John 12:20-36; 2
Corinthians 4:1-6; Isaiah 60:1-5
In the Name of the Father and of the
+ Son and of the Holy Spirit.
There in an old Latin saying found in
the writings of the third century North African bishop, St. Cyprian of
Carthage, that goes, “extra Ecclesiam nulla salus,” meaning, “outside of the Church, there is
no salvation.” Now, this statement often offends Protestants, who understand “the
Church” in this saying to mean the Roman Catholic Church specifically and
singularly. Indeed, contrary to their own written doctrines and Catechism, this
dictum has been used as a line of demarcation of sorts to determine who’s in,
and who’s out, of the Church according to their subordination, or
insubordination, to the Pope and the Magisterium. However, that is not the
official Roman teaching, nor was it Cyprian’s teaching in the third century.
But, extra Ecclesiam nulla salus, outside of the Church, there is no salvation,
is a Biblical teaching, even the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus makes it clear in John’s Gospel
that salvation is found in no one else but Him saying, “I am the Way, and the
Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Orthodox
Christians, Roman Catholic, Protestant, or other, will not disagree on this
point. Indeed, that salvation is in and through Christ alone is the chief and
central doctrine of the Christian faith. However, is that all that our Lord has
to say about the matter? No, it is not. At the end of Mark’s Gospel, Jesus
speaks of the necessity of Holy Baptism saying, “Whoever believes and is
baptized will be saved.” In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the necessity of
confession saying, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” And, in
John’s Gospel, Jesus speaks of the necessity of the Holy Eucharist saying,
“Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will
raise him up on the last day.” Yes, salvation is found in no one else but Jesus
Christ. However, your life and sustenance are also in Christ and Christ alone
who cleanses you, forgives you, and nourishes and strengthens you that you may
live. These things He does for you only in the Church, His body, in Holy
Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion.
Moreover, the Apostle Paul repeatedly
teaches that the Church is Jesus’ body, and that He is Her Head. From the
Epistle to the Romans – “So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and
individually members one of another.” From the First Epistle to the Corinthians
– “Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake
of the one bread.” Again from First Corinthians – “Now you are the body of
Christ and individually members of it.” And, from the Epistle to the Ephesians
– “Christ is the head of the Church, His body, and is Himself its Savior.” The
Church is the body of Christ. Outside of Christ, there is no salvation.
Therefore, outside of the Church, there is no salvation.
This dictum is logical. It is Biblical.
It is taught by Jesus and the Apostles. And, yet, for many, it is unpalatable.
Why is that? Well, there are many reasons, but perhaps the greatest reason is
our sense of individualism and our desire to maintain independence from others.
Many American Christians regularly say things like, “I don’t need to go to
church. I can worship God anywhere.” “The church is full of hypocrites,
anyway.” “They just do the same things week after week. That’s just the
ceremonies and traditions of men. I don’t need that religion. I’m spiritual,
not religious.” Maybe you’ve thought or said such things before. However, such
statements, while not entirely incorrect, can serve to harden your heart and to
keep you separate and independent, not only from those who attend church, but
from the Church Herself, which is the body of Christ. That, the devil wants
more than anything else. He wants you separated, isolated, and alone, for then
he can really go to town on you and eat you alive, destroy your faith.
What does Jesus teach? “I AM the vine,
and you are the branches. Remain in me, and I will remain in you, and you will
bear much fruit.” However, Jesus also teaches that a branch cannot bear fruit
if it is detached from the vine. It has no life in it. It is dead. Such a
branch is fit only for the fire of hell. Likewise, outside of the body of
Christ, the Church, there is no salvation. For, outside of Jesus, there is no
forgiveness of sins, life, and sustenance of life. Thus, Jesus calls you to die
to your self and your selfish independence and be joined to Him, His body, His
Church. “Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this
world will keep it for eternal life.” And, as the Head of the Church, which is His
body, Jesus bids you to follow Him in the way He must go, saying, “If anyone
serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.”
Jesus says, “The Father will honor him.” The Father will honor you because the
Father honors Jesus and, through faith and baptism into His body, you are one
flesh and blood with Jesus.
And yet, there is so much more to being
the body of Christ than your own salvation. Indeed, as much as you are not saved
in an isolated, independent way, but in a community, a fellowship, even the
body of Jesus Christ, the Church, so you are not saved for your own sake alone,
but for the sake of the world in Jesus Christ. As you are members of His body,
so Jesus’ life and speech and works flow through and out of you for the benefit
of your neighbor, your community, and your world. Just as Jesus compared
Himself to a grain of wheat which falls into the earth and dies that it may not
remain alone, but bear much fruit, so does your death to your self and the
world bear fruit in life given to others to the glory of God the Father. As
Jesus was lifted up on the cross, so did He draw all people, even you, unto
Himself. Even still, through the Church, His body, does He continue to draw all
people unto Himself. And, as He is the Light of the world, so does His light
shine in and through you to enlighten the world, that people may not walk in
darkness and stumble and fall, but walk in light and receive salvation in Jesus
Christ. To be the Light of Christ in a world of darkness, sin, and death, also,
is a chief purpose of the body of Christ, the Church.
When you leave this sanctuary in which
Christ is present in His Word and Sacraments and go out into the world, you do
not go out as an individual or as an isolated Christian, but you go out as the
hands, heart, and voice of Jesus, an extension of His body, the Church. Jesus
promises you that you are never alone, but that He is always with you. Jesus is
not with you merely in a spiritual sense, but He is with you, in you, and
through you because you are a member of His body – “remain in me, and I will
remain in you, and you will bear much fruit.” You go out into the world to
serve your neighbor and that, through you, Jesus might continue His work of
drawing all men to Himself. He draws them, not merely by telling them the good
news, but by bringing them into His body, the Church, through Holy Baptism, by
forgiving their sins in Holy Absolution, and by feeding and strengthening them
for service in His Kingdom in Holy Communion. The self-serving,
individualistic, spiritual-but-not-religious Christian is content to leave
people where they are. But, not you, for you are the Light of Christ. The Light
of Christ shines in you and through you that those dwelling in darkness might
be lead to the True Light, Jesus, and His body, the Church, outside of which,
there is no salvation.
In
the + Name of Jesus. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment