7. The Church Of Christ
At the beginning of his preaching life, Jesus announced to everyone that the kingdom of heaven was near and that they should repent and receive salvation. What is the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God? And how can we promote and realize the kingdom of God on earth?
What is the Church?
The Church is a gathering of people who believe in Christ, gather together to celebrate rituals of worshiping God, share prayer and communion, share bread with each other in love, repeating the gesture of Jesus at the Last Supper. “The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf” (1 Cor 10, 16-17).
Jesus himself founded the church and gave authority to Peter to lead it: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16, 18-19).
The first church gathered about 120 people on the day of Pentecost (50 days after Passover) (Acts 1, 15) and then quickly spread throughout the region. The more difficulties it encountered, the more it grew.
The structure of the Church
The Church consists of two components: visible and spiritual
* Visible earthly structure:
The Church is for people and operated by people.
The Church is a material social organization that certainly prosper or decline depending on the times, on whether it is well managed or not, on whether it meets the demands of the times. It always needs to be renewed and updated. The Catholic Church has existed for 2,000 years with 266 popes. There are 1,375,852,000 members worldwide. (Statistics on October 20, 2023, by Vatican News).
The Catholic Church is a tight-knit, hierarchical organization: pope, bishops, priests and deacons, and lay people. College of Cardinals are a group of dignitaries ranked right after the pope, appointed by the pope to assist and advise in the governance of the church.
The Vatican State is a territory under the authority of the reigning pope, with an area of about 0.44 km2. It is necessary to distinguish between the Holy See and the Vatican City State.
The Holy See refers to the highest organization of the global Roman Catholic Church. The Holy See has the status of a nation.
Over the past 2,000 years of existence, the Church has risen and fallen along with human history and at times has committed serious shortcomings: fighting for power, waging war, abusing power, arbitrariness, injustice, cruelty, sexual abuse, fanaticism, which is completely contrary to the holy and benevolent nature of the Founder.
To spread the good news to the visible world, there must be a material mechanism as a means, and material things always fluctuate between good and bad, between noble and impure. In the past, when the divine and temporal power were one, with power in hand, the Church at times seriously declined, giving rise to many factions and divisions.
* Spiritual Church:
The Church is the body of Christ.
When Paul was on his way to persecute the followers of Christ, he was knocked off his horse and heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Paul replied, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied: “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting” (Acts 22, 7-8)
The believers gathered together to form the Church, which is the body of Christ. The Church is a living body in which the members are organically united, with Christ as the head “who is the head of the body, that is, the Church” (Col 1, 18). “Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love” (Eph 4, 15-16).
“For as in one body we have many parts, and all the parts do not have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another” (Rom 12, 4-5).
In that sense, believers of Christ are called Christians.
Although each person is divided according to the assigned task as a member of a body, there is no division between the ruling and ruled classes, but everyone is equal:
Saint Paul affirms in his letter to the Ephesians, “ And The Holy Spirit of God gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4, 11-12).
It is clear that God has arranged everything: from authority, hierarchy in the church, considered as a leading body, which Saint Paul calls the special grace of care, teaching, and apostleship.
To the special grace of healing, miracles, discernment of spirits, and prophecy of some people whose purpose is to serve the common good of the church. (Read the first letter of Saint Paul, to the Corinthians, chapter 12, 27-30).
The purpose of the church
The church is the means established by Jesus to educate people and spread the good news of salvation throughout the world, proclaiming the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God to everyone.
à about the meaning of the kingdom of heaven
Because of limited language, Jesus’s answers to his disciples cannot fully describe the nature of the kingdom of heaven, so he gave easily understood examples:
The kingdom of heaven is:
* Very precious:
“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it” (Mt 13, 44-46).
Because it is so precious, He told His disciples to “seek first the kingdom of heaven” (Lk 12, 31).
* Self-development:
The parable of the mustard seed and the leavened dough:
Then he said, “What is the kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a person took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and ‘the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.’
Again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch of dough was leavened” (Luke 13, 18-21).
* The ultimate purpose and result are not immediate, but will come at the end of the world, the day of his glorious arrival.
Parables of the fishing net and weeds.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth” ” (Mt 13, 47-50).
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn” ” (Matthew 13, 24-30).
* Great results for those who know how to receive, open their hearts, and nurture it:
The parable of the sower:
“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” ” (Mt 13, 3-9).
The nature of the Church of Christ is to spread the good news to all peoples about God’s love for humanity, to spread salvation and faith in a happy final end.
