John Paul II will emphasize "Christ alone" in his writings but invariable follows all such with the "But" of something more or in addition to Christ alone being necessary. An Arminian reading "Incarnationis Mysterium" we believe would find himself saying yes this is "Decision Theology, and I agree !".
With these opening observations ther now follows the posting of a series of direct quotes copied from the John Paul II's Papal "Bull". The direct quotes are italicized but segments that we deem very crucial are underlined by the commentator. The underlining are a commentary calling attention to particular foci. Verbal Commentary by Pr. Steward, our President and Senior Pastor, follows each segment of the quoted "Bull". Use is also made by Pr. Steward of direct quotes on the subject by Dr. Luther.
Incarnationis Mysterium
BULL OF INDICTION OF THE GREAT JUBILEE OF THE YEAR 2000
It is the Spirit of Christ who is at work in the Church and in history: we must listen to him in order to recognize the signs of the new times and to make the expectation of the glorified Lord's return ever more vibrant in the hearts of the faithful. The Holy Year must therefore be one unceasing hymn of praise to the Trinity, the Most High God.
Commentary:
This opening tone is set in this little paragraph and the emphasis is a law emphasis zeroed in upon "US" instead of upon "Solus Christus" and the other great Sola's.
Certainly Faith comes only through hearing God's Word but it is the Holy Spirit of God who causes Faith in a believer not "We". We do not create the faith that is in us nor do "we" create more Faith in ourselves or any faith in others by "Making the expectation of glorified Lord's return ever more vibrant in the hearts" of others.
You will note just in this first tone setting paragraph the emphasis upon "We" and "Must". The focus upon the must of ever more vibrancy is "Enthusiasm". Dr. Luther would eventually come to think that the greatest of the "Enthusiast's" was the Bishop of Rome. When a young Professor of Theology at Wittenberg his words in the posted Ninety Five Theses charitably gave the benefit of the doubt to the Bishop of Rome. The reader of the Theses & accompanying correspondence will note that Luther repeatedly makes reference to the good construction that the Bishop of Rome ( as well as his own Arch-Bishop of Meinz ) must not know of the abuses that are being proclaimed under the heading of "Indulgences".
It is only by listening to the Spirit that we shall be able to show forth visibly in full communion the grace of divine adoption which springs from Baptism: all of us children of the one Father.
Commentary:
Perhaps this is a picky point but it seems this "listening only to the Spirit" is more than a bit off focus. The Holy Spirit does not focus upon the Holy Spirit but upon the Word of God and upon Jesus alone. "He will bring to remembrance all that I have commanded you" Jesus declares in reference to the Holy Ghost.
Here also we see the emphasis upon "We showing forth" some sort of visible Unity as though our efforts make us truly united and One. The Unity petition of our Lord's High Priestly prayer from John's Gospel is evoked in this as it is so often in the Ecumania efforts but always overlooked or glossed over is the prayer that Christians be united in "The Word" for "Thy Word is Truth".
let us all hasten to the feast now being prepared; let us bring with us everything that already unites us and, by fixing our gaze on Christ alone , let us grow in the unity which is the fruit of the Spirit.
Commentary:
This continues the focus upon unity, unity, unity - the phrase "Christ alone" is used by why then the preceding words of "Let us hasten...Let us bring with us everything that already unites us". It sounds very good indeed but it has a very strong focus in our hastening and our bringing and our growing in unity. Yes indeed the fruit of the Spirit is Unity - but not just any type of unity it is in fact Unity in the Truth of the Word - Thy Word is Truth, Jesus prays and that is were true unity is to be found.
in order that the two thousandth anniversary of the central mystery of the Christian faith may be experienced as a journey of reconciliation and a sign of true hope for all who look to Christ and to his Church, the sacrament "of intimate union with God and the unity of the entire human race.
Commentary:
Here there is a strong sense of the need for the subjective experiential. However we note that Faith is hope in that which is not seen ( that which is not now experienced ). In some sense the push to satisfy the subjective experiential moves away from faith it is the initial unfaith of Thomas and our Lord's Words ring out loud and clear, "Blessed are they who have not seen and yet believe".
To be sure the One, Holy, Christian, and Apostolic Church ( not synonymous with the Roman Catholic Church) is described as the bride of Christ but is the bride of Christ a "Sacrament" ? The means of Grace are The Word and Sacraments and these are the means by which The Holy Ghost constitutes the one true Church which is already in total unity around these means.
