Wednesday, September 11, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 11th of September 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

Happy Wednesday- my trip starts in earnest today, at least with actual people who have me now as a tour guide. Let’s hope I smell good!

We’ve got a long-time listener and writer-of-questions to this show- he is Jordan from Portland… he comes down to Orange County from time to time, but seemingly when I am always on the road. Jordan digs Golden Grahams and Sunny Day Real Estate, so I figure he’s on the up and up.

Maybe I’ll get up to Portland- it’s where I thought I was moving after grad school until Irvine and Concordia intervened- perhaps only the PNW could get me out of southern California.

Jordan wrote: A question has been rolling around in my head for the last few weeks, and after I watched the video linked below, I felt like I could finally put words to it.

The video in question is from a YouTube channel run by a Franciscan monk who creates content for those interested in Catholicism… In it, this monk, and I am not making this up, offers up a list of ways in which to fix the Catholic Church…I can’t help but wonder what influence the theology and practice of the Reformation have had on the Catholic Church over the centuries, even as Rome has done everything in its power to deny, exclude, and condemn it. Some of the things the priest lists in the video are straight-up Reformation standards (I think he literally uses the word “reform” at one point in reference to spiritual formation), and taking the long historical view, it would seem that Rome has imbibed more Reformation ideas than it would like to admit. Obviously, we’re not having any ecclesial reconciliation any time soon, but if you showed Martin Luther the list this monk put together, he would swear he was reading a fellow comrade-in-arms.  

So anyway, I suppose my question is, has Luther’s original idea of reforming the Catholic Church actually taken root, and we just haven’t noticed because it’s taken 500 years?

Ooh boy- has the Catholic Church finally bent towards the Reformation (not officially, no), but in some ways? Since 1517, the Catholic Church has had a few important councils. Trent and Vatican I (that's the 16th and 19th c.) saw the church doubling down- Mary, the Pope’s power, etc… but it was Vatican II that changed everything in the 1960s—preaching in the vernacular. Looking out to non-Catholic bodies for some level of fellowship. Lay leadership. And Francis, while still certainly conservative, has pushed some boundaries (some say he’s a liberal… he’s the POPE, he’s just “liberal for a pope”).

In the 90s, we had a thing called the JDDJ Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, and it was both hailed and reviled. There were, perhaps, fewer theological issues discussed with the JDDJ, but it seemed like a good start.

But partisans are going to be partisan. Do we need the Catholic Church to change its name? Say “sorry” or “we were wrong”? You’ll get all of that probably about the time you get Protestant churches doing the same- that is, no time soon. We are entrenched with our brand names. BUT- Jordan, a Protestant, has much more in common with a Post Vatican II Catholic- especially one who sees the need for reform.

I wouldn’t recommend we sick a herd of young Lutherans or Calvinists on them- but it can open a dialog. And just another note: you can discuss prayers to saints and holy water later… get to the Gospel, and when people agree that they are saved by the work of Jesus alone, maybe names and brands don’t change, but hearts can, and I think we do well to look not for institutional change anytime soon, but more inroads for affirming the centrality of Jesus across church bodies.

Thanks for the question, Jordan- It's a good video, and your question is linked with another question from a listener that I will get to on Friday’s show (tomorrow’s show is a fun topic I haven’t talked about in a while).

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary and Matthew 17:

14 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. 15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” 18 Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19 Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 11th of September 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by often confused for a Catholic priest with his clerical collar (other people wear them too!) He is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man in Berlin today- if you could say a quick prayer for those of us embracing on this trip… I’m Dan van Voorhis. 

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.