Before ascending to heaven, the Lord commanded his disciples:
“As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (Jn 20, 21).
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mk 16, 15-16).
St. Paul said: “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
They devoted themselves to their duty and gathered together to pray, share food and bread, and form the first church.
The Church in Today’s World
In today’s world, the 21st century, humanity is completely different from the ancient times, 2,000 years ago, when Jesus founded the early church. Everything is 100% renewed in every field, but the only thing that remains unchanged is human morality and its turmoil about the fragile fate, about the purpose of life. People are still struggling to find a direction for themselves.
* Tradition:
Catholic doctrine considers apostolic tradition to be valuable as a historical truth. Nowadays, people take tradition lightly and often consider tradition as old-fashioned, hindering social progress. We do not value the past so much that we consider it everything. Society advances by standing firmly on the past. But the past has both right and wrong.
We emphasize the visible element of the church, operated by fleshly people, with ignorance and limitations, many mistakes. As for the spiritual part, morality, it remains the same, still pure and unchanged.
In today’s progressive society, many things have changed: such as the abolition of slavery, the formation and growth of democratic institutions, gender equality, respect for individual freedom and rights. Especially in the fields of knowledge, there have been spectacular breakthroughs: humans have entered the era of learning about the extremely mysterious and magical laws of nature, changing the old, backward concepts of “a frog in a well”, which we used to consider completely correct.
To respond and adapt to the times, the church must constantly renew and innovate, constantly reform, and be one step ahead of the times if it is not to fear falling behind and being eliminated.
The church faces important challenges such as homosexuality, euthanasia, abortion, clerical sexual abuse, and abuse of power… We pray for the Holy Spirit to enlighten those in authority, to make pastoral decisions in line with the pace of the times, and to create faith for young people in the church.
* Aspiration:
The manifestation of anxiety and agitation in today’s society tells us about the state of insecurity, uncertainty, disorientation, and loss of faith in the old institution and that people of this era are struggling to find a new way out, to satisfy the desire to reach goodness in the human soul.
Is everything that tradition says right? Obviously there are too many wrong things. The method that our ancestors applied, the path that our ancestors are following, the thinking that our predecessors have outlined, are they liberating us, leading us to happiness or leading humanity to destruction?
In front of us is only suffers: cruel wars, exploitation of man by man, cruelty, precarious jobs, and meaningless death. How can we not be disappointed and lose faith?
Who will be the one to lead the way to truth, to happiness, to a meaningful life?
Jesus declared: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14, 6).
“Whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” (Jn 6, 35).
“Whoever drinks the water that I shall give him will never thirst; and the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jn 4, 14).
The aspirations of people today are truly legitimate and mature.
Is Christ and His teachings a good solution?
Is the Church necessary?
* The Church is the living body of Christ:
Jesus established the Church, His body, as a kingdom, a structure that is very necessary for humanity, but not at all like the way the world understands it: it must have territory, army, governing government… “My kingdom is not of this world” (Jn 18, 36), “You live in the world but not of the world” (Jn 17, 16).
So what functions does the Church have that are always necessary for society, especially today’s society?
* Preach salvation, God’s love for humanity: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to every creature” (Mk 16, 15). The good news must be known to everyone, that is the command.
Nowadays, with modern media, believers can easily and quickly reach everyone via the internet to spread the good news of salvation, which is their duty before the Lord comes. As mentioned above, the number of people who know the gospel of Jesus is less than one-third of the human population.
* Worship God: If individuals have the responsibility to show filial piety to their Creator, then society also has the same duty to Him.
The church is a place of worship, a place of prayer, and a place to offer thanksgiving to God for everyone.
In love, there is no compulsion and we should not force each other to do anything, as Saint Paul said, “Do not owe anything to one another, except to love one another” (Rom 13, 8).
As the church prescribes, every Sunday, parishioners gather together as brothers and sisters, share the word of God, celebrate the Eucharist, share bread together, and commemorate the day the Lord was on earth. “Do this in remembrance of me” (Lk 22, 19).
* Communicating grace: Jesus said to his disciples, “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28, 20). “I will not leave you as orphans” (Jn 14, 18).
The Lord established the Church to be present and act with us:
“You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Mt 16, 18-19).
The Church has real power, because Jesus himself established the Church and gave the authority to govern it to his disciples, headed by Peter.