We can recall the year 1300 when, responding to the wish of the people of Rome , Pope Boniface VIII solemnly inaugurated the first Jubilee in history. Resuming an ancient tradition which offered "abundant remission and pardon of sins" to those who visited Saint Peter's Basilica in the Eternal City , he wished on that occasion to grant "a pardon of sins which would be not only more abundant, but complete".(12) From that time onwards, the Church has always celebrated Jubilees as significant steps on her journey towards the fulness of Christ .
Commentary:
The more things change the more some things never change is the message that hits home as John Paul II points to popular opining as being an initial motivation for Roman Catholic Jubilee's, etc. Here Boniface would be of the same spirit as the need's assessment and church growth folk. Lets give people what they want so that we can lure them (entertain their desires) into the church. This is right in line with the experiential and enthusiast focus already commented upon earlier.
To the enthusiast and the experiential something more is needed than what is contained in the Gospel in order to make it more abundant and more complete. We human beings are set up then as the ones to provide that something more through works and good efforts with rewards being divvied out by a human organization called church. Truly the deadly abuses that the Reformers Protested continue only now many of the descendants of the Reformers themselves rush to embrace these very abuses.
In addition to being initiated as a way to please the people (meet their perceived needs)for something experiential which would make them feel like they were contributing some effort to their salvation, The Bishop of Rome buttresses this with The Tradition argument rather than with clear texts of Holy Scripture. Jubilee (a phrase which itself indicates "enthusiasm" or fervent human effort) is lifted up as a significant step toward fulness in Christ. Dr. Luther points out even in his early Reformation days when he was still favorably disposed to the Bishop of Rome how deadly misleading this subject is to God's people, the church.
The coming Jubilee, therefore, can well be considered "Great", and the Church declares her fervent desire to embrace all believers in order to offer them the joy of reconciliation.
Commentary:
Here the human Jubilee is considered "Great"; The Church Organization head's proclamation is considered "Great". In contrast the ones first called Protestant pointed to Christ alone and His Work alone on our behalf as that which is "Sola" Great Good News.
Also we note the continued claim of those under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome to be "the Church" in the Bishop's words "the Church declares her fervent desire to embrace all believers in order to offer them the joy of reconciliation." It is Christ Jesus who embraces and enfolds all believers and so this little claim considerably exceeds its authority. Indeed, though well meaning and seemingly very charitable it usurps what is Solus Christus.
On the occasion of this great feast, a warm invitation to share our joy goes out to the followers of other religions, as it does to those who are far from faith in God. As brothers and sisters in the one human family, may we cross together the threshold of a new millennium that will demand effort and responsibility on the part of all.
Commentary:
The Jubilee and its benefits are apparently opened to adherents of other religions (all of which are based upon human works) as well as to those who are far from faith in God. Here there is at work the jettisoning of the word of the Lord that "He alone is the Way, the Truth and The Life" .
Thus the Christmas season will be the pulsing heart of the Holy Year, bringing to the life of the Church an infusion of the copious gifts of the Spirit for a new evangelization.
Commentary:
Here we see the pulsing heart of "Infused Justification" being set forth. God infuses some of his Grace into man via the intermediary of the Church and then man cooperates (synergism) in his salvation. The Lutheran Reformers stood for Imputed Justification - God imputes to us the righteousness of Christ Jesus for we are unable to co-operate in any way shape or form. We are Simul justus et peccatore". Many Lutherans declared this past year that they had now reached a consensus with Rome on the understanding of Justification but in this statement by the Bishop of Rome it is clear that Rome still understands Grace to be infused.
From birth to death, the condition of each individual is that of the homo viator. Sacred Scripture, for its part, often attests to the special significance of setting out to go to sacred places. There was a tradition that the Israelite go on pilgrimage to the city where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, or visit the shrine at Bethel (cf Jg 20:18), or the one at Shiloh where the prayer of Samuel's mother, Hannah, was heard (cf 1 Sam 1:3). Willingly subjecting himself to the Law, Jesus too went with Mary and Joseph as a pilgrim to the Holy City of Jerusalem (cf. Lk 2:41). The history of the Church is the living account of an unfinished pilgrimage. To journey to the city of Saints Peter and Paul, to the Holy Land, or to the old and new shrines dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the Saints: this is the goal of countless members of the faithful who find nourishment for their devotion in this way.
Commentary:
Being people moving from birth to death is very different from conscious decisions to set forth on a pilgrimage with the intent to thereby earn something to our credit. The journey from life to death is after all not a free will matter yet it is around this opening thought that the Bishop of Rome sets forth a form of "Decision Theology". Is the church on a journey or is the Holy Spirit calling, gathering, and enlightening people into the church. Perhaps here we are just speaking totally different languages.
