Excommunication

Bill Gates passes away and his soul appears before God on Judgment Day. "Well, Bill I'm really perplexed on this one.  I'm not certain whether to send you to Heaven or Hell. After all, you exceptionally lend a hand to the humanity by setting a computer in almost every home in the world, and yet you created that appalling Windows. "I'm going to do something I've never made in the past. I'll let you choose where you want to go, God says.”

Bill replied, “Well, thanks God. May I know the distinction between the two?"

God said, "You’ll take a glance at both places momentarily if it will assist you to make your mind. Shall we peek at Hell first?"

"Sure! Let's go," Bill replied.

Bill was astounded! He spotted a clean, white sandy beach with crystal-clear waters. There were myriads of beautiful women running around, playing in the water, laughing and cavorting about. The sun was shining on its perfect temperature.

"This is great!" "If this is Hell, I can't wait to see Heaven, Bill Gates says"

God answered, "Let's go!" and so off they scurried to Heaven. At a bit distance, Bill saw bulbous white clouds in a beautiful blue sky with angels wandering about playing harps and singing. “It is pleasant but unquestionably not as beguiling as Hell,” Bill says.

Bill Gates reflected for only a brief moment and made his decision. "God, I do believe I preferred to go to Hell."

"As you wish," God said.

Two weeks after, God went to Hell to see how things were going. He found Bill Gates fettered to a wall, shrieking in the midst of the hot flames in a dark cave. He was being burned and tormented by demons.

"How are you doing, Bill?" God inquired.

Bill replied in agony and hopelessness, "This is dreadful! This is not what I anticipated at all! What happened to the beach and the stunning women having fun in the water?"

"Oh That!" God replies. "That was the Screen saver!!!"

Hilarious, is it not?  In real life, human could only see the surface of the gratification of sin but fails to steal a look on its entirety which excommunicates us of a good life designed by God. 

For example, because of failure on test of obedience, God expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden Eden where they were supposed to enjoy and share a perfect life (Genesis 3;22-23).  Because of this, we have missed God’s original plan for humanity.  It’s normal that we could hear some line of reasoning like, “Humanity would have not been in this innumerable numbers had Adam and Eve not committed a sin. No one can tell, because since day one, God was receptive to Adam’s need.  When he felt dejected, God made Eve to be his wife.  Meaning, there’s already this perfect plan which had been pre-emptied because of transgression.

Cain envied his brother Abel because God favored the latter and his offering which embittered him overly so that he killed his own brother. Because of this, Cain was banned from the land where he murdered Abel. (Genesis 4:11)

During the time of Noah, men were wiped out on earth through flood because of unbearable wickedness. (Genesis 6:11-13)

Sodom and Gomorrah was destroyed by God because of social injustice and homosexuality. (Jude 7) 

At the time of Moses, Pharaoh‘s nation was struck with different plagues because of his obstinate heart for enslaving the Israelites (Exodus 12:40) out of his insecurity and fear (Exodus 1:7-22) 

King Saul disobeyed God by pouncing on the spoil of the Amalekites. Because of this displeasure, God had rejected him to be the ruler. (1 Samuel 15:17-23)

Lust had brought David to kill Batsheeba's husband which in turn brought him to success in his obsession to get Batsheeba to be his wife, which brought disgrace to his retinue and family as a corollary of his infidelity against God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that certain particularly grave sins incur excommunication, the most severe ecclesiastical penalty, which hampers the reception of the sacraments and the exercise of certain ecclesiastical acts, and for which absolution as a result cannot be granted, except by the Pope, the bishop of the place or priests authorized by them. In danger of death any priest, even if deprived of faculties for hearing confessions, can absolve from every sin and excommunication

In 21^st century, we also have some cases of excommunication comparable to the occurrences in the past.  Pope Francis has excommunicated an Australian priest Fr. Greg Reynolds who publicly supports Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender (LGBT) rights, marriage equality and women’s ordination which are three big thumbs down in Catholic tradition.

In the community of lay, there was also an instance that both the doctors and the mother of the nine-year-old victim in the 2009 Brazilian girl abortion case penalized with automatic excommunication. The nine year-old child in Recife, Brazil victim had an abortion after being raped and impregnated by her stepfather resulting to conceive twins at a very young age.  In reality, the Brazilian media had already been reporting on the girl's condition for several days, and the hospital where she was initially admitted acknowledged that she was not at a risk. “While it was true the child ran health risks if she continued the pregnancy, "the end does not justify the means. The good aim of saving her life cannot justify the killing of two other lives."All efforts were focused on saving all three lives," the  Archdiocese  of Olinda and Recife,said. 

Sr. Margaret McBride who is a nun was also excommunicated for allowing an abortion. She later reconciled with the Church and is no longer living in a state of excommunication.

Which choice do you fall under these circumstances?

Excommunication happens not because God who anoints the Church is unfair but because we’re not even-handed. He gives us the best choice through the precepts which serve as a disciplinary measure but we create our own image of best choice, the gratification of sin than bliss of obedience. God's choice for men is life through obedience but men’s choice for his destiny is death through disobedience. The truth is it's us who excommunicate ourselves rather than God. 

Just like the computer, the pleasure of sin is only a screensaver whose beauty is merely on the surface.  The challenge is to explore beyond the screensaver to check what really stands out,  by making a decision not out of impulse but out of God’s blueprint which He entrusts through the church, the doctrine, Jesus' teaching, that is.     

Whatever it is, the choice that one makes today will be the kind of destiny that one will embrace tomorrow.

Matthew 16:27-28 For the Son of Man will come with His angels in His Father's glory, and He will repay everyone according to his conduct. Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Exodus 32:33-34 The Lord answered, "Him only who has sinned against me will I strike out of my book. Now, go and lead the people whither I have told you. My angel will go before you. When it is time for me to punish, I will punish them for their sin.

References:

1. Cindy Wooden, Pope accepts resignation of Brazilian who spoke about girl's abortion, Catholic News Service, Jul-2-2009, http://www.catholicnews.com 
2. Camille Beredjick, Pope Francis Excommunicates Priest for Supporting Women, LGBT People, September 25, 2013, http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2013/09/25/pope-francis-excommunicates-priest-for-supporting-women-lgbt-people/ 
3. Catechism of the Catholic Church, http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#1463