NOTE: Sermon preached at the Presbyterian Church of Santo Amaro on July 28, 2013, based on one of my texts previously published in the BLOG, updated for the context of the Pope’s visit to Brazil, at the end of July 2013.
Reading: Matthew 9:35-38
- And Jesus walked through all the peoples and villages.
- Teaching in the synagogues.
- Preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
- And healing all kinds of ailments and ailments.
- And then addressed his disciples: The god.
- In fact.
- Is much.
- But the workers are few.
- Therefore.
- Ask the owner of the month to send workers to his temple.
We have certainly seen crowds, young and old, faced with the rain, the mud, the cold, the lack of transportation, the insecurity of the cities, see the Pope during his visit to Brazil, which began on Monday. 07/22/2013, and runs until the last Sunday of the month. The media publicized the visit with such intensity that if you have been on this planet in recent weeks, you cannot have ignored the presence of the Pope in Brazil. For example, the weekly magazine with the highest circulation and impact (VEJA) has been on the cover of the event for two consecutive weeks. How to assess the person of the Pope, his visit and his statements? How to understand the expressions of faith and devotion found in the eyes of the crowds? Matthew 9: 35-38 speaks of multitudes that were not lacking in religiosity! Along with curiosity, there was devotion, dogmatic teaching, religion, but were they sheep? Who didn’t have a pastor? Sincerity, even present, was not a passport to the truth! And the pastor mentioned in the text, is he one? Christ Jesus, from whom there is no salvation. Who is the current Pope?
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected Pope (and took the name Francis) one day considered by many?Cabalistic? (13. 03. 13). Many people and the media expected the new leader of the Catholic Church to be a “progressive” pope. They were astonished by their position on the union of homosexuals; homosexuality, which is now spreading as ‘alone’. A sexual and abortion choice, it’s against it, period!Some Catholics were surprised that it initially did not make social commitment a top priority for the Church, but contradicts the message that has resonated constantly over the past four decades, especially on Brazilian lands, proclaimed by politicized. “liberation theologians “or” public theology “born dead. He seemed to prioritize spiritual issues!
Since the beginning of your?Papado ?, some statements have also caught the attention of evangelicals, for example, said that the Mission of the Church is to spread the message of Jesus Christ throughout the world, in fact it was even more enfriending and said that if this is not the main objective, the institution of the Roman Catholic Church tends to become an “NGO of charity” , but without greater relevance to people’s spiritual health!Then the bias changed a little, especially during this visit to Brazil. A position of ascetic and humble life, demonstrating a frugality that, in an age of opulence, corruption, appropriation of other people’s values and contempt for the true values of life, also seems healthy and relevant!
Hey, did some evangelicals say it?that’s our message!!
Well, it would not be the first time in history that a Catholic prelated recognizes that the Church was wrong in her ways and in her message. Once upon a time there was an Augustinous monk who, as he studied the Bible, discovered that he had to return to the foundations of Scripture and rekindle the mission of the Church by proclaiming the Gospel, freeing it from the human pendants absorbed by centuries of tradition, which had only mystical characteristics, but no spiritual and living contribution that was real to people. movement that became known in history as the Reform of the sixteenth century, with the messages, writings and actions of Martin Luther, in 1517, followed by many other reformers, who clung to the Bible as a rule of faith and practice.
Shall we attend one? Second reform, within the Catholic Church, if one of Pope Francis’ statements is taken seriously by him and his followers, it will be a revolution, but it is important to remember, however, that proclaiming the message of Jesus Christ is very complete and This phrase has specific and explicit implications. And the question that remains is: Is the Catholic Church ready to boldly define he or her in at least these five crucial areas?Let’s take a look one by one.
