Month: May 2018

Jesus speaks about penance and indulgences

Posted on by NeuralMonk

Setting Isaiah 58:5 aside, many non-orthodox protestant students of scripture will tell you that penance is not a scriptural concept. If you remove the concept of penance, the question of indulgences becomes an easy target, even for the likes of Luther. However, what if Jesus himself spoke directly about the concept of penance and indulgences? What if this passage was even included in every translation of scripture and is not refuted as being authentically the words of Jesus?

The standard Catholic answer for indulgences recounts the church’s authority to forgive or retain sin.  While this authority is a very solid argument, it is not the strongest argument.

So a bit of background… penance, and indulgences are very old concepts. These concepts go back before Jesus’s earthly time and are rooted in the Jewish religion, practice, and faith practiced by Jesus, Peter, and Paul. The Jewish faith, which was authored and completed by Jesus through Moses is the foundation of Christianity. While some aspects of Jewish practice were abrogated by Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the church, Jesus did not replace the key elements of the Jewish faith. This did not occur even on Paul’s watch.

The foundational argument is a question of the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 3. When Adam and Eve sinned, did this rebellion negate God’s declaration of goodness over Adam and Eve, or was this sin a wounding of our good nature, making us susceptible to ignorance, malice, concupiscence, sin, and death? While this is a good topic for an article, it will have to wait.  For the sake of this article, we are going to assume that this original sin was just a wounding of our goodness.

This wounding requires a healing which is provided by the grace (χάρη) of God. For those biblical scholars out there, please remember that grace is a superset of gifts, of which forgiveness and mercy are members.  These two gifts are just a taste of the total grace of God through Christ Jesus.

To start this discussion revealing Jesus’s credible words of encouragement to us, we need to address one additional point.  It is a foundation belief of this author that one cannot earn salvation by our own good works.  However, I do believe your salvation is what earns you eternal life by good works.  That may seem contrary, but the difference between salvation and eternal life is critical.  “We are saved by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

So, to the point and the scripture passage.  This passage is highly confusing for most scholars: Luke 16: 1-15

1 Then he also said to his disciples, “A rich man had a steward who was reported to him for squandering his property. 2 He summoned him and said, ‘What is this I hear about you? Prepare a full account of your stewardship, because you can no longer be my steward.’ 3 The steward said to himself, ‘What shall I do, now that my master is taking the position of steward away from me? I am not strong enough to dig and I am ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I shall do so that, when I am removed from the stewardship, they may welcome me into their homes.’ 5 He called in his master’s debtors one by one. To the first he said, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 He replied, ‘One hundred measures of olive oil.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note. Sit down and quickly write one for fifty.’ 7 Then to another he said, ‘And you, how much do you owe?’ He replied, ‘One hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Here is your promissory note; write one for eighty.’ 8 And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. 9 I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth, so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. 10 The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones; and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones. 11 If, therefore, you are not trustworthy with dishonest wealth, who will trust you with true wealth? 12 If you are not trustworthy with what belongs to another, who will give you what is yours? 13 No servant can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.”

Okay, let’s break this parable out in modern-day language.  For most people reading, the connection between a dishonest steward and indulgences might not be apparent.  We need to understand a number of steps in the story:

  1. Rich men had many properties.  In today’s world, the rich man would be called a wealthy businessman having multiple businesses, or more direct, the business owner.
  2. Each property would have a steward who was responsible for managing the property.  We would call this manager a CEO.
  3. Every year, just after harvest, there would be an accounting of all properties owned by the business.  We have this today and we call it an audit.
  4. The reporter of accounts would come before the businessman and report the expenses, income and show the gain/loss of the accounts.  We call these people auditors today.
  5. The auditors found a discrepancy that pointed to the CEO spending the gains of the company on himself.  We would call this embezzlement.
  6. The auditor brought this embezzlement to the owner, pointing the finger at the CEO.
  7. The owner called a meeting with the CEO, and in the meeting, notice asked him to give an accounting of the embezzlement, a full statement of accounts and his resignation letter to the meeting.
  8. The CEO panicked thinking that not only was he going to lose his job, he probably was going to be placed in jail, lose his residence and family, and any sense of respect from other people.
  9. The CEO hatched a plan to protect his status, position, and respect.
  10. First, proving that the owner and auditor were not making a mistake (because God doesn’t make a mistake), the CEO decided to take his ill-gotten gains, to prop himself up.  We know he did this because Jesus told us within the passage exactly what the CEO embezzled.
  11. The CEO decided to play this both ways, telling the owner he was wrong (with “proof”), and also gain some respect with the owner’s debtors.
  12. He went to the first debtor and asked him how much he owned.  This was 100 measures of olive oil.  Remember, Jesus uses 100 as a placeholder for the elect.  One hundred sheep and one was lost…
  13. The CEO “gave” him the 50 measures of olive oil to return to the owner.  How do we know this?  Because this is not the parable of the dishonest debtors.  The books have to match.  The note must match the office copy.  The CEO didn’t just find someone to lie about what he owe’s, he is actually helping the debtor.
  14. The returned oil could be claimed an oversite by the auditors.  In this way, the CEO is not calling the owner dishonest (because God is always honest), but instead, placing the blame on his accusers.
  15. The grace (χάρη) of the oil given creates an unspoken contract in the honor of the χάρη.  To understand this contract, you must understand the Greek concept of grace.
  16. The next debtor owed 100 kors of wheat.
  17. The CEO “gave” him the 20 kors of wheat to return to the owner.  Again, the note was changed and the accounts updated.  We should assume this debtor was also honest.
  18. Again, the returned wheat could be claimed an oversite by the auditors.
  19. The grace (χάρη) of the wheat given creates an additional unspoken contract in the honor of the χάρη.
  20. The owner was not fooled, however, he was impressed.  If the CEO had been found with the evidence, he could have been jailed.  Even if he returned it in good faith, jail would have been required.  However, the CEO used the ill-gotten materials to win grace for himself and creating a plausible shield for his honor.
  21. The owner gave praise to the shrewd actions of the CEO, increasing his honor.

