I remember the few times I encountered Muslim preachers on
the streets of Sydney and Melbourne. Their preaching was a mix of common sense,
a mixed up knowledge of Christianity and the Judeo-Christian scriptures, and a good
knowledge of the Koran and the Hadiths, all spiced up by a strong conviction
and dedication.
What called my attention the most, it was the fact that all
teaching and material was for free, and the copies of the Koran, a thick hard
cover edition in English and Arabic that would cost not less than $100 AUS dollars,
was given out for free.
In another occasion, an old English man, very sick and in
his last years, long ago, when I asked him why he did not go to church, he said
he was poor, and had no money to ‘pay’ for the services, clearly referring to
the collection plate.
The Church as an organization has expenses, buildings, staff
and clergy to support, apart from common everyday expenditures, not mentioning
hospitals, schools and missions. Our
Lord Jesus in fact taught us that the worker is worthy of his salary (Luke
10:7) and St Paul expressly said that the Preacher should be paid (1Corinthians
9:14).
All this is well, but we must never compromise the free gift
of the Gospel, the message of salvation and the sacraments, which includes the
Bible and catechesis, that God has provided freely for all humanity.
Christians acquire when they are baptised, the
responsibility to share in the keeping of the Church and the gospel message. The primary source of income for the Church maintenance
should be the offerings of the congregations, followed up by investments, even
though offerings are less and less in modern times.
Schools, according to the social status they are designed
for, make their own money, and so do private clinics and hospitals. Missions
are supported from the total income collected by the Archdiocese plus
donations, and clergy salaries in a similar way, or they should, but lately it
has been left to the parishes to support their own ministers instead of the diocese
in some places. But however all of these expenses are met, the delivery of the
message of salvation and the sacraments must always be kept free.
YHWH did not charge money for his forgiveness to Adam, his deliverance
of Noah or his promises to Abraham. Our Holy God did not collect tithes for the
deliverance of Israel from slavery, neither Lord Jesus waited to get paid
before preaching, healing the sick, resurrecting the dead or dying on the
Cross.
Our Lord Jesus said clearly,
‘Freely you have received; freely give.’
(Matthew 10:8)
And also
‘What I tell you in the dark, speak in
the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.’
(Matthew 10:27)
If money is interposed between the Gospel and the person we
aim to convert, he may be discouraged due to poverty or even may get a bad
impression that Christians are only there to take their money.
Even though this may not be out intention, what we think it
matters little to the man and woman on the street of no knowledge of Christ and
the Church, and a bad result will come out of this, especially when these costs
are extremely elevated, like when hundreds of dollars a head is charge to
average earners by wealthy preachers for an hour of their time, to support
their rich lifestyle while the unbeliever struggles to pay for his next meal.
Bible editions, catechetical material, preaching and
celebration of sacraments, all of them, including Marriage, should always be
available for free to all people, Christian and not Christians yet; from all
social levels, even the poorest. Salvation is for all, not only the rich.
Sacraments can be celebrated at home or in the Church
without pomp and ceremony, Bible editions and catechetical material by
donations and from a portion of the total income of the Archdiocese, and schools
for the poor and well as medical facilities, from a fraction of the total
income of Church owned private schools, private hospitals and clinics.
There may be different ways to add to this, even if that may
be taking a pay cut, or using normal lights instead of chandeliers or bishops cutting
down on cooks, drivers or car models.
If this means a free delivery of Jesus Message that saves a
human soul from eternal damnation, it is worth the sacrifice.
Omar Flores
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