Repentance in the Bible

The second parable is that of a woman who had lost a silver coin. Searching high and low, she finally found it. Then she called in her neighbors and said to them: “Rejoice with me! I have found the silver coin that I lost.” Note how this parable also concludes with a word about the great joy in heaven over the conversion of a single sinner: “I tell you, there will be the same kind of joy before the angels of God over one repentant sinner.”

Finally Jesus told the story of the Merciful Father. When the youngest son, after squandering his inheritance in loose living, finally came back home, disgraced and destitute, the Father ran out to meet him, embraced him, and kissed him, and without uttering a word of reproach to his son, instructed the servants: “Quick, bring out the finest robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. Take the fatted calf and kill it. Let us eat and make merry because this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. He was lost and now is found!” Again, notice the great joy over the repentance of a single sinner.

In John’s Gospel there is the woman caught in adultery. Jesus forgave with a simple word to go and sin no more. Jesus even forgave on the Cross. As He was dying on the cross he prayed for His enemies. In fact, He prayed for all sinners! He even made excuses for them! “Father, forgive them; they do not know what they are doing.” The good thief begged Jesus to “remember me when you enter upon your reign.” Jesus replied: “I assure you, this day you will be with me in paradise.” With that word a lifetime of crime was forgiven!

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

The Priesthood Continued

Second, the Church’s tradition and practice of excluding women from priestly ordination are not based on any eternal and necessary principle but on considerations that are historically and culturally conditioned. The practice originated and developed in an environment in which women, for a variety of economical and social reasons, had a subordinate position to men. Circumstances have changed greatly in the Twentieth Century. The Church should change with the times and not allow herself to become an irrelevant anachronism, clinging to a mode of thought and behavior that is more and more out of touch with contemporary culture.

Response: If Jesus chose only men to be apostles, it was not because He lacked the wisdom of courage to break cultural patterns. He showed in many ways (by prohibiting divorce, conversing with a Samaritan woman, dining with publicans and sinners, giving a more human interpretation to Sabbath laws, etc.) that He could rise above the restrictions of the prevailing culture. If the early Church followed the pattern set by Jesus, it was not because it was unthinkable, according to the culture of the time, to appoint women to hold religious office. As a matter of fact, women served as priestesses in pagan religions of Jesus’ time.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

More of the Male Priesthood

The following are the principal arguments put forward by those who hold that women should not be excluded from ministerial priesthood because of their sex. First, women should have equal rights and dignity in the Church and should not suffer discrimination because of their sex. Vatican II recognized this principle, and so does Saint Paul: “All of you who have been baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Him. There does not exist among you Jew or Greek, slave or freeman, male or female. All are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3.27). Granted that no one has a right to ordination, nevertheless one does have a right not to be discriminated against simply because of one’s sex.

Response: To recognize the differences between men and women is not to show discrimination, but to invite reflection on the proper way to promote the dignity and role of each sex. If a priest is to be a visible symbol of Christ, who stands in relation to the Church as groom and bride, it is not discriminatory to choose those to be priests who can represent Christ in this way.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching

More on Women Priests

Third, it has been the constant and unwavering tradition of the Church, both East and West, from the very beginning down to our own day, to admit only men to ordination. Since the Holy Ghost guides the Church, this strong tradition must be recognized as reflecting God’s will for the Church.

Response: This tradition is the reflection of the male dominant culture which has prevailed in Christian environments from ancient times up to the present. But that culture is now in process of changing; so also should the attitude and practice of the Church with regard to women. The “Spirit” is free to breathe where it wills.

Fourth, the priest represents Christ in relation to the Church. He is a living sacrament of Christ and acts in the very person of Christ in celebrating the Eucharist. In the language of the East, he is an Icon of Christ. But Christ is related to the Church as groom to bride. Therefore the priest must be a man, for only a man can represent Christ in this way.

Response: Every Christian must put on Christ (Gal 3.27; Rom 3.14), live the life of Christ (Gal 2.20), and represent Christ to the faith assembly.

In Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching