Dark Brightness

For many years I lived with being told that each time I fell that I was some form of secondary (and Katholic) Christian because I could not be holy. The implication was that Good Christians should not sin, and I was a Bad Christian.

So let’s look at today’s reading

Romans 6:3-14

3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For whoever has died is freed from sin. 8But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions.

via PCUSA – Devotions – Daily readings for Sunday, February 28, 2010.

Paul has a pattern. He starts with elaborating the reasons behind a point. He appeals to our heads: he is the first theologian (and has been beaten up for this for ever: the critics ignore his discussions of tears…).

Then he says “do not let sin exercise dominion”. This does not make immediate sense because he has just said we “is dead” and thus are not compelled into sin.

But we can choose to do it. And we do. The text is about becoming holy. It is not about being perfect. In fact, to state we are perfect is to be in a state of sin: for in our position “above” others we can easily class those who are not as udermenschen — to be ignored, patronised or destroyed. (The German word is the best I know for this, but since I can barely speak it, my spelling is off).

And in this we are all Catholic. We accept that the Church is full of fallen, imperfect people. Some of whom are not interested in moving towards Righteousness. Some of whom are not of God. But we cannot tell who will told they were a good and faithful servant. We hold the balance of accepting we are poor, weak and inconsistent and also striving for the best. And in this, Reformed people can state “I believe in the Holy Catholic Church…”