26 May 2018
Memorial of Saint Philip Neri, Priest
Since God can do anything God wants, it is not what God coulddo that reveals who God is but what God choosesto do. And God does not choose to do just anything. This is something that many people forget in their discussions about God. For example, while it is true that Jesuscould havehealed Saul through the personal relationship that Jesus established with him in Acts 9, what Jesus choosesinstead is to have Saul languish in blindness for three days. Saul, who boasts that Jesus personally chose him, would probably love to be able to say that Jesus healed him through their personal relationship. But that is notthe way that Jesus choseto heal Saul. Rather, Jesus commands a representative of the Church, Ananias, to go to pray over Saul so that Saul might be healed through him. Yes, Jesus couldhave healed Saul directly, but that is not what he choosesto do. He heals Saul, the man who will become St. Paul, through the action of the Church.
James exhorts Christians to continue this healing ministry of the Church in James 5. The priests of the Church are to anoint the sick and pray over them so that the Lord might raise the sick up on the last day. Likewise, Christians are to confess their sins and submit to the prayer of the Church which releases them from their sin. It is true that some of those ordained to exercise this ministry can be a disappointment to the Christian people. But that does not mean that God does not chooseto make use of them. Ananias was hardly the most docile instrument of the Lord: when Jesus commands him to heal Saul, Ananias protests, questioning the Lord’s decision. But Jesus insists and makes use of Ananias anyway. Let us not forget that, even today, the Lord, who can accomplish his saving mission however he wants, choosesto work through the ministry of the Church, through which he offers us not only a share in our own salvation but also a role in the salvation of the whole world.