Posted on 11/08/2015 4:18:38 PM PST by BlessedBeGod
The Christian includes, he does not close the door to anyone, even if this provokes resistance. He who excludes, because he believes himself to be better, generates conflicts and divisions, and does not consider the fact that "we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God." That was the message of Pope Francis during Thursday morning's Mass at Casa Santa Marta.
The attitude of Christ is to include
In the Letter to the Romans, Saint Paul exhorts us not to judge and not to despise our brothers, because, the Pope said, this leads to excluding them from "our little group," to being selective, and this is not Christian. Christ, in fact, "with His sacrifice on Calvary" unites and includes "all men in salvation." In the Gospel, publicans and sinners draw near to Jesus -- "that is, the excluded, all those that were outside," -- and "the Pharisees and the scribes complained":
"The attitude of the Scribes and the Pharisees is the same, they exclude. [They say,] 'We are the perfect, we follow the law. These people are sinners, they are publicans'; and the attitude of Jesus is to include. There are two paths in life: the path exclusion of persons from our community and the path of inclusion. The first can be little but is the root of all wars: all calamities, all wars, begin with an exclusion. One is excluded from the international community, but also from families, from friends -- How many fights there are! -- and the path that makes us see Jesus and teaches us Jesus is quite another, it is contrary to the other: to include."
There is resistance in the face of inclusion
"It is not easy to include the people," Pope Francis said, "because there is resistance, there is that selective attitude." For this reason, Jesus tells two parables: the parable of the lost sheep, and the parable of the woman and the lost coin. Both the shepherd and the woman will do anything to find what they have lost, and when they find it, they are full of joy:
"They are full of joy because they have found what was lost and they go to their neighbours, their friends, because they are so happy: 'I found, I included.' This is the 'including' of God, against the exclusion of those who judge, who drive away people, persons: 'No, no to this, no to that, no to that...'; and a little of circle of friends is created, which is their environment. It is a dialectic between exclusion and inclusion. God has included us all in salvation, all! This is the beginning. We with our weaknesses, with our sins, with our envy, jealousies, we all have this attitude of excluding which -- as I said -- can end in wars."
If I exclude, I will one day stand before the tribunal of God
Jesus, the Pope said, acts like His Father, Who sent Him to save us; "He seeks to include us," "to be a family."
"We think a little bit, and at least -- at least! -- we do our little part, we never judge: 'But this one has acted in this way...' But God knows: it is his life, but I don't exclude him from my heart, from my prayer, from my greeting, from my smile, and if the occasion arises I say a good word to him. Never excluding, we have no right! And how Paul finishes the Letter: 'We shall all stand before the judgment seat of God...then each of us shall give an account of himself to God.' If I exclude I will one day stand before the judgment seat of God, I will have to give an account of myself to God. Let us ask the grace of being men and women who always include, always, always! in the measure of healthy prudence, but always. Not closing the doors to anyone, always with an open heart: 'It pleases me, it displeases me,' but the heart is open. May the Lord grant us this grace."
Bingo
Jesus didn't exclude anyone. He came to die for every person - past, present and future. We exclude ourselves when reject Christ. Food for thought: can we say a person is responsible for their damnation when he/she has been blinded by the God of this world. In my case, I was miserably lost and blind and only by God's sovereign grace did I find salvation. When I see/hear Jesus in the New Testament, I don't see that he excludes anyone. Knowing Judas would betray Him, He called Judas friend. He didn't exclude the adulteress. He didn't exclude the thief on the cross. He didn't exclude Matthew, a hated Roman tax collector. He didn't exclude Peter who denied that he knew Him 3x.
The people that Jesus rebuked most were the religious Pharisees and even them He didn't exclude! Nicodemus and Paul were Pharisees.
Jesus tells three parables which I can think of, off the top of my head. There may be more.
The third is the parable of the "Prodigal Son". In this parable, the wayward son must first return home and beg forgiveness of his father before he can be embraced. His father, no doubt, longs for his return but until the son says, "I have sinned....." and vows to return home and seek his father's mercy, his father can do nothing.
