Big C, little c: Building Bridges by Saying “˜Thank You”

by Ben Cachiaras

One in four Americans calls himself Catholic. That”s 64 million people in this country””and an estimated billion people worldwide.

There were lots of Roman Catholics in Minnesota, where I grew up. Many of my friends were Catholic. Some struck me as devout and genuinely committed to Christ, while others seemed halfhearted, as if they were going through obligatory religious motions. Then I discovered there were those same two kinds of folk in my own church.

Later God moved my family and me to Maryland, and I have found a lot of Catholics here, too. In fact, Roman Catholicism is the largest denomination in our state, and a big chunk of the population here is Catholic.

So it”s not surprising that when I ask the folks in our church how many have some personal tie to the Roman Catholic Church, about half the hands shoot up. That”s impressive for two reasons””the sheer numbers, and because it”s startling to see Catholics raising their hands in church.

I”ve learned it”s the same in many churches across the country.

But in spite of this, I find a foggy ambivalence toward this significant segment of worldwide Christianity. I also know that talking about our relationship with the Catholic church is not only relevant, it”s troublesome and emotionally charged for many, raising family tension, theological debate, and sometimes all-out war.

Mark Twain said he put a dog and a cat in a cage together to see if they could get along. They did, so he put in a bird, a pig, and goat. They managed to work out their differences after a few adjustments and got along fine. Then he put in a Baptist, a Presbyterian, and a Catholic, and pretty soon there was not a living thing left in that cage.

We sometimes laugh at the rivalries between different brands of believers, but it”s no laughing matter, really.1 So what should our attitude be?

After talking with my preacher buddy, Greg Nettle, about his ministry amid a heavily Catholic population in Ohio, I decided to preach a two-week series suggesting some things a church like ours could learn from Roman Catholics, and also what Catholics might learn from others. It turned out to be a powerful opportunity to lay out the essentials of our faith, identifying common ground as well as points of departure. Best of all, it allowed us to describe a Christlike attitude toward the Catholic church.2

 

VITAL PERSPECTIVES

Because it”s so easy to get lathered up about this topic (some will say I”m unfair or too harsh with Catholics; others will insist I”m too soft on them), it is important to frame the discussion by pointing out two vital perspectives that should serve as a backdrop for everything we say.

Humility. First, the only fruitful way to approach the subject is with the spirit of Christ, which means an attitude of humility. There is no room for arrogance or superiority. No one has a corner on the truth. We all have errors in our doctrine and blind spots in our practice, which means everyone has something to learn.

That”s why you won”t hear us bashing another church where I serve. Framing it with humility opens us to learning, creates an environment of friendship””and it”s how Jesus would approach it.

Unity. Second, we should approach this with a huge concern for the unity of Christ”s body. We should show a kindred spirit with anyone who follows Jesus as Lord and trusts him alone as Lord and Savior. And that”s not just because we”re nice guys. We care about unity because it is a huge deal to Jesus.

In Jesus” eyes there is ONE CHURCH. And it is not divided. However we may have broken it up into all kinds of categories and compartments with various labels, “there is one body and one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:4). Jesus prayed that our oneness would bring us to “complete unity” (John 17:22, 23). That”s going to take some work, which is why Paul urged us to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3).

It”s a lot easier to perpetuate the divide. But instead of driving wedges, we can build bridges, because our Lord desires to make us instruments of his peace.

I don”t like being called “Protestant.” I”m not protesting another church. The church I serve isn”t fighting the Catholics. If you are a disciple of Jesus, then you are a Christian, and a Christian only. And that means you belong to the catholic church. The word catholic simply means universal, global, worldwide. Jesus” followers are united in the church of Christ, as the Nicene Creed puts it, the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic” church. So I”m a “little c” catholic and I”m a part of the “Big C” Church.

 

SAYING THANK YOU

As a catholic who is not Catholic, I”m aware of the important differences between a church like mine and Roman Catholicism, in belief and practice. The Roman Catholic Church certainly has some significant problems to address and blemishes to deal with. But there is much fruit to be enjoyed in the vast field we share as common ground. There is so much to appreciate, and so much we can learn.

In the interest of building bridges while demonstrating a concern for humility and unity, can we be gracious and insightful enough to say thank you to the Catholic church?

Let us say thank you for handing us the Bible. We would not have a historically accurate text of the Scriptures if it had not been for the Roman Catholic desire to protect it and preserve it through the centuries.

In the darkest of hours, the sacred texts were painstakingly hand-copied by devoted monks who gave their lives to scrupulous work in caves, in basements of cathedrals, sometimes on the run for their lives””all because of their loyal commitment to God”s Word which kept them at their task. The result is that we have in our possession the precious, handed-down, life-giving words of God.

Let us say thank you for upholding high moral values. When Pope Benedict XVI visited the White House, then-President George W. Bush welcomed him gladly. The president said he wanted to honor the Catholic conviction that there is right and wrong in life, and that moral relativism will undermine society. On one moral and ethical issue after another, the Catholic church has consistently held the high ground. In times like these, anyone who stands solidly for moral integrity on key issues can be a friend.

