Posted on 04/27/2016 8:41:02 AM PDT by Salvation
The second reading from last Sunday’s Mass (5th Sunday of Easter) is very Catholic, and too informative to merely pass up. It presents the Church as rather highly organized and possessed of some of the structures we know today in full form. Granted, some of these structures are in seminal form, but they are there.
We will also notice qualities of the original kerygma that are at variance with what some modern thinkers declare should be the methodology of the Church. The soft Christianity of those who replace the cross with a pillow and who insist on solely inclusion and affirmation is strangely absent in this early setting.
Let’s look the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 14:21-27) and see there the true path of priests, teachers, and leaders in the Church. Four steps are prescribed for our consideration, by noting that they went forth announcing, admonishing, appointing, and accounting.
I. Announcing – The text says, After Paul and Barnabas had proclaimed the good news to that city and made a considerable number of disciples …
Notice that the happiness is linked to the harvest. By proclaiming the Good News, they yield a great harvest. As Catholics, we are not sent out merely to proclaim a list of duties; we are sent to proclaim the Gospel. And the Gospel is this: God so loved the world that He sent his Son, who by dying and rising from the dead has purchased for us a whole new life, free from sin and the rebellious obsessions of this world. He is victorious over all the death-directed drives of this world. Simply put, he has triumphed over these forces and enabled us to walk in newness of life.
God save us from brands of the faith in which rules and obligations are all that is heard by sour-faced saints, dead disciples, fussy Pharisees, bored believers, and frozen chosen. Save us from Pharisaical philosophers who are obsessed with particulars not even commanded by God, who sneer at things they consider beneath than their preferences.
No, we are sent to announce a new life, a life free from the bondage of sin, rebellion, sensuality, greed, lust, domination, and revenge. We are sent to announce a life of joy, confidence, purity, chastity, generosity, and devotion to the truth rooted in Love.
Yes, here is a joyful announcement rooted in the cry Anastasis (Resurrection)! New Life! The old order of sin is gone and a new life of freedom from sin is here!
Did everyone accept this as good news? No. Some, indeed many, were offended and sought to convict Christians as “disturbers of the peace.” Some don’t like to have their sin and bondage called out as such. They prefer bondage, sin, and darkness to light, holiness, and freedom.
As Catholics, we announce what is intrinsically good news, and we ought to start sounding like it by proclaiming it with joy. We must proclaim it without the bitterness and anger that are indicative of those who are more interested in winning an argument than in joyfully announcing something wonderful, freeing, and true.
II. Admonishing – The text says, … they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch. They strengthened the spirits of the disciples and exhorted them to persevere in the faith, saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Preaching/teaching is a process. You don’t just preach or teach once and then move on; you return and reiterate. Paul and Barnabas are retracing their steps back through towns they have already evangelized. They do not just come, have a tent revival, and move on. They return and, as we shall see, they establish the Church.
Notice what they do:
1. Encourage – They strengthened the spirits of the disciples.
2. Exhort – They exhorted them to persevere in the faith.
3. Explain – They explained by saying, “It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God.”
Let’s focus especially on the last the point. Paul and Barnabas teach that if you’re not willing to endure the cross, no crown will come your way. If you can’t stand a little disappointment, if you can’t stand being talked about, if you think you should always be up and never down, then I’ve come to remind you: No cross, no crown.
Yes, beware of “cross-less” Christianity. We do have good news to proclaim but there is also the truth that we get to the resurrection and the glory through the cross. There is a test in every testimony, a trial in every triumph. There are demands of discipleship, requirements for renewal, laws of love, and sufferings set forth for Saints.
Good preaching combines the hardship and the happiness in one message. It is a joy to follow in the footsteps of our Lord, who endured hostility, hardship, and the horrors of the cross but still triumphed and showed that the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. Yes, He caught the wise in their craftiness and showed that the thoughts of the wise in this word are futile (cf 1 Cor 3:20). He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them (paradoxically) by the cross (cf Col 2:15).
Thus, St. Paul and Barnabas announce the cross, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles (cf 1 Cor 1:23). Many today insist that the Church soft-pedal the cross, that she use honey, not vinegar. No can do. We joyfully announce and uphold the paradox of the cross. We must be willing to be a sign of contradiction to this world, which sees only pleasure and the indulgence of sinful drives as the way forward, which exalts freedom without truth or obedience, and which calls good what God calls sinful.
Too many so-called Christian denominations have adopted the pillow as their image and have a “give the people what they want” mentality. That is 180 degrees out of phase with the cross.