They have authority because they can “bound and loose,” holding the “keys to the kingdom of heaven,” and their power is truly great. Nowadays, the power of a country is concentrated in three powers: legislative, executive and judicial. In the church, the disciples are also given these three powers by God. The church has full authority to carry out its mission.
The church is a means used by God to save humanity, it has substance, not a side organization, used only when needed, not a data warehouse for reference only.
Nowadays, people underestimate the role of the church, considering it as a purely human organization, full of errors, standing on the sidelines of the salvation program, even hindering God from carrying out His work.
The church is a necessary, organic organization, an indispensable part and stage in God’s salvation program for humanity.
The church, in the salvation program, actively contributes to the salvation of souls, and is therefore the means to impart grace through the sacraments that God established while on earth. Those sacraments are: baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, confession, anointing of the sick, holy orders, and marriage.
Jesus said: “I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing. Anyone who does not remain in me will be thrown out like a branch and wither” ” (John 15, 5-6). The Church is the body of Christ, a living body. Jesus is the vine full of life, and we are the branches. The Church is always alive, always dynamic and very necessary for believers at all times.
Modern life today is facing too many challenges. Information today is fast, widespread, multi-dimensional, but the truth and falsehood are mixed together: the culture of death and the culture of life are intertwined. Death and destruction seem too easy, and people lose their way as if lost in the wilderness, with no way out.
They do not believe in traditions that many people consider outdated, obstacles to progress that must be eliminated. Why should we believe in the Bible that was written 2,000 – 3,000 years ago? A church that refuses to update, is rigid, does not meet legitimate demands, and only knows how to prohibit. Indeed, there are too many conservative thoughts in the church, many parents do not understand the true spirit of the gospel, live a formal, superstitious, unscientific life, making many people disappointed.
Thanks to the sacraments celebrated daily, believers receive grace from God, helping them overcome earthly suffering, reach the shore of eternal happiness, their true homeland in heaven.
The Church is not only a treasure of knowledge for reference, explaining the revelation of God’s words, but also a solid support for us to resolve the doubts of our conscience, to find peace, strength in our souls, a peace that no one in the world can give.
The Age of the Holy Spirit
Before ascending to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to ‘work’ with us. “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you to the complete truth” (Jn 16, 13).
The triune God is one, acting together, but we will temporarily divide each stage for easy understanding. This is the time when the Holy Spirit works in the heart of the church.
“When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say. For the holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say” (Lk 12, 11-12).
The Acts of the Apostles is the book in the New Testament that talks most about the Holy Spirit. The activities of the early church at its foundation were led by the apostles, in which the decision-making power of the Holy Spirit is also seen: “It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us not to place on you any burden beyond these necessities” (Acts 15, 28).
After ascending to heaven, Jesus promised to send the Spirit to be with the apostles and to work with them in spreading the message of salvation. “I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28, 20). On Pentecost, the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles, transforming them from timid men into courageous and enthusiastic witnesses of their faith even at the cost of bloodshed.
When they encountered issues that needed common support, they gathered together, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to discuss and decide, such as the gathering of the apostles, around the year 46, which we call the Council of Jerusalem, to discuss whether non-Jews should be required to be circumcised when joining the church.
Through the church, Jesus is present in the world. Until now, the church has operated independently with its own doctrinal system and organizational structure for 2000 years. Through the ups and downs of history, the Holy Spirit is still active in the heart of the church. He is the driving force for renewal and innovation and guides the church on the path of the light of truth.
History flows like water on a river, never repeating itself, always dynamic, youthful and new. We are not afraid of innovation. God is the master of history, so let the Holy Spirit influence and guide the church of Christ to follow the laws of history.
Mary: Mother of the Savior, Mother of the Church
* Mary in the Bible
The Bible is divided into two parts of the Old Testament and the New Testament: the Old Testament announces and prepares for the coming of the Savior, and the New Testament announces and reports on His activities.
What does the Old Testament say about the role of Mary?
In the book of Genesis, God announces the plan to save humanity by sending a Savior, born of a woman, whose descendants will be the eternal nemesis of evil: “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; They will strike at your head, while you strike at their heel” (Gen 3, 15).
God also announced to everyone, through the mouth of the prophet Isaiah, the birth of the Savior: “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Emmanuel” (Is 7, 14).
The New Testament, although focusing on the Savior, also describes in many passages the activities of Mary.
