From the keyboard of Robert Benn, moderator of the 2007 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Australia, and received through the PresENews email network:
Dear friends,
On October 17th, this year, in Rome, Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint, is to be “canonized”. Of course we are interested in this, because some of our tax dollars will be used for the celebration!
Mary and the Order of sisters she founded (the Josephites) made a very special contribution to the development of the education of children, care of orphans and neglected children, the poor, the aged and incurably ill. (And incidentally, you will be interested to know that her vault in Sydney was a gift from Joanna Barr Smith, a life long friend and Presbyterian!)
So what’s our problem with this ‘canonised’ kind of ‘sainthood’?
- the tendency to elevate singleness and celibacy above marriage
- the wrongness of encouraging prayer to our God through a fellow human being who pre-deceased us
- the undermining of the doctrine of “one mediator between man and God, the Man Christ Jesus”
- the necessity of the ‘work’ of confirmed miracles through the intercession of the candidate for ‘sainthood’ to acquire this recognition of sainthood
- decisions of church councils that add to Scripture
- veneration of a person to the point of worship, where worship must always be directed to God alone
You could add to those serious concerns! But, there’s plenty there to disturb us, isn’t there?
Now, how might we respond to the talk of our Roman Catholic fellow citizens, all agog at the prospect of Mary’s elevation? How should we use the opportunity, which this event will give, to talk to those with no faith at all about what true sainthood really is?
I think we can and should begin by acknowledging the valuable things which Mary did in her life: a life filled with good things. Then we can go on to talk about sainthood.
In my AV concordance, there are about 100 references to saints in Old and New Testaments. “To the saints . . ,” says Paul the apostle, “. . to those called to be saints.”
“The prayers of the saints . . “, writes John. On and on. Those called to be holy through the imputed perfect righteousness of Christ.
So it’s a pretty easy subject to talk about from the Scriptures, and under God we might be able to open doors and windows to let the light of the Scriptures shine rightly into the souls of our friends.
Let me tell you about a pastoral visit a few years ago, one that might stimulate our evangelistic juices. I read to Mrs Mackenzie the first 10 verses of Ephesians. “Mrs Mackenzie, did you know it’s right for me to call you saint Jean?” “O no,” she said.
“Yes!” Then we examined “to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace and peace to you.” I slowly worked through with her her own conversion story, the path of her sanctification, how she had grown through some very major family and health difficulties, and how much she loved her Saviour.
“You’re something like the Ephesian people, aren’t you?” “Am I? Yes, I guess so.”
“Paul called them saints!” “Yes, but I always thought saints were the kind of people who got their pictures in stained glass windows in churches. People who lived long ago.”
“Do you think you are right in thinking this? After all, these people in Ephesus were still alive. Some of them were 30, some 60, some 80.” (Mrs Mackenzie was about 78).
We talked more.
Clear gospel focus.
Much encouragement. Tea. Cake. Prayer . . prayer in which “called to be holy” was fairly prominent. Prayer was finished with a softly spoken amen. After a moment, Mrs Mackenzie looked up, “I’m a saint! Saint Jean.” A broad smile of recognition.
Gospel based, grace based.
We have a profoundly wonderful opportunity this year to help our friends find for themselves a true understanding of Biblical sainthood, not by works . . but because of God’s great love for us . . our God, who is rich in mercy, who makes us alive with Christ .. for it is by grace that we are saved through faith.
Don’t forget that this gospel message is appropriate for Angelo, Maria, Pablo, and Ahmed as well as for Mrs Mackenzie!
Robert Benn
Moderator General of the Presbyterian Church of Australia
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