Shikrot Mpwi - Sunday Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

24^th Sunday of the Year, B – September 16, 2018.

Readings: Isaiah 50:5-9; Ps 114:1-6,8-9; James 2:14-18; Gospel – Mark 8:27-35.

Theme: The 5 Solas & the Scandal of a Crossless Christianity!

Introduction

Tuesday 31^st October 2017 marked the 500 years of the Protestant Reformation led by an ex-Augustinian Priest, Rev. Fr. Martin Luther who pinned his popular 95 theses on the Wittenberg Castle Church in Germany to not only break away from the Catholic Church in what is called schism in theology but also denounce the papacy. Since then, Christendom has not remained the same. One schism led to another culminating in the proliferation of churches. One painful takeaway from the reformation which has remained with us is Sola Fide (faith alone). In our liturgy today, St. James brings to the fore one of the hottest debates between Catholics and Protestants.

While Protestants opine that one can be saved by faith alone based on Luther’s submission, Catholics insists on the testimony of St. James that one is justified by both faith and works. We shall explore the theme “The 5 Solas & the Scandal of a Crossless Christianity” in the light of the other theological debates while insisting on Jesus’ take on the matter namely: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me.” This reflection shall browse through the readings with the view to establishing the fact that it is only Christianity of the Cross, through faith and works that saves.   

Background & Summary of the Readings

The first reading (Isaiah 50:5-9) paints the picture of the Suffering Servant who accepts suffering, pain, humiliation, insults and condemnation without complain. He willingly makes no resistance neither does he turn away. He offers his back to those who stroke him, his cheeks to those who tore his beard; he does not cover his face against insult and spittle. Relaying on his vindicator, he says, “The Lord comes to my help, so that I am untouched by the insults.” The responsorial psalm captures the same sentiments when it says, “he has kept my soul from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from stumbling. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.”   

In the second reading (James 2:14-18), St. James, whom I refer to as the Apostle of Faith and Works, maintains that salvation is tied to both faith and works. James does not denounce faith but notes that faith is expressed through good works. Little wonder, the scripture says: “Work out your salvation in fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12). The epistle challenges Christians to move from being hearers of the word to doers of the word. It makes a case for practical Christianity which takes cognizance of the needs of our brothers and sisters. It connects the Christian with Christ, the Church and the community.

The Gospel reading (Mark 8:27-35) reveals Jesus’ teaching about the cost of discipleship and the call to embrace Christianity of the Cross. It was crucial that Jesus asked the question concerning what people were saying about him. It is important to note that the Jews looked forward to a military cum political messiah that would come from the Davidic dynasty to crush their enemies. The disciples too were not too clear about the identity of Jesus which theologians call, the messianic secret. As a result, Jesus puts the question to them, “who do people say I am.” After replying that some he was John the Baptist, others Elijah and still others, one of the prophets, Peter, the head of the Apostles and the First Pope said, “You are the Christ.”

Because people did not really know who he was, he gave the apostles strict orders not to anyone about him. This was also so that no one stands in the way of his salvific mission. Despite Peter’s superlative answer, we find him remonstrating with Jesus when Jesus said he would be put to death. Again, this is to prove the point that Peter and the other Apostles did not really have a clear knowledge of the messianic secret that the Christ would suffer and so enter into his own glory. After denouncing and rebuking Peter, Jesus uses the opportunity to educate both the people and the disciples about his vision and mission namely: “If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.”    
    

The 5 Solas and the Shame of a Crossless Christianity

1. Sola Fide (Faith alone): This is the teaching that we are saved through faith alone in Jesus Christ. It teaches that we are not saved by our merits or declared righteous by our good works. God grants salvation not because of the good things we do and despite our sin. Here, there is a departing point between Catholics and Protestants which St. James clarifies today. While Catholics insist that we are justified through, faith and works, Protestants hold the view that our good works amount to nothing.

2. Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone): This simply means, the Bible alone is the highest authority. This theology insists that the Bible is the ultimate and trustworthy authority for faith and practice. It argues that the scripture is the only place where truth is found and maintains that whatever we need to know about God, this world and all other authorities must be interpreted in light of Scripture and not Sacred Tradition or the Church’s Magisterium. 

