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146
panied miraculously by scriptural
evidence.
They point
out that within the Book of Acts itself all the terms which describe the
reception
of the Spirit
are used
interchangeably, showing
that there is one distinctive reception
of the
Spirit
rather than two.
Moreover,
the accounts of the reception
of the
Spirit present
it as an integral part of the total conversion experience
and not as a
separate
event that follows conversion. Since this view
gives
full
weight
to the
scriptural teaching
on the
significance of
receiving
the
Holy Spirit,
maintains the
unity
of the
Spirit’s work, and
yet
retains the
scriptural experience
of receiving the
Holy Spirit,
it could form the basis of a mutual
understanding
on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.
.
David K. Bernard, Associate Editor United Pentecostal Church International 8855 Dunn Road
Hazelwood, MO
63042
Reflections on
Perspectives
on
Koinonia
. 1. Intent of These Reflections
It is with interest and
pleasure
that I have read
Perspectives
on Koinonia. In these
pages
I would like to
highlight
some of the
things
I have found most
significant
in the
report,
mention some
experiences which enable me to identify with some
parts
of it in a personal way, and suggest
a question or two which
may
be worth
considering
in further reflections on the themes of the report.
2. Points I Find
Significant
As I hope many other
people
will,
I found the
very
fact of the
ongoing series of the
dialogues reported
to be exciting and
hope-giving.
I like the
starting point: Jesus, perfect
Word of God
(14-15).
I was
pleased
to read Section 33, with its
acknowledgement
that our different
emphases
are not
mutually
exclusive but
complementary: i.e., we have much to learn from each other.
Very important
is the line in Section 38 about the reason
why
division among
Christians is
wrong:
we are called to give witness to the
world, and our
oppositions
to each other are scandalous.
The
experience
of life in the
Spirit following Baptism (64-69)
is inter- esting
but seems
very
brief for such a significant topic. This is an area where we have learned
something
but can learn much more from Pente- costals. But Catholics also need to talk with each other more about our own
experiences
of the
gifts
of the
Spirit;
attitudes
among
Catholics toward these
things vary greatly.
“The Church of koinonia”
(73-80)
struck me as a
good example
of mutual
critique
and
acknowledgement
of need for
growth.
1
147
The
paragraphs
on the Church as
sign
and instrument of salvation (90-94)
were
enlightening
to me. I’ve liked the
phrase
without under- standing
all its connotations.
What Pentecostals have to say to Catholics about the
practice
of read- ing the Scriptures
and
seeking
the
gifts
of the
Spirit
is very helpful
(97). The
concluding paragraphs (107-108) urging deeper study
of the history
of the Church will, I hope, be listened to
by
both sides of the discussion.
In general, the more I read of the
document,
the better I liked it.
3. Personal Points of Contact
As I read
through
the
report
on
koinonia,
I could not
help thinking
of experiences
of
my
own in
pastoral ministry
which underlined or
gave . nuance to the
points
made.
The central theme of my reflections was the
importance
of community in the lives of Catholic Christians I have known. An
example
of this was the
parish spiritual
renewal
program
called “RENEW.” This
program brings people together
in the homes of their
neighbors,
in small
groups, over a long period of
time,
to reflect on faith and life in the
light
of the Scriptures.
It contains
many
elements but the one most noticed
by
our parishioners
was the
simple
fact of
getting together
to talk about faith with their
neighbors. Though many
of them had known each other for years, they
had never shared faith
experiences
in a personal way.
Similarly,
members of the Christian
Family
Movement
groups
I am now
working
with
speak
of the value
they
find in small
group meetings where
they
can talk about themselves and their efforts to live a Christian life in their families. The Christian
Family
Movement
originated
as a social action
movement,
but what
people
find in it now is a chance to experience community, fellowship, koinonia,
in a world where that is rare.
I conclude that the theme of koinonia reflects the felt needs of
many Christians in
today’s
world. But therein lies a danger. The
report
cau- tions that koinonia does not mean
simply getting together
with
people we like. Yet there is a
deep hunger
for that
simple
human
experience which,
as I’ve
said,
is rare in the world
today.
How do we build
upon this felt need and human
experience
without
letting
our Church life
stay at that level? How do we
go
on to let the divine
Spirit
transform our human communities? I don’t have the answer.
Another
pastoral experience
was evoked in my
memory by
the discus- sion of infant
baptism
and the
preparation
of parents for such an event. There
are,
of
course,
devout Christian
couples
for whom the
baptism
of a child is really an occasion for
welcoming
a new
person
into the com- munity
of God’s love-even if the
baby
can’t
yet appreciate
what the experience
means. But there are many others with
only
the dimmest idea of what the sacrament is all about. I’ve labored in more than one
parish to create an
adequate prebaptismal
instruction
program.