Let us say thank you for valuing the sanctity of human life. Catholics have been very strong in reminding our society that all life is a gift from God and every human being is to be treasured as sacred from the womb to the tomb. This includes respect for the worth of the unborn, but also the elderly, those who are dying, and those with special needs.

The Catholic church has held this view even while it continues to be unpopular, even with our government. If we strongly believe that human life is sacred, then we stand in solidarity with Catholics who have boldly upheld this value in many arenas.

Let us say thank you for demonstrating a heart of compassion for the poor. Jesus began his ministry by announcing his agenda and purpose this way: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor” (Luke 4:18). Read the New Testament and you cannot miss that the heart of Jesus is for the poor.

From the early days forward, Catholics have never lost sight of how important this was to Jesus and have therefore invested time, energy, and money in this vital aspect of kingdom work. I like how my friend Jon Weece put it:

 

You can travel to the four corners of the earth, and wherever you find abject poverty, you will also find Roman Catholic servants of God there to minister the grace and compassion and love of Christ””in tangible, grace-giving ways. They are efficient, and they are everywhere.

Let us say thank you for modeling a deep sense of reverence in worship. Roman Catholic services often convey a sense of God”s transcendence, emphasizing that God is wholly other, high above us, and holy””the kind of God before whom the only fitting response sometimes is to fall silent with reverence.

The worship many of us are familiar with emphasizes immanence, the personal side of God””reminding us God is near. The personal relationship is essential to living faith. But it can slide into a kind of relaxed coziness in which God is reduced to our buddy, and Jesus a casual pal. Sometimes our confident familiarity pales in comparison to the reverence preserved in most Catholic assemblies.

Let us say thank you for reminding us about the importance of confession of sin. Scripture quite clearly instructs us to confess our sins to God through Christ, and to one another. In this way we acknowledge that we finally see what God has seen all along””but calling it what it is in God”s presence allows God to deal with it through forgiveness. Catholics value confession, and know its healing strength.

I”m not suggesting confessing in a booth to a priest, but I do believe I could learn something about corporate and private confession from those who have practiced it more faithfully than I.

Let us say thank you for teaching with symbols. Visual learners especially appreciate the many symbols Catholics use to convey spiritual meaning. Many of these are taken directly from Scripture, such as candles, lit as a way to focus our prayers. Symbols and pictures can make our learning more participatory.

The Bible speaks of incense as a symbol of our prayers ascending to God, like the smoke wafting upward to the nostrils of God (Psalm 141:2). We “Protestants” often clap, raise our hands, and stand in worship. But one of Scripture”s central words for worship means to bow low, or kneel””postures that symbolize humility before God, which we can assuredly assume in any Catholic service.

Even the sign of the cross””though not prescribed in Scripture, is a powerful symbol that has become for me a way to declare, “Lord Jesus, I live under the sign of your cross. I willingly mark myself as belonging to you.” Sometimes I will make the sign of the cross as a private prayer in which I identify myself as one who belongs to Jesus, and the way of his cross.

When I am about to preach, or enter a hospital room to bring Christ there, or when facing temptation, I often make that sign across my body as a way of symbolizing a very real truth””that I am taking up my own cross. I am saying I know there are sins I must die to. I am saying I am not ashamed of the cross of Christ. I am saying I identify myself as crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live.

The sign extends from the forehead to the heart””my brain and my passions belong to Christ””then from shoulder to shoulder, signifying both arms and all my strength coming under the influence of Christ. I used to think that was a “Catholic” symbol. Now I see it as a Christian symbol.

Let us say thank you for keeping Communion central. Catholics use a good biblical word for Communion””Eucharist, from the Greek word eucharisteo, which means to give thanks. Jesus took bread and gave thanks, and Communion is a time when we are so thankful for what Jesus has done for us. When you take Communion, it should be a Eucharist time to say, “Oh Jesus, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Here is one area where churches of the Restoration Movement have much more in common with the Roman Catholic Church than we do with most Evangelical Protestants. Like the Catholic church, we believe Communion is of central importance to worship. It is not an extra, an optional add-on, or merely a memorial meal that can be observed once in a while, such as quarterly or monthly. It is truly a time of Communion, when Jesus is truly here with us, and we are truly communing with each other and with Jesus himself in a way that takes place on a spiritual level.

We and Catholics have different ideas about what happens with the actual bread and juice, but what we have in common is that it is very important and that something real goes on during Communion. The early Christians gathered and broke bread every week. So do Catholics, and we do, too.

Communion is the centerpiece of Christian worship. It ties us back to the one thing that unites all followers of Christ””and that is Jesus. Jesus is the true rock upon which the foundation of the one church is built, and “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11).

And for that we can say, “Thank God.”

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1I was saddened when I saw what was written by Jewish poet and essayist Anthony Hecht, who observed Christians over a number of years. He says, “Many of these were good people whom I admire, and from whom I learned many good things. And there was much in their belief and doctrine that seemed appealing as well. But few things struck me with more force than the profound and unappeasable hostility of Protestants and Catholics toward one another.”

2You can listen to the messages on our Web site at www.mountainchristian.org.

 

Ben Cachiaras, senior pastor with Mountain Christian Church, Joppa, Maryland, is a contributing editor for CHRISTIAN STANDARD and a member of Standard Publishing”s Publishing Committee.