Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Luther and the Catholic
"How do I receive the grace of God?" The fact that this question was the driving force of [Luther's] whole life never ceases to make an impression on me. . . . The question: what is God’s position towards me, where do I stand before God? – this burning question of Martin Luther must once more, doubtless in a new form, become our question too. . . Luther’s thinking, his whole spirituality, was thoroughly Christocentric: "What promotes Christ’s cause" was for Luther the decisive hermeneutical criterion for the exegesis of sacred Scripture. This presupposes. . . that Christ is at the heart of our spirituality and that love for him, living in communion with him, is what guides our life. (Pope Benedict XVI, Sept. 23, 2011)
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8 comments:
I remember leaving the RCIA class and sobbing with joy. Our RCIA teacher referred to Luther as "Blessed Luther."
I couldn't imagine an example of "love thy enemies" as poignant as this because Luther had called the pope the antichrist.
I asked the teacher why and she replied that the church always loves, even when rejected. Luther was excommunicated but once a priest, always a priest.
She explained that Luther was right in some ways. He was called to help reform the church. His sin was walking away, not calling for change.
Teresa,
Luther didn't walk away, he was kicked out. This is a notable difference.
Still,
That is a matter of interpretation. When you deliberately act in a way that will get you ex-communicated and call your church leader the antichrist....
Teresa,
Of course, I could say the same thing. It is a matter of interpretation. When a church leader deliberately behaves in such a way that will get him criticized and called anti-christ...
You see, it was easy!
The fact remains that Luther was kicked out by the Catholic church and it was not him who walked away.
So, it would be good that the facts be correctly presented and not distorted.
As Theresa noted, this is open to interpretation. The Reformation was a traumatic, but complex and nuanced, experience. For instance, Luther publicly burned the letter warning him of the possibility of excommunication in contempt, along with a copy of canon law. This is hardly the action of one sorrowfully "kicked out," though it would not be entirely accurate to say he "walked away" either, seeing as he was excommunicated by an institutional response of the Church.
But all that is old history.
This post it is not about that history. It is about the modern Catholic appreciation of Luther, and above all, the heartfelt question, "Where do I stand before God?" We must capture the insight that, "Christ is at the heart of our spirituality and that love for him, living in communion with him, is what guides our life."
And Theresa, your presentation of your RCIA class is very similar to mine. I was touched by the emphasis on "love" in your account.
Still,
Wow... I sense from you some defensiveness over some peripheral wording.... as if the wording were purposefully meant to distort history. They were certainly not.
As Hugo wrote, I was pointing out the love I found in the RCIA class for one of what the Catholic Church would see as their lost sheep. Even the quote from the pope expresses our grief at losing Luther and admiration of the Reformer's faith.
That is a good thing, for us to quit demonizing those who disagree with us and embracing them as Christians, no?
Time to stop the divisions in Christianity and unify as one Body of Christ--that the world will know we are Christians by our love, one for another.
Teresa,
First, you sensed it wrong if you thought that I was on the defensive...
But,second, I don't think that this "peripheral wording" is unimportant. I think it is revealing of a distorted view of history that prevent love to be expressed in a truthful context.
Don't get me wrong here. Love is good. But love in truth is better.
(I didn't mean to derail your train of thoughts here as what you said was very interesting. It is just that details matter for me)
Sounds as if you wish to argue interpretation of history, not facts. The Catholic perspective and the Protestant perspective may use the exact same incidences and interpret them differently. Both need to be listen to for a good understanding of history.
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