In Parts 1 and 2 of this post, I wrote that I felt aversion, empathy, shame, and frustration reading Anne Rice’s choice to “quit being a Christian.” As my heart pitched back and forth between these emotions, I came at last, thank God, to a feeling of hope.
In today’s world, the words “Christian” and “Christianity” may have negative connotations, deservedly or not. However, the Church at its core is not a set of rules, an ideology, or a political position. It is a bunch of sinners who are struggling toward their theosis, or complete communion with Jesus Christ in all that he is.
One of the beauties of the Church is that it has resisted pulling out any sacramental scissors to excise those portions of Scripture that might damage its “holy” reputation. Instead, the Church’s shortcomings are there for anyone to read. I can still find the passage where St. Paul instructs the believers,
Be renewed in the spirit of your mind…put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.
Therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil.
Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need.
Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you. (Ephesians 4:23-32)
That Paul needed to mention any of this to people he addressed as “saints and faithful in Christ Jesus” reveals the fact that the Church never stops requiring constant repentance and conversion to truly follow her Lord. It keeps me honest, if not humble, to choose to live in tension between these two realities.
In this world the Church will always contend with scandals, quarrels, skunks, and quacks. Furthermore, those of us who want to adhere to Christ are only in the process of becoming like him, and often we fall far short of his glory. No one is yet a Christian in the full meaning of the word.
Mercifully, Christ is devoted to purifying this ragtag group he audaciously insists on calling his Body and his Bride. Jesus’ all-consuming love for his Church gives me the hope that he will transform my life within the context of that messy yet glorious Body.
The final analysis of who is a genuine follower of Christ’s Way does not come from me, Anne Rice, the Conservative Christian Right, the Democratic Party, the Pope in Rome, or the Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople. God has given ultimate judgment solely to the One who laid his life down for the sins of the whole world.
In the face of both the mercy and judgment of Christ, an ancient prayer said on bended knee is most appropriate:
“We believe that thou shall come to be our Judge; we therefore pray thee, help thy servants whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. Make us to be numbered with thy saints in glory everlasting.” (from the Te Deum)
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