It's been almost two weeks since the final event, the Papal Mass at Randwick on 20 Jul 2008, that saw almost 500,000 people gathered for the biggest Mass held on our continent. I am not surprised by the enthusiastic responses both during and after WYD from Catholic friends. Any public show of numbers is a physical sign of power, support and so rightfulness of the institution of Roman Catholic Church. Here are some of the comments on the Mass itself I have heard from practising mature Catholic friends:
"These Islanders [referring to those performing the Fujian dance in the Mass] they don't feel the cold, they're filled with the Holy Spirit that's why."
"This is the sign of the universality of the Catholic Church."
"Those people being confirmed by the Pope, aren't they lucky? How lucky are they, to be confirmed by the Pope!"
"That must be the Bible [referring to the ornamented Bible presented to the Pope by the Fujian Catholics], it's so beautiful."
"Are they speaking in Spanish [referring to the Spanish Bible reading at Sydney]? I think they are speaking in Spanish." And later on. "I think now it's in French. [when the next reading was spoken in French]."
There were many other interesting vignettes I remember from watching others watching the Mass at work. My department has many Philippinos, and a few Maltese and Italians, who are also practising Catholics.
I think this closing remark from ABC 7:30 report sums up well the effect of WYD on Catholics:
"O'Neill [reporter]: For the Australian Catholics too it has been a show of strength that the church will be hoping to continue long after the World Youth Day celebrations are over.
Ilic [interviewee]: I'm so glad to be involved. It's increased my belief in my faith and I hope it will increase others in the future."
There are many little things I could comment on in each of these. But the best way to do so is by providing my personal take on this Mass (not Mass in general, that I will do in a review on Ray Galea's "Nothing in my Hand I bring" tomorrow).
As a Christian who has mainly biblical knowledge of all those ideas that have been raised by the above comments and attitudes, I felt a huge gap between the God of the Lord Jesus Christ that I know through His Word in the Bible, compared to the God reflected in the lives of Catholics and the practices at Mass and other Catholic ceremonies. Honestly, my knowledge and experience, which I am confident in by the Word of God, is miles away from what we see above. The language may appear the same, but the meaning, significance and heart of my Christianity and Catholicism have little overlap.
From Jesus' promises, the Prophets of the Old Testament and the Spirit's witness in Acts, I know that the Spirit's task is to make known to the world what is from Christ, and call and regenerate people, who were once dead and deaf to the Good News, so as to turn them around to trust in this Gospel of the Lord Jesus. He is not a mere feeling of God empowering. The Power that was read in Acts was shown in God's calling of nations, when people who didn't know Him before and were outside God's promises to Israel, turned and trusted in the Lord Jesus who was appointed by His resurrection to be the universal ruler of all. This turning around to trust in Jesus is the Work of the Spirit, amongst other things.
Jesus' church on earth, commonly called "The Church", is actually a group of believers who confess their trust and obedience to the Lord. Jesus repeatedly warns us to be wary of earthly powers and authorities. In His days it was the synagogue rulers, who for the sake of earthly displays of power and solidarity could actually deny God, His rule and His commands. His kingdom is not of this world, but a heavenly one. On earth Jesus was a suffering, sacrificial, frail "king". But in God's eyes, He'd accomplished the greatest task of dying for sinners and rescuing them from the coming Judgement by His sacrificial death. This was His path to kingship and glory of the Resurrection. But He never had any worldly power or standing. Physical signs of numbers, riches, and most importantly power and influence, is no reflection of God's rule and authority, His blessings or riches. I am glad when many are genuinely confessing their trust in Jesus, but having a mass of people who merely want to belong to a group and have confidence in being a part of a great earthly power brings me no joy. I take heed from the Lord's warning: wide is the gate that leads to destruction, and narrow is the gate that leads to eternal life. Only a few will ever be rejoicing in the Gospel, majority will reject its truth. I don't think Christians will ever be in the majority, though God is the Lord of all nations, and people from every nation will confess Him.
I did not see the honouring of either God's Son or His word in the celebrations of the Mass or in the reflections of my Catholic friends. I see more confidence in proclamation of the Catholic "Faith", certainly Ms. Ilic in her interview believes in Catholicism more than she once did. But is she a more fervent follower of Jesus as a result? Is she surer about her relationship with God won by Jesus than before? The highlight of this whole thing missed the Lord Jesus by a long shot. I don't know if Sydney in general understood more about who Jesus is, what He's come to do, how He shows us who our Father is in Heaven. I honestly did not hear any of this from my Catholic friends. I certainly didn't get the impression from reading from our press or talking with non-Christian friends.
To finish off I will use another vignette. The way the Gospel was read during the Mass is indicative of the blurring of the Good News of Jesus. The reading was from Luke, a fantastic one about how Jesus fulfills the prophecies and longings of Isaiah, an 8th century B.C. prophet: that He was be the One would brings the Good News of Salvation to the Nations. It was sung beautifully in some pentatonic chant, in long, drawn-out phrases. The 'priest' who sang was charming, well-dressed, and hit every note and beat properly. But if I had not known that passage by heart, I would have gained nothing. No other Catholic friend around me understood and or heard clearly the Words He sang, although they thoroughly enjoyed the show. The Good News is buried so far beneath the ceremony that it is muted, made nought and forgotten.
Sydney has not learned too much about Jesus from WYD week. They've encountered wonderful people, young and old, familiar and strange, English speaking and non-English speaking. We all probably had a lot of fun in the process. But my personal wish is that apart from knowing that there is a God, Catholics and others would know the Man who is God better and better. The best way is still by His Word in the Bible, which historically fleshes out the story of this God who became Man, to show mankind the goodness and justice of God, and by His death brings all people in reconciliation to the Father in Heaven, and by His Resurrection promises all people everywhere life under His Lordship, and by His Spirit makes this Word of Truth more beautiful and wonderfully life-changing to those who will simply say Yes to Christ Jesus. Following Jesus is that simple. Please, look further than WYD. Much of Sydney has seen a show of strength, but have gained nought and will soon forget. I hope that won't be you.