 

3. Sola Gratia (Grace alone): This translates to, “we are saved by the grace of God alone.” This doctrine holds that we are saved because of God’s grace not by any merit on our part. It says, we can only stand before God by his grace as he mercifully attributes to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ and attributes to him the consequences of our sins. Jesus’ life of perfect righteousness is counted as ours, and our records of sin and failure were counted to Jesus when he died on the cross. Based on Ephesians 2:8, Protestants hold the view that: “For by grace you have been saved through faith…”

4. Solus Christus (Christ alone): This literally means “Jesus Christ alone is our Lord, Saviour, and King.” Based on Colossians 1:15 and John 3:16, this teaching emphasizes that we only come to the saving and transforming knowledge of God through God’s gracious self-revelation in Christ Jesus and nothing else.

5. Soli Deo Gloria (To the Glory of God alone): This stands for “We live for the glory of God alone.” This doctrine holds that all glory belongs to God alone and that God’s glory is the central motivation for salvation (1 Corinthians 10:31). It has no allowance for improving the lives of people. It insists that God is not a means to an end but that he is the means and the end.

The 5 Solas point to the cross as an instrument of shame since it provides the lee way for a Crossless Christianity as evident in Pentecostal spirituality. 

Two Testimonial Narratives about Faith and Works

A Chief Nursing Officer gave the testimony of 14-year Chelsea who was critically ill in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The patient had being admitted for about a month and there was no improvement. In fact, she had been intubated on life support. The nurse was called at night to report to the unit because Chelsea was dying. The doctors had given up on her and asked her mum if they could remove the life support considering the kind of suffering the kid had gone through. They felt that doing that was a way of honouring her to go and rest.  They wanted to do that the Saturday before but a case came up that took their attention. It was now Wednesday and she was still alive.

Just when they Doctors got the approval of Chelsea’s Mother to remove the oxygen mask, the nurse on duty removed it. The girl’s mother began praying over her daughter. The mother of another young patient who was in the bed next to her also began praying with her. The nurse on duty went to the nurses’ station to tell them that she had taken off the oxygen mask. As she was doing that, she looked up at the security monitor which videotapes the double doors that leads to the PICU and saw a man standing there. She became apprehensive but went ahead to open the two doors personally but she did not see anybody. 

She went back to chat with the nurses assuming that the person left but when she looked at the monitor, she still saw the man standing there. This time around, she decided to open the door by pressing a button near the nurse’s station and leaned to see him walk in but no one was standing there. At this point, she shared what was happening with a nurse. Both of them stared at this strange man on the monitor. Again, on opening the doors, they found no one there. It was when the chief nursing officer leaned closely to look at the man on the monitor that she discovered he had two wings. She then shouted, “It’s an angel!” At that point, the whole PICU was filed with a strange bright light.

All the staff pulled over to the PICU where the two mothers were praying.  Everyone was staring at the strange man on the monitor. They pulled out their camera phones to take pictures but none of their cameras could capture the image. However, when the mother of the girl pulled out her camera phone, she was able to take the picture of the angel who was guarding the doors to the PICU. The girl miraculously got healed and was later discharged. The story illustrates faith at work even as it reveals how the faith of a mother was able to bring an angel who restored the life of her dying daughter.

In like manner, the story is told by an unknown author of Tessy, an 8-year old girl who overheard her parents complaining about the sick condition of her brother Andy who suffered a brain tumor. His condition was bad and they had no money. Sadly too, their rent was due the following month. They had neither money for treatment nor for rent. According to doctors, only a costly surgery could save Andy’s life. No one was ready to loan them money. 

Daddy told Mummy to her hearing, “Only a miracle can save Andy now.” Tessy decided to go into her room to bring out the little box she keeps her little savings from her launch money.  She poured the money on the floor and counted everything carefully. She then made for the pharmaceutical store on their street. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to attend to her but he appeared busy attending to other customers. She twisted her feet to be noticed but she was ignored. She decided to clear her throat but the pharmacist was too busy. Finally, the little girl decided to pick a stick which she used to bang the counter. At that, the pharmacist asked in an annoying tone, “Little girl, what do you want?”

