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Section II: Walking together (synodos)
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What then should we do? (Lk 3:10)
This question, asked so many years ago by the disciples of John the Baptist, finds an echo today in our own hearts. John had announced a new chapter of sacred history in which “all flesh will see the salvation of God” (Lk 3:6). In the face of so great a revelation his disciples could only ask, “What then should we do?” Having experienced the power and the promise of a historic Synod Assembly, we too find ourselves on the threshold of a new chapter in the sacred history of this Archdiocese, and we cannot help but ask, “What then should we do?” That is, in fact, the great question of this pastoral letter.
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The harvest is abundant
Where do we begin in answering it? I propose that we begin by following Jesus. With religious imagination, let us walk with him from town to town in Galilee and witness him “teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom and curing every disease and illness” (Mt 9:35). Imagine his face revealing a heart that is moved with compassion at the distress of the people he encounters, who are “like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9:36). Nevertheless, as he gazes upon those vast crowds he is able to see with divine perception that “[t]he harvest is abundant” (Mt 9:37).
I have to say that this same perception came into focus within my own heart as I traveled from parish to parish for the many Prayer and Listening Events of 2019-2020 and the Parish Consultation of fall 2021.
I too encountered people who seemed troubled and abandoned. I feel privileged to have heard their stories and even to have felt some of their pain. But I also felt the strength of their faith. Just as the hurting crowds would not have sought out Jesus without believing in his power to heal them, neither would the faithful of this Archdiocese have come out in such great number to these events without hope in the power of the Holy Spirit to renew their beloved Church. At the sight of those crowds, I too could perceive in faith, “The harvest is abundant.” My dear sisters and brothers, as we begin the process of Synod implementation, I invite you to believe with me that these words of Jesus are as true for us today in the Archdiocese as they were for the people of Judea and Galilee 2,000 years ago!
(Source: archspmmainsite/Synod_Pastoral+Letter)
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