I’ve never been
‘
2
148
satisfied with
my
own efforts. And I’ve had numerous discussions- well, really,
arguments-with
other Catholic
priests
about
just
what we should
require
of families as preconditions for the baptism of a child. I find it hard to believe that all
problems
are solved
by postponing baptism
till
young people
can make their own decisions. We
have,
after
all,
the
experience
of
teen-age
Catholics
preparing
for Confirmation- some of them with
great
seriousness and
devotion,
some “because
My parents
want
it,” some
with
apparent
enthusiasm and no follow-through. I’ve seen this even in
college
students who
supposedly
are old
enough to know what
they’re doing.
When does a person make a serious deci- sion to live. in Christ Jesus? For most, I suspect, it’s a matter of deci- sions made over a period of years.
Maybe
the most
important
decision a person
makes is the choice of a spouse. For
some,
it seems to me, mar- riage
in the Church is the real act of “confirmation” of their
baptism. Again,
I have no
great
solution to the
problems
I’m
raising.
It seems to me,
though,
that both Catholics and Pentecostals need to reexamine what
really happens
in our
lives,
and not
just
what we think
should happen
as the result of public decisions and sacramental actions.
4.
Questions
for Further Reflection
As I read the section on the Word of God, I thought about some recent works of
Scriptural
criticism based on
“socio-literary”
method. I refer to Norman Gottwald on the Hebrew
Bible, Ched Myers on Mark, Richard Horsley
on the
Infancy
narratives. I wonder what the
participants
in the dialogue,
Catholic and
Pentecostal, might
think about such an
approach to
Scripture. Personally,
I find it
compatible
both with an
evangelical theology
of the Word and with Catholic concerns. Could this be a path beyond
old
arguments
about the
meaning
of the
Scriptures?
Or am I being
naive?
Another
question
was raised in
my
mind
by the understanding
of
bap- tism described in Sections 54 and 55 of the
report.
I should
say,
the “understandings”
of
baptism,
for the
report presents
two different theologies,
one Catholic, the other Pentecostal. Yet it seems to me that the differences
may
be in
emphasis
rather than in
substance,
or
rather, that the two
approaches might
be
complementary
and
capable
of
being brought
into
synthesis.
Could we move forward in shared understand- ing by considering just
what the evident
sociological
and
psychological effects of baptism are in the lives of the
baptized?
I alluded to this above. I do not mean that the
empirical
effects are all that there are, as if salva- tion or
spiritual regeneration
could be reduced to what we can
verify with our senses. But I think such consideration can
help clarify just what we mean
by rebirth
and salvation.
To
carry
that
thought
one
step
further,
I could
wish
for
greater clarity about the whole notion of salvation.
Maybe
there was more in the
report than I grasped. It seemed to me that the
dialogue might
be further clari- fied if we reflected more
explicitly
on what we
hope
to be saved from
‘
‘
3
149
and what it means to be saved.
One dimension of salvation that some traditional
theologies
have slighted
is the salvation of the world. Our koinonia exists for the sake of the world’s salvation,
according
to the
Scriptures.
And that
salvation,
in Catholic
thought,
is
complete
liberation from sin and all its effects- from the
injustice
and
violence, too.
What does it mean for Catholics and Pentecostals to be such a koinonia
serving
God’s
plan
for the total liberation of all God’s
people?
That’s a question that all of us who talk about the Church could well reflect on more
fully.
Fr. Frank Colborn,
Chaplain Claremont
University
Center 919 N. Columbia
Claremont,
CA 91711
Perspectives
on A Roman Catholic
Koinonia:
Response
Perspectives
on Koinonia offers a model of the
way
in which serious ecumenical
dialogue among
Christians can and
ought
to
happen.
It carefully
delineates areas of
agreement
and
honestly
indicates areas of belief in which
theological
consensus continues to elude Catholics and Pentecostals.
.
.
Given the
assigned brevity
of this
response,
I would like in these paragraphs
to focus on three issues of disagreement that have
emerged from the
dialogue
between Catholics and Pentecostals on the
meaning
of . koinonia. I choose these issues for
discussion,
not in order
to’heighten the
disagreement
but in order to
suggest possible paths
of
dialogue
that . might eventually
resolve them. I have selected the issues of canonicity, church,
and sacraments.
‘ ‘
‘
1.
‘
Canonicity
Perspectives
on Koinonia,
(19)
indicates that Catholics and Pente- costals continue to
disagree
on the canon of the
Scriptures.
The doc- ument notes that while Catholics and Orthodox Christians share the same
canon, Pentecostals
follow the canon
adopted by
the Reformation Churches.
The
problem
of canonicity remains a vexing one because the establish- ment of a scriptural canon within
any
Christian church
always
functions as a
self-fulfilling prophecy.
Once a community includes a particular book of the Bible in its list of
inspired
books,
it will thereafter
experi- ence that book as inspired. If it excludes a particular book of the Bible from its list of
inspired books,
it will thereafter
experience
the book as not
inspired.
4