1. SCRIPTURES: Discard the times of the inspired books of scripture. That is, to assume loyalty only to the Holy Scriptures, to reject the so-called apocryphal books: to proclaim the words of Jesus in this area is to accept only what he has accepted. In Luke 24:44, Jesus referred to the scriptures available before the New Testament books, as “The Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. ” ? This was exactly the case when referring to the Scriptures that make up the Old Testament, in three specific divisions (Pentateuch, historical and prophetic books and poetic books) that comprise, in total, 39 books. They represent the inspired books accepted until today by historical Christianity, adopted by evangelicals, as well as by the Jews of then and today. In other words, no mention or acceptance of apocryphal and uninspired books that were inserted 400 years after Jesus Christ, when Jerome edited the Latin translation of the Bible? the Latin Vulgate [1]. Evangelicals and Catholics coincide in the 27 books of the New Testament, but these additions to the Word are responsible for introducing several strange doctrines, which were never taught or adopted by Jesus and the apostles. Furthermore, in the Catholic Church, TRADITION itself has normative force equal to the Bible. Proclaiming the word of Jesus to the world begins with the acceptance of the Old and New Testament Scriptures, and only these, as a source of religious knowledge and a rule of faith and practice. If we do not stick to the knowledge of the true Scriptures, we fall into error, as Jesus warns certain religious of his time, who, despite the quotation of Scripture, clung more to traditions than to the Word of God: ? Don’t you know the scriptures, or the power of God? (Mark 12:24). Does the book of Revelation at the end of the Bible contain harsh words for both subtractions and ADDITIONS to the scriptures: (22. 18)? I, to anyone who hears the words of prophecy in this book, I testify: If someone adds them, I will add the plagues written in this book; (22. 19) and, if someone draws something from the words of the book of this prophecy, will God take his part from the tree of life, from the holy city and from the things that are written in this book?
2. MEDIATION WITH GOD: Reject any other (or other) mediation between God and men, other than Christ himself. Do not accept the mediation of Mary, without mentioning her appointment as co-redemptrix, remember that the teaching of the word is this: is there only one God and only one Mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus, the man? (1 Timothy 2. 5). In fact, the Church must obey even Mary, who taught: “Do what he tells you? (John 2,5); and he tells us: “I am the way, the truth and the life; nobody comes to the father’s house except me? (John 14: 6). It was a moment that revealed the difficulty that the Pope has in adhering to this message of the Bible, observing his public homily (angelus) of 03/17/2013. After saying several important and biblical things about forgiveness and divine mercy, he ended by saying, “Let us seek the intercession of Mary? . . . We listen to the Pope’s own words: “The day after my election as Bishop of Rome, I went to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria Maior, to entrust my ministry as Successor of Peter to my Lady? [2] In Aparecida, during this visit to Brazil, he also declared: “Today I wanted to come here to beg Mary, our Mother, for the success of World Youth Day and to put the lives of Latinos in. -American at your feet. “May God bless you and the Virgin Aparecida take care of you. ” This is not how he will proclaim the word of Jesus to the world, because he needs to present him as the sole and exclusive mediator; our lawyer; the one who pleads and defends our cause before the divine court. For the Pope, “the Church always goes on mission following Mary”, but the People of God know that the true Church follows the will of God, expressed in his Word.
3. THE CULTE OF THE IMAGES: Reject the images and pantheon of saints composed of various characters who are also subject to worship and devotion due only to Christ. This characteristic of the Catholic Church is related to the use of sculpture images as an object. worship and veneration; and it must also be rejected. [3] Is this against the second commandment and departs from the faithful of the author and consumer of faith, Jesus?(Hebrews 12:2). Proclaiming the word of Jesus to the world means abandoning the false and human practice of canonizing the common of mortals, sinners like you and me, in complex but useless ecclesiastical processes that do not have the power to measure or assign special powers to these saints. Jesus’ message would be to abandon worship and devotion to “Nossa Senhora Aparecida” and so many others. Our ladies? And idols who are part of the Roman Catholic religion, look what the Bible tells us:
Psalm:
115. 3 Our God is in heaven and does what He wants
115. 4 Silver and gold are his idols, the Hand work of men.
115. 5 They have a mouth and do not speak; they have eyes and they don’t see;
115. 6 have ears and cannot hear; have a nose and not smell
115. 7 Your hands do not smell; Your feet don’t work, no sound comes out of their throats.
115. 8 May those who believe them and those who trust them become them.
115. 9 Israel trusts in the Lord; it’s your protection and your shield.
Habakkuk:
2. 18 What use is the idol, given that it was carved by its craftsman? And the image of the founder, master of lies, so that the craftsman can trust the work, making stupid idols?
Jeremiah:
10. 3 For the customs of the peoples are vanity; because they cut a wood in the forest, working with the hands of the craftsman, with an axe;
10. 4 They adorn it with silver and gold, fix it with nails and hammers, so that it does not empty.
10. 5 Idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber and cannot speak, they need someone to take them because they cannot walk; don’t be afraid of them, because they can’t do wrong, and doing good is not in them.
