Friends, once the faith is reduced to transaction, whether of miracles, power or money, then we have succeeded in creating false gods or idols since these replace the priority that we ought to give to God above every other thing. God is the first; the Alpha and Omega; nothing comes before or after. Power belongs to God and in that sense no power should be exercised in a way that prevents an encounter with God. Sometimes our innocent pursuit of miracles and signs can become vain, since it reduces our vision of the depth of God’s presence in our simple day to day lives.

Also, the focus on power, and positions in the Church, whether in terms of demonstrating the charism that we receive from the Holy Spirit or in the exercise of ecclesiastical authority (like in clericalism) takes us away from perfect example of the Crucified one. The result is that we will keep playing to the gallery, seeing the Church as an institution in empty competition with other institutions in the society, and afraid of exercising the radical prophetic vocation of the Church in the world.

Brethren, the power of the followers of Christ is in the example of the powerlessness of Christ, who gave up His life out of love for many. Let us always bear in mind that the House of the Father is not a marketplace, and the Church is not an item in the marketplace of the world. The Church is the sacrament of God’s salvation in the world.