As I mentioned in the first installment of this series, my life includes a litany of situations in which the right tools—and the wisdom to use them well—make a huge difference. In my mundane world, an objective can only be accomplished when theories are met with practical tools and actions. That’s right, the toilet does not function by theories of suction and fluid dynamics alone. No, parts fit in specific places and wrenches must be turned in the right direction before a flush will not also become a flood.
The same is true in my life as a disciple of Jesus. I may know the objective of the Christian life: holiness. I might even know some lofty theology. Yet, if I do not know which tools are necessary and proper for the objective, and if I cannot find great wisdom that helps me employ those tools well, my efforts will not end successfully.
I also mentioned in the previous column that Sacred Scripture is a particularly effective source for identifying the right tools to achieve holiness. In this case, too, the word of God provides great help, identifying itself as an essential tool. While Holy Writ is a tool in itself, it also provides insight—practical wisdom, that is—on how to employ it well. As I receive this instruction, I note that Scripture implies and asserts that it stands on a more foundational authority beyond itself.
SACRED SCRIPTURE
In his second letter to his protégé, St. Paul writes, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17). This passage is ripe for meditation as Paul teaches that the Sacred Page bears the divine imprint. We trust that the voice of God resonates off the pages, but we also know Paul was referring to the Old Testament. The New Testament scriptures had not been fully written at that point; nor would those texts be put into an official list approved by the Church for at least three centuries longer. So, is only the Old Testament God-breathed? By what means do we know that first-century histories and teaching letters are of the same canonical status?
We begin to get an answer when we approach an important passage in the letter to the Hebrews. “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:12-13). Although it is rarely quoted after the first sentence, the second sentence provides more definition to “word of God.” Scripture points to a Person whose description sounds much like the Rider on the White Horse described in Revelation 19. This Person, then, is the arbiter of the printed word(s) that came later.
SACRED TRADITION & AUTHORITY
Taken together, these passages explicitly state the power of Scripture at the same time they imply a more primal authority. That authority, direct from the mouth of God, provides the measure of how effective any words and letters will be to assist disciples in achieving holiness. This authority can and must accompany my devotion to the Bible.
Other passages of New Testament texts, both the Gospels and the letters, make that understanding explicit. Again, St. Paul, that most prominent purveyor of the Christian message, offers instruction. As he writes to one of the earliest churches he founded, he informs them that he teaches “so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Immediately following stating his objective, he lists the tools to be employed. “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter” (2 Thess. 2:14-15). The letters he references—including the very one they read at that moment—would later be codified in the New Testament, but not without measuring them against the tradition (spoken word or letter) and authority (“taught by us”) handed to the apostles by Jesus.
So, biblical revelation is constituted and decided by authority. This is precisely what St. Paul wrote to Timothy in another letter. To the earliest Christians, the Church was the “pillar and foundation of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15, NAB), over and above the writings that would eventually constitute the New Testament. The Apostle expresses this same idea when he tells the Church at Galatia (perhaps the earliest Church founded outside the Holy Land) to trust and adhere to the Church before messages from angels or untrusted sources (see Gal. 1:8). Jesus’ act of handing the keys—the symbol of authority—to Simon Peter indicates this as the Lord’s intention.
PRACTICAL, FRUITFUL APPLICATION
It is wise and fruitful, then, for me to continue my devotion to Sacred Scripture. Still, I must be devoted also to the Sacred Tradition and the teaching authority Jesus left on the earth to provide me with the Bible. Only then will I wield this tool faithfully, for my own benefit and the benefit of others.
As this understanding and devotion grows in me, I also notice a connection with the previous tool. Scripture, Tradition, and Authority connect intimately to prayer and worship. Prayer and worship bring us into closest proximity to the glory God has in store for us. Coupled with this mystical movement, because I am a human, because I desire to know and explain the realities that captivate my hearts, I also need systematic words that can explain ideas. That is why my full instruction must be conveyed through a set of systematic words, known as doctrine.
One prominent passage from the Gospels illustrates the way these tools work together. Just before He ascends to the Father, Jesus commissions the college of apostles, giving on His authority to a group of men who will then hand on their mission and authority to successors (see Mt. 28:18-20). In that moment, too, Our Blessed Lord expresses the intimate connection between worship and doctrine because He links disciple-making and Baptism as the essential task of these apostles. Finally, He promises to remain with this group and the disciples who accompany them—that is, His Church—throughout history. This happens, of course, as they operate under the aegis, the inspiration and guidance, of the Holy Spirit.
It should be clear, then, that right teaching and doctrine, entrusted to the wisdom and authority of the Church and manifest in the Scriptures, is an essential tool for achieving my objective of holiness. When I couple right teaching and doctrine with prayer and worship, my mind and heart (my intellect and will) will be fully transfigured toward that end. That reality extends outward and applies also to families, parishes, dioceses, and the universal Church.
Photo by Todd Quackenbush on Unsplash
