Part Two: Article Four

You can find the article for this week here. 

Easter blessings to you. I pray that the joy and hope and the promise of the resurrection would be a constant blessing in your life. 

And what better topic to cover on Easter than why the pope is bad. OK, perhaps that is a bit too sarcastic. But you get the point. I did not plan things to work out this, it just kind of worked out. So what do we do? This is a real difficult topic, especially if you have loved ones that are catholic. An article like this does not bode well with them. And yet at the same time we can't simply ignore it. So what do we do? We talk about it. 

If you have not read it, I would really encourage you to do so. Keep in mind where this article occurs. It is in the section that is all about Christ. It is in this section because the way the papacy acts and is treated gets in the way of Christ. This is because, the pope is saying that salvation comes with his approval. But that is not true. Salvation comes through and for the sake of Jesus Christ. It is given freely because of the grace of God. That is it. Plain and simple.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind as you read this. First, in Luther's day everyone pretty much spoke harshly. It was just the way it was back then. Second, it is helpful to make a distinction between an office and the person who fills that office. I would take this more as Luther's problem with the office of the pope, than with any particular man in that office. Of course, Luther didn't get along all to well with the specific man that was in the office at that time, but that is a another issue for another time.

So what do we do with this? Well we should always speak the truth in love without sacrificing truth or love. So just because Luther spoke with a certain harshness, does not mean that we should speak with the same kind of harshness. Also it is good to look in all areas of our lives for those things that we try to put in the place of Christ or to put over Christ and not allow them to have such a place.

It is a good call to do a gut check, and not to just get caught up in the trap of pointing fingers self-righteously. Finally, pray. Pray that the Spirit would bring about true unity of the church on earth. Not a false unity, not a lowest-common-denominator unity. But real and true unity where the body of Christ lives together in love and service under the gospel. 

I look forward to your thoughts and comments.

Pastor CJ