“How The Catholic Church Crisis Impacts You & Me”
6/23/02 ACC
Alan Scott
C.T. – The moral failure of the priesthood within the Catholic Church points us to look at the priesthood of all believers and how we can avoid the same pitfalls.
Text – I Samuel 1, 2, & 3; I Peter 5:9
INTRO:
There is an unbelievable church scandal I want to talk about. It involves priests, abuse of power, sexual immorality, attempts at hiding and covering up sin, the raping and pillage of people’s faith, and religious callousness.
The scandal I’m referring to is found in the Old Testament. The shocking details are found in the book of I Samuel… chapters 1-3. (pg. 187)
I Samuel 1:3 – “Year after year this man went up from his town to worship and sacrifice to the Lord Almighty at Shiloh, where Hophni and Phinehas, the two sons of Eli, were priests of the Lord.”
I Samuel 2:12 – “Eli’s sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the Lord.”
- The tabernacle at Shiloh, where these evil priests worked, was the center of religious activity in the nation of Israel. Israelite men were required to go to Shiloh three times a year to worship and celebrate three different feasts.
- “Year after year…” Did these two evil priests simply grow comfortable, relaxed, and apathetic in their calling? Did they start out evil, or did they grow into being evil? Did they say, “Hey, let’s get into the priesthood so we can be contemptible to God and get him really ticked off at us!”
(Illus. – guys I went to school with – other ministers/pastors I looked up to – they have experienced a moral failure and are out of the ministry - … Dean of Men at CBC … - what happened? – did they start out saying, “Hey I want to go to school, study, spend lots of money preparing for ministry, and then I want to have a moral failure to erase everything?”)
Maybe the priests that went bad got comfortable. They stopped growing. They stopped learning. They stopped being hungry for more God in their lives.
In I Samuel, there is a stark contrast between these two evil priests, and a Godly priest
by the name of Samuel that is being raised up. Look at what is said about Samuel in
chapter 2, verse 26 – “And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor
with the Lord and with men.”
(Illus. – sometimes you hear me talk about Willow Creek, or a retreat, or a conference,
or a book, or a prompting that comes from a quiet time – if you stop hearing these
things from me – someone should wake and shake me – because when myself or any
one of us stop growing and stretching ourselves, we are inviting trouble)
Ecclesiastes 10:18 – “If a man is lazy, the rafters sag; if his hands are idle, the house
leaks.”
When we become comfortable, lazy and apathetic in our spiritual lives, we are inviting
sin and trouble. Within the Christian life, if you are not growing and moving forward,
you are moving backwards.
Let’s continue to unfold this priestly scandal…
I Samuel 2:13-16 (pg. 188) … read
What we’re they doing wrong? They were taking the sacrificial meat before it was
sacrificed. They wanted the best cut of meat for themselves. They wanted the meat
with the fat … and God had directed the Israelites to burn off or boil off the fat. They
were taking something that was for God and worship, and making it their own. They
were ignoring God’s commands. What good-hearted people were trying to give and
sacrifice to God, they took for their own benefit. What they wanted became the goal of
their priesthood. It was clear-cut, obvious abuse of power.
I Samuel 2:17 – “This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they
were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.”
What else were these priests doing wrong?
I Samuel 2:22 – “Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything his sons were
doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women who served at the entrance to the
Tent of the Meeting.”
With these women, who were probably coming to confide in and take comfort with
these priests, their bodies, souls and faith were raped. The very priests they placed their
trust in, were the same ones that robbed their trust.
And the scandal continues to unfold …
I Samuel 2:23 – “So he (Eli) said to them, ‘Why do you do such things? I hear from all
the people about these wicked deeds of yours. No, my sons; it is not a good report that
I hear spreading among the Lord’s people.”
Eli knew of the contempt and abuse and sexual immorality of his two sons … the two
priests. But he would only talk with them. Eli, the High Priest who was ultimately in
charge, never did anything about it. He verbally reprimanded them, but he never took
action to stop their sinful behavior. He basically looked the other way. He shoved it
under the rug, and he allowed Hophni and Phineas to continue to be priests.
Why wouldn’t Eli decidedly deal with such horrific sin? Because the O.T. law
specifically called for a cutting off or even killing of such individuals.
Does any of this Old Testament scandal sound vaguely familiar? It almost seems like I
could change a couple of the names, and I would be reading today’s USA Today
headlines.
