Confession: The Light is On for You

Hey Matt,

I told you I'd send this a long time ago, but I neglected to do so. It is Archbishop Wuerl on "God's Mercy and the Sacrament of Penance ." I just read the letter again. It is very good, I think you'll find it interesting. I think you'll also have a problem with it, especially in the second half. The difficulty comes down to these questions: "What is the Church?" and "What is a sacrament?"

The Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches have a much more complex understanding of the Church, for better or worse. For you (correct me if I am wrong), the church is the "people of God" brought together in community. As we have discussed, you put a very high premium on community and shared experiences. Most importantly, you see the church as a community where people can bring their joy and sorrow and find comfort. (Again, correct me if I'm wrong.)

With all of this, of course, I agree. Having friends in the Church is important, and anyone who is part of the Church and does not have friends experiences a poverty. However, I do not believe that friendship is the essence of "church." It is one component, and for me it is one of the least striking components. After all, there are many places where one can find friendship, sometimes excellent friendships, outside of the church. Because of the grace of God operating in the church, one would hope to find exceptional friendships in the church, and it is great when such relationships are formed, but there are so many other important and breathtakingly unique aspects of the Body of Christ.

The irony, I think, is that in Protestantism (especially modern American Protestantism) community is such a key element, and in fact is make or break when considering churches. Does this church have community? As I have said, many pious evangelicals spend hours sitting around fretting over community and trying to find ways to build it, however unnaturally. At the same time, I argue that Protestantism (again, especially the American variant) is radically individualist. Salvation is between me and God alone. The early "Great Awakening" evangelists encouraged Christians to see salvation as something that happens outside of the church, between "me and God". Their revivals were "interdenominational" and not linked to any particular church. It was about your heart being strangely warmed, your salvation being secured. In my opinion, this movement ruined Protestant ecclesiology because it trained people to see the church as irrelevant to salvation, which happens outside of churches. Frankly, if you and I are both saved, we have no need for church. Our salvation is secure, so what can church offer us? Perhaps it can offer a loving family-like community (especially important to us in our era of family breakdown) but many people can find that type of community in other places. The church does not seem absolutely necessary; its good if you can make it work, but there is no reason to be bogged down by it. In talking to you, I get the sense that this is your general attitude.

The traditional perspective (Catholic / Orthodox) is strikingly different. We are saved through the Church. The Church (the Body of Christ and the New Israel) is necessary for our salvation. In this way, Catholic Christians are knit together in a profound community--salvation is communal. When I sin I do not hurt only myself, I hurt the whole body. Therefore, I need to seek reconciliation with God and His Church through the sacrament. Furthermore, through the Eucharist the whole Body on earth, and the whole Body in Heaven, is brought together in the unity of Jesus Christ through his flesh and blood. If I do not eat of the flesh of Christ there is no life in me, and therefore I need the Church for my salvation. I cannot save myself, salvation is not individualistic. I rely on the action of Christ through His Church, I rely on the community, and in many ways they rely on me. We need each other.

This, I hope, is a helpful framework for reading the Archbishop's letter. Look for the utmost importance of community in Catholic theology--we are saved through the community established by Christ, not as disconnected individuals. The sacrament of reconciliation, therefore, is a supremely communal activity by which the bonds of community are strengthened through the action of Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit working in the Church. Again, we need each other to finish the race, we cannot do it on our own. This is the robust concept of community found in traditional theology.

This whole difference has been, perhaps, best articulated by that great Lutheran and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

There is a word that, when a Catholic hears it, kindles all his feeling of love and bliss; that stirs all the depths of his religious sensibility, from dread and awe of the Last Judgment to the sweetness of God's presence; and that certainly awakens in him the feeling of home; the feeling that only a child has in relation to its mother, made up of gratitude, reverence, and devoted love...

And there is a word that to Protestants has the sound of something infinitely commonplace, more or less indifferent and superfluous, that does not make their heart beat faster; something with which a sense of boredom is so often associated. . . . And yet our fate is sealed, if we are unable again to attach a new, or perhaps a very old, meaning to it. Woe to us if that word does not become important to us soon again...

Yes, the word to which I am referring is Church.

I did not mean to write that much, but I hope it helps. I am planning to write another email about the Holy Spirit and the Eucharist, so at least you have that to look forward to!

Rick
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