Looking for (divine) love in all the wrong places
Pastor Paul McCain's Cyberbrethen this morning features a sorrowful meditation on the funeral of Pope John Paul II- sorrowful not only because it marks the passing of a great champion of morality and of life itself, but because it centered on all the wrong things.
Some time ago an LCMS pastor on a list I subscribed to did a parody of one of the more popular of the shallow, not particularly Christian "contemporary hymns" that are all the rage these days. It went like this:
The Pope's personal motto, totus tuus, bespoke his total abandonment of himself into the hands of...Mary. Indeed, Cardinal Ratzinger's prayer was conspicuous for the fact that it sought comfort and succor in very much the wrong place:
Roman Catholics with whom I discuss such matters almost inevitably compare the invocation of the saints to the obviously unobjectionable practice of asking our fellow believers here on earth to pray for us. But a serious problem remains, and Cardinal Ratzinger's prayer underscores it. Aside from the question of whether the saints can actually hear our prayers-Ecclesiastes 9 seems to deny that they can- the reality of the practice is there in the Cardinal's prayer in all its problematic splendor.
In theory, the invocation of the saints has doubtless been intended precisely as an exercise in calling upon our fellow members of the Communion of Saints to support us in prayer. But in practice, it almost always ends up substituting the saints for God Himself. It ends precisely where the Pope's Marian devotion landed Cardinal Ratzinger: calling upon Mary when he should have been calling upon Jesus!
Both because of my personal admiration for John Paul, and because I think charity demands it, I prefer to think of the Pope as having died in the mighty hands of Jesus, rather than in the frail and merely human hands of His mother. I prefer to assume his salvation despite his theology by what Lutherans call "fortuitious inconsistency." But if there ever is a moment for the preaching of Christ, and Him crucified, it's at a funeral.
There was, as Pr. McCain points out, a crucifix in the chancel. Too bad that over the years the crucifix- the very depiction of Christ crucified- has become, at least in the popular culture, a symbol which downplays the very thing it portrays in favor of human effort and the vain invocation of those with no power to save, and who have, in practice, become substitutes for the One Who has such power; not ways of reaching out to Him, but obstacles which block the path.
Too bad that Cardinal Ratzinger and the others felt compelled to beg and plead on behalf of Karol Wojtyla for that which Christ bestows freely and eagerly- and promised him in his baptism, when Karol Wojtyla was too small and helpless to strive or struggle.
Some time ago an LCMS pastor on a list I subscribed to did a parody of one of the more popular of the shallow, not particularly Christian "contemporary hymns" that are all the rage these days. It went like this:
Our song is an awful song,"Of Christ, there's not near enough." That pretty much sums up the problem with the Pope's funeral Mass. Plenty of Mary- but not nearly enough of Christ.
It's full of foam and fluff.
Of Christ, there's not near enough;
Our song is an awful song!
The Pope's personal motto, totus tuus, bespoke his total abandonment of himself into the hands of...Mary. Indeed, Cardinal Ratzinger's prayer was conspicuous for the fact that it sought comfort and succor in very much the wrong place:
We entrust your dear soul to the Mother of God, your Mother, who guided you each day and who will guide you now to the eternal glory of her Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen."Pastor McCain is right: if Mary really were appearing to people at various places every several years, as Catholic piety and teaching claim, it isn't hard to figure out what she would have to say. She would be calling out to every Catholic who would listen to her, "Not me! Not me! My Son!"
Roman Catholics with whom I discuss such matters almost inevitably compare the invocation of the saints to the obviously unobjectionable practice of asking our fellow believers here on earth to pray for us. But a serious problem remains, and Cardinal Ratzinger's prayer underscores it. Aside from the question of whether the saints can actually hear our prayers-Ecclesiastes 9 seems to deny that they can- the reality of the practice is there in the Cardinal's prayer in all its problematic splendor.
In theory, the invocation of the saints has doubtless been intended precisely as an exercise in calling upon our fellow members of the Communion of Saints to support us in prayer. But in practice, it almost always ends up substituting the saints for God Himself. It ends precisely where the Pope's Marian devotion landed Cardinal Ratzinger: calling upon Mary when he should have been calling upon Jesus!
Both because of my personal admiration for John Paul, and because I think charity demands it, I prefer to think of the Pope as having died in the mighty hands of Jesus, rather than in the frail and merely human hands of His mother. I prefer to assume his salvation despite his theology by what Lutherans call "fortuitious inconsistency." But if there ever is a moment for the preaching of Christ, and Him crucified, it's at a funeral.
There was, as Pr. McCain points out, a crucifix in the chancel. Too bad that over the years the crucifix- the very depiction of Christ crucified- has become, at least in the popular culture, a symbol which downplays the very thing it portrays in favor of human effort and the vain invocation of those with no power to save, and who have, in practice, become substitutes for the One Who has such power; not ways of reaching out to Him, but obstacles which block the path.
Too bad that Cardinal Ratzinger and the others felt compelled to beg and plead on behalf of Karol Wojtyla for that which Christ bestows freely and eagerly- and promised him in his baptism, when Karol Wojtyla was too small and helpless to strive or struggle.
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