Through the Annunciation, the angel tells us that Mary was full of grace and favor: “And coming to her, the angel said, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you” (Lk 1, 28). She absolutely trusted and obey God: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word” (Lk 1, 38).
Visiting her cousin Elizabeth with the Magnificat, she expressed humility: “He has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness … He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly” (Lk 1, 48-52).
The Nativity of Christ speaks of the spirit of prayer and contemplation of the Virgin Mary: “The time came for her to be delivered. She gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger” (Lk 2, 6-7)… “Mary kept all these things in her heart and pondered them” (Lk 2, 9).
At the ceremony of presenting her son in the temple, when she met the old man Simeon, the Virgin Mary heard him prophesy about the ultimate suffering of her life, in her role as the mother of the Savior: “And a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2, 35).
When Jesus began his public ministry, Mary showed us her effectiveness as our intercessor with Jesus. At the wedding feast of Cana, when the host ran out of wine, “His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you’” (Jn 2, 5) … “Jesus said to them, ‘Fill the jars with water.’ And they filled them up to the brim. Then he said to them, ‘Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.’ So they took it to him. When the master of the feast tasted the water, it became wine (and did not know where it came from) (Jn 2, 7-9)
At the foot of the cross, when Jesus was dying, the Virgin Mary realized how painful the prophecy of the old man Simeon “A sword will pierce your soul” was.
The Book of Revelation speaks of the victory and triumph of the Virgin Mary: “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars” (Rev 12, 1).
* Mary and the Savior
The life of the Virgin Mary was always closely linked to Jesus and His work of salvation. When giving birth to the Lord, living a hidden life, working, following Him on every path of preaching and enduring the sufferings when Her Son was judged and crucified, the Virgin Mary shared in the salvation that Jesus did for humanity. The Virgin Mary silently endured “a sword piercing her soul” like the spear piercing Jesus’ chest when He died and shed His last drop of blood for humanity.
* Mary and the Church
Since the early church was founded, believers have had a special devotion to the Mother of the Savior. The holy fathers of the church: the martyr Justin (165), Irenaeus (202), Epiphanius (403), and Ambrose all valued the role of the Virgin Mary in salvation, bringing us back to God.
Mary is considered our mediator, our advocate before God. Throughout the history of the church, she has always accompanied us, helping us to be faithful to God. Especially in times of trouble and difficulty, she is always by our side.
The church is very careful in recognizing so-called “miracles”.
In fact, the majestic cosmic phenomena such as a harmonious system of operation, the magnificent nature we see every day before our eyes, were created by God as ‘good’. Do we need to break them to perform miracles that go against the laws of nature?
However, sometimes, to satisfy the narrow mind of man, God still performs “miracles”.
It is no longer in doubt that the Virgin Mary is always present and alive in the life of the Church, and she performs many miracles.
– The Lourdes miracle
Bishop Laurence of Lourdes diocese in France said:
“We declare that Immaculately Conceived Mary, Mother of God, truly appeared to Bemadette Soubirous, on February 11, 1858, and the following days, a total of 18 times, in the cave of Massabielle, near Lourdes; that this apparition has all the characteristics of truth, and the faithful have all believed it to be certain.”
The Virgin Mary has performed many miracles, healing many patients that science cannot explain. Every year, this place welcomes about 6 million pilgrims from all over the world.
– Fatima miracle
The Virgin Mary appeared 6 times to 3 shepherd children, Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, from Fatima village, Portugal, from May 13 to October 13, 1917. The Church recognized the authenticity of the Virgin Mary’s apparition here in 1930, during the reign of Pope Pius XI.
In front of about 70,000 people, the Virgin Mary performed the miracle of making the sun dance for about 10 minutes.
– Our Lady of La Vang
There are events where the Virgin Mary appeared that are recognized by the church, such as in Lourdes and Fatima as mentioned above. There are also places where the Virgin Mary appeared that are not recognized by the church but also not rejected, such as in Medjugorje in Bosnia and Herzegovina or in La Vang in Vietnam.
La Vang is located in Hai Lang district, Quang Tri province, belonging to the Hue archdiocese. Believers believe that, here, during the period of Catholic persecution, on August 17, 1798, the Virgin Mary appeared to comfort them and taught them to pick the leaves of the Vang tree, which were available around, and boil them in the water to drink to cure diseases. Since then, this place has become a pilgrimage center for Catholics.
The Virgin Mary is the mother of the church, always attached to and accompanying the church, the body of Christ, as she once took care of Jesus when he was on earth.