Homily for Easter 4 - April 25, 2021

 

Homily for Easter 4

April 25, 2021

Safe Confines of the Church

 

            Simon Peter makes a shocking claim: “There is no other Name under Heaven by which we can be saved except the Name of Jesus.” Are we to take this literally? Does this mean non-Christians don’t go to Heaven? After all, the first Vatican Council taught that “Outside the Church there is no salvation.” What does this mean?

            There are four things to understand about how the Church sees members of other religions.

            First, all religions have a part of the truth. For example, our Protestant brethren share the same Scriptures with us, our Jewish friends share the Old Testament, Muslims believe in an afterlife and a human soul, and even Hindus recognize that we should seek after virtue and a righteous life. The Church recognizes all the elements in other faiths that are true and good, and these are seen as a preparation for the Gospel.

            But we also believe that the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth. In fact, the Second Vatican Council declared, “The church that Christ founded on earth subsists in the Catholic Church.” In other words, Christ didn’t merely start a loose organization of believers, but a visible structure, a hierarchy, and an unbroken line of Apostolic succession. The Catholic Church, while full of imperfect members, still teaches the same holy teachings that Christ taught while on earth.

            So, anyone who knowingly rejects Jesus Christ or His Church cannot be saved. The key word here is “knowingly” – this means that a person recognizes that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life and still refuses to follow Him; or that a person is convinced that the Catholic Church is the fullness of truth and still refuses to join it.

            But if someone is ignorant of Jesus or of the truths of the Catholic Faith, they can still be saved because they are not necessarily guilty of their ignorance. Maybe the only Christians they’ve ever met are bad examples; maybe the only time they heard about Jesus was from The Simpsons or Saturday Night Live – in this case, we entrust these people to God’s mercy (and we seek to bring them to the light of truth!).

            If non-Christians are saved, though, they are saved in spite of their own religion, not because of it. Mohammed cannot save anyone; Buddha cannot save anyone. Only Jesus offers us salvation. I guarantee that everyone who is in Heaven is a Christian now, even if they weren’t Christians on earth!

            There is no safer place to be than within the arms of the Catholic Church. This is the safe sheepfold for the sheep, where we cannot be led astray by error, and where we can be closest to the Shepherd. Rather than the Church stifling us, restricting our freedom, or preventing us from living life to the fullest, the Church actually protects us from harm and keeps us spiritually strong and healthy.

            A small midwestern town planned to build a fence around their elementary school playground, but some parents objected, thinking it might make the kids feel like caged animals in a zoo. So the school conducted a study to see how kids behaved in fences versus without fences. Much to their surprise, they discovered that on playgrounds without fences, children tended to huddle closer to the center of the playground, almost subconsciously afraid to venture far. But on playgrounds WITH fences, the kids used the whole field, knowing that they were safe wherever they went. Rather than stifling their freedom, knowing that they were safe gave them more freedom.

            In the same way, in a world that is deeply hostile to our values, saturated with lies and fake news, and filled with temptations and pitfalls, we need a safe space where we can be confident we will be fed with the Truth and shepherded in holiness. That safe space is the Catholic Church. Yes, it’s filled with imperfect, sinful people – but as Dorothy Day once said, “As to the Church, where else shall we go? Though she is a harlot at times, she is our Mother.” The Church is the sheepfold that keeps us close to the Shepherd. Never leave the Church, the source of all grace!

            You may have heard of the American legendary wild-west character, Buffalo Bill. He was a real person, born William Cody, who grew up on the open range. In his middle-age he started a traveling wild-west show, kind of like a circus, that would travel to different cities and show off the lifestyle of the wild west. He toured with famous sharpshooter Annie Oakley and, for a time, Chief Sitting Bull.

            Through this show, Buffalo Bill became very close friends with Chief Sitting Bull, and was rather intrigued to hear of how the Native American chief had embraced Catholicism. He had never encountered a devout Catholic before, and it made him wonder why this religion of the “white man” would be accepted by a native. Even after the show stopped touring, Buffalo Bill never forgot the example of this chief.

            Twenty-nine years later, as Buffalo Bill lay dying, he asked his sister to call for a priest. This was quite a surprise, since he was not a particularly religious man, but she found a priest who visited him. Buffalo Bill explained, “I have always believed in God – and now I want to die a Catholic.” He was baptized and received into the Church right before his death.

            Indeed, both in life and in death, the safest place to be is found in the arms of Jesus the Good Shepherd, and in the Sheepfold of the Church.