THE GRASS IS BURNED WITH THE TARES

Martin Luther was right about Pope Alexander VI. And I would totally understand his spiritual dilemna upon witnessing the evils that are breeded (for lack of a better word) by him and several other priests Luther was aware of: promiscuity, simony, bribery... pretty grim. But Luther, in his efforts to weed out the tares, has pulled out the grass and burned them all. Of course, Luther was only the first generation and the first thing to go was the hierarchy. But generation after generation, more and more Christianity seemed to have been stripped of its splendor and glory to the point where Christianity can be seemingly no different than a Buddhist temple or a recreation center. Well at least both of them have a lot more stuff.

The problem I have with the Protestants is that they are too simple for me. There is nothing really there in their congregation that invites the soul to go deeper into the Mysteries. Where there is no Sacrament of Marriage, there is no real respect for the bride or the bridegroom and the covenant of which both of you enter into. Where there is no Sacrament of Confession/Reconcilaton, there is no understanding of the need to be justified and made whole due to the brokeness caused by your own personal sin. Where there is no real clergy, there is no healing of the soul. Where there is no respect or admoration for the saints before us, there is no desire to continue the work that has been done before us and all the blood will cry to deaf ears. Where there is no presence of Christ in the Eucharist, there is no reason to believe in the Incarnation or the Resurrection of Christ. Where there is no veneration of the Theotokos, there is no divine side of Christ and especially no divine side of His bride, the Church.

Now is it to say that the Protestants are doomed? No because there is time for each and every one of them to look deep inside themselves and at the Church of which they are part and see that preserving and maintaining the past helps build the future. I have met some great Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox and others. I have met some lousy Protestants, Catholics, Orthodox and others. I pray that the Protestants continue to remember that it is Christ who is important and to thrive to learn and be like Christ. I pray that the Catholics will continue do the same in the face of grave hostility. I pray that the Orthodox not only maintain the Truth but also to open their arms in love. I pray that others will reject what is evil and embrace what is good and pleasing to God's sight.

Although I still will not be a communicant with the See of Rome, I feel closer to them now than I do the Protestant camp. And with the problems that are rampant in the Catholic dioceses in America and with the failing health of the current Pontiff, John Paul II, I do pray for them. And I do pray for the Protestants as well. And I pray for unity but not based on compromised truth or unified efforts for social works... but true union of faith and truth and we all speak in one voice "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."

The harvest is nigh. Let us work the fields.


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