The Church's Treasure

 

The Treasure of the Church

In what does the treasure of the Church consist? To the aesthetic it would be found in art, music, architecture and other fineries of beauty.  To the dogmatist it would consist in the “deposit of faith” given to the Church by Christ himself to be guarded and preserved until the second coming.  To the liturgist and sacramental theologian it would be found in the sacraments and liturgical practice of the Church.  But all these are wrong, and today’s feast day reminds us of where the true treasure of the Church lies.

St. Lawrence was a deacon commanded by the emperor to bring forth the treasures of the Church and give them to the emperor as tribute.  The empire, of course, meant money, gold chalices, and other fineries. St. Lawrence gathered up the poor of Rome, entered the palace, and declared, “Here is the treasure of the Church!”

The diaconate serves as a constant reminder that the Church’s treasure lies in people, most especially the poor.  All the other things mentioned above are all important things, but they are transitory in nature; they are a means to an end; and they all exist to serve the needs of the human person, who alone among all things has an eternal destiny and alone is loved by God unreservedly. 

The mission of the Church is directed to the service of persons as persons – as subjects to be respected and dignified, not as objects to be treated in transactional ways.  Too often the Church sees people as dollar signs and volunteers to be used rather than as persons with dignity.  It is no wonder that attrition is high both in church ministry and in church attendance. 

It is also little wonder that people feel marginalized by the Church when only certain persons are given priority in who we serve and advocate for in public policy to the neglect of others.  Or when one set of ethical standards exists for the ordained and a very different set for laity.  Or when sexual abuse of minors, the abuse of indigenous peoples, and the sexual use of adults by clergy takes place.  When the response to such scandals is denial followed by lawsuits followed by financial settlements the Church is not treating people as persons but as transactional objects of exploitation. 

Even more transactional is when “consultative processes” are undertaken by the Church for long term future planning.  A process is created that gives the appearance of listening, input, and consultation but in reality the decisions had been made long in advance on the future of communities and the process exists only as window dressing to provide the appearance of consultation.  People have seen this show before. They can see lay people used as props for video presentations by clergy on the end result of the “process”.  They know the layfolk are not allowed to speak.  Such processes are almost more insulting to people’s dignity.

Today’s feast is a call to diaconal service and a return to discover where the true treasure of the Church exists – in people, created in God’s image, redeemed in Christ, temples of the Holy Spirit.  It is a call once again to commit ourselves to one another in loving service and ordering all other things to the service of the human person.