4. THE DESTINATION OF PEOPLE: Reject the teaching that there is a post-mortem state that offers a “second chance”. Personas. La doctrine of purgatory has no biblical basis and was born exactly from books known as apocryphals (in 2 Maccabees 12. 45), forming only in the councils of Lyon and Florence in 1439, but Jesus and the Bible teach that there are only two destinations that we wait for people after death: to be in glory with the Creator?Saved by the infinite grace of God (Luke 23:43?Am I really telling you that today you will be with me in paradise?And Acts 15,11? We were saved by the grace of the Lord Jesus?), or in eternal death (Matthew 23:33?How will they escape the condemnation of hell?), as a result of our own sins. To proclaim the word of Jesus to the world is to warn people. of the inevitability of eternal death, to preach the gospel of repentance and the good news of salvation by Christ, without deceiving the faithful with false destinies.
5. PRIERS: Reject them? Mantras, which translate as if they have an intrinsic validity, as a gradual reinforcement by repeatability. It was Jesus himself who taught us, in Matthew 6,7: praying, do not use vain repetitions, such as Gentiles; Why do you assume that by your long speech you will be heard?It is simply incredible to see how the record has not fallen on the Catholic Church over the centuries and, even with such a clear statement against repetition, by Christ. , prayers, rosaries, novenas, signs of crosses, etc. , are promoted and presented as signs of spirituality or motivators of divine action to those who repeat them. To proclaim the word of Jesus to the world is to address the Father as he teaches. , in the name of Jesus Himself, in the power of the Holy Spirit, opening our hearts before the throne of grace (Philippians 4. 6: “Don’t worry about anything; in everything, however, your requests must be known to God, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving?).
Thus, in the accompaniment of the visit, it is true that one can admire the courage of this man, Jorge Bergoglio, who has clearly spoken out against certain aberrant sins that destroy family and society, yet is he really absent from the Word of God?and that Jesus’ teachings be a real part of his message and of a church transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, as we have seen in each of these areas (and also in others).
In this whole situation, we can learn a few things: (1) Ask God to empower our evangelical leaders, and ourselves, to be courageous in calling out government officials and the media, promoting laws and behaviors that contradict totally principles. . that God describes in His Word. These principles are always the best for the good of humanity, in which God’s people (including our children and grandchildren) are inserted. (2) To be cautious in our appreciation and enthusiasm for the Pope’s actions and words? Idolatry and the diminished intermediation of Christ are always present in his religious vision and in the Church that has him as head. Is evangelical participation in these celebrations totally devoid of biblical basis? they represent a disregard for those deep doctrinal differences that represent the difference between people’s spiritual life and death. (3) Call God to mercy and true salvation for our people and our land. How sad it is to see so many eyes and hopes placed on the saints, myths, mysticism and the human person, instead of the one sovereign God. The God of the Bible is the hope of our lives. He is the one who reaches us and speaks to us in Christ Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This God who is ours is real and eternal and not temporary like the Pope.
[1] The Latin Vulgate (382?402 AD), a Latin translation of the Bible, contains 73 books (not 66) in addition to the addition of chapters in some Old Testament books, which do not appear in Hebrew texts, nor in The Seventy (Greek, Old Testament translation, made around 280 BC). These additional books are called apocryphal books (doubtful, fabulous, fake). Jerome himself put up warning notes, regarding the canonity and validity of these additions, but this warning was removed in the centuries to come. His acceptance as a canonical act within the Catholic Church was formalized by the Council of Trent in 1546 AD. Therefore, the understanding that these books were placed there for their historical value has disappeared. or devotional. It is possible that if Jerome knew that in posterity they would be considered an integral part of the Bible, he probably would not have included them in his work.
[2] All these quotations are extracted from the homily in the Sanctuary of Aparecida, delivered on 24/07/2013. http: //www. news. va/pt/news/santuario-da-aparecida-homilia-do-Papa -24-julho-20, accessed 26. 07. 2013.
[3] In the same homily already mentioned, the Pope said: “The history of this sanctuary serves as an example: three fishermen, after a day without being able to fish, in the waters of the Parnaba River, find something unexpected: an image of Nossa Senhora da Conception. Who would have imagined that the place of fruitless fishing would become the place where all Brazilians can feel children of the same mother?