Called by God to serve in public

The texts today from the Roman Catholic Lectionary present qualities desirable in those who are the public leaders in the Church. The spread of scandal and the offering of bad example to those who are being initiated into their understanding of the Church is particularly noted as being a serious sin by Jesus in the passage from the Gospel of Luke. Our society today exhibits dualistic concern in this area. The hypocrisy and evil actions of some Church leaders continue to be an obstacle for many to investigate development of their relationship with God within the traditional Church. At the same time, the idea that someone else can prescribe discipline in our behaviour is taken as a violation of our freedom to choose. The attributes of those, according to the psalmist, who ascend the mountain of the Lord are clean hands and pure heart. These people who experience the Presence do not lift up their souls to what is false and they do not swear. The authentic faith of the blessed is described by Jesus as being the size of the mustard seed. Living in that faith transforms the disciple so that the qualities enumerated in the letter to Titus for the selection of bishops develop in people. The ancient understanding of “orders” is a calling by God from the community of believers. The evidence of a call inspired by God is the growth of the virtues of selflessness, charity, compassion, peace, forgiveness and faithfulness in the candidate for ordination.