Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven
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| Sunny Days in Heaven Spiritual/Political/Philosophical Blog on the Nature of Truth and Falsehood and Heaven |
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Tuesday, May 14, 2002 The Face of God In a small Protestant evangelical church in Kansas a number of years ago, during a Sunday service, Jesus appeared and walked down the center aisle and approached the sanctuary. He walked up the steps and went to the ambo or lectern. From there he spoke to the gathering. No one quite recalls what it was he talked about. They were in simple awe. They had no idea how long he spoke to them while he was there, but it wasn't a long while as far clock time goes. Jesus then either walked out or simply disappeared gradually from where he stood. I got this story (which I may not recall in exact detail) from a book I briefly read at Border's in the Christian section on modern appearances of Jesus. I bring this story up because I once had something similar happen to me in church and something that happened to my wife apart from me. There are many Catholic saints who are so regarded because the claimed to have had singular or frequent appearances of Jesus before them. St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits is said to have seen Jesus frequently in the sanctuary while saying Mass, for example. These stories have often been used to bolster the notion that the RCC is special and blessed above all others because of Jesus' frequent endorsement by regular appearances to its saints. I met Jesus in my Catholic church during the Rite of Welcome. My wife saw Jesus look at her from the monstrance of the Blessed Sacrament during a Stations of the Cross ceremony. If anything seemed to endorse the RCC fully as the absolute truth, such "proofs" as these seemed more than enough; even though Jesus did not specifically say - "Rome is the Way." But then I looked at this book in which Jesus made appearances to others under circumstances different from mine in that they took place both outside of church or inside a church, before one person or many, and never seemed to give any particular opinion about who had their theology perfectly correct. Certainly an evangelical Protestant would take an appearance by Jesus in his church and assume it meant he was in the right and most perfect place (so long as the message could not be construed as -"get out while you can!"). Well, if Jesus is profligate about whom and where he appears to those who love him or want to love him, then why should I be so parsimonious toward them by thinking my Church has all the answers and is the next best thing to heaven itself? That's what I want to ask my more doctrinal Catholic friends who are head over heels in love with the RCC Catechism. How do you explain away Jesus loving his children and friends wherever they may be and whatever church they may be in without distinction? Even people who some might call gnostics, heretics, little brothers in faith, the baptized but confused, the schismatic, and so on and so on? When I came to appreciate God's humility, I was astonished and deeply saddened by my own arrogance and desire for exclusivity - of a special status - I'm not just any Christian, I'm a Roman Catholic! The best and brightest. Others have some graces, but we have the complete toolbox of good things, and so on in all our disgusting spiritual pride and desire to exalt ourselves. We have the Pope, we have Peter, we have an unbroken line from the first Pope, we have, we have, we have the fullness of truth. We can't say that anymore (out of politeness) that there is no salvation outside of Rome, but we do say there is no salvation outside of the Church (and by Church we mean Rome; that all others are simply a little estranged from us and need to get "their minds right" on this, but we'll wait and be patient with them instead of slaughtering them as we used to do.). And I went out to the world, to other churches, I got to know other Christians, and I saw and met the exact same variety of people I met in my Catholic parish - a mixture of all sorts, and some completely committed lovers of Love and devoted people; and I knew their faith was every bit as good and strong as my own (if not stronger and more advanced). And I was humbled to see God working as intimately and lovingly in other people's lives who were not of my confession - and I loved that fellowship we had in Jesus; that simple, basic, essential true love of God and of being his beloved children. My Catholic fellows, do you really wish to tell me that these experiences of grace and goodness drove an unholy wedge between me and the RCC; that is, between me and you? I would hope you had bigger hearts than that. Let us embody our name and be universally understanding. P.S. A fellow who met Jesus in his dorm room. Encounters With Jesus : Ordinary People Who Met the Savior by Richard D. Phillips I don't know what's in the book, but it's at Amazon without reviews. posted by Mark Butterworth | 5:31 PM | |
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