The Catholic Church does not exist to reflect the views of its members, but to reflect the views of its founder and head, Jesus Christ. As He went out to die, Jesus announced the cross without ambiguity, saying, Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to me (John 12:31-32).
And so we announce the cross not merely as suffering, but as life, power, and love. By the power of the cross, it is possible to live without sin, to overcome rebellion, pride, lust, and greed; it is possible to learn to forgive and to live the truth in love.
The world will hate us for this. But such hardships, such crosses, are necessary preludes to the hallelujah of Heaven. The Church can do no less than to point to the cross. The center of our faith is a cross not a pillow. And the cross is our only hope (Ave Crux spes unica nostra (Hail, O Cross, our only hope).
Yes, the Church announces the cross and admonishes a world obsessed with pleasure and with passing, fake happiness.
III. Appointing – The text says, They appointed presbyters for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, commended them to the Lord in whom they had put their faith. Then they traveled through Pisidia and reached Pamphylia. After proclaiming the word at Perga they went down to Attalia.
And thus we see the ordination of priest leaders in every place. “Priest” is just an English mispronunciation of the word “presbyter.” Paul and Barnabas did not simply go about vaguely preaching and then moving on. They established local churches with a structure of authority. The whole Pauline corpus of writings indicates a need to continue oversight of these local churches and to stay in touch with the priest leaders established to lead these local parishes.
Later, St. Paul spoke of the need for this structure in other places when he wrote (to Titus),
This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint presbyters in every town as I directed you (Titus 1:5).
This appointment was done through the laying on of hands and is called ordination today. It was a way of establishing order and office in the Church to make sure that the work continued and that the Church was governed by order. This is why we call the sacrament involved here the “Sacrament of Holy Orders.”
Note, too, that a critical task for leaders in the Church is to develop and train new leaders. Too many parishes depend on individual charismatic and gifted leaders whose inevitable departure leaves a void, not an ongoing ministry or organization. This should not be so. Good leaders train new leaders.
IV. Accounting – The text says, From there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had now accomplished. And when they arrived, they called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.
Note that Paul and Barnabas are now returning to render an account for what they have done. Accountability is part of a healthy Church. Every priest should render an account to his bishop, every bishop to his metropolitan and to the Pope. Today’s ad limina visits of bishops to the Pope is the way this is done. Further, priests are accountable to their bishop through various mechanisms such as yearly reports and other meetings.
A further background to this text is that Paul and Barnabas are returning to Antioch because it was from there that they were sent forth by the local bishops and priests on this missionary task.
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off (Acts 13:2).
Thus St. Paul was not the lone ranger that some think him to be. He was sent and was accountable.
But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days (Gal 1:15-18).
Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. I went up by revelation; and I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain (Gal 2:1).
The preacher and teacher must be accountable: For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise to God.” So each of us shall give account of himself to God (Rom 14:10-12).
And thus we see some paths for priests, preachers, teachers, and leaders. We must announce the Gospel as good news, with joy and confidence. We must admonish a world obsessed with pleasures to embrace the cross as our only hope. We must continue to develop, train, and appoint leaders to follow after us. And we must be accountable to one another.
A nice and quick portrait of some healthy traits for the Church!
We B elders!!
I hope so; as I just hate to propagate error.
Once I was at the airport in Davao City, Philippines. In the parking lot, in the distance, I saw two young Filipinos, with white shirts and bicycles. I got up closer, and sure enough, they were Mormon missionaries. I had to laugh, because they fit the profile and stereotype perfectly. 😄😆
Two weeks later, I was at a friend's house, and the same two knocked on his door. My friend came and got me. I took the opportunity when it knoked, stepped out, and gave them the second barrel with a lecture on trying to earn their way to heaven. Boy! I've never seen such a grumpy pair of disappointed door-to-door Mormevangelists since then. This is true. I know they have a address book with people's names in it. They do not come to ny addresss any more, do they.
So, are you admitting the author of the OP was wrong to presume the Catholic church mirrors the early church in the Acts of the Apostles?
Not at all. The list is in addition to the hundreds of things we do at church that are mentioned in the bible; including the Acts of the Apostles.
We ignore them: they go away.
Isn't this what I said?
So do JWs...
If you have cable TV, there won’t be much on to watch.
If there isn’t much on to watch, you will answer your door whenever someone rings.
If you open your door, you will see mormons.
If you talk to mormons, they will trick you into “praying about whether something is true”.
If you rely on your feelings, you may become a mormon.