What did God do with Hophni and Phineas? They were replaced with a faithful priest,
and then they were killed in battle. What did God do with Eli, the High Priest? His
power was removed. God’s blessing was removed. He died old, sad, full of regrets on
the same day he heard the news of his sons being killed. The wife of Phineas went into
labor when she heard this news. She was dying as she gave birth, and her last words
were to name her child. She named this baby “Ichabod” … meaning “the glory of the
Lord has departed.”
(Today’s Catholic Crisis)
- In March of this year, former priest John Geoghan (“Gai Gan”) was sentenced to 9-10
years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting a 10 year-old boy. Lawyers
are saying the Geoghan may have some 130 victims. The Boston archdiocese had
secretly paid $10 million to quietly settle some 50 other cases against Geoghan.
Mark Keane, 32, says he was raped by Geoghan when he was 14. Keane says, “It
really is the rape of your soul. It is not just physical abuse, it’s a betrayal of your faith.
It’s the most damaging thing imaginable. I can’t have faith now, and if I wanted to, I
have no place to turn.”
In 1995, Geoghan was told he had a problem and that he shouldn’t be with male minors
unsupervised. He was moved from different rehabilitation centers while he continued
to add the numbers of victims to his list.
- A Massachusetts priest, Father Paul Shanley, is being charged for repeatedly raping a
young boy from the time the child was 6 until he was 11 years old. There are some 30
other sexual abuse cases pending against Shanley. Shanley was moved around and
roamed from parish to parish for 30 years. While he was an active priest, he would
speak and argue that, “man-boy sex didn’t harm youth, that society’s condemnation
did.” The Boston archdiocese was forced to release 1,700 pages of complaints and
documents where no action was taken against Shanley.
- The Reverend Tom Johnston was a catholic priest spotted frequenting gay bars in
Detroit, MI. He would take young boys to an upstairs rectory bedroom and show them
a painting. of a naked Jesus hanging on the cross. Shanley would point out the fact that
he had posed for the painting.
- Arizona, 11 lawsuits filed against priests; California, 30 priests have been fired or
forced to resign; Connecticut, 3 priests removed; Delaware, 15 documented allegations;
Florida, highest ranking church leader stepped down after admitting abuse of a teenage
boy; Georgia, six claims and over $500,000 in settlements; Illinois, church leaders
removed for sheltering sexually immoral priests; Maine, two priests removed;
Maryland, priest charged male prostitution; Michigan, seven priests resigned; Nevada, a
priest is charged with fondling, photographing and production of pornography with
teen-age boys; and the list goes on and on … indicting every state but three.
But there’s more to the scandal …
Some people believe that while the molestation of young children is horrific, the true
shock is how church officials and leaders have reacted to and handled the sin. Some
Bishops and Cardinals have denied wrong doings. Others have tried to cover up and
ignore charges. Others have moved guilty, predatory priests from parish to parish. Still
some have paid out almost $1 billion in trying to settle and keep everything quiet. The
scandal continues because church leaders saw young kids not as
victims, but rather as liabilities.
Within this modern day church crisis you see a mirrored reflection of what we
uncovered back in I Samuel with Eli, Hophni and Phineas. Today, like in the O.T.,
there is abuse of power, raping of souls, bodies and faith, and an attempt to cover up
and ignore it all. And some are feeling “ICHABOD” … like the glory of the Lord has
departed.
What are we to make of all of this? How are we to deal with and handle this?
I. Let’s Gain A New Testament Perspective On An Old Problem.
In the book of Hebrews, Jesus is clearly identified as our high priest.
Hebrews 7:27 – “Unlike other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day
after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for
their sins once for all when he offered himself.”
Listen to what commentator David Watson writes –
“(Jesus) is now the eternal high priest in the heavens. All earthly and human
priesthood has now once for all been fulfilled and finished by that unique, final and
unrepeatable sacrifice of our great high priest who “is a priest forever” (Hebrews
7:24). The New Testament is absolutely consistent with itself. Since the priestly role
is fulfilled in Jesus, the term priest is never used for someone who holds a distinct
office in the church. Not once does it describe a class of people separate from the
(congregation).”
The New Testament idea is that Jesus is our High Priest … and we (believers) are all a
part of the priesthood.
I Peter 2:9 – “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
belonging to God.”
TWO IMPLICATION OF THE NEW TESTAMENT PRIESTHOOD:
1. We all have direct access to God through our one and only High Priest, Jesus.
2. We are priests to each other. We minister to and love each other … NOT totally dependent upon one priest, preacher, minister or pastor.
