 |
| Author | Post |
|---|
JustaServant
Member
| Joined: | Wed Dec 19th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 21 |
| First Name: | James | | Gender: | Male | | Faith History: | Catholic |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Tue Apr 1st, 2008 11:34 am |
|
One of my favorite western movies is 'She Wore a Yellow Ribbon', starring John Wayne as Captain Nathan Brittles. Toward the end of the film Captain Brittles rides into an Indian camp readying for war. There he meets with his old friend, a chief, Pony That Walks who greets Brittles with "I AM A CHRISTIAN! HALLELUJAH!!" "Yes Nathan,” he says in broken English, “we are too old for war. You come with me, we hunt buffalo, get drunk together. HALLELUJAH!!" HALLELUJAH!!"
Every time I see that I say right there is a picture of modern American Evangelical Christianity. Lots of HALLELUJAHS!!", but no little else. What does your Christianity look like when it 'happens'?
James 2:18 says "Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works."It's not enough to simply SAY "Hallelujah! I am a Christian!" Actions speak louder than words.
In the ancient world, when you got sick, unless you could afford a physician, you simply died. If you were a widow with children, you would starve to death, nobody was there to take care of you.
When the Church was born, all that changed. Christians took care of widows, orphans, the sick and the elderly. Those who died poor were given a decent burial. Many ancient pagans practiced infanticide by abandoning unwanted babies, so the church rescued those babies and gave them homes. Exiles and travelers received hospitality. Prisoners were visited and comforted. Hospitals were a Christian creation. St. Ephraem, St. Basil, and St. John Chrysostom built a great number of hospitals.
During the Middle Ages the plague took millions of lives. Priests, monks, and nuns took care of the sick and therefore died from the plague at alarming rates. Whole communities of monasteries and convents were wiped out.
Historically, the Church has taken seriously the words of St. Francis of Assisi:
“Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words.”
Faith alone creates a lazy Christianity. I struggled for years to try to make it work. I would stand in a pulpit and say: what does your Christianity LOOK like? Having a Bible on your lap doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than having a uniform makes you a General.
Anti-Catholics (not all Protestants) de-emphasize works to such a point that it becomes non-existent. Fundamentalism builds no hospitals, soup kitchens, or homeless shelters. They become proud of the fact they have no works.
Anti-Catholics often say Catholics are trying to 'work their way into Heaven (a lie)', and then in practically the same breath say we 'have no spiritual fruit (another lie)' to prove our salvation.So, which is it? You can’t have it both ways.
Faith and works is like a fellow in a rowboat with two paddles. One paddle is faith, the other works. If only one paddle is used, the rowboat will go in circles, but when both are used, the boat goes foreword. Faith and works must go together.
Paul said "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling". Like a math problem, the answer is there, within the problem, but it must be worked out. Take this salvation that is yours and work it out in your life every day. When faith and works go together, life is as simple as a math problem. Faith and good works must go hand in hand. When we "work out our salvation" as scripture tells us to do, we do it with faith.
That is something we all struggle with, Protestant or Catholic.
We need more Francis of Assisi, and less Pony That Walks Christians.
http://thetrailhome.blogspot.com/2008/04/pony-that-walks-christianity.html
____________________
Former fundamentalist preacher, now a Catholic.
|
|
|
Current time is 09:55 am | |
|
|
|
|
|
