Homily on the 16th Sunday after Pentecost Luke 5:1-11.
In today's Gospel, we have the account where Christ tells the fishermen to cast their nets into the lake of Gennesaret. This account, in many ways, sets the tone for the Apostles' later mission – to become fishers of men. Indeed, this is the call that the Holy Church has still to this day. How does one become a fisher of men? Quite simply, one needs to ensure that one is prayerful and humble, these are the two most important qualities in someone who is to go into the world to call others to the All-Holy Trinity!
Oftentimes, the kinds of people that try and convert people are the very types the Pharisees would have agreed with – rigid and obsessed with rules and consequences of breaking these rules. This is where the Simpons gets it right with the Church in Springfield! However, as we read the Holy Scriptures, one must look at the centre of these words of love (the Gospels)– Christ. How was Christ towards those He ministered to? Put simply; He was fair, firm, and loving. Christ rejected no one who approached Him in faith, for He said," Let the children come unto me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 19:14)." This is our mission, like Christ, to go to those who are marginalised and welcome them into the Church for they are those who Christ came to save and call! They may make us feel uncomfortable with their lack of church etiquette and brutal honesty and addictions, but this is what we are called to do! These are the lost sheep that the Good Shepherd leaves the other ninety-nine to find (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15: 3-7).
How often do priests and parishioners forget this aspect of Christ's ministry He came not to heal the well but rather heal those that need Him the most (Mark 2:17)! How many times have we as a Church ignored people such as these? How many times have we attacked people because we think that we have the moral high ground? How many times have we as Clergy and laity let certain pharisaical factions dictate who is welcome in our churches? We are clearly told in the Scriptures that we are to not judge – yet we judge! How is this following Christ's commands? How many times I have seen clergy walk around Churches as if they were some member of the British Aristocracy! More often than not, when these same clergy are asked to get dirty, as it were, and deal with real people with real issues these same clergy will wash their hands of these same people because it seems too hard - in much the same way the Pharisees did to the little ones of their society in their day!
No wonder people do not trust the Church and happily celebrate when high Clergymen fall as has happened with the fall of prominent clergymen all over the world recently! We have ceased to be what Christ commanded us to be His hands and feet in this world! We have forgotten that we, too, are sinners, and as Christ said, "let he who is without sin cast the first stone (John 8:7)." Again and again, those that condemn others the loudest are often the most guilty of the same offence that they condemn. How many times has it happened that these rigid people have sat there condemning others for some supposed fault to have their own faults revealed for all to see (Luke 8:17)?
One thing that I have realised lately is that we as Christ's Body are living through a difficult age and age where things are changing at a rate that has never been before! We, as the Church, are facing social issues that we never thought we would ever face. However, instead of convening Pan-Orthodox Councils to deal with these difficult issues we are relying on the decisions of bishops and synods alone -which do not have the same authority as a whole church council! No single bishop or priest or synod on their own is infallible! Yet we are letting social teaching be dictated by the whims of fallible men as well as by the sayings of Church Fathers – which can only be considered infallible in as much as they agree with the faith as taught in the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Scriptures which these councils interpret! Also, we need new Pan-Orthodox Councils because we have specific issues that are specific to our times that our Fathers in the Faith could never have conceived of. Each council in the past was called to deal with specific issues that She was facing, and for the Church to not call whole Church councils to deal with these difficult issues is for the Church to fail those She is called to Shepheard!
What did the Holy Apostles do when they had reached an impasse on the issue of whether Gentile converts should follow the Levitical Law? They convened the first Church Council – the Council of Jerusalem! Saint James did not make a pronouncement till, through the Grace of the All-Holy Spirit, they had all come to a consensus (Acts 15). This is why we reject any concept of Papal authority or infallibility because this concept simply did not exist -even in the west -till at least the 11th century and therefore is not Orthodox!
However, our Lord and Saviour said to the Apostles in Matthew 18:18 that, "whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever, you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." What does this mean? Well, simply put, this gives the Apostles the power to forgive sins and the power of Oeconomia. Oeconomia is the power that is given to Bishops to manage their flocks pastorally. Oeconomia is a realisation that human beings are complex, and due to human weakness, the bishop may need to make certain pastoral decisions in dealing with his flock. For instance, the Canons forbid clergy from marrying after ordination. However, there have been cases where a bishop has decided that in the case of a widowed priest, that out of pity, he may remarry as it is for his benefit.
Moreover, we as the Church are called to be pastoral and respond to new issues in our day. Remember, the Church once did not allow remarraige. Nonetheless, bishops started to see that there was a pastoral need to explore whether this was possible, and through oeconomia they began to allow individuals to remarry a second and third time. To not have done so would have left people with the only other option they had in that day and age - which was to take a concubine which, in and of itself, was not ideal! Finally, in the year 920 AD at Constantinople, it was decreed through a Church Council that second and third marriages are possible as long as certain conditions are met. Therefore, the Church needs to be pastoral and respond with sensitivity to the needs of the people of our time. We then need to ensure that we can have Pan-Orthodox councils to finally deliberate on these issues as in every whole Church Council, the All-Holy Spirit will guide the Church to the correct answer.
Moreover, there is considerable confusion amongst the faithful between tradition with a little 't' and Tradition with a capital 'T'. Traditions with a little 't' are those pious customs and beliefs that have developed, which have never been ratified by a Church Council. So in relation to these practices and beliefs, one can say that they are not 'Canonical' in that they do not belong to the Faith and therefore are not infallible teachings that must be believed. Notwithstanding, it then follows that Tradition with a capital 'T' are the beliefs that we as professing Christians must believe – these are not negotiable! These include things like the Nicene Creed and every pronouncement of a Church Council regarding the Faith. Therefore, let us always look at what the Church councils have said in relation to the Faith as they are infallible teachings and cannot be changed! Let us remember a priest or bishop can only be infallible in what he says, if what he says accords with the Faith as taught in the Seven Ecumenical Councils.
In conclusion, Fathers of the Church can be wrong on certain issues and as such, they can only be considered to be infallible in as much as their pronouncements accord with the Seven Ecumenical Councils. Church Fathers have been wrong in the past (like Origen) and will conceivably make mistakes in the future! Let us always look towards the Seven Ecumenical Councils and the Scriptures - which they interpret- for this is our Faith – nothing more nothing less!
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