thirty-first Sunday In Ordinary Time First Reading: Malachi 1: 14b – 2: 2b, 8-10 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 131: 1, 2, 3 Second Reading: First Thessalonians 2: 7b-9, 13 Alleluia: Matthew 23: 9b, 10b Gospel: Matthew 23: 1-12