This highlights a critical point with which the Pope often plays fast and loose; the Church does not exclude us, we exclude ourselves. It is by our own decisions and actions that we are excluded. Just as the son voluntarily left his father's house for a life of debauchery, so we, too, turn our backs on God.
The Pope sometimes seems to hint or imply that all those who are estranged from the Church are the victims of Pharisaical judgmentalists who've shut the door in their faces. That is certainly not my experience of the Church as I have spent my life grievously assaulting the ears of confessors old and young in the sacrament of Reconciliation. Never have I been turned away by a "Pharisee" priest.
Where are.....who are these "Pharisees" of which he speaks? I've never seen them.
I want to tell you something. In the Gospel there's that beautiful passage that tells us of the shepherd who, on returning to the sheepfold and realizing that a sheep is missing, leaves the 99 and goes to look for it, to look for the one. But, brothers and sisters, we have one. It's the 99 who we're missing! We have to go out, we must go to them! In this culture - let's face it - we only have one.
"In this culture", Francis appears to takesdelight in wallowing in sheep dung until he smells like them.
The people that Jesus rebuked most were the religious Pharisees and even them He didn't exclude! Nicodemus and Paul were Pharisees.
Truth.
It is my understanding that true christians embrace the sinner but reject and refuse to condone the sin.
This is not what many of the current leaders of the various churches are advocating.
Instead, they are embracing the sin and some are even denying sinful behavior is even sinful in the first place and their lies are misleading many.
Homosexuality and advocating homosexuality seems to be a major fixation for these types.
Had a Catholic priest at one of the “Gay Friendly” parishes who advocated homosexuality and openly speak out in sermons that taught that church teaching that homosexuality was a sin and condemned by the church was wrong and based on inaccurate readings of the bible.
It was bad enough that my 9 and 7 year old son and daughter had indoctrination of homosexuality graphically forced upon them in mass, but the real damage was much worse.
As a gay friendly church, we had a large contingent of AIDs afflicted gays going to the same sermons. These unfortunate men were facing the reality of imminent death and they were being told by a Catholic Priest that homosexuality was good in the eyes of the Lord and that there was no need for repentance or reconciliation on their part.
More than a few may have died in this belief which would have been a true tragedy given that for many, their renewed faith and interest in Christianity was rooted in a desire to get right with the Lord before they died.
Is Francis a universalist?
I believe you've articulated the right posture for the Believer. There is a world of difference between excluding a sinner from our company and embracing or enabling sin. Like Jesus, we are to love the sinner and hate the sin.
In attacking them chrstianity has opened a can of worms and invited these own attacks on itself.
Leftists are trying to deceive Christians by confusing Biblical Christian discernment of right and wrong/good and evil with God’s judgement of souls. They are confusing God’s condemnation of a soul to a Christian’s decision to reject people (liberals) who are pushing sin and/or evil behaviors in the church or to them as individuals in life.
They want Christians to be empty heads - ignorant of the Bible - and believe as they are told by liberals who name good, evil and evil, good. It’s deceit.
Of course Comrade Bergoglio is for inclusiveness, and against exclusiveness, he’s an Argentinian Marxist, for heavens sake. The breaking down of all “barriers” to a one world socialist system, the Agenda 2030 he pushed at the UN, is his goal, and the goal of all Marxists.
Breaking down borders, allowing Islamics to come flooding in, intent on imposing sharia law on their host countries.
Breaking down gender “barriers,” barriers to this Marxist Pope’s idea of a one world utopia, opening the flood gates to same sex perversion.
Breaking down capitalist barriers in countries like the USA, imposing redistribution of wealth.
One would have to be blind not to see what this commie pope is doing.
Reread the NT.
You've asserted, "Jesus excluded most.".
Consider the NT verse, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8 . I just don't see our selfless Jesus excluding anyone in this verse. Now, if you tell me that people separate themselves from God by rejecting the only name/person under heaven whereby they may be saved - I'd agree with you.
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