"Reformation names the disunity in which we currently stand."
So said Protestant theologian Stanley Hauerwas in a sermon given on Reformation Sunday several years ago.
Reformation Sunday is generally marked as the Sunday before Reformation Day, which falls on October 31st, the date Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.
Hauerwas opened his sermon by explaining that he does not like to preach on Reformation Sunday, in fact does not like Reformation Sunday as part of the church year in general. Reformation Sunday should not be a happy day in the church, as it marks a continuing failure. At the present, no satisfactory reformation has occurred, and what we are left with is disunity: a Catholic church not capable of being catholic.
But Protestants are far too often accepting or even celebratory of this state of things, seeing the Protestant church not as a protesting, reformation movement within the catholic church, but as an end in itself. But to the degree that the Protestant church forgets who it is and is content to exist only in its own branches, it is sinning against the unity of the church Christ died for. The church of all places must be unified, as it is intended to be the first fruits of a coming new creation in which all the walls the divide people have been destroyed (Eph 2:14).
Hauerwas discussed the advantages of a catholic Catholic church. For example, a catholic Catholic church gives the worshipers the comfort of knowing that wherever they travel, they will be worshiping the same God. It is not necessarily so in the multitude of Protestant and Protestantish churches that not only have convergent beliefs in a number of matters, but also have no relationship with one another. According to Hauerwas, "Catholics understand the church’s unity as grounded in a reality more determinative than our good feelings for one another." We might also add a reality more determinative than your or my unique theological formulations.
I do not necessarily want to see the Protestants close up shop and return to Papal authority. Perhaps that makes me too Protestant for most Catholics. But I also cannot see the Protestant church as solitary and satisfactory in itself. No doubt many Protestants will disagree. Standing as I do outside both organisms, I can summarize what I would like to see this way: I would like to see the Catholics become more Anabaptist, the Anabaptists become more Catholic, and the Protestants become more of both.
What can we do on Reformation Day? Hauerwas pointed out in his sermon that John Paul II in the last years of his life wrote confessed the Catholic sin of the Reformation. That is certainly a beginning. Where is the Protestant capable of confessing Protestant sin for continuing disunity? (Hauerwas suggests that Protestants cannot do so because they have no capacity to see disunity as sin.)
But "unity is finally a matter of memory." Christians must come together as part of the church catholic, and remember the Reformation together, to tell the story of our disunity and the much deeper story of our unity truthfully, so that we can "look forward to being together in union with one another and thus share a common story."
Hauerwas ends his sermon with an exhortation to prayer.
"Pray that on Reformation Sunday we may as tax collectors confess our sin and ask God to make us a new people joined together in one mighty prayer that the world may be saved from its divisions."
Will you pray with me?
-NDSR
Prof. Hauerwas's sermon
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Comments (11)
Unity is an excellent goal but, officially, Papal authority will always be part of the deal. There are Churches that are "Catholic" but not in full communion with Rome, the Eastern Orthodox Church being the most obvious example. That will be the best possibility for protestant churches.
But Catholics will always pray with you. Little do many know, that many of us include prayer for the unification of all Christians in our prayers daily.
i love this post. i've always seen Christianity's inability to remain unified as severely damaging.
couldn't imagine a more noble or worthwhile prayer....
What do you mean in saying that Catholics should become more Anabaptist? I don't know enough about Anabaptists to understand what this means. Thanks!
"I would like to see the Catholics become more Anabaptist, the Anabaptists become more Catholic, and the Protestants become more of both."
I don't get this either. Could you expound on this?
@Ancient_Scribe@xanga - @HLPU@xanga - You talked me into it! Look for a post in the near future that explains.
Very thoughtful post! The "what brings us together" spirit was indeed shattered by the reformation. Since then, unity has become more and more difficult, with the trend to subdivide over disagreements. Even when disagreements are honest and heartfelt, there is room for dialogue, humility, confession, and forgiveness, because there are so many people of good will. The stakes in our world are high. Yes, I will pray with you for unity.
What is most important is unity between the Spirit and the Body. When that union exists the person knows unity with everyone. Where it doesn't exist no real union is possible no matter how many pacts are signed or legislated.
I'd like to share a little story. As you probably know by now, I'm a Buddhist. However, I was raised as a Lutheran and my father was a much beloved minister. My best friend during my elementary school days was one of 8 children in a Catholic family. He had to go to church every Sunday and bring his mother the printout of each Sunday's liturgy as proof that he went. I often went to Mass with him because we hung out before and afterwards. As kids growing up in the burbs we often walked around barefoot and one Sunday I accompanied my friend to Mass wearing no shoes. I stood in the back as I often did. The next week I didn't go with my friend to church but he told me there was a sermon about me. Apparently some people were disturbed that a young boy had come to church barefoot the week before. The priest who gave the sermon was an elderly man whose name I still remember because of this incident. He was Father Carey. He was a bit scary to me because he seemed strict and serious. On that Sunday he spoke about the boy who had come barefoot to church the week before. He of course pointed out that Jesus often walked barefoot but more importantly he spoke about how it was more important that a young boy showed up at church than what he was or was not wearing on his feet. There were more things he said, using me as a vehicle to teach the importance of being humble and not gossiping or criticizing others who come to the house of worship, especially a young boy. Even as a kid I was touched. I never once spoke to Father Carey, before or after that day, but I always remembered him for coming to my defense. The story doesn't really apply much to this article but I thought it's a nice story.
If we all and each focussed on being Christian, nothing else would matter. Of and in Jesus. That is our Life and Light. Blessings from Ireland.. and, by the way, that is so easy to do and be and live. No more labels except Jesus.. no more pigeonholes. Loving and living Jesus alone, and others as He does.
agreed on unity, but why haven't you discussed the reasons why the protestants split in the first place? perhaps you're right that the protestants have missed the target, but do you think that their split was completely unprovoked?
And, yes, it's not necessarily the case that protestants are worshipping the same God. But it's not necessarily the case that all Catholics or all Muslims worship the same God. What's binding or necessary about this? It does happen to be the case that most protestants do worship the same God, and do worship the same God that most Catholics worship. Protestant churches have no relationship with each other? What's your basis for this? There are many inter-denominational fellowships that indicate the effort to acknowledge people of other doctrines within the protestant vein. I went to a retreat this past weekend that included catholics and protestants.
To say that it's not necessarily the case that all protestants worship the same God implies that it is necessarily the case that all Catholics worship the same God. But if there are doctrinal differences among catholics as there are among protestants, and if in the latter case that suggests a difference in the person they're worshipping, it suggests that Catholics worship a different God. I don't agree with any of this. Just wanted to point out what I think the logical end of your points mean. We worship the same God. Let's stop talking about what's dividing us and simply fellowship with each other. If you "might also add a reality more determinative than your or my unique theological formulations," then why bother with our unique theological formulations?