Creating a Church Where the Marginalized Are Centered

Today’s reflection is by Bondings 2.0 contributor Angela Howard Mc-Parland.

Today’s liturgical readings for the 31st Sunday of Ordinary Time can be found here.

The liturgical readings today are somewhat of a study in contrast.  In the first reading as well as the gospel passage, we get harsh words from both the prophet Malachi and Jesus himself as they condemn the hypocrisy of those who preach God’s words and commandments, but do not practice these themselves. 

In the second reading from the First Letter to the Thessalonians, however, St. Paul compares his ministry to that of a nursing mother, all gentleness and attention, removing burdens and rejoicing in the way the community truly received and understood “not a human word but, as it truly is, the word of God.”

I live in New England, where it has been a truly gorgeous autumn season.  All of the rain from the summer combined with warmer temperatures to produce a rainbow of golden foliage these last few weeks, a balm to those of us who dread the winter about to descend. 

And, like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, the trees exhibit one action on the surface, while actively undergoing another. Jesus critiques these officials because their outward actions do not illustrate what they claim to carry on the inside, that is, the love and mercy of God.

Our beautiful October trees are similar, if opposite: what appears to be a dying away, losing of leaves, and turning brittle for the long winter, is actually the very act that allows space for resurrection come spring. While the Pharisees turned inward out of selfish obligations for themselves, the trees turn inward in order to continue their life-sustaining work next year.

With the closing of the Synod assembly last weekend, and the disappointments for the LGBTQ+ community in particular around the final report, it is tempting to point to the institutional church as acting in the very way Jesus condemns in Matthew 23: 3-5, where the proclaimed beliefs do not match the outward actions:

“For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen.”

But, as New Ways Ministry’s statement responding to the assembly’s final report points out, we can and must take hope from not only the process itself, but from the open discussion and advocacy for full acceptance for LGBTQ+ persons from so many participants and members of the global church. 

Jesus’s condemnations for the Pharisees center on their emphasis of appearances over adherence to God’s desires for justice, love, and mercy. They focus honor and glory that should be reserved for God on themselves by claiming important seats at banquets, overemphasizing outward aspects of prayer, and refusing to help those burdened in their midst. Just as Jesus calls them to a shift in focus, we too can place our attention on those most burdened by both church and government structures that fail to grant dignity and respect to marginalized communities. Even as outwardly, we see some brittle branches, new life has been created within by the synodal process itself.

We can act in good faith for LGBTQ+ Catholics, continuing to press our parishes and communities to sponsor programs, create access for sacramental life, and follow a God who models radical inclusion and affirmation, especially of the most vulnerable.

We can act in hope as we see seeds that have been sown in the act of the Synod itself and in the voices that were previously ignored or excluded being included and even amplified. 

And we can continue to act out of love, always striving for our outward action to match our inner convictions of the Beloved Community, where the marginalized are centered and all are indeed truly welcome. 

—Angela Howard McParland (she/her), New Ways Ministry, November 5, 2023