Hearing the Voice of Jesus in a Church that Excludes

Today’s post is from guest contributor Mark Guevarra. After being fired as Pastoral Associate for not revealing his relationship status, Mark has become an advocate for LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church. Mark is a PhD student at the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, California, with an interest in synodality. Mark is a board member of Concerned Lay Catholics.

Today’s liturgical readings for 4th Sunday of Easter can be found here.

Trying to hear the voice of Jesus is difficult as a Catholic and even more difficult as an LGBTQ+ Catholic. It’s nothing short of a miracle that LGBTQ+ people remain in the church.

As with most kids, I grew up learning to be obedient to authority figures in my life: parents, loved ones, and teachers. For Catholics, priests, bishops, and the pope are added to this list. If you’re raised with a healthy spirituality and formed well in the faith, in time we become more attuned to the voice of Jesus, and differentiate Jesus’ voice from church authority figures in our lives.

But this isn’t always easy given that our theology, liturgy, and church structures can cause people to confuse the voice of Jesus with the voice of priests, bishops, and the pope. After all, priests act “in the person of Christ” at Mass, bishops are described as shepherds, and the pope was historically defined as the Vicar of Christ. At best, hearing Christ’s voice in our clergy can motivate people to act with justice and charity. At worst, conflating Christ’s voice with the clergy can intensify the sin of clericalism and lead to abuses of power and sex.

In today’s Gospel, when Jesus uses the analogy of thieves and bandits leading the sheep astray, it’s not hard to imagine the sins of our clergy. Many Bible commentators interpret this passage in the context of Jesus’ arguments with the Pharisees, and so interpret Jesus’ stinging critiques as focused on them. And even Pope Francis has read Jesus’ criticisms of the Pharisees as a foundation for his stinging critiques of clericalism.

The pope is deeply concerned about “thieves and bandits” causing the People of God to lose faith altogether. The voice of Jesus has become so drowned out that countless Catholics have left the church, many of whom are LGBTQ+ folks.

So many of these folks grieve, even unknowingly. So many have unprocessed anger and frustration. So many feel betrayed. Without healthy guidance, the support of chosen family, without those who’ve walked the path and survived and thrived, without spirituality and the sacraments, many LGBTQ+ people soothe themselves with self-harming behaviours.

These realities are why it is so important to have LGBTQ-supportive Catholic parishes, groups, and organizations. Over 20 years ago, I found support with Dignity Canada Dignité, and not too long after met Sr. Jeannine Gramick, read her book, and found inspiration in New Ways Ministry. I found support in an LGBTQ+ welcoming parish, and older gay Catholic friends who’ve heard Jesus’ voice and walked the path ahead of me.

I hope and pray that the exclusion of LGBTQ+ people, which was captured in synod summaries around the world, be addressed meaningfully when church leaders gather for the first synod session in Rome in October. As we become a synodal church, we must do works of restorative justice to apologize to and reconcile with those who have been marginalized. We must heal harms done. We must change harmful structures and theologies in the church that reject and exclude people. We must form seminarians to smell like their sheep, and all Catholics must be formed to listen for the voice of Jesus in one another, beginning with the poor, outcast, and marginalized.

When Pope Francis proclaims that the Lord desires that the church be synodal in the third millennium, he means that we must be a church that can hear Jesus’ voice. First, we must be formed to trust that Jesus is speaking to us in so many ways, some of which are even surprising. Since Vatican II’s proclamation that the Spirit blows where she wills, we’ve struggled to trust in that truth. Our religious and spiritual formation must cultivate the fundamental belief that God speaks to us in many ways.

Second, we must be formed to properly listen. The growing spirituality of synodality can assist with this. The synod handbook says we must listen with open minds and open hearts. We must be vulnerable, humble, and empathetic.

Third, we must be formed to discern individually and communally the voice of Jesus. Pope Francis suggests two sets of criteria: the Beatitudes and the works of mercy. Catholics must recognize that the voice of Jesus speaks to us in the voices of the least among us– those who’ve left the church, those who’ve been harmed by it, siblings from other Christian churches, people from other faith traditions, and people who do not belong to a religious or faith tradition. Catholics must be formed to listen with our hearts, and to trust what Jesus might be teaching us in the other.

Fourth, we must respond with love and do works of restorative justice. For LGBTQ+ Catholics, that may begin with church leaders offering formal apologies, and making a commitment to journey towards reconciliation. That response must also include systemic change and a deepening of theologies.

Doing all this will require a certain dying of self. Bible commentators note that throughout John’s gospel, including in today’s passage, Jesus uses the Old Testament image of God as shepherd, to accentuate who Jesus is as Messiah. However, what differentiates Jesus as shepherd in John’s gospel, is that he lays down his life for his sheep. This model of shepherd is the way to enter into the truly fulfilling pasture, the way to be saved through Christ, the way to have life abundantly.

As we continue to celebrate the Risen Christ in this Easter season, may we open our hearts to listening to Christ in one another, and respond with love, so that all may be saved.

—Mark Guevarra, April 30, 2023