By Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Content Agency
Apr 16, 2015
Q: When the current pastor arrived, our Catholic parish was a vibrant, singing community. Now, after many of his changes, it is not. Many parishioner have left. After a few attempts to speak to the pastor about what's been going on, I wrote a letter to Pope Francis, which I copied both the pastor and the bishop. The letter was signed by my best friend and myself.
To our amazement, we received a letter back from the pastor calling us liars and saying we were trying to scandalize him with false allegations. There were no lies in that letter. After licking my wounds, I decided to share his response, along with a copy of my letter, with the Pope and the cardinal.
We all know the story of the Good Shepherd who leaves his flock to find the one lost sheep. Well, due to this priest's response, a few sheep that have stopped going to church and are even questioning the very basics of our faith. I, being an older, more stubborn sheep, still attend Mass at my church, but in honesty, while physically I'm there, my heart and soul are not.
While my friend and I knew we wouldn't hear from the Pope, as He certainly has bigger fish to fry, we never thought we'd be treated so rudely and heartlessly by our parish priest. Would Jesus have been so cruel? So, we beg the question: What do the lost sheep do when the shepherd is not good? -- Anonymous, via cyberspace
A: I wish I could spend every column defending clergy. God knows some of them are bad shepherds, but let's just step back for a moment and take a breath.
You're describing a man who's taken a vow of celibacy, poverty and obedience in order to serve God and the Catholic Church until he dies in poverty, without a family to mourn him. Are you, Mr. Angry Sheep, ready to make that kind of sacrifice for God and your church?
Please understand, I don't mean to attack you the way you were attacked your pastor. Your pastor may, indeed, be in dire need of people skills and compassion. However, your accusations seem rather mild. They don't, thank God, include charges of pedophilia or other unforgivable and criminal behavior. From your letter, it seems as though your parish priest's principal sin, in your eyes, is that he doesn't sing enough!
You said you've tried to talk with your pastor. How many attempts did you make? In any event, your next step should have been to write the pastor a personal letter outlining your grievances and asking again for a face-to-face meeting to work out constructive solutions to the problems you've observed for the good of the parish.
Instead, you went over his head and ratted him out. Why you thought that would work out is bewildering.
I've seen such actions in synagogues (never my own, where everybody loved me all the time) and Protestant churches. Some congregants treat their clergy rudely, like employees who are at their beck and call. Then, when staff disappoint them, they go straight to the board of trustees and try to make life difficult for them.
Clergy are people who are only trying to serve their congregations and God. Sometimes, how they see that service doesn't always mesh with how their flock sees things. Do you think even a good shepherd is loved by every sheep?
When I interviewed at the synagogue I served for 33 years, I told them flat out: "I believe that working here will be a blessing for me and a blessing for you, but there is one thing you must know about me. There will not be one day when I think I work for you. Every day, I will be working for God. There are two reasons I'm telling you this. The first is that it is true, and the second is that if I worked for you, I'd have to do what you want, but if I work for God, I can do what you need."
I strongly urge you to apologize to your pastor and begin together the hard work of gathering the flock, which is ultimately his sacred task, and being part of a faithful flock, which is your sacred task. Being a shepherd is hard and being a sheep is hard, but both need each other so neither lacks anything that God has given.
(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad via email at godsquadquestion@aol.com.)
Zig Ziglar
Apr 16, 2015
If you're an avid fan of golf, you might remember that John Daly won the British Open in 1995. What you might not know is that there were some "unsung heroes" involved -- Corey Pavin, Brad Faxon, Bob Estes, Mark Brooks and the caddy. The first four were tour players who had played in the tournament but did not make the playoffs. Constantino Rocca sank a 65-foot putt to tie John Daly, which sent the two into a playoff.
Many people thought Rocca's putt completely shifted the momentum, and in all probability, Rocca had snatched the title out of John Daly's hand. They wondered if John would be able to recuperate and respond to the game. That's when Pavin, Faxon and Estes came over with Mark Brooks and supplied Daly with a distance card, which measures the exact distance from each spot on the course. It seems that Daly had misplaced his.
These four people, along with the caddy, encouraged and assured John that he was going to win, and the caddy was there to help him read those tricky British greens. When you combine all their efforts together with the fact that Daly was playing unusually well that day, you have the reason Daly won the British Open.
It's true that Daly got all the publicity and all the money, but the question is: Had those people not been there to help Daly, would he have won the British Open? Personally, I doubt Daly would've gained the title. That might be selling Daly short, but I don't think so. Encouragement from others makes a tremendous difference in what we are able to accomplish.
John Daly felt good about winning -- so did Corey Pavin, Brad Faxon, Mark Brooks, Bob Estes and the caddy. The message: There's tremendous reward in being an "unsung" hero -- I'll see you at the top!
April 15:
RUSSIA: GEORGE JELTONOSHKO
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 37:5-6
George Jeltonoshko knew his government did not want people propagating the gospel of Christ, but he had a stronger conviction to obey the commandments of Christ-even if it conflicted with the laws of his country.
It was not a huge surprise to him when the police came to his door. He figured it was inevitable that they would find out about his ministry activities because of the literature he had been spreading. When his trial date came, he was given a state-appointed Communist attorney. George boldly told the judge, “I don’t want a lawyer. I feel I am right, and righteousness needs no defense.”
The judge asked him, “Do you plead guilty?”
He replied, “No. To spread the good news of God’s love is the duty of all Christians.”
The judge then asked him to join the ranks of the “official churches,” which were nothing more than state-run puppet churches. But George refused. The state church followed the commandments of the state, not the commands of God.
The judge was getting frustrated. “Where do you meet for worship?” he demanded.
George answered, “True believers worship everywhere.”
He was sentenced to three years in prison where George Jeltonoshko continued to carry out his work and worship. He was right. Righteousness needed no defense.
Doing the “right thing” may be a popular motto. That’s easier said than done, however, because what is right in God’s eyes often conflicts with popular opinion. The dispute between right and wrong often becomes apparent in a classroom, a workroom, and even a courtroom or church. We can’t rely on our environment to tell us what is right. People can persuade us to confuse compromise with righteousness. God’s Word is the only defense for determining what is right in every situation. Others may not understand or agree with the choices we make. However, God promises to honor our commitment to doing what is right. Those who observe us will see the light and feel the warmth of our righteous actions.
By Billy Graham, Tribune Content Agency
Apr 15, 2015
Q: My wife seems to be getting more and more depressed. A friend of hers says she just needs to pray more and have more faith, but I'm not sure if that's right. Is depression just a spiritual problem, like her friend says? -- J.W.
A: Sometimes depression does result from spiritual problems, and if so, they need to be faced and confessed, and brought to God for forgiveness and healing. After King David committed the sin of adultery, he fell into a deep depression that affected him both mentally and physically -- until he repented. He later wrote, "When I kept silent, my bones wasted away" (Psalm 32:3).
However, depression can have many other causes. I'm not a doctor or psychiatrist, of course, but I know of cases that came about because of chemical or hormonal imbalances in the body, and were successfully treated when these imbalances were corrected. Other cases may develop due to worry or stress, or from emotional traumas that happened many years ago.
Whatever the cause of your wife's depression, I strongly urge you and your wife to seek professional help for her problem. Don't be ashamed or feel that you're somehow showing a lack of faith. If you had a broken bone you'd seek help -- and if you have a broken emotion you also should seek help. One place to begin would be with your family physician. If your wife needs counseling, your pastor may be able to direct you to someone who's both spiritually sensitive and professionally competent.
I know these are difficult days for you both, but do all you can to let your wife know you love her -- and so does God. The Bible says, "We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak" (Romans 15:1).
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(Send your queries to "My Answer," c/o Billy Graham, Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, 1 Billy Graham Parkway, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.)
