20250917 IS THERE A NEED TO BELONG TO A CHURCH?
17 September 2025, Wednesday, 24th Week in Ordinary Time
First reading |
1 Timothy 3:14-16 |
The mystery of our religion is very deep
At the moment of writing to you, I am hoping that I may be with you soon; but in case I should be delayed, I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family – that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe. Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed:
He was made visible in the flesh,
attested by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed to the pagans,
believed in by the world,
taken up in glory.
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 110(111):1-6 |
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart
in the meeting of the just and their assembly.
Great are the works of the Lord,
to be pondered by all who love them.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Majestic and glorious his work,
his justice stands firm for ever.
He makes us remember his wonders.
The Lord is compassion and love.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
He gives food to those who fear him;
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
He has shown his might to his people
by giving them the lands of the nations.
Great are the works of the Lord.
or
Alleluia!
Gospel Acclamation | cf.1Th2:13 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Accept God’s message for what it really is:
God’s message, and not some human thinking.
Alleluia!
Or: | cf.Jn6:63,68 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your words are spirit, Lord, and they are life;
you have the message of eternal life.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Luke 7:31-35 |
'We played the pipes, and you wouldn't dance'
Jesus said to the people:
‘What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like children shouting to one another while they sit in the market-place:
‘“We played the pipes for you,
and you wouldn’t dance;
we sang dirges,
and you wouldn’t cry.”
‘For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, “He is possessed.” The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, “Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Yet Wisdom has been proved right by all her children.’
IS THERE A NEED TO BELONG TO A CHURCH?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [1 TIM 3:14-16; PS 111:1-6; LK 7:31-35]
Is there really a need for a Church? Many today are asking whether belonging to a Church–or even a denomination–is necessary. Does it matter which Church we attend? Is it not enough to simply have faith in Jesus Christ? Indeed, many Christians today do not profess themselves as members of any Church, yet claim to have faith in Christ and believe in Him. Some even conclude that faith in Christ is not necessary, so long as they have faith in God. They argue that belonging to an institutional religion is unnecessary, so long as they believe there is God.
What are the reasons for the rejection of Churches and religions? The most common is that there are too many Churches, divided by doctrines and teachings, making it difficult to know which one is true. Worse still, scandals among religious leaders cause disillusionment. Some exploit believers for money, living lavishly at their expense. As a result, many distrust Church leadership and religious institutions. With the internet amplifying stories of corruption and abuse, it is understandable why some are sceptical of the Church.
Of course, there are some who do so simply to avoid commitment and responsibility. This is the real reason, rather than that they are put off by the sins of Church leaders and members. As Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “What description can I find for the men of this generation? What are they like? They are like the children shouting to one another while they sit in the market place: ‘We played the pipes for you, and you wouldn’t dance; we sang dirges, and you wouldn’t cry.'” People will always find excuses to defer commitment. Some, living sinful lives, claim they do not attend church because they do not want to be “hypocrites” like those who go. By this reasoning, not going to church appears more sincere than attending. The conclusion, then, is that unless we are perfect and holy, we should not go to church. But if one is already perfected in grace and virtue, why go at all? Clearly, this logic is flawed, for the Church exists not for the perfect but for sinners seeking God’s mercy.
In truth, as the Lord said, we cannot please everyone. Those unwilling to go to church will always find excuses. “For John the Baptist comes, not eating bread, not drinking wine, and you say, ‘He is possessed.’ The Son of Man comes, eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Yet wisdom has been proved right by all her children.” So, we pick and choose our response based on our prejudices, or just to find an excuse for not accepting the invitation. Likewise, in our churches, no service can satisfy all tastes: some complain the service is too long, others too short; some want solemn hymns, others prefer lively music; some demand Latin chants, others modern worship songs. It is simply impossible to please everyone.
Despite these imperfections and constraints, we must still return to the all-important question: Do we need the Church to help us in our faith, or is personal belief in God or Christ enough without belonging to a Church? The answer lies in recognising that whatever level of faith we have in God or in Christ is somehow conditioned and formed by the Christian community. In other words, our faith in God, in the Holy Trinity, the Bible, the Sacraments, and the institutions of the Church are dependent on what has been passed down to us by the Christian community. Faith is never purely personal and individualistic. No one comes to faith in Christ entirely on their own–it is always received, taught, and handed down by others. Christian faith, therefore, is not a personal discovery but a gift rooted in the faith of a community. Whether Roman Catholic, Methodist, or Anglican, our doctrines and practices are shaped by the tradition we belong to.
Faith is communitarian. For this reason, we cannot say that we do not need the Church because, as St Paul wrote, “I wanted you to know how people ought to behave in God’s family – that is, in the Church of the living God, which upholds the truth and keeps it safe.” The Church is God’s family. She upholds the truth and is the custodian of the faith. Without the Church, there would be no common doctrines, for each person will formulate his own; no unified faith called Christianity; no Scriptures, since the authenticity and inerrancy of the Bible require the authority of the Church to discern which writings are divinely inspired; and no Sacraments, because authority is needed to determine how the rituals are to be validly performed and celebrated in accordance with the Word of God. In fact, without the Church, there will be no Bible because the authenticity of the different books of the Bible requires the authority of the Church to recognise it as of divine inspiration and having God as its primary author.
Furthermore, the Church does not teach on human reasoning alone. St Paul underscored this when he said, “Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is very deep indeed: He was made visible in the flesh, attested by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the pagans, believed in by the world, taken up in glory.” Truly, Christian faith, while reasonable, is not based on reason alone but on divine revelation, and therefore requires faith. Reason can only bring a person to the threshold of faith, giving good grounds for credibility, but faith is required for a person to embrace it as a divine revelation. St Paul underscores that the Christian religion is a mystery. The word “mystery” denotes not only something hidden and not totally grasped, but also something mystical and an eschatological anticipation of what is to come at the end of time. Faith is to believe in something unseen, though given a foretaste of it in the present.
Indeed, when St Paul speaks of the Incarnation of the Word of God, it requires faith. How can one believe in the Incarnation without faith? How could God, who is eternal, and above all creation, assume our humanity? Incarnation is a mystery of faith. We cannot prove it although we can explain why the Incarnation of God took place in Christ for our salvation. Christian faith, through the Church, understands the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity as God emptying Himself to be one of us, so that He could show us the way to salvation by being identified with us and showing us how to be aligned to God’s will.
Not only does the Incarnation require faith; the glorification of our Lord in His Resurrection and Ascension as well. The Resurrection can only be perceived through the eyes of faith, and so, too, the Ascension. It was not simply Jesus ascending into the heavens, but His being glorified by the Father and the sending of the Holy Spirit. None of these can be seen with our physical eyes, but only with the eyes of faith. This is why our religion is a mystery that calls for our active participation in the liturgy, so that through the rituals and sacraments we celebrate, we may enter into a relationship with God in faith. By extension, faith is also required for the transubstantiation of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ at Mass, and for the efficacy of the other sacraments as means by which God gives us His grace and mercy. Only by faith in our Lord Jesus as the Christ and His power, provides us the access to see the wonders of God at work in our lives. With the psalmist, we thank God for our Church, for the Christian community that continues to inspire us and lead us to Him.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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