{"id":735,"date":"2007-07-12T07:31:37","date_gmt":"2007-07-12T12:31:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=735"},"modified":"2022-01-02T07:38:19","modified_gmt":"2022-01-02T12:38:19","slug":"lets-hear-it-for-the-little-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ocularfusion.net\/?p=735","title":{"rendered":"Let’s Hear It For The Little Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Among all the things that Pope Benedict XVI has stated recently<\/a>, it’s important to remember one thing that he did not<\/em> say: that those believers outside the Roman Catholic Church are not true Christians.<\/p>\n

And I don’t believe that he would say that, because that’s not the official teaching of the Catholic Church (although there are many Catholics still today who might say that). What he did say is that those “ecclesial communities” formed by those other Christians are not churches in the “proper sense” because they do not have apostolic succession and are therefore “defective.” That has always been the view of the Catholic Church and the Pope is, for whatever reasons, basically stating what has always been official teaching.<\/p>\n

There is nothing new here. It’s just that after all the ecumenical rapprochement of the late John Paul II, Benedict’s statement, along with his recent loosening of the reigns on the Latin Mass<\/a>, strike many as a hard right turn toward pre-Vatican II days.<\/p>\n

Many, of course, have claimed that their church is the only true church, including a certain denomination with which I am intimately familiar<\/a>. The difference is, that in the case of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, there is considerable weight behind their historical arguments.<\/p>\n

I recognized very early in my personal study of church history, that the church became “Catholic” in both name and practice very, very early. In fact, the New Testament Canon<\/a> and the Christology<\/a> that we Protestants take for granted were the result of “Catholic” Christians doing the difficult and sometimes dirty work of discernment which was necessary in those wild and wooly days of the early church when “the message” was still up for grabs between many competing groups of believers. I have often said that, if nothing else, the church had to be “Catholic” before it could be anything else.<\/p>\n

Like them or not, Protestants, if they are honest and historically astute (and legions are not), should at least look in the general direction of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches and offer up a nod of thanks. We stand on the shoulders of others.<\/p>\n

At the same time, there has always been paradox, the tension between the visible, organized, institutional church and, for lack of a better term, “the little guy.”<\/p>\n

To wit, Mark 9:38-41:<\/p>\n

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“Teacher,” said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”<\/span><\/p>\n

“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “No one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, <\/span>for whoever is not against us is for us. <\/span>I tell you the truth, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to Christ will certainly not lose his reward.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

It’s important to note here what Jesus did not<\/em> say. He did not tell the man to come join their “ecclesial community.” The sense here is that the man was allowed to go on his way, imperfectly taught, perhaps, but doing the thing that apparently trumped both knowledge and card-carrying membership, indeed, the thing that counted the most–passing out cups of cold water.<\/p>\n

In the book Crossing the Threshold of Hope<\/a><\/em>, the late Pope John Paul II was asked why the Holy Spirit would have permitted such division and enmity among those who claim to be disciples of Christ. Here was his answer:<\/p>\n

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In general, the causes and historical development of these divisions are well known. It is legitimate, however, to wonder if there is perhaps a metahistorical reason as well<\/em>.<\/p>\n

There are two possible answers to this question. The more negative one would see in these divisions the bitter fruit of sins committed by Christians. The more positive answer is inspired by trust in the One who is capable of bringing forth good even from evil, from human weakness. Could it not be that these divisions have also been a path continually leading the Church to discover the untold wealth contained in Christ’s Gospel and in the redemption accomplished by Christ?<\/em> Perhaps all this wealth would not have come to light otherwise…<\/p>\n

More generally, we can affirm that for human knowledge and human action a certain dialectic<\/em> is present. Didn’t the Holy Spirit, in His divine “condescendence,” take this into consideration? It is necessary for humanity to achieve unity through plurality, to learn to come together in the one Church, even while presenting a plurality of ways of thinking and acting, of cultures and civilizations.<\/em> Wouldn’t such a way of looking at things be, in a certain sense, more consonant with the wisdom of God, with his goodness and providence?<\/p>\n

(BTW, the italics are his, not mine)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

He went on to call for Christians to be united in love and to point out that “mutual respect is a prerequisite for authentic ecumenism.” I’m wondering if Pope Benedict and his men in The Vatican might do well to go back and reread those words before tossing around the word “defect” all over the place. Might there be another way to phrase what they’re trying to say? Just a thought.<\/p>\n

And by the way, “Whoever is not against us is for us,” is no feeble phrase. It forces Christians everywhere to look for ways to reconcile everything from Popes with all their pomp and circumstance to the blue collar theology of Jesus Camp<\/a>, a tall task if there ever was one.<\/p>\n

So let’s hear it for the “little guy.” And the big guys. And all the guys in between. May we all do more good than harm as we travel more or less in the same general direction along the pilgrim path.<\/p>\n

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