Everyone then who hears
these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his
house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on
that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And
everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a
foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came,
and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its
fall!
~
Our Lord Jesus Christ
Christianity has requirements.
This statement is not a political comment. But it can be
if it needs to be.
Neither is this statement controversial for the
Church Catholic (that is "universal Church" for my more hardcore
Protestant friends who read this blog post).
This is an uncontested truth for any person who
in good conscience call themselves followers of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
But for some inexplicable reason, this seems to
be the background issue of the popular reaction to Pope Francis calling out
those who “talk the talk” of Christianity and do not “walk the walk.”
Christian Infighting
There is nothing new
about the conflict between Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians. Its
history has been exhaustively documented, debated, and profoundly misunderstood
by the vast majority of Christians that I owe my heritage to in our Lord. As a
child all the way through high school I was taught various things about the
Roman Catholic Church that I have discovered, in my undergraduate studies in
college, were patently untrue. On the same note, I have met Roman Catholics who
also believe certain things about the Protestant Church that are also patently
untrue. The issue goes both ways.
But there is something
more subtle at work in the criticisms that each side has of the other: they conceive
of each other quite simply as “Other.”
One side champions the
Reformations of Martin Luther, Jean Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, and others. These theologians
stood against the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching of “works based righteousness”
and instead restored the understanding of salvation as “Christ alone, by grace
alone, through faith alone” and that the inward spiritual sanctification of a
person led them to therefore outwardly bear fruit for the kingdom of God (http://www.theopedia.com/five-solas).
The other side sees
this Reformation as a break with the unity and interpretation of the Church Catholic.
By saying that faith alone is what justifies a person seemed to directly
contradict the book of James, stating that “faith without works is dead” (Jas.
2:14-17). There was a more subtle way of understanding this divide, and to
simply say “faith alone” seemed, interestingly enough, profoundly unbiblical to
the Roman Christian leaders. There was a requirement by Our Lord to DO what He
said, and if we do not follow that requirement, we are like the foolish man,
building our house on the sand. Thus, let us do what Jesus asks us to show that
we believe Him and He will surely give us the strength to do it.
(The comments above
are a GROSS oversimplification of the problem on my part, but I’m not here to
argue 16th century Christianity)
What is my point? The
point is that, in an unexpected turn of events, both Churches have similar
understandings that we have to both believe in Jesus and do what Jesus says.
I believe the divide
between Protestants and Catholics is not a salvific issue: it is a wall
(remember that word).
Pope Francis’s Critique
Into this chaotic “walled”
area is then injected the Roman Pontiff’s words in an interview about the United
States presidential race. The interviewer asked Francis if he would vote for a
person “like Donald Trump.” I emphasize the word “like” because notice
how Francis responds to the question:
“A person who thinks only about building
walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian. This
is not in the Gospel. As far as what you said about whether I would advise to
vote or not to vote, I am not going to get involved in that. I say only that
this man is not Christian if he says things like that. We must see if he said
things in that way and in this I give the benefit of the doubt.”
(http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-of-pope-francis-in-flight-interview-from-mexico-to-rome-85821/)
The comments on Francis’s
words range from a polite push back to outright ridiculous accusations. The
censored, kid friendly versions go from “Well now, look at that. Who is that
guy to call out another person’s faith? He should apologize” all the way to “The
Pope is dumb.”
To view the uncensored
versions, just type “Pope versus Trump” into your browser and enjoy.
These comments aside,
notice how Francis does not name Trump in his response. He gives a more
general, perhaps universal, response that should apply to all who take the name
“Christian.” But the meaning is obvious: anyone who is “like” Donald Trump is
the target of the Pontiff’s charge, thus leading to backlash.
But the main issue is
this: is this criticism actually that outlandish?
If the Pope sounds
like anyone, he sounds like the Apostle Paul.
Paul’s ministry in the
New Testament was quite clearly the “apostle to the Gentiles” (Rom 11:13, Eph
3:1, Gal 2:8, etc.). In this particular part of Paul’s ministry, he had to
answer how Gentiles could also be followers of Jesus and if they had to also
keep full Torah observance. We know well how he was led to answer those
questions, but the theme is obvious: the wall of separation
between Jew and Greek, slave and free, male and female, were being torn down
because of the action of Our Lord (Gal 3:28).
Guess who else the
Pope sounds like? Our Lord Jesus Himself.
Luke 5:27-32 shows
Jesus is eating with “tax collectors and sinners.” These weren’t the people
that the Pharisees and scribes hung out with a lot. Besides, weren’t tax
collectors known for being greedy Roman conspirators? Our Lord didn’t exactly
seem to care.
How about when Jesus
proclaims salvation to the Samaritan woman in John 4. This, interestingly
enough, is the longest dialogue between Jesus and another person in any of the
Gospels. And it is with a Samaritan. And a woman at that! Talk about
breaking down walls socially and politically.
Our Christian Responsibility
In conclusion, I want
to leave this exhortation:
If we want to claim
the name Christian, then let us believe in Our Lord and His Grace and Mercy.
Believing unto salvation involves the personal relationship of the person with
Christ, but also the communal engagement of the community of Christ. It is not
simply “me and Jesus.” It is “Us and Jesus” as well.
If we want to claim
the name Christian, then let us DO what Our Lord asks of all of
us as the Church Catholic. In the words of God through the prophet Micah, “…do
justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8b).
And finally, a
personal plea: for goodness sake, let’s all consider Catholics and Protestants as
part of the Church Catholic. Yeah, we are different. Sometimes really different. But it burdens me personally to see such
disconnection, animosity, and such thick walls between us.
Please, instead, just
strive for Our Lord’s prayer for His apostles:
“May they be one as
you [the Father] and I are One” (John 17:20-24).
-
by Mark Harris
