my experiences with "the church" the past few days has made me think about john's disciples' question to jesus: "'are you the one who is to come, or have we got to wait for somebody else?' jesus answered, 'go back and tell john what you hear and see; the blind see again, and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised to life, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor, and happy is the man who does ot lose faith in me.'" (matthew 11:2-5)
but of course these days when we as the church are asked this question, our answers tends to be about pedigree and propriety. i am as guilty as anyone. when asked about this malabar rite, thing, my first answer is usually a little lecture in church history, the point of which is to prove that my "apostolic succession" is as old and as "valid" as anyone's. only if pressed do i say that my archbishop, who ordained me, is almost entirely unconcerned with theological orthodoxy. yet when a few years ago when i considered "transferring my credentials" to a part of the church with which i am in closer "theological agreement," i quickly thought better of it. you see, my archbishop radiates the principal that "they will know that we are christians by our love."
the fall ember days are the wednesday, friday and saturday after holy cross day. this is one of the four times of the year when those of us who are ordained are encouraged to take stock of how we are doing, and to report in to our bishops. i find that i have a long way to go. but i think i'm asking at least some of the right questions. "what do we see and hear? do the blind see again? do the lame walk? are lepers cleansed? do the deaf hear? are the dead raised to life? is the good news proclaimed to the poor?"
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