What A Mess

A Reflection on the Gospel for November 17th, 2019:
Thirty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Luke 21.5-19

When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.”

They asked him, “Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?”

And Jesus said, “Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is near!’ Do not go after them.

“When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.

“But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name.

“This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.

“You will be betrayed even by parents, by brothers and sisters, and by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.”

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New Friend: “What is the most challenging thing about working with people in the Church?” 

Me: “The most challenging thing about working with people in the Church is… working with people in the Church!”


A few years ago a new friend and I were having lunch with some fellow missionary disciples when he asked me the question above. Without hesitation, I gave him my response. I am not a fast talker or a quick thinker, so the speed of my reply took me by surprise almost as much as the frankness of my reply surprised him. Because of that, this exchange has stuck with me. I was reminded of it when I read this gospel from Luke. The life of a follower of Christ in Jesus’ time does not sound like it promises much fun. It sounds pretty messy. Two thousand years later and I can still relate. Our Church is messy because we humans are involved.

"Our Church is messy because we humans are involved."

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My answer remains as true today as it did that day at lunch. People are hard to work with! We are all so uniquely and incredibly made by the Father that there are bound to be differences. It is especially hard to “work” with people when you’re challenging them on matters of faith, which are ultimately matters of the heart. As I walk with people in the ministry I do, there are some who don’t like what I have to say. And more often than not, when they challenge me, I have no idea how to respond. In those moments I desperately pray to the Holy Spirit to bring me the right words and the courage to speak them — just as Jesus advised his disciples. We are a lot of work, us humans!

​Sometimes I feel like I can hear or see God’s reactions to my own humanness — lots of guffaws, giggles, and grrrs, I am sure. And definitely also a: “Good grief Aurea!” with some eye rolls thrown in for good measure. Our humanness brings about actions that can cause grief, complications, and hurt. Yet our humanness also brings us joy, happiness, and love. Often we talk about our faith as being both/and. That is, our faith is not black and white. There is the grey space; an ambiguous space in the middle of those two extremes. For me that is where God works — in the ambiguity — to show us both goodness and wickedness, life and death, love and hate, joy and suffering. We need both, for in knowing one emotion we can recognize and know the other. Pope Francis is often quoted as wanting a messy Church. Luke describes a messy Church. And well, we currently live in a messy Church… that we created. As humans we can’t clean up the mess on our own. Rather, we’re called to live in it and more importantly through it, with God’s help, so as not to continue to create more mess. And by our endurance we will indeed gain our souls. ​


​Aurea Sadi

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