This Commentator personally took a 10 day trip to the Holy Land and found it truly an enriching as well as nourishing time of learning but did such a trip make the victory of Solus Christus more of a Victory over sin, death, and the Devil than it was? We don't think so. Amen to "nourishment of devotion" through special learning trips but thumbs down on such trips as meritorious regarding remission of sin !
A pilgrimage evokes the believer's personal journey in the footsteps of the Redeemer: it is an exercise of practical asceticism, of repentance for human weaknesses, of constant vigilance over one's own frailty, of interior preparation for a change of heart. Through vigils, fasting and prayer, the pilgrim progresses along the path of Christian perfection, striving to attain, with the support of God's grace , "the state of the perfect man, to the measure of the full maturity of Christ" (Eph 4:13).
Commentary:
The emphasis is very strong here that human works and efforts assist in Sanctification versus the Confessional Lutheran understanding that works are merely a thankful response to the hearing of the Gospel of "Solus Christus". The items posited hear by the Bishop of Rome are indeed anti "Solus Christus" for his words make the various human efforts into varieties of means of grace. Only Christ Jesus establishes, we believe, Means of Grace.
In addition to pilgrimage, there is the sign of the holy door, opened for the first time in the Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour at the Lateran during the Jubilee of 1423. It evokes the passage from sin to grace which every Christian is called to accomplish .
Commentary:
Good symbolism but why not used every week, indeed why not every day to declare that because of Christ alone and the Imputing of His Righteousness to the believer and thus wee pass from sin to Grace. But here the effort to cross from sin to grace is something left up to the accomplishments of the individual Christian. This plunges the believer back into the slavery of the Law .
To focus upon the door is to recall the responsibility of every believer to cross its threshold.
Commentary:
Here again is an example of the comment just made. The door becomes the icon emphasizing the centrality of the individual believer's decision and effort .
It is a decision which presumes freedom to choose and also the courage to leave something behind, in the knowledge that what is gained is divine life (cf. Mt 13:44-46).
Commentary:
And Ah hah ! here in its raw form is the Theology of Arminius and Pelagius - Decision Theology ! There is no quote here of the Holy Apostle who says even after believing ( words written to Rome by the Way) - "The Good that I would I do not and that which I would not, that I do. Who will save me miserable wretch that I am." So much for the focus upon freedom of the will to make the Decision.
Another distinctive sign, and one familiar to the faithful, is the indulgence, which is one of the constitutive elements of the Jubilee.
Commentary:
Indulgences are clearly foundational to all that is being declared in the Jubileee and it is all Anti - Solus Christus even though occasionally "Christ alone" is mentioned. The principle of the Indulgence is remission of sin by indulgence obtained in part through human effort.
Free and conscious surrender to grave sin, in fact, separates the believer from the life of grace with God and therefore excludes the believer from the holiness to which he is called. Having received from Christ the power to forgive in his name (cf. Mt 16:19; Jn 20:23), the Church is in the world as the living presence of the love of God who leans down to every human weakness in order to gather it into the embrace of his mercy. It is precisely through the ministry of the Church that God diffuses his mercy in the world, by means of that precious gift which from very ancient times has been called "indulgence".
Commentary:
Free and conscious surrender to sin does indeed take place and does indeed accomplish all that the Bishop says but then there are the sins that are unknown even to our consciousness - Here the Holy Apostle portrays the situation and human dilemma as it truly is - i.e., "All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God" and "The Good which I would I do not and that which I would not that I do, Who will save me miserable wretch that I am?" Will it be my efforts and my decision that saves; Will it be my actions to obtain special indulgence that will remit justly deserved punishment? Not accord to the Holy Apostle - who points to Jesus alone when he declares "Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ".
This is no small issue. Indeed it is the heart of the Gospel. Either Jesus alone Justifies us or it is our pious efforts of will (even when given assistance through infusion of grace).The Church is the Place where Word and Sacrament (the precious means of Grace are offered and distributed but to call this "Indulgence" is something one does not read of in Holy Scripture.
With the indulgence, the repentant sinner receives a remission of the temporal punishment due for the sins already forgiven as regards the fault.
Commentary:
Remission of sin Penultimate or Ultimate is the Work of Christ alone. "It is by Grace that we are saved by Faith and that not of ourselves, not of works, lest any should boast". In this little passage the claim is made that temporal punishment on this side of death and judgement is remitted. This is a pretty amazing claim.
Thus according to the list of items that follows a prisoner in the County lock up should receive a temporal reduction of sentence if he presents an Indulgence from the Roman Church earned during the great Jubilee year.
