When speaking about the pro's and con's of veneration it is usual to get the same argument or sparing. The one against it on the biblical side pulls many scriptures that speak of Christ's supremacy, while the one for veneration counters with that infamous book of Hebrews reference (I'll not get into contextual issues for this post) of the "great cloud of witnesses". The first then responds with a thrust of how Christ modeled for us to pray, to which the other in regards to veneration of saints parries with how we are reminded to worship and pray as a "community of believers".
As my masters class is currently studying many who brought Greek thought and reasoning to the use of apologetic or dialetic, let me in the spirit of such bring some clarifying questions to this consideration of veneration and its viability:
1. How do we decide what saint to pray for and for what?
This question has a deep background that espouses either sacerdotalism issues or papal decisions that are extra-biblical and may not be so easily encamped within "community-of-believer" concepts alone. A considerate followup question:
2. Why do we pray to that particular saint and not someone else?
We would hope the answer is not because of the saint's popularity, or because they are well-known, or because of what they have done...for such puts them on works-based pedestals that easily crumbles under the falling anvil of sin that they share with us outside of Christ.
So, they questions also may hint that outside of praying directly to Christ, what logical and communitive benefit make sense for praying to saints or even through them? Especially if we balance in context the scriptures we espouse to uphold as authoritative in our belief and orthopraxy.
The possible secret is in the balance and plumb line of righteous practice of prayer; in our understanding of prayer and how we overshadow Who we pray to in aims to get what we pray for in power. In other words, the power of prayer is not in community, nor in how we pray...but in WHOM we pray to.
In today's culture where we even get Garthy Brooks releasing a new hit single titled "Unanswered prayers' we realize that our finite limitations are always no match for the omnipotent benevolent Master who has "chose us in him before the foundations of the world..." (Eph 1:4 ESV) We come from a rich biblical heritage where the prayers and intervention of Moses may have saved God's people, along with other examples. Yet, we know that the power of such prayer not only was made directly to God...but that God was jealous that we keep only to Him. Even the Jews knew when they did not go directly to God that they've committed idolatry. Early Christians after Pentecost by not only scripture but with recorded actions demonstrated knowledge that the risen Saviour and Messiah Jesus was now their only High priest who knew them and interceded for them (Heb 4:14-16 ESV)
This does not lower the need to have qualitative prayer and in community towards God. Scripture shows that He desires our prayers; that even houses of prayer are designated. We know that prayer is held so special, it not only holds influence in biblical history but is also said to be contained in golden bowls as incense before the altar of God (Rev. 5:8, 8:3-4 NIV)
Therefore, with all this consideration why is it that after only a certain period of martyrdom that we now chose a small sect of saints to pray through? Does admiration of a well-lived christian life justify we pray to them instead directly to Christ? To me these questions and underlying guidance of scriptures are key into purifying our corporate and private worship so we truly pray as a community of believers--not in regards to each other over Christ...but in prostrate revererance to the risen Saviour alone who has become sin so that the righteous requirements of the Law might be fulfilled. (Romans 8:1-4 NIV)
Posts
