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John Wesley's "The Catholic Spirit"-Theological Reflection Alvin Shaul Rotz, TH211 9/4/03 The Catholic Spirit Outline of John Wesley�s 39th Sermon Major Points � Because of God�s miraculous love for us, we are to love others as He loves us. If we do not love others, we cannot love God. If we do not love, we are nothing. � Being content with your spirituality is a priority. Everyone will face God�s judgment and thus should prepare accordingly. � Men will forever differ in thought, belief, custom, mode of worship, and opinion. However, through Christ, it is possible for us all to �love alike.� � True love cannot include a judgment of one�s form of worship, his or her follies or infirmities. � We should provide for each other opportunities for service to the Kingdom. We should strive for human perfection in this manner. � The person of a truly Catholic spirit loves all men, including his enemies. This type of love is Catholic love and universal love. Summarative Conclusion v Having the courage to believe something is not enough. We must have to courage to use Christ�s love as an instrument of grace in the lives of others. When we show others the love of Christ, our own standards and beliefs are proven true in our hearts. Minor Points � Jehu and Jehonadab: if they are both content with their opinions, then they should unite in love under Christ. � When contemplating one�s beliefs, a learned person will not force his opinion on others any more than he would like other�s opinions forced onto him. � The Divinity of God: Things that must be held true for �thine heart [to be] right, as my heart is with thy heart.� � 46 questions that point to simple truths of God and Christ. To be a Christian one should strive to answer these in the positive. � Instead of trying to alter other�s opinions and belief, simply pray for them that God will direct their conscious to what is true and right. Only then can both hearts be right � We should work with each other to show the love of Christ to the world. We need to be optimistic and joyous of our deeds. � Those who call themselves of the Catholic spirit just because they have been brought up with it and yet don�t understand it should make the effort to step out and learn the beliefs and customs of the Catholic church. � The person of a truly Catholic spirit listens to the words, opinions and beliefs of others, yet holds strong to his beliefs and standards. � The person of a truly Catholic spirit believes his ways are the truest, most biblical and rational forms of worship and is completely confident that he is living for God in every way. � The person of a truly Catholic spirit does not stand alone in his beliefs but maintains it within a body of fellowship and worship. He treats these people as family and cares for them in every way possible. Scripture, Tradition, Experience, & Reason John Wesley�s thirty-ninth sermon on the Catholic Spirit is both informative and remarkable. His dedication to the scripture and Christ�s love set an excellent example for all Christians today. His wide use of scripture, tradition, experience and reason throughout all of his sermons and various other works prove to give a well-organized theological basis for his arguments. It is often said that Christ is love. Christ himself says in John 14:6 �I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.� Therefore, without love we cannot come to the Father. This is also affirmed in 1 John 4:7, 8. This is an underlying issue in Wesley�s sermon. He gives many scriptural examples of God�s commands for us to love. Wesley focuses on God�s command to love others as God has loved us. It is this type of love in particularly that provides the foundation for the remainder of the sermon. Wesley�s only other main usage of scripture appears in his Old Testament example of Jehu and Jehonadab: �And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab�and he said to him, �Is thine heart right, as my heart is with they heart?� And Jehonadab answered, �It is. If it be, give me thine hand.�� These two statements set the contextual basis for his argument. So, by including these scriptural references, Wesleyan has provided an underlying prerequisite to love, and specific call to love one�s neighbors, and two statements from which he can draw his arguments. Wesley uses the story of Jehonadab and Jehu as his main source of tradition as well. By describing their story he was able to put into context the points he was trying to make. For example, there was a wide difference in their modes of worship. Also, they did not argue with each other over their particular opinions. They recognized that each person must decide for themselves the right way to do things, and in turn must judge for himself what account he will give to God on the Judgment Day. Wesley�s use of tradition in this sermon is slim, but serves its purpose nonetheless. Wesley devotes seven paragraphs to nothing but questions set out to define the purpose of Jehu�s question, �Is thine heart right, as my heart is right with they heart?� These forty-six questions form an excellent set of guidelines and goals for the Christian walk. They call into attention the experiences of Christian life. Most of all the force the believer to analyze what they believe and to realize what they still need to work on. Most of them deal with the direct relationship between the individual and God. Experiences such as love, belief, faith, righteousness, thankfulness, surrender, and acts of goodness bring to light many of our imperfections. These all do, however, point back to Jehu�s original question. Once each of us individually become right with God, serving Him in every way we can imagine, then, and only then, can we unite with other Christians of the said status and join together in love, no matter how much our opinions and beliefs may differ. The reason in Wesley�s sermon forms out of the scripture, tradition and experience. The reason behind his points of love and communion with God are given shape in his section about the true catholic spirit. Wesley states the reasons by which we define the stature of a person of a truly catholic spirit in a way that helps us better understand God�s immaculate love and grace. The man of a truly catholic spirit is completely confident that there is no better, more scriptural way to serve God in all aspects of his life than by his present exercise. He also is part of a body of believers who hold the same ways to be best. He cares for these people as if they are of his own blood. The reason behind the catholic spirit is catholic love, which is universal love, God�s love. Wesley cared very much for the poor and the needy. It is quite likely that his work in rural areas and city slums inspired his insistence in the sermon of loving everyone no matter what his or her status. Also, Wesley lived following the wars of the 17th century. He sought to restore peace and reveal God�s love in the hearts of the English people. The purpose of this sermon was to help people who thought they were living a good life to realize how much more potential there is in the Christian walk. By revealing so many ways in which we could grow closer to God and love others more deeply, Wesley brought our failures to the forefront of the discussion without even referring to them as such. If we are always loving others and Christ we will always be pleasing God. My Thoughts As a pastoral ministries major here at NNU, I know that I need to understand the importance of Wesleyan theology. As I dive into sermons like this one, it is very encouraging when I find something that will help me grown in my own walk. The forty-six questions of which I spoke earlier struck me hard. How many of them can I actually answer yes to? I�ve already made a print out of them so that I can try and accomplish each of them. Wesley had a goal of helping people truly understand God�s love. If that goal isn�t accomplished through sermons like this, it never will be. I want my heart to be right as it is right with the hearts around me. |