Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 5 The Ministry and The Laity: Calvin ’s Perspectives on the 500th Anniversay of His Birth There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call, One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all who is above all through all and in all and. But grace was given to each of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ... And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, for the equipment of the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; so that we may no longer be children, tossed to andfro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love. - Ephesians 4:4-8, 11-16 In this year when we observe with gratitude to God the birth of his son and servant John Calvin, one of the great Reformers, it is important to turn the pages back and review his immense contributions to the Church of our Savior Jesus Christ. Many books have been written that you can read, and there are many facets of his interest and concern, far too many to look at today. Therefore, I’m going to zoom in one just one area of immediate concern to the churches in our time, which was equally important five hundred years ago, manifested in the Reformation. In his huge volume, The Institutes of the Christian Religion, the Fourth Book deals with the phrase in the Apostles’ Creed “the Holy Catholic Church,” and specifically with the entwining roles of the ministry and the laity in its life, mission and governance. As Americans I believe we probably have an easier time understanding Calvin in this since our form of national government was built on “Calvinist” principles which guided our nation’s Founders as they espoused the God-given dignity of all persons, and designed a Republic which would guarantee their rights and voice, with the opportunity to influence its values and daily life. I. Just as Calvin insisted that the Church must turn back to the Scriptures to ascertain God’s will, which is the same in all generations, and for the present day, we will turn back the pages today. There was a Jewish maiden whose life was so pleasing to God that he chose her, from all the other choices he had, to be his holy instrument and give birth to his only-begotten Son, whom she would name Jesus. She is only mentioned a few times in the Gospels and, despite the angel’s words about who her son would be, she apparently didn’t quite get it all. In several instances she showed that she was somewhat unclear about her son, especially in his mature years and ministry. Like the men Jesus chose as Apostles, they really didn’t get it until their Pentecost experience. It seems she was held in great respect by the churches after Jesus’ resurrection, but significant to note that there is no claim to perfection. She was the beloved mother of Jesus, but her life was lived as all of us in the shadow of original sin, as all of us are sinners and fall short of our heavenly Father’s holy design. It seems almost scandalous to make such a claim about Jesus’ mother, but it is true. She also was Jesus’ first teacher! That is a simple fact, but in its simplicity it is wonderful. He and you had your mother for your first teacher. Was your mother perfect? Maybe not - in fact, as you may have ascertained in your later years, she wasn’t. Yet, with any failings she may have had, she nurtured more than your body with her milk, as she taught you by example and word about life in this world and about genuine love. If she was wise, she also taught you about the world of the spirit and her God. Much of that remains with you today. All of this leads to Calvin’s understanding of the Church, the Bride of Christ, our nurturer in the necessary understandings of faith and life. Listen to the echo of Paul’s words in Ephesians, as we hear Calvin: “I will begin with the Church, into whose bosom God is pleased to collect his children, not only that by her aid and ministry they may be nourished so long as they are babes and children, but may also be guided by her maternal care until they grow up to manhood, and, finally, attain to the perfection of faith. What God has thus joined, let not man put asunder (Mark 10:9); to those to whom he is a Father, the Church must also be a mother.” Calvin makes a point of clarifying that the word “in,” when we say “I believe in” the Church, isn’t the same as saying “I believe in God.” He comments that it might better be said, “I believe the Church.” In clarification, while I may believe my mother tells me the truth, as she knows it, it is different from saying, “I believe in God.” In that sense, we don’t believe “in” the Church, but we “believe the Church,” as our teacher. This “Mother” also, as our first teacher of the faith, earns and deserves our respect and love. We are her reason for living! It is also imperative, Calvin asserts, to be connected with the Church. He adds, “... let us learn, from her single title of Mother, how useful, nay, how necessary the know-ledge of her is, since there is no other means of entering into life unless she conceive us in the womb, and give us birth, unless she nourish us at her breast, and, in short, keep us under her charge and government, until, divested of mortal flesh, we become like the angels (Matt. 22:30). For our weakness does not permit us to leave the school until we have spent our whole life as scholars. Moreover, beyond the pale of the Church no forgiveness of sins, no salvation can be hoped for (Is. 37;32; Joel 2:32). “Christians never out-grow the need to learn, and it is the Church that is our life-long teacher. Mother Church, like all good Moms, wants all her children to grow up and be successful, pleasing to God. Calvin recognized that some saw hypocrisy and error in the Church as their excuse to quit it. But he dissents with them, noting that Christ and the apostles saw the impiety and licentiousness of the Temple, yet it did not “prevent them from using the same sacred rites with the people, and meeting in the common temple for the public exercises of religion. And why so, but just because
