Many Biblical passages have an underlying message reinforcing the validity of the Catholic Church and encouraging us to be obedient Catholics.
Today’s Reading, from Luke 10, 13-16, has a very Pro-Catholic message:
Jesus said to them, (the 72 disciples He sent out)
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented,
sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon
at the judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum, ‘Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the netherworld.’
Whoever listens to you (His 72 disciples) listens to Me.
Whoever rejects you (His disciples) rejects Me.
And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent Me.”
This, to many in schism, should be very, very scary. Jesus gave those 72 disciples very specific instructions. Luke 10:3-11 tells us what He told them to take and not take with them, where to stay, how to behave, and how to treat those who will not listen.
He leaves a dire promise: “Who ever listens to you listens to Me”. The lesson: Those who reject/ignore/disobey His appointed disciples are rejecting Jesus, Himself. They also reject The Loving Programmer Who sent Him.
Since Jesus is the “same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow”, it is only by being irrational that we may avoid concluding that we will end up in “the netherworld” if we disobey the instructions provided by the One and only Church He built on Peter to provide His guidance for the ages.
The Church still provides His specific instructions to those blessed to be within The Body of Christ on Earth. Those who ignore the message He provides through The Church end up like those in Capernaum, who thought they were going to get to Heaven by some other way than following Jesus.
Since Jesus is the same, yesterday, today, and tomorrow, His instructions must be obeyed by those who want to be saved in every age. Schisms are scary!
Of those who ignore Him in every age, Jesus clearly says: “You will go down to the netherworld.”
