Day 195: 7/14/13- Finish the Last Two Chapters!

Day 195: 7/14/13- Finish the Last Two Chapters!    
New Thing- Finish the Last Two Chapters!                
Inspiration: DMin                       
Time: Many, Many hours            
Bottom Line: All work and no play makes Hilly a dull girl. 

Reflection: An unedited part of my last chapter:
If The Ministry of Reconciliation was given to us through Christ’s atoning action on the cross, and the Church is Christ’s Body on earth, it stands to wonder: why is the church not being the ultimate Ambassadors of Reconciliation for the world. If we have a pathway to freedom from shame, fear, sin and death through the ministry of reconciliation—why are we letting it be our best kept secret?! If, as we hear all to often from heralds of the church’s demise, the church is diminishing in relevancy, would not this gateway to peace and God be more relevant now then ever? As we saw in this project, people who were simply taught about the Rite of Reconciliation (let alone those who actually experience) had their lives changed. Yet, before that, they had never even head of its existence.
So what is stopping us from calming this ministry and grace for God and for his children? Perhaps it is the same thing that we discovered kept so many of our congregants away from seeing Reconciliation: shame —the shame of corporate sin in this case. The modern church has, in many ways become crippled by its deference to secular institutions such as the psychological sciences. As stated before, psychology can be very life giving, but it cannot offer the full pardon of God’s mercy. Only God can do that. Yet, priests, including myself, are often quick to send people out of our offices to see “professional help” rather then offer Reconciliation of a Penitent. Admittedly, there are times when that is the absolute correct response since healing of the soul easily cannot happen when the mind and body are suffering. However, sometimes this is not the case and the Rite would be a perfectly acceptable pastoral offering.
Again, what it is that keeps us from being the Ambassadors of Reconciliation that we are called to be? What are we ashamed of, Church? That we are not worthy to hear other’s confessions since our sins of indifference, intolerance and injustice loom so large that admitting them would make us to vulnerable?
We are Christ’s Body—we are called to be vulnerable on behalf of the world just as he was made lowly and vulnerable on the cross on our behalf. We need fear not because in that very vulnerability, he has shown us just how certain his love is. Love for those who come to the church looking for forgiveness and for the Church herself. So proclaim mercy and pardon we must if we hope to remain true to our call to extend the Ministry of Reconciliation.