What's the big DEAL about a glass of WATER?
- Tony Vance
- Oct 1, 2015
- 8 min read
Recently, the Pope visited America. This Pope, Francis by name, Vicar of Rome, by title, is the first ‘American’ Pope, not from the United States, but the Americas (South America to be specific). What’s the fuss, some may ask, that this Pope visited the United States for the first time. Others may question who he is and what is a 'pope'… “papacy (pā´pəsē), office of the pope, head of the Roman Catholic Church. He is pope by reason of being bishop of Rome and thus, according to Roman Catholic belief, successor in the see of Rome (the Holy See) to its first bishop, St. Peter. The pope therefore claims to be the shepherd of all Christians and representative (vicar or vicegerent) of Christ. The claim of Petrine supremacy and (by virtue of Peter's connection to Rome) Roman supremacy, is based on Matthew 16:18–19. Papal supremacy is not acknowledged outside the Roman Catholic Church. The church further holds that God will not permit the pope to make an error in a solemn official declaration concerning a matter of faith or morality.” (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/papacy.aspx) His words carry powerful, if not nearly god-like, authority.
Who is this pope? “Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the 266th pope of the Roman Catholic Church in March 2013, becoming Pope Francis…Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on December 17, 1936, Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis on March 13, 2013…Prior to his election as pope, Bergoglio served as archbishop of Buenos Aires from 1998 to 2013 (succeeding Antonio Quarracino), as cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina from 2001 to 2013, and as president of the Bishops' Conference of Argentina from 2005 to 2011.” (http://www.biography.com/people/pope-francis-21152349#synopsis) Many experts feel as if this pope, because of his ties to poverty relief and social justice, will usher in a new brand of Catholicism. Time will tell if critics and cheerleaders view of Pope Francis are justified.
This pope seems to be a ‘new’ wave of Catholic, as well as other forms of Christianity. There seems to be a growing trend of followers of this pope, inside and outside Catholicism. In a recent NY Times article, it was stated, “The poll also showed 86% of Catholics support his emphasis on helping the poor and the environment over social issues like sex and reproductive rights. The Pope’s positions on social issues are also popular among American Catholics, the poll revealed.” (http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pope-francis-views-social-issues-popular-u-s-poll-article-1.2369190) It is not surprising that the Catholics support their pope. Another survey has shown, in a March 2015 survey, “Only six months before his first visit to the United States, Pope Francis' popularity in the United States is at an all-time high, according to a report released on Thursday by the Pew Research Center.” (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/pope-francis-popularity-in-the-united-states-hits-an-all-time-high/) His rising popularity can be, it seems to me, tied directly to his wavering positions on fundamental questions, such as same-sex marriage, homosexuality, and economic justice in this world. Yet, if I have an issue with Pope Francis, it’s not as much a personal thing as it is a doctrinal.
The Roman Catholic Church, of which Pope Francis is the head, is the result of centuries of changes. The idea of a pope, as it is used today, can be traced to centuries ago, though not as used today. Contrary to Catholicism’s teaching, no one man has served as head of the ‘Church’, except Christ. As political power began to creep into the ‘church’, waring bishops of major cities began usurping authority over other bishops. Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem’s bishops were considered ‘equal’ in authority for the first few centuries of the Church (and it could be argued the church was 'catholic', meaning universal, at that time, at least in authority). Eventually the schism between eastern powers, Rome, and western, Constantinople, bubbled over in the Roman Bishop Leo excommunicated Michael I Cerularius, the patriarch of Constantinople on July 16, 1054. This could be considered the true birth of the Roman Catholic Church, as least as it exists today. Interesting, the doctrine for which Leo was excommunicated, was an argument of unleavened or leavened bread in the Eucharist (which then lead to the dispute of who has the authority to tell who, what!).
This dispute, whether one Bishop had more authority than another, leads to my problem with Pope Francis (as head of the Catholic Church, again, not personal) and the major doctrines of the Roman Church. The Reformation was begun (many count Martin Luther’s nailing of his 95 Theses in 1517 as the beginning) as an opposition to many of the doctrines of the CHURCH. The selling of Indulgences, the idea of releasing people from purgatory, and the Eucharist, whether the host and wine ACTUALLY become the body and blood of Christ and not just symbolic, are just a few issues that I, as well the vast majority of Protestantism, have issue with. The biggest one, at least in my book, is a veneration of people, past and present, an elevation of the status of ordinary men, whether the present pope or some past dead ‘saint’, to some kind of ‘other’ category. Catholics everywhere worship ‘saints’ past and present, the ‘virgin’ Mary, and many other things, leaving me stupefied. A recent incident, by one of our congressmen, illustrates the absurdity of this practice.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News (as reported on their website philly.com) Rep. Bob Brady, D-Philadelphia, was keeping an eye on the glass of water Pope Francis drunk from during his speech to a joint session of congress, this past week (on Sept. 24) and confiscated it. The report is sad;
“Once he was safely in his office, Brady told the People Paper, "I took a sip out of it." So did Debra and the two staffers, who snapped pictures to commemorate the event.
"How many people do you know that drank out of the same glass as the pope?" Brady asked.
Not a question we ever dreamed we'd have to answer - but, what, maybe four people?
