Sara may be well-intentioned, but she and St. Gregory's are going about things the wrong way.
Sara Miles was an atheist who believed in the secular world, but one day she walked inside a church and after partaking in the Holy Communion her life changed completely. This is because to her, it was more than the physical eating of bread and drinking wine, it was the beginning of a new era in her life, a new relationship with Christ. This is an act that thousands and thousands of Christians are involved in every Sunday but to her it was an experience like none other. At the age of forty six, her lifestyle changed and she started to view the world in a completely different way. She started organizing for charity work and feeding the hungry in her community using her own money (Miles, p05).
St Gregory also known as Pope Gregory Ι, is famously known to be the last good pope. He served in the Catholic Community in the Roman Empire from 3rd September 590 – 12th March 604. He was a writer, and during his time he was more prolific than any other pope that came before him. He believed that all people are equal before the eyes of the Lord and they should be treated the same. He revised the laws of Roman Worship so as to incorporate all the members of the society.
Many Christian and Catholics believe that Sara and St Gregory have and had the right intentions but are going about it the wrong way. This is because people need to have rules on how to live and also in how to worship. Apparently there should be criteria that a person has to meet in order for them to be accepted into the church. People do require rules, but that is why we are in a sovereign state that has a government. These rules from the government are meant to protect us legally. And again if the church believes so much in rules, why are the clergy men and Christians breaking the one law that is clearly stated in the constitution that states no citizen should be discriminated against on basis of social class or background. The church out rightly turns away those who are not well off to fit into their congregation.
Sara believes that being a Christian is not about how much one knows the scriptures or winning arguments on the merits of Christianity, it is about the actions revealed to others. God has been gracious enough to give people the gift of life, not for their sake but to be able to do his will on earth and what other will could that be if not to help those in need without judging them. Today’s clergy men are like the Pharisees during the time of Christ, this is because they believe that they are holy and should not interact with the sinners, however Christ said that his mission on this earth was not to come and redeem those who are already redeemed but he came for the lost sheep, for the blind man, for the sinner who knows not of the Lord. If the clergy men and the Christians believe that preaching should strictly be done to the Christians at church who are baptized and receive the Holy Communion, then they are the ones seeing the situation with a wrong perspective and not Sara.
Jesus said that a good shepherd is one who goes out looking for one lost sheep and leaves the ninety nine found ones behind. That is why he would easily socialize and interact with thieves like the one he was crucified together with, prostitutes like Mary Magdalene and even tax collectors like Lazarus, this is because they are the ones he came for, they are his lost sheep. Christians are the people who believe that Christ, through Peter his disciple, left this mission to them. As they continue in this mission they should remember that at no time did Christ turn away someone based on their background. If Christians believe that Christ was the pioneer and the beginner of church, then they should act like Him. They should be the Sara and St Gregory of today. Sara in her book confesses that since she embarked on her journey with Christ she has been able to interact with all types of people from robbers, thieves, prostitutes and to homeless people and the one thing she has learnt about them all is that they all need someone to love them and not judge them.
Today’s churches have turned away from their original intention, which was to offer a place for the weak and powerless, the oppressed and the meek to run to for solace and love. However these days’ churches are changed and they are places where the rich go to show off their riches. They have stopped being a house of worship where people go to strengthen each other’s faith, they have become places where hip hop music is played and where architecture is demonstrated at the highest levels. According to Sara Miles churches have became places where all the secular things are allowed and termed as change in technology (Miles, p30).
According to Christ, Church is not the building, it is the people. Miles believes that one does not have to go to church on daily basis in order to be termed as the best Christian ever, nor does one have to hold some position in church or always be in the company of clergymen in order to qualify as a Christian. One simply needs to walk in the footsteps of Christ and incorporate his teachings in their lives (Miles, p107). This means just as Christ did not judge other do not judge them for only God knows their purpose on earth. Christ associated with the lost souls and embraced them so that they can come back to the kingdom of God and Christians should do the same. Finally, Christ refused to be caught up in man’s definition of the earthly religion because it discriminated the poor in spirit and the lost hearts. A true Christian who believes in all the teachings of Christ should not be caught up in the rules of the church; this is because they were made by man for his own selfish reason. A true Christian should follow the one commandment that Christ gave us, to love the Lord our God and to love our Neighbour as we love ourselves (Miles, p117).
The parable of the Good Samaritan is a good description of today’s world. The clergymen and Christians will pass a person in need because they are not born again yet they preach love, but people who act and show love like Sara Miles will come and nurse the wounds of this helpless person and love them just like Christ would have done.
Work cited
Miles Sara, Take This Bread; A radical Conversion, Random House Publishing Group, 2008