In the second place, "every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the "temporal punishment" of sin",(17) and this expiation removes whatever impedes full communion with God and with one's brothers and sisters.
Commentary:
The notion of purgatory is integral to the entire system posited in this Papal Proclamation. A place and time of purging simply is un-biblical. There appears to be Biblical support for a holding place between death and final judgement often termed "Sheol" but there uncertainly very little support for this as a place of purging "Temporal punishment" yet here something with little or no Biblical grounding is lifted up as a central pillar of the need to work for special indulgences.
Revelation also teaches that the Christian is not alone on the path of conversion. In Christ and through Christ, his life is linked by a mysterious bond to the lives of all other Christians in the supernatural union of the Mystical Body. This establishes among the faithful a marvellous exchange of spiritual gifts, in virtue of which the holiness of one benefits others in a way far exceeding the harm which the sin of one has inflicted upon others. There are people who leave in their wake a surfeit of love, of suffering borne well, of purity and truth, which involves and sustains others. This is the reality of "vicariousness", upon which the entire mystery of Christ is founded. His superabundant love saves us all. Yet it is part of the grandeur of Christ's love not to leave us in the condition of passive recipients, but to draw us into his saving work and, in particular, into his Passion. This is said in the famous passage of the Letter to the Colossians: "In my flesh I complete what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his Body, that is, the Church" (1:24).
Commentary:
Here the Bishop seems to speaking of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church which is hidden in the organized worldly church but it is pretty clear that for him this Mystical body is synonymous with the Roman Catholic organization.
The One and only, however, whose Holiness benefits all others is Christ Jesus. The holiness of any other than Christ avails nothing for as the Apostle makes clear - "There is none who is righteous, no not one". Those words of the Apostle Paul ring in our ears as we have read through this dissertation by the Bishop of Rome.
Everything comes from Christ, but since we belong to him, whatever is ours also becomes his and acquires a healing power. This is what is meant by "the treasures of the Church", which are the good works of the saints. To pray in order to gain the indulgence means to enter into this spiritual communion and therefore to open oneself totally to others.
Commentary: Here is an example of what we referred to at the beginning. Christ alone (Solus Christus) is mentioned however then immediately there follows the Qualifier or the "BUT".....and it is this "BUT" which introduces and extols the "Treasures of the Church" meaning not "Treasures given to every Believer by the Holy Spirit" but Treasures given to the Roman Catholic organization for distribution to those found worthy by the Church standards.
This doctrine on indulgences therefore "teaches firstly how sad and bitter it is to have abandoned the Lord God (cf. Jer 2:19). When they gain indulgences, the faithful understand that by their own strength they would not be able to make good the evil which by sinning they have done to themselves and to the entire community, and therefore they are stirred to saving deeds of humility".(18) Furthermore, the truth about the communion of saints which unites believers to Christ and to one another, reveals how much each of us can help others - living or dead - to become ever more intimately united with the Father in heaven.
Commentary:
Synergism and Pelagianism redux ! Saving deeds of humility are extolled. The sole work of the Holy Ghost of God is handed over to "how much each of us can help others - living or dead - to become ever more intimately united with the Father in heaven. In the explanation to the third article of the Creed we confess that it is the Holy Ghost alone who does this work. He it is who calls, gathers, enlightens and sanctifies, etc.
Drawing on these doctrinal reasons and interpreting the motherly intuition of the Church, I decree that throughout the entire Jubilee all the faithful, properly prepared, be able to make abundant use of the gift of the indulgence, according to the directives which accompany this Bull (cf. attached decree). Commentary:
Despite the earlier quotations which give the broadest of invitations now the availability and efficacious-ness of indulgences are somewhat limited to the "faithful, properly prepared". Works, Works and more Works righteousness. Law upon Law upon Law. Do the accompanying directives of the Bull and you shall be Indulged. As the Norwegian Lutherans are fond of saying "Uff Da !" The various conditions for Gaining the Jubilee Indulgence that we quote in the following will be treated in one final commentary"
After worthily celebrating sacramental confession, which ordinarily, according to the norm of Canon 960 of the Code of Canon Law and of Canon 720 § 1 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, must be individual and complete, each member of the faithful, having fulfilled the required conditions, can receive or apply the gift of the plenary indulgence during a suitable period of time, even daily, without needing to go to confession again.
