Exploring Intercession, Salvation, Gospel Historicity, and Jesus’ Divinity

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Hey everyone,

 

Welcome to The Sunday Catholic Word, a podcast where we reflect on the upcoming Sunday Mass readings and pick out the details that are relevant for explaining and defending our Catholic faith.

 

I’m Karlo Broussard, staff apologist and speaker for Catholic Answers, and the host for this podcast.

 

In this episode, we’re going to focus on four details that are significant for apologetical discussions. The first two come from the second reading, which is taken from Phil 1:4-6, 8-11. The relevant topics that these details give opportunity to reflect on are the Intercession of the Saints and the possibility to lose the gift of salvation. The last two come from the Gospel reading, which is taken from Luke 3:1-6, and the relevant topics are the Historicity of Luke’s Gospel and the Divinity of Jesus.

 

Let’s get started with the first reading, again, taken from Philippians 1:4-6, 8-11. Paul writes,

 

I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you,
because of your partnership for the gospel
from the first day until now.
I am confident of this,
that the one who began a good work in you
will continue to complete it
until the day of Christ Jesus.
God is my witness,
how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
filled with the fruit of righteousness
that comes through Jesus Christ
for the glory and praise of God.

 

The first detail that I want to briefly focus on is Paul’s statement, “I pray always with joy in my every prayer for all of you.” In my latest book, The Saints Pray for You: How the Christians in Heaven Help Us Here on Earth, I argue that these statements made by Paul throughout his epistles provide for us at least a plausible argument for the intercession of the saints. The idea is that there are good reasons to think that when Paul entered heaven, he didn’t stