The Truth Of God's Word And The Power Of The Gospel
“Tried and true” is an expression we can all appreciate. Once something has been tried and proven, it becomes a source of reliable information. There is no better example of “tried and true” than Jesus. So what guidelines do you follow in your journey of faith, and have they been tried and proven to be true? God’s Truth is represented throughout the inspired words of Scripture and the teachings of His Church. So what are we missing in our mission to strengthen our relationship with Jesus and the Church? There is obviously something wrong when people are leaving the Church to find God. Paul Harvey once said, “Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men, but keepers of the aquarium.”
Protestant clergyman and social reformer, Henry W. Beecher, once wrote: “The church is not a gallery for the exhibition of well-known Christians but a school for the education of imperfect ones, a nursery for the care of weak ones, a hospital for the healing of those who need constant care.”
Henry’s father, Lyman Beecher, was a Presbyterian minister who later preached Calvinism. He became one of the best-known evangelists of his age. Henry developed a theology emphasizing God's love above all else, and a belief in the “real presence” of the Lord’s Last Supper, a contradiction of his father's stern beliefs. Henry’s sister, Harriett Beecher Stowe, was a well known abolitionist who wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin." She believed that the great cruelty of slavery, the pain in separation of families, and the flogging of slaves, was much like the suffering of Christ’s Passion and His Blessed Mother’s sorrow. There were 13 children in the Beecher family and most of them were noted for social reform and ministry. Can you imagine the kitchen table conversations in the Beecher household? It appears that little has changed since that era in the mid 1800’s, as the need for reform and evangelization are still very much a part of our culture today.
I just finished reading a book titled "Evangelicals and Catholics Together," co-authored by Charles Colson and Father Richard John Neuhaus. They wrote an ecumenical document in 1994 which draws heavily from the theology of the New Testament and the Trinitarian doctrine of the Nicene Creed. The book seeks to encourage what is known as spiritual ecumenism without making specific points about theology. The concerns addressed by the authors in this book regarding a need for Christians to unite is foretelling as the attack on religious freedom is the reality of 2013.
Our Church is celebrating the “Year of Faith” and the expression “new evangelization” is a promoted topic in parishes. In a recent homily Pope Francis spoke about Christianity. He reiterated that following Jesus “does not mean more power,” because His way is that of the Cross. The pope stressed that Jesus says following Him will bring “many good things," but also “persecution,” and warned that "when a Christian has no difficulty in life - everything is fine, everything is beautiful - something is wrong.” Following Christ cannot be without the Cross, he said, adding that the devil and “spirit of the world will not tolerate a follower of Jesus, will not tolerate the testimony.” He pointed out that the world praises Blessed Teresa of Calcutta for her good works but “never says that the Blessed Teresa spent every day, many hours, in adoration – never!”
So, what we have in our Church are tried and true principles that have survived the test of time. We need to be fishers of men, evangelists, and followers of Christ who are willing to carry the weight of the cross. We must encourage spiritual ecumenism, pray with the commitment of Blessed Teresa, and stand for what is right and just as the Beecher family did to abolish slavery. Our diocesan Evangelization Team invites you to join us in prayer as we research, study and set goals to build up the kingdom of God in southwest Indiana. The vision is to grow as a community of disciples and in love seek the lost. The commission is challenging, but as Pope Francis reminds us, following Jesus will bring “many good things” and he will give us the courage to move forward! Amen!