Brady also spread the holy-water joy to other legislators. He called U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., into his office, and Casey brought along his wife and mother. The three dipped their fingers into the glass. Pictures were taken, joy was in the air.
Brady said he then poured the rest of the water into a bottle and will use it to bless his four grandchildren, who range in age from 7 to 18, and his 1-year-old great-granddaughter.
Where's the glass, you may ask? Brady is keeping it in a brown paper bag. After the papal visit, he will give it to Philadelphia police to dust it for fingerprints to prove its authenticity, he said Thursday night.
"They're pretty busy right now." “ (http://www.philly.com/philly/news/pope/20150924_Holy_water__U_S__Rep__Brady_helps_himself_to_popes_glass.html#IKGVzx58srKDRxwh.99)
This leads me to my biggest issue, and the one that seems paramount to me, with Catholicism; blasphemy. Blasphemy can be defined as, “in its technical English sense, signifies the speaking evil of God and in this sense it is found Psal 74:18; Isai 52:5; Roma 2:24 etc. But according to its derivation it may mean any species of calumny and abuse: see 1 Kin 21:10; Acts 18:6; Jude 1:9 etc.” (Smith's Bible Dictionary) I would define blasphemy as irreverently speaking about God (Father, Son, and/or Spirit), which includes making anything equal to God. This irreverence would include elevating anyone to the position of God. The Catholic Church does this, as a matter of doctrine, and sadly, as a practice. Rep. Brady’s actions are mystifying, if it is only a man, but if he believed Francis is ‘god-on-earth’ then it is no wonder he sought to suck the pope’s back-flush.
Is there any ambiguity in this verse, from ancient times, Exodus 34:14 (NLT) “You must worship no other gods, for the LORD, whose very name is Jealous, is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.” Or this, from the greatest OT book of Theology, Psalm 81:9 (KJV) “There shall no strange god be in thee; neither shalt thou worship any strange god.” And as a final authority, Christ’s own words, Luke 4:8 (HCSB) “And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’“ To elevating Mary to an exalted position, ‘saints’ for every situation in life, and veneration of a sinner named Jorge Mario Bergoglio, now called pope Francis, the Catholic Church is a church of idol worshippers, clearly serving others, . Worship can be defined in many different ways, but one must include prayer as a part, no matter what else you include or not.
I think this particular passage, from a Catholic apologetic website, speaks for itself;
“As the prayers themselves witness, the Church teaches us that we should pray not only directly to God, but also to those who are close to God, those who have the power to intercede upon our behalf. Indeed, we pray to the angels to help and watch over us; we pray to the saints in heaven to ask their intercession and assistance; we pray to the Blessed Mother to enlist her aid, to ask her to beg her Son to hear our prayers. Further, we pray not only on our own behalf, but also on the behalf of those souls in purgatory and of those brothers on earth who are in need. Prayer unites us to God; in doing so, we are united to the other members of the Mystical Body.” (http://www.catholic.com/tracts/common-catholic-prayers)
Mary, St. ‘Anybody’ or ‘Nobody’, can’t be our object of worship, and prayer is most assuredly an act of worship. There is no SCRIPTURAL support for saint, angel, or Mary praying. On the same website, early cited, the justification for praying to saints (which of course includes Mary) relies heavily upon church history, not scripture. Granted, the same website distinguishes between worship that is giving honor to anyone and worship that is only to God. I will grant that worship could simply mean honoring, and thus could be directed to someone of great authority or of high regard. Prayer is worship to God alone, I think that is unambiguous. Nowhere in scripture is Mary (or any other saint) seen interceding for us in Heaven, and there is definitely no command to pray to anyone but God. Jesus in His answer to the disciple’s question of “teach us to pray” He gave what we call the “Lord’s Prayer” a model or even a formula to use, with no reference to praying to anyone but God (Luke 11:1-4).
I shudder and am amazed that anyone would turn to anyone but Christ (and God). I recently explained the doctrine (of the Catholic Church) of Mary to my Youth Group, it can be summarized as follows, “The special honor afforded Mary by the Catholic Church is sometimes a bit confusing to many outside the church. We love, honor, and pay tribute to Mary. We lovingly pray to her; prayers of honor, tribute, hope and petition her to pray for us. Mary, most of all, understands that we do not worship her. We call on her as our Mother. The most common prayer to our Blessed Mother is called the "Hail Mary".” (http://www.ourcatholicfaith.org/mary.html) Also, here; “Thus, would God the Father say "No" to anything Mother Mary asks of Him now? Let us take advantage of this truth and receive the graces of God the Father and Jesus, the Son, through the most powerful intercession of our Mother Mary!” (http://www.drcm.org/divine-call-archive/302-mother-mary-our-powerful-intercessor-in-heaven) I then explained to them that they (the Catholics) petition Mary to intercede to Christ, for us (if you believe in praying to her), to which one of the younger students replied, “Why do I need to go to her, why not go directly to Jesus?” Yeah, I think he was right. I think about that glass of water, and how many Catholics all over the world are envious of Rep. Brady…sadly, most. It reminds me of a passage in scripture, of our duty to Christ, and a glass of water. Mark 9:41 (NLT) “If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded.” Eugene Peterson’s version puts it smartly, “Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice.” Give that glass, in the name of Christ, for He alone is the source of life.