Now Jesus gives us the reason for this parable in verse 9.

“I tell you, make friends for yourselves with dishonest wealth so that when it fails, you will be welcomed into ETERNAL dwellings.”

Please note, that this parable is about eternal dwellings, yet, it is also about how we deal with our wealth.  When we sin against God, we are embezzling from the owner.  We are squandering what God has given us for our own selfish desires.  At some point, there will be an accounting, and if we have been squandering what He gave us, he will put us out of His property.

However, it is possible to use what we have taken for God’s glory.

Penance is our attempt to make right the wrong we did.  “Confess your sins, one to another.” and again, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from unrighteousness.”  But that doesn’t fix the brokenness.

A good example would be throwing a baseball through the neighbor’s window.  The neighbor can forgive us for the infraction, but the window still needs to be repaired.  Justice demands restitution.  Forgiveness deals with relationship, penance deal with justice.

There are many Catholics who perform their penance for their own gain.  Penance makes me feel better about myself because I can feel like I am paying for my damages.  However, when we do penance, we are doing this penance with what God gave us.  It is not ours to take either.

This is where the economy of grace comes into view.  What I can do is to give what I have to those in need.  If I have the ability to spend a bit of my life in service to others, I am giving what I have taken, and using it for others that God loves.  I am spending my life, my joys, my sufferings, and realizing that these are only things given to me as a steward.  All things belong to God, and I am just a steward.

Therefore, when I do penance, I should only do penance to those who cannot repay their debt.  I should use what I have been given for the benefits of others.

This is where indulgences come into the picture.  An indulgence is a series of gifts that I can do, to provide grace to others in need.  I am able to take what God gave me, and through suffering on my part, use this grace to enact justice.

But remember, I cannot earn my own salvation, and I should not embezzle for my friends, but I should make new friends with my dishonest wealth.  Then, those whom I have helped can help me secure my eternal dwelling.

God wants us to love each other, not ourselves.

So next time you have a penitential situation or are able to complete and indulgence, follow the example of the dishonest steward.  Give those graces to those in need.  Offer them up to a stranger, and gain a friend in the eternal kingdom of God.

 

 

Angels visit our Mass

Posted on by NeuralMonk

We started the service with three discernable angels in Mass today.  I noticed that the very young children were much calmer during the mass.  At some point just after consecration, one of them left and we closed with only two in attendance.

Now I intellectually know that there are more than three or two angels at mass because the scriptures talk about our guardian angels, but these were more intense persons that I noticed.  Like a spotlight in a sunlit room.

When Romans was written

Posted on by NeuralMonk

The book of Romans was most likely written around Acts 18:1-17

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together—by trade they were tentmakers. 4 Every sabbath he would argue in the synagogue and would try to convince Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus. 6 When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left the synagogue and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the official of the synagogue, became a believer in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul became believers and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord said to Paul in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for there are many in this city who are my people.” 11 He stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal. 13 They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are contrary to the law.” 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of crime or serious villainy, I would be justified in accepting the complaint of you Jews; 15 but since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves; I do not wish to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he dismissed them from the tribunal. 17 Then all of them seized Sosthenes, the official of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of these things.

Claudius was an interesting ruler.  On his fourth marriage, married his niece (brother’s daughter) and adopted her son Nero.  Yes, that Nero.  However, that marriage relationship is not what makes him interesting.  One of Claudius’s many passions was to see a return to the old beliefs of the state religion.  No, this wasn’t Christianity but the Roman pantheistic beliefs.  Amongst the laws, he saw put into effect, was a law to criminalize anyone who was proselytizing within Rome.

