Over the last couple of days there has been some comment about Kevin Rudd, the Prime Minister of Australia. While on a tour overseas he has lobbied FIFA regarding Australia’s application to host the Football (Soccer) World Cup. He also had an audience with Benedict XVI, head of the Roman Catholic Church.
During that audience enquiry about the case for Mary MacKillop being declared a Roman Catholic saint was made. This raised all sorts of curiosity among the media. No Australian has been declared a saint in Catholic terms, so the interest in MacKillop is intense on a number of levels. Of course, the fact that she served in the town of Penola (50kms north of Mount Gambier) brings local interest to the fore as well.
These sorts of occurences lead Protestants to make the usual unkind remarks about the absences of saints in the Catholic denomination, given the New Testament teaching seems to apply the title to every Christian believer. It is quite usual for us to address one another as saints.
MacKillop seems to have been quite a laudable character, judge for yourself.
So what’s that got to do with the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth?
Well, I think that the Roman Catholics might not appreciate the difference between their treatment of MacKillop and the way that Protestants treat various figures from their own traditions.
When we celebrate and give thanks for the life of other Christians we can note that they have capacities and experiences which have been richly used to minister the Gospel. We also note that many of these folk have worked with great purpose and vigour.
Giving thanks for someone like John Calvin is recognising the many gifts that God gives His people for the blessing of the world and the service of His kingdom. But we don’t seperate these people from the rest of us. They aren’t another class of Christian. We are all equal before God.
Perhaps Calvin would be bemused that conferences are being held and books are being written to mark his birth. His life was focused on preaching and teaching the Bible and writing about its truth. Surely he wouldn’t decry gatherings for this purpose. He was a committed scholar of the Scriptures, but was also well versed in the writings and scholarship of Christians who had preceeded him. The idea that his writings are being studied today is a part of his model of Christian study.
I suppose the point that I am fishing around to make is that as long as Christians are just as committed to the study and proclamation of the Word next week and next year, then that’s okay. Our motivation for study is obedience to God’s Word and for the glory of God and the spread of the Gospel.
Calvin is a figure to be emulated, not revered. We honour his work as a Christian pastor best when we remember this.
Here is a biographical appreciation of Calvin by John Piper. As you read it I trust your own passion to learn God’s Word will be enlarged.
Michael Jensen of Moore College had this essay on Calvin published in the Australian Newspaper. It’s useful to remember that the author does not write the title of the article.
For a contemporary perspective, TIME magazine famously included ‘The New Calvinism‘ as one of Ten Ideas Changing The World Right Now.
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