If you become a mormon, you will have to wear magic underwear!
If you wear magic underwear, people will immediately label you as a cultist.
DON’T be a cultist!
Get DirectTV.
Uniformity exists when good rules are in place and obeyed.
Prime example of the catholic mind, unable to process TRUTH because the reasoning is totally inculcated with the errors at the heart of that religion, that ‘other gospel’, Catholicism.
Actually, all the terms are synonymous, as manifested by their interchangeable use in Scripture. The Greek word for "pastor," poimēn, is used many times in the NT, denoting one who shepherds/pastors flocks, and thus it is most often used for Christ, and is also used for those whom God gave to the church. As such it is a general term for those who are ordained, who are otherwise called presbuteros (senior/elder) or episkopos (superintendent/overseer), these two also being used interchangeably.
But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd [poimēn]. (Matthew 9:36)
And he gave some [G3588: "them" or "who are" cf. 2Co_1:4; Eph. 2:11], apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors [poimēn] and teachers.. (Ephesians 4:11) If pastors were different then presbuteros would have also been named as a pastoral office that God gave the church.
For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders [presbuteros] in every city, as I had appointed thee:.. For a bishop [episkopos] must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; (Titus 1:5,7)
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders [presbuteros] of the church. (Acts 20:17)
Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers [episkopos], to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. (Acts 20:28)
Therefore pastors refers to those who shepherd the church, who are called elders (referring to the type of person)/episkopos (referring to the type of function of the episkopal office).
God always ordained government, both religious and civil, and enjoins conditional obedience to them. But not as an elite hierarchical system, much less autocratic or infallible, as Rome imagines herself to be.
The same can be said of most Evangelical and Protestant churches. Because of this, Msgr. Pope's attempts to presume it is the Catholic church which best mirrors the early church spoken of in the book of Acts is what I would label as disingenuous or wrong.
The same can be said of most Evangelical and Protestant churches. Msgr. Pope’s attempts to presume it is the Catholic church which best mirrors the early church spoken of in the book of Acts is what I would label as disingenuous or wrong.
I agree. From my personal experience, I would say that the Lutheran Church (LCMS) mirrors the early church every bit as much as the Catholic Church does. Other churches, such as the Methodist, Prebyterian and Anglican, also mirror the early church. There are some modern churches though, that are at variance with the early church. I have attended services with my daughter that were very thin on liturgy. There were a couple of songs, a very brief bible reading and sermon, handing out of wafers and grape juice, a half hour of announcements and what’s going on in the church, then a closing song. While there were some good thoughts in the sermons, I was left with a feeling of wanting more. An Our Father, a Doxology, prayers of any kind.
Actually, though sometimes interchangeable when invested in the roles of one person, they are not synonomous. So I don't see their function as equivalent, necessarily. There is much to be said about this, but once the term poime (by interpretation "pastor") as related to Jesus the Anointed and Great Shepherd is sheared away, there is not much left of that save the term when used in Eph. 4:11.
And, applying the Granville Sharp Rule, the pastors are a separate group from the teachers (the διδασκαλοι didaskaloi), and that doesn't leave much room for them. Now, the literal pastors of the first local church, the prototype at Jerusalem, were the seven deacons. It was in their care that the administration of the physical needs--the food, clothing, and quarters--was placed. They were chosen from the people by the people, to be designated (not ordained) to this new office by the authority of the twelve Disciple-Apostle-Elders.
That ministry was separated so that the twelve could give themselves continually over to the ministry of the Word and prayer, which would be the figurative "feeding" of the spiritual needs of the "flock" of the assembly (as well as each other), which is--now guess, eh?--teaching. Thus, this asrrangement defined who the pastors and teachers were, and what they did.
So who are the pastors in Eph. 4:11? If the office of deacon is not comprised by "pastor" there is no place for the deacon, is there? Oh, there is One and Only administrative Pastor, a Shepherd over all, and that is Jesus Christ (Comforter 1, in Heaven), and His Holy Spirit (Comforter 2, on earth and indwelling the sheepies, all of them).
For the moment leaving the issue of episkopoi and presbuteroi aside, let's look at Simon Peter, especially in the interim period after the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, after Jesus had breathed the Holy Spirit on the apostles, but not into them.
At breakfast on the Lake of Galilee, Jesus spoke to the persona Simon bar Jonah (not to pal "Peter"), "Lovest (agapao, to sovereignly prefer above self and others) thou Me more than these?" (meaning, it is supposed, the tackle, nets, boats, his fellow disciple-sportsmen, and the livelihood of fishing).
Peter responded, "Yeah, Lord, you are aware that I have a brotherly affection (phileo) for You." Peter is actually ducking the issue of being sold out, lock, stock, and barrel to Jesus as his sole center of attention, faith, and service. Though he may be now able to see that, having deeply failed Jesus despite his verbal commitment to the death, he might now shy away from this offer of being reinvested in the Company of The Faithful Ones.
So Jesus addresses that matter by extending an offer of re-employment, commanding Peter, "Feed My baby sheep."
Here's the dynamic of this interchange: Calling to mind His teaching in John 10, Jesus is the shepherd and the supplier of the food, but He's going out to a far country. Peter, not as a hireling (12-13) but as a "porter" with the keys to the fold (Jn. 10:3) and as a friend (Jn. 15:15), is commanded to "feed" the lambs of the flock (1 Pet. 2:2,3) while the Shepherd is away. Here, he is given the task of getting little new lambs to suckle on their mother ewes, getting the "milk" of the Gospel, which is sustaining the saving faith until full assurance is a real felt experience, and the stronger food of discernment is in the offing (Heb. 5:13-14).
You see the analogy, do you not? There is only one Spiritual Pastor, One Shepherd (Jn. 10:16). A teacher is just a nurse for the little spiritual babes, a mower who distributes hay for the weak ones, and shows the stronger where to graze. He's a freely enlisted friend of the Master Teacher, but in the assembly, a presbuteros, even perhaps an episkopos if he is apt to teach (1 Tim. 3:2). Eh?
Jesus continues to encourage Peter, repeating, "Simon bar Jonah, agapao thou Me??"
Peter, still eluding commitment, responds, "Lord, yes, you see that I love You as a a brother, right?" (with, it might be surmised, a "don't You?" as the prevailing tone). This second invitation to commit being rebuffed, Jesus issues another command: Then finally, for the third time, Jesus relents and gives him even greater responsibility,since Peter--though reticent--has not refused the lesser duties. Jesus extends this offer on a different basis: "Simon bar Jonah, do you really love me as a brother?"
To which Peter, with grievous passion exclaims, "Lord, you perceive everything! You understand that I love you like family!" Wherein Jesus gives him the figurative task of teaching, of being an experienced elder, spiritually mature, a presbuteros, "Feed My sheep." The Word is figuratively the pasture, and the sheep can either find their own grass, or if too weak to help themselves, to cut some grass and put it before them so they can get stronger and feed themselves.
That is, be a teacher of my spiritually mature young men and "fathers" in strong meat of doctrine, service, and bearing the cross unto death. As a presbuteros Peter would not forsake the needs of the assembly and "go a-fishing." He woyuld be present as a didaslalos as they gather together to teach everything whatsoever he had heard Jesus command, and show them how to watchfully keep the Word secure without change or gratuitous embroidery with human traditions.
The functions of pastor, episkopos, and presbuteros are not truly interchangeable, and most certainly are not equivalent, nor are they at all synonomous. To think so is dramatically wrong. Even Peter did not call himself a pastor or a bishop. He denominated himself as an elder among elders, and wrote of this in his old age in his letter to the Diaspora of Jews and Christians. For this, Please read 1 Peter 5:1-11, and come to terms with the fact that the common current church manifestation of rule is so way out of balance, Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, or Baptist, that none of such congregations are any longer effective of prospering in their worldly-oriented polities. They need to be restored to the New Testament model.
The deacons diakonoi, when functioning scripturally, are the pastors literally serving and managing the physical needs of the constituents of the assembly, exclusively.
The episkopos is the business manager and ruler of the physical plant, the personnel relationships, and interactions with the worldly community. An elder with limited sphere of operations, he may be and probable wouldn't be the eldest in age or spirituality, but should be appointed by the congregants and answerable to the recognized spiritual elders.
The presbuteroi, the elders, have responsibility for the teaching of the assembly, especially as directed toward one-on-one or one-on- or -very few disciple-making and training in the never-ending process of bringing constituents to full stature in the Lord, following the Great Commission in detail, and making the recruitment of new disciples the overruling concern for even having an assembly.
The church's sphere of influence on and with other similar assemblies should be friendly, but distant as regarding determining the conduct of another group. Each local assembly is scripturally meant to be autonomous, not "catholic" in polity nor engaging in attempts to rule beyond the local church. With regretful respect ---
imardmd1 = "I'M A ReDeeMeD 1 (= one)"
"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the Enemy."
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