According to Suetonius (a Roman historian during this period), “Iudaeos impulsore Chresto assidue tumultuantis Roma expulit.” In English, “Since the Jews constantly make disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, Claudius expelled them from Rome.”  Now to be clear, most scholars are unclear whether Chrestus is a mis-spelling of Christus (because they sound similar in ancient Latin), or was an actual individual during that time.  We don’t know.  However what we do know is what was occurring in Corinth.

The Greeks like to be very synchronic.  Being people dedicated to reason and intellect, some of the Greeks saw Jewish thought as very persuasive.  Also, some of the Jews saw truth in the reason and logic of many of the Greek writers.  Maimonides actually called Aristotle “half of a prophet”.  These Greek-Jewish people were known as Hellenistic Jews.

Because Hellenistic Jews were more receptive to new lines of thinking, the Christian message of Jesus the Messiah was very compelling.  So much so, that many debates took place between “Jews and Greeks.”

This chapter opens up with Paul leaving Athens.  Athens at this time was the center of new religious thought.  However, Pau went to Corinth, which was a modern Roman city established on the ruins of Corinth around 44BC.  This was a major center of commerce for Roma during this time and would be a good place for tentmaking.  In going through the market, I am sure that Paul found Aquila because of his trade and discovered later that he was a Jew.

However, Aquila was not just a Jew but a Jew from Pontus, a region by the Black Sea in Greece, and as we called it before, a Hellenistic Jew.  Aquila and his wife Prisca were probably both running “the shop.”  Aquila and Prisca are Latin names, not Greek, giving us a glimpse into their background.  Having Latin names indicates that they have contacts and connections beyond the Greek and Jewish hints given by Luke.  Also having a trade, like tentmaking suggests that Aquila may have had some rabbinical training like Paul.

Paul, having found a common brother in the faith, would have had many a good talk about the Jewish faith.  They had much in common between them with Aquila’s background, occupation, and religion during the week.  But on Saturday, Paul would spend his time in the synagogue.  While Paul may have had the same formation, thoughts, and theology of Aquila, I believe that Prisca (who became the more tender name of Priscila) was the one who shared Paul’s heart.

It was not Aquila who Paul mentions first in the book of Romans, but Priscila.  This is not normal unless the heart for those in Roma came from her, and not him.  Aquila may have had a heart for the Messiah, Priscila had a heart for the Messiah’s bride.  My guess is that Paul identified more with that love when writing the letter than he did the love of ideas.

Back to the synagog, notice that he was arguing with both the Jews and the Greeks trying to convince them of the messianic nature of Jesus Christ.  Jesus who is the living Torah.

Now another custom that you must know.  When the temple was active, there were three courtyards around the temple.  The courtyard of the Jews, the courtyard of women (Jewish), and the courtyard of the Gentiles.  To get to the courtyard of the Jews required passing through each of the prior courtyards.  Just before a Jew would cross from the Gentile’s court to the courtyard of women, he would remove his cloak, sandals, and headdress and shake them out, “lest the dust of the Gentiles profanes the temple.”

So when the Jews started to receive insults regarding his teaching, Paul used this as an object lesson to those Jews.  He shook the dust off his clothing indicating that he is leaving their profanity and “uncleanliness” in their synagog.

Now, this being the Shabot, Paul kept the Jewish custom of limited work on this holy day by only going next door to the synagog.  He entered the house of Titius Justus.  Titius is the first name of an Italian who was not a Roman citizen.  However, Titius’s last name was Justus, which may have been his title in the city.  Regardless of his importance, we see the best title of all, “a worshiper of God.”  Titius was a Gentile, not a Jew who worshipped God in the synagog.  So when Paul said, “I will go to the Gentiles,” he was not just being figurative, but literal.

So here we see Paul, keeping the law, but rejecting the works of the law.  He kept the law of Shabot, which is older than Moses, but rejected the purification laws of the Jews by entering into a Gentile’s house on Shabot.

Luke is not giving us just history here, but he is interweaving truths about our faith and how Paul was living this faith in Jesus Christ.  It was this act of faith on Paul’s part that caused the head of the synagog to believe in Jesus.

It is this tension between the law given by God which cannot be abrogated, and the laws of men used to shield us from the law.  This time of Paul’s life was very formidable and stands as a foundation for the letter to the Romans.

While I cannot say that the letter to the Romans was written at this time (51AD) or later (54-55AD), the words of the letter were formed in his mind, mouth, and heart.  It was this incident that steeled his resolve and welded his theology.

Next time you read through Roman’s think on this event, think about the conversations of Priscilla and Aquila.  Think about the actions in the synagog.  Realize the foundations of that great letter.  Remember he was leaving the center of new religious thought, to intertwine the faith of the Jews with the teachings of the Torah made flesh.