The following is a homily (sermon) given the weekend of March 6, 2011, by my pastor addressing a new controversial book and giving you the Catholic understanding of salvation. See the postfrom March 2011 entitled "Salvation for all?" for my take on what this all means:
"In a new book, Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Everyone Who Ever Lived, Rob Bell, one of the country’s most influential evangelical pastors, has created an uproar among evangelical leaders by challenging traditional and Bible based views about salvation. Known for his provocative views and appeal among the young, the pastor describes as “misguided and toxic” the dogma that “a select few Christians will spend forever in a peaceful, joyous place called heaven, while the rest of humanity spends forever in torment and punishment in hell with no chance for anything better.”
In his blog, “Between Two Worlds,” Justin Taylor writes that the pastor “is moving farther and farther away from anything resembling biblical Christianity.” Another leading evangelist, John Piper, evaluates the book and the fate of Pastor Bell by noting, “Farewell, Rob Bell.” Finally a professor of theology at North Park University in Chicago, Scot McKnight, welcomed the renewed discussion of one of the hardest issues in Christianity, namely, “Can a loving God really be so wrathful toward people who faltered [sinned], or who were never exposed to Jesus [evangelized]?” A large number of Evangelicals believe, more or less, that people of other faiths will go to heaven. The author taps into a young generation that wants to explore the question. While traditionalists fear that books and discussions like that prompted by Pastor Bell will compromise the Christian message. Regardless of his critic’s theological perspective, most agree that he slides close to the heresy called “universalism,” where all humans will be saved eventually, while never using the term.
Salvation and Last Judgment are the subjects of our Gospel for this Mass.
In our gospel we listened to the concluding section of the Sermon on the Mount , we hear two elements, a sharp contrast between two kinds of people, and a warning that both will have to face judgment before God. Both units contrast two kinds of people: those who do the will of the Father and those who do not, those who build with strong foundations and those who do not. Only those doing the “Father’s will” can expect to enter the kingdom of heaven, whereas those who do not, whatever other achievements they may have, will not. Then, hearing Jesus’ words and doing them provides a firm foundation for the “storm,” the trials of life experienced until the final coming of the Kingdom of God. Those lacking the foundation will know a great fall.
Modern scripture scholarship informs us that the division of humankind into two kinds of people is commonplace in Wisdom literature. The joining of this motif to the idea of the last judgment is also common in the writings of Jesus’ time. A major premise of the Wisdom books is the law of retribution: the good are rewarded, and the wicked are punished. By the time of Jesus, people learned that life is not that neat, so there developed a strong tendency to put off the ultimate rewards of punishment until the end of human history as we know it. The combination of the division of humankind and the last judgment was inevitable, therefore.
Notice, however, that the division of people is not between Jews and Gentiles, nor is it between Jews and Christians; rather, it is a division between Jews who accepted Jesus’ interpretation of the Torah , and those who do not. The text you heard at this Mass makes better sense when it is understood as a struggle between the Matthean community and its Jewish rivals. Recall briefly: after the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 AD, Jews decided to base their religion on the Book, rather than on the cultic practices of a destroyed Temple. Matthew’s community claimed that Jesus interpreted those books in the only valid and fulfilling way. Early Christians, therefore, called their movement, “The Way.” Given this, the entire Sermon on the Mount must be viewed by the framework of this inner-Jewish struggle. We are asked to accept Jesus’ teaching as the fulfillment of the Torah. The teachings of Jesus provided the rock upon which one must build one’s house.
The thesis of the Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5 through 7, is that Jesus came not to abolish but to fulfill the Law and the Prophets. Matthew’s compendium of his teachings seeks to show what fulfillment entails. It clearly does not mean doing away with the Torah; in fact, in some cases, it involves going to the root of its teachings or going beyond the letter of the Law. The sermon emphasizes the internal dispositions and attitudes that will structure the appropriate enactment of the Torah.
So, we have uncovered what Saint Matthew taught us in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, an important step in knowing what scripture teaches about salvation, in gaining insight into the question, “Are they many who will be saved?” According to Matthew’s faithful report, Jesus teaches that He, alone, is the source of salvation. For many non-Catholics, this teaching leads them to believe the following: “Unless you confess that Jesus is Lord, and He is your Savior, you shall not enter the Kingdom of God.” I think of my Methodist and faithful Aunt Florence, who asked, as my Catholic father lay dying, “But does your dad truly believe that Jesus is his Lord and Savior?"
This meant that she feared for his salvation and that this loss was difficult for her. Our Catholic faith teaches that Jesus alone is the source of humankind’s salvation and that He, alone is Lord. But we believe that people, who through no fault of their own, or because of pressures of their society, hold a different belief, will know salvation through Jesus. We believe that our faith holds the lion’s share of truth, and therefore, not all faiths are of equal value or worth. But we know and believe that Jesus died for all. So, in this Mass, you will hear me pray, “Remember those who take part in this offering, those here present and all your people, and all who seek you with a sincere heart.” This comes from Eucharistic Canon IV. “Those who seek you with a sincere heart,” includes Christians of other beliefs, and all people, who seek good, life, holiness, sincerity, peace, and love. This offer of salvation extends to those who died before Christ, those who lived while Christ walked this earth, and those who will live after his death on the cross. This is the Universality of his salvation.
However, we believe that we who are baptized members of his body, will, like all human beings stand one day before the judgment seat of Christ. Adopted members of Christ, we will be held to a higher standard. For those of us who claim that we believe in Jesus Christ, as Lord, confess that He is our teacher. While the good that we do in and despite our faith in him is held in account, we will be judged also upon whether we lived the teachings of Jesus. Thankfully, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, we have the written words and teachings of Jesus in the Bible. Further, we have the living tradition of faith that encountered challenges throughout the centuries, and taught the truth of God as it faced the moral and theological questions raised in those times.
This means that we are to see ourselves in the parable of the rich sons, who were told by their father to go out and work on the farm. One answered, “Yes,” but did not. One bellowed, “No, I will not.” But then he regretted his decision, and lived his Father’s will. We must be doers of the Word of God, Jesus. This lead Saint James to write in his letter, chapter two, verse twenty: “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? N.B. Some early manuscripts say, ‘dead,” [indicating that it has no power to save]. Show me belief with no works, and I’ll show you a dead faith, which has no power to save.”
Our hearts and lives must be transformed. Our sins will be forgiven, but our lives must be sincere.
“Then, in your kingdom,” we pray, “freed from the corruption of sin and death, we shall sing your glory with every creature through Christ our Lord, through whom you give us everything that is good.”
This is our faith."
1-Summarized and quoted from “Pastor Stirs Wrath With His Views on Old Questions,” written by Erik Eckholm for the New York Times,” p. A12, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Missing quotes and all research from this source.
2- Matthew 7:13-27
3-The term Torah (Hebrew, "Instruction"), also known as the Pentateuch (Greek: “five-tool, vessel, book), refers to the Five Books of Moses, the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts.
4-From Sacra Pagina, “Matthew,” pages 109-111. Missing quotes and all research from this source.
5-James 2:20, New International Version, ©2011, “You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? N.B. Some early manuscripts say, “dead.”
