The Holy Catholic Church!

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XV, Issue 125, 2 May 1925, Page 9

The Holy Catholic Church!

(By the

Bev. D. Gardner Miller, Napier)

| r JHHE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH is a drcam that is rudely dispelled by the chilling light of reality There never will be one united Church. No Church can claim continuance from Apostolic times. God has no favourites—even among Churches. Brotherhood and recognition between the Churches is the only basis upon which a Church can be reared which is holy in nature and Catholic in outlook.

rpHA T there should be one united | universal Church, which is both holy and Catholic, has been the I dream and hope of countless thousands throughout the centuries. “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church” is repeated every Sunday by many who either do not know what it means, or if they do, quietly hold it in derision. The bewildering cleavages of the modern Church have made the statement an utter travesty. It is not to be wondered at that the ordinary man w’ho has no time for the subtle niceties of doctrine or Church government, leaves the Church severely alone. He cannot understand why he should give his allegiance to a multifarious organisation whose parts cannot agree among themselves. “The Holy Catholic Church” is a drcam that is rudely dispelled by the chilling light of reality. There never will be one Church, in the sense implied in the statement quoted. Differences there must and always will be, if the Church is to meet the demands of the age. For any Church to imagine that its particular form of worship, its distinctive emphasis, will become universal is to cherish a vain dream. Such a Church is looking at history with one eye shut, and at modern life with the other half closed. Church rivalries are still with us. They may not be so openly waged as in former times, but they are still very much alive—all the more so if underground. We have become polished- There is a thin strip of veneer covering ugly divisions.

It is hardly creditable, but even in the twentieth “‘century there are Churches that excommunicate other Churches. And yet people pray, “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church !” It needs only A GLANCE AT HISTORY to see the hollow mockery of the

whole position. No Church can claim continuance from apostolic times.. The Church of the New Testament had no creed, no altar and no priest. Lt had no organisation as we understand the term to-day. Development is evidenced as it always is where there is progressive life. Organisation came later and with it loss of power. I am not, suggesting that the various denominations cannot trace their beginnings to the revealed ' will of God, but I do say that no ’ denomination can claim preference • over any other. The Churches are born from one common stock and any attempt to lord it over the Lord’s heritage is a denial of parentage. Not that we shouldn’t have a universal Church. That is the hope for which every true Church lover lives and works. But a united Church docs not mean a Church of uniformity of belief and worship. That spells disaster. It isn’t uniformity we want but broadmindedness to see each others position, to recognise each others orders, in short, common honesty. There should be ample «cope for each Church to develop along its own particular line, but the Almighty is deaf and dumb and blind to any appeal, no matter how sincere, for the bringing into being of any one particular type of Church. No Church can claim a monopoly of truth. Revelation has never been, and never will be, con-

lined to a particular section. God has no favourites—not even among I Churches. If I may picture it thus — the Churches are looking through the windows of a room. Each has its own view. The tragedy is that some think theirs is the only view and all of them forget they are , under the same roof. i A truce to Church rivalries! The I world is too busy to heed us. In 1 our propaganda we are only too apt to forget what the Church really is, , It is a I BROTHERHOOD. j A brotherhood of men who are I united by a common loyalty to Jesus Christ and whose determined aim i it is to give reality to the principles I that make the loyalty possible. The ' sense of brotherhood that we can I see in those scattered little Churches ' of the New Testament, Churches, whose people were little removed from paganism, is lovely to behold. ; To-day, in the modern Church, there is little brotherhood among the members and practically none between the denominations. Of course there is friendliness and courtesy and exchange of pulpits , and all that kind of thing. But ■ brotherhood is more than these. It surely means facing common dangers, attempting common tasks, frankness and generosity in judgment and the square deal. Where is the brotherhood when evil stalks abroad in broad daylight?

We pass resolutions, pious and strong, shout and gesticulate and then are not tho least surprised to find the evil we damned still there. Whereas if all the Churches were to unite in fighting an evil, not only would the blow be a knock-out one but society would sit up and take notice. So long as we are at sixes and sevens just so long will society amble along with its indistinct line drawn between what is right and wrong. A brotherhood in action has no time to bother about creeds and certainly is heedless of pinpricks. The first move towards a realisation or rather a return of brotherhood is RECOGNITION of each other. I mean recognition that really counts. In a home where love and friendliness reign, every member of the family has a right to sit at the common table. In the Church, which is often called “the family of God,” why is it that one member refuses room at the Lord’s Table to the rest of the family 1

l If the Church which is often called I “the army of the Lord,” is going to ■ march against the enemy, how much I will it effect if there is no recog- ! nition and interdependence between , the officers of the various regiI ments Can we wonder that our distinctions and rivalries hinder the progress of the Kingdom of God ? More friendliness among the great sections of the Church would undoubtedly make a tremendous impression for good upon society, jlt isn’t a united Church we want, j with formal creeds and apportioned authority, but a Church with the warm spirit of brotherhood coursing through its veins. Given that, and a common basis can be found upon which could be reared a Church, holy in nature and Catholic in outlook.