Participation in the Eucharist, which is required for all indulgences , should properly take place on the same day as the prescribed works are performed (22) must be accompanied , first of all, by the witness of communion with the Church, manifested by prayer for the intentions of the Roman Pontiff, and also by acts of charity and penance, following the indications given below: these acts are meant to express the true conversion of heart to which communion with Christ in the Sacraments leads. Christ is truly our forgiveness and the expiation of our sins
Likewise confirmed for the coming Jubilee is the norm whereby confessors can commute, on behalf of those legitimately impeded, both the work prescribed and the conditions required Cloistered men and women religious, the infirm and all those who for whatever reason are not able to leave their own house, can carry out, in lieu of a visit to a certain Church, a visit to the chapel of their house; should even this be impossible for them, they can gain the indulgence by spiritually uniting themselves with those carrying out the prescribed work in the ordinary manner and by offering to God their prayers, sufferings and discomforts. With regard to the required conditions, the faithful can gain the Jubilee indulgence:
1) In Rome, if they make a pious pilgrimage to one of the Patriarchal Basilicas, namely, the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican, the Arch-basilica of the Most Holy Saviour at the Lateran, the Basilica of Saint Mary Major and the Basilica of Saint Paul on the Ostian Way, and there take part devoutly in Holy Mass or another liturgical celebration such as Lauds or Vespers, or some pious exercise (e.g., the Stations of the Cross, the Rosary, the recitation of the Akathistos Hymn inhonorr of the Mother of God); furthermore, if they visit, as a group or individually, one of the four Patriarchal Basilicas and there spend some time in Eucharistic adoration and pious mediations, ending with the "Our Father", the profession of faith in any approved form, and prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary. To the four Patriarchal Basilicas are added, on this special occasion of the Great Jubilee, the following further places, under the same conditions: the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, the Basilica of Saint Lawrence in Campo Verano, the Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, and the Christian Catacombs.(25)
2) In the Holy Land, if, keeping the same conditions, they visit the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, or the Basilica of the Nativity in Bethlehem or the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth.
3) In other ecclesiastical territories, if they make a sacred pilgrimage to the Cathedral Church or to other Churches or places designated by the Ordinary, and there assist devoutly at a liturgical celebration or other pious exercise, such as those mentioned above for the City of Rome; in addition, if they visit, in a group or individually, the Cathedral Church or a Shrine designated by the Ordinary, and there spend some time in pious meditation, ending with the "Our Father", the profession of faith in any approved form, and prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
4) In any place, if they visit for a suitable time their brothers and sisters in need or in difficulty (the sick, the imprisoned, the elderly living alone, the handicapped, etc.), as if making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25:34-36), and fulfilling the usual spiritual and sacramental conditions and saying the usual prayers. The faithful will certainly wish to repeat these visits throughout the Holy Year, since on each occasion they can gain the plenary indulgence, although obviously not more than once a day.
The plenary indulgence of the Jubilee can also be gained through actions which express in a practical and generous way the penitential spirit which is, as it were, the heart of the Jubilee. This would include abstaining for at least one whole day from unnecessary consumption (e.g., from smoking or alcohol, or fasting or practising abstinence according to the general rules of the Church and the norms laid down by the Bishops' Conferences) and donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor; supporting by a significant contribution works of a religious or social nature (especially for the benefit of abandoned children, young people in trouble, the elderly in need, foreigners in various countries seeking better living conditions); devoting a suitable portion of personal free time to activities benefitting the community, or other similar forms of personal sacrifice.
Commentary:
This decree or directive and its set of conditions should send every Confessional Lutherian scurrying to re-read the addendum to the Augsburg Confession - namely, "The Power and Primacy of the Pope". Works righteousness for the sake of Indulgence (remission of sin) runs through and through this document and when your read these conditions for obtaining the indulgences you know that truly very little has changed on this issue which moved Dr. Luther to post his 95 Theses while a young professor at Wittenburg.
The abuse of the works focus is that it undermines all that Christ obtained even while making mention of Our Savior. Truly this sort of emphasis becomes antithetical to Solus Christus.
Again we remember the Apostle's words - "By Grace are ye saved by faith and that is not of yourself, not of works, lest any man should boast". Good works indeed flow from Faith and thanksgiving for the amazing Grace of God. Faith becomes active in Love. But when the Law and Works are stressed as a way of gaining something for oneself or one's own then the Gospel is overturned. What is so troubling in all of this that the Gospel is overturned by an organized Church.
Means of Grace instituted by Our Lord for example become a "Must" in order for the reception of any and all indulgence and thereby is changed from Gospel to Law. We found it strange that Holy Baptism is left unmentioned. Mary the Mother of Jesus is repeatedly emphasized. Well we could go on and on. Will be interested especially in the critiques of other Lutherans during this coming year leading up to the Jubilee beginning who hold with the Apostle that we should "know nothing else than Christ Jesus and him Crucified!"