Diocesan News
Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe Diocesan Synods 2023
A Meeting of the Diocesan Synods of the United Diocese of Tuam Limerick and Killaloe was held at Hotel Woodstock in Ennis on Saturday 14th October 2023.
The conference began at 10:45 with a service of Holy Communion, using the set readings for the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity.
Bishop Michael preached on the Gospel passage Matthew 22: 1–14 which he said would also form his Presidential Address. In his sermon Bishop Michael took the parable of the wedding banquet in which the King sends out servants with wedding invitations who are killed by those the king is inviting. The king then sends out more servants inviting guests to the wedding feast but again those invited kill the messengers and ignore their invitation. Finally, the king sent an army to kill those who and destroy their city. The king then sends out his servants to the streets to gather those they could find to fill the wedding hall. However, the kings see one of the guests has not dressed appropriately in wedding clothes and the king has him tied hand and foot and banished into outer darkness.
Bishop Michael explained it was important to realise the context in which Matthew wrote these words. They were written after Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. The Jewish people had been punished for breaking their original covenant with God. Matthew quotes this parable to suggest that this would lead to a new young church which would become the new and true Israel. The bishop linked this to the destruction we see today in Israel.
The parable also showed the woeful tradition of antisemitism, Bishop Michael said. Antisemitism hasn’t gone away in our apparently civilised world, it still exists. Racism is a pyramid where apparently trivial remarks can fuel hatred at the top. In our society today we see prejudice and racism, we see how people who are different are not welcomed or accepted in our communities and that includes our church community. The bishop wondered whether structures such as this synod were truly representative of our church and our wider communities, did they proportionately represent the different cultures, orientations and if not why not?
A full report is available here on the diocesan website.
Diocesan Communications Officer, Tuam, Limerick & Killaloe
089 448 9353
Stephen Fletcher
comms@tlk.ie