“I want to talk to you about my brother, who is critically ill. I want to buy a miracle for him” said Tessy. “What? The pharmacist yelled. “Yes, his name is Andy. He has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy said only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost. I want to buy it to save him” replied Tessy.

The pharmacist who could not understand the madness of this kid said, “Well, little girl, as you can see, we don’t sell miracles here. I’m sorry I can’t help you.” The kid insisted: “Listen, I have money to pay for it. If it is not enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.” At this point, the pharmacist’s brother who was listening to the drama intervened by asking the little girl: “What kind of a miracle does your brother need?” She answered, “I don’t know, but I think I just know he’s really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can’t pay for it; so I want to use my money to save his life.” He asked how much she has and the girl answered, “Two dollars but if you can help me, I will pay the balance at a later time when I save from my launch money.” 

On hearing that, the man asked her to take him to her parents. “I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let’s see if I have the kind of miracle you need.” Well, it turned out that the man was a neuro-surgeon. He operated Andy free of charge. Testifying the goodness of God, her excited mother said, “That surgery was a real miracle brought about by the faith of a little child at work.” The question is, how much did the miracle cost? The answer is simple – the faith and the works of Tessy. 

Pastoral Application & Practical Lessons

1. Our liturgy assures all those who are in every kind of suffering, humiliation, excruciating pain and near death experience to look up to the heavens from whence shall come their help.

2. It also calls Christianity to shun any modern tendency that removes the cross from the Christian faith because the sculpture says, narrow is the gate the that leads to the kingdom while the way that leads to perdition is wide.

3. Our liturgy helps us to reflect on why we say the sign of the of the Cross – i. e, because in the Via Dolorosa Jesus receives his Cross in the second station, he was nailed to the cross in the 11^th station, he died on the cross for our sake in the 12^th station, there are three persons in one God and it is an act of faith to bless and wish ourselves good luck.

4. It challenges Christians who are tempted to give because they cannot afford money to send their children back to school or they cannot afford three square meals; or those who are unable to get cure for a deadly disease; or those who are mourning a loved one or young people who are frustrated due to unemployment or lack of admission and those who are about to give up the idea of marriage because Mr. or Mrs. Right is not in sight, to look up to the Cross of Calvary for permanent solution – His resounding “It is finished” means that your matter is taken care of.

5.  Since the story of Chelsea’s Mother illustrates faith at work which led to the restoration of her daughter’s life, we are challenged to ensure that our faith is matched with concrete action.

6. The surgery of Andy, Tessy’s brother reveals how the faith of a little child is expressed in good works which challenges us to always pray and work until something happens.

7. As Catholics, we are reminded that the five Solas namely, Sola Fide, Sola Scriptura, Sola Gratia, Solus Christus and Soli Deo Gloria are connected to divine revelation, the teachings of the Magisterium and the Sacred Tradition handed over to the Church through unbroken Apostolic succession. 

Homiletic Points to Remember

1. The first reading (Isaiah 50:5-9) paints the picture of the Suffering Servant who accepts suffering, pain, humiliation, insults and condemnation without complain.  

2. In our liturgy today, St. James brings to the fore one of the hottest debates between Catholics and Protestants.

3. While Protestants insist what one can be saved by faith alone based on Luther’s submission, Catholics insists on the testimony of St. James that one is justified by both faith and works.

4. The Gospel reading reveals Jesus’ teaching about the cost of discipleship and the call to embrace Christianity of the Cross.

5. The disciples too were not too clear about the identity of Jesus which theologians call the messianic secret.

Conclusion

Beloved in Christ, we are living in a materialistic society which increasingly points to a crossless Christianity. Painfully, prosperity gospel incensed by televangelists now identifies the cross as a symbol of shame rather than victory of sin and death. Jesus reminds us to take up our crosses daily, if we want to make heaven. The implication is, there is no shortcut to heaven. If the mother of the sons of Zebedee did not get automatic ticket for her sons, we won’t either. Since there is will be no VIP seats in heaven, we are cautioned to work out our salvation in fear and trembling. May our mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary intercede for us both now and forever. Have a blessed week ahead!