What I learned from Rome

If you are like me, spiritual growth comes in spurts. I'll feel dry for a while, until all of the sudden God allows me to see something in a place I'd never looked before, and come to realize his grace and his presence in a bigger, deeper way. Sometimes it will be a passage of Scripture I have read a million times but hits me between the eyes all of the sudden, sometimes it is a person or a testimony of what God has done in a life, sometimes it is a song or a picture that sheds new light on my soul.

Right now, I am seeing God in the Roman Catholic Church.

That is probably not a statement you hear a lot these days -- amidst the terrible scandals that have dominated the press in the past few years.

But in the heart and soul of that rich tradition there is a well spring of life I believe our Protestant faith can learn from.

As a youngster, I never learned a thing about the Roman Catholic Church. The only thing I did learn (and I don't think this was overt teaching but more underground) was that they needed to be avoided because they had a Pope other than Jesus and they didn't read the Bible. Books like "the late,great, planet earth" and other extreme books even likened the Pope to the antichrist spoken of in Scripture. Again, while these views were not taught in Sunday School classes, I picked it up in my subconscious along the way. Suffice it to say, I looked warily upon the tradition as a whole.

That all changed when one of my best friends recently decided to leave our church and become Roman Catholic. Up to that point, he had been a purebread protestant, attended Wheaton College, and had a background Luther, Calvin, and Wesley would have all been proud of. But for him, somehow in the history and tradition -- but mostly in the worship itself -- he found a sense of wonder and connection with God that gave him joy and purpose.

It was all way beyond me, and so I decided to enter into my own study of this tradition that was for 1500 years my own people's tradition (for we were all consided Roman Catholics -- at least in our Protestant Circles -- until 1517).

And while I am not ready to "jump ship" and change churches, I found much in that tradition, especially in the expression of worship, that has fed my own protestant faith immensely.

Here are the 3 biggest things I have learned from our Catholic brothers and sisters that have enriched my own faith:

1)The understanding of the Kingdom of God. When Catholics come to worship, they believe that they are joining a worship service that is already taking place in heaven -- which of course is absolutely true. The Kingdom of God is made up of heaven and earth combined, all of us part of God's grand kingdom. That is why we come to worship -- to worship the God of heaven and earth, who has won us through Christ.

Yet, for most Protestant, I think we see that idea of worship fairly flatly. It is "us and God." While we may confess that we are worshipping God with folks from around the globe, it is still "this worldly" worship. We (down here) are worshipping God (up there). It is one-tiered worship.

Not so for Roman Catholics. For them, coming to worship is a cosmic event. They are joining all the angels and saints in heaven -- including all who have gone before them -- in worship and praise of God almighty. Their liturgy is filled with the smells (incense) and sounds ("Holy Holy Holy Lord God Almighty" -- the prayer of the Angels) of heaven's worship. They even petition the saints in heaven to pray for them in their hours of need -- all because they believe they can REALLY HEAR THEM and will pray for them, much like we share prayer requests with each other in worship. There is a deep sense that the entire kingdom of heaven and earth is coming together in those moments of worship. It is powerful stuff, and absolutely true.

2)Roman Catholic worship involves all the senses. When Roman Catholics come to worship, they bring their whole selves. Their nostrils are involved (incense) their large motor skills (kneeling, crossing themselves, standing, coming forward for communion), their eyes are involved (icons to remind us that we are in the presence of the saints in heaven even in worship), their ears (to hear the gospel and liturgy) -- their entire being comes into worship.

One of the critiques of Protestantism is that it stays a pretty cognitive affair sometimes. While we stand and sing and even clap once in a while, I think that critique remains true. Now, there is nothing wrong with using our brains and concentrating on the words proclaimed from Scripture. In fact, I would argue that that is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING we do in worship.

Yet, I can't help but think we miss out on a lot of learning and "driving the worship of God down into our very bodies" by not practicing some of these tried and true worship practices. It is holistic worship, and we can learn a lot from this tradition.

3)The Roman Catholics believe that Christ is really present in worship. While I am not a believer in what is called Transubstantiation (that the bread/wine are really turned into Christ's body and blood in communion and are no long bread and wine. We Presbyterians believe that Christ's body and blood is spiritually present in communion through the power of the Holy Spirit when recieved by faith), I do believe that coming to worship expecting to meet Jesus and even see him on the table/altar, is a powerful thing. Again, the underlying truth is there -- Jesus IS present in our worship. He is with us. Communion is a powerful Sacrament of God's presence with us in a very realy way. We can learn a lot from our RC brothers and sisters in their conviction and belief.

Certainly, there is much I can disagree with in the Roman tradition. There is much in our own Presbyterian tradition that I wouldn't trade for anything. In fact, they (Roman Catholics) could probably stand to learn a few things from us as well! But I still believe that what unites us (Jesus) is stronger than what divides us (our human traditions).

I am thinking about this stuff because today happens to be World Communion Sunday. Today, we celebrate that there are Christians around the globe who share this common meal in the name of Christ. And we have much to learn from those of different colors, denominational pursuasions, and worship practices. I pray for the day when what unites us will be stronger than what divides us. Until then though, I am going to keep my eyes open and seek to learn from my brothers and sisters, in the hopes of deepening my own worship of God and understanding of Jesus Christ.

Agnus Dei, Dona Nobis Pachem.

J