So before we get on our high horses and begin condemning, witch-hunting and burning at the stake every priest, pastor and preacher alive … let’s remember that WE ARE ALL PRIESTS!
There are those called to be special equippers, pastors, evangelists and elders (and they will be held to higher standards according to the Bible). But we are all priests.
So how seriously do you take the priesthood?
How does the Catholic Church crisis affect you and me?
How will you prevent the same pitfalls that happened to Eli, Hophni and Phineas …
and some of today’s Catholic priests … from happening to you?
II. Remember and Apply: AOL.com
1. Accountability For Sin
Galatians 6:1-2 – “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
Because we are the priesthood, we are to remind each other that sin is still sin.
Drunkenness is still sin. Pre-marital and extra-marital sex is still sin. Lust is still
sin. Gossip is still sin. Greed is still sin. Selfish ambition is still sin. Envy is
still sin. Fighting and division is still sin. We are to hold each other accountable.
(Illus. – Sunday morning at the close of a sermon – man came forward to make a
decision for Christ – he was noticeably disturbed and convicted of his sin – the
preacher asked this man if he wanted to say something to the rest of the
congregation – he meant to tell the church that his life was full of sin, but instead,
through tears and trembling said, “My sin if full of life!”)
(Illus. – staff accountability groups on Tuesday mornings – unwritten staff rules that
nobody should ride alone with someone of the opposite sex – Joe & Marsha were needing
to get stuff at Walmart – drove separately – then they saw a member of ACC at Walmart –
Joe goes into a profuse apology/explanation of why he and Marsha were together at
Walmart!)
My best place to be held accountable is my small group. We don’t yell at each
other, but we do talk, we do challenge, we ask questions, and we do hold each
other’s feet to the fire.
Do you have accountability built into your life? Most people, priests or not, that
fall into sin … don’t.
2. Others First
Why did God have priests in the first place? What was the purpose of priests?
Priests were to teach, model, lead, pray for, mediate, rebuke and hold up God’s high standards. By definition, a priest’s life was to be lived for the benefit of others.
(Illus. – woman came into my office – explained that several months ago she was
one that was complaining about not having anything at church for her – she was
complaining that we were a seeker-targeted church and that she was a believer –
by her own words, she admitted she was having a spiritual pity-party – but then
she began to talk about how she recognized a group of people, began employing her
spiritual gifts, and just started serving them – she gathered them and poured into them –
AND SHE FOUND WHAT SHE WAS LOOKING FOR!)
We are a priesthood. When our Christianity becomes only about ourselves, we
have begun our own religious scandal.
Oswald Chambers – “How long is it going to take God to free us from the morbid
habit of thinking about ourselves? The continual grubbing on the inside to see
whether we are what we ought to be generates a self-centered, morbid type of
Christianity, not the robust, simple life of the child of God. Are we prepared to
leave ourselves resolutely alone and to launch out in the priestly work?”
We may say we put other people first, but do we… really?
(Illus. – recently a young, married mom … very confused told me, “She would
die for her kids” – and then she went on to tell me about the affair she was
having)
In the Age of Oprah, I think we struggle putting others first because we
vehemently pursue our personal freedom. All of our relationships become
contingent on whether or not they are compatible with what’s best for us and our
needs.
II Timothy 3:1-2 – “… in the last days … People will be lovers of themselves.”
3. Listen To God
It’s interesting … when you go back and take a look at the priestly scandal in I Samuel, you see Hophni and Phineas not listening to God and being entangled in all kinds of sin. But there’s another priest that God is putting into place. And while Hophni and Phineas are going down, this other priest … Samuel… is praying this prayer: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
(Illus. – staff meeting – talking about our prayer lives – someone was talking that they go through the day praying … all the time! – someone else spoke up about the importance of slowing down and having a specific time of prayer – we talked about how when we go throughout our day praying, we are the ones doing most of the talking – but when we slow down to have a specific time of prayer, that’s when we can listen as well)
When was the last time you were directed or re-directed because you prayed: “Speak, for your servant is listening.”
CONCLUSION:
A – accountability for sin
O – others first
L – listen to God
And the .com is an abbreviation for COMMITMENT!
(Illus. – family coming into my office – they want to be proactive in making their
family GREAT – they are developing a family plan – much of their plan is about
accountability, others first and listening – but as we were getting down to the
nitty-gritty and forming a weekly family night – one daughter spoke of how hard
this was going to be – school, tennis, band, boyfriends – what am I supposed to
do? – are you serious about making your family great or not? – it’s going to take a
long-term commitment!)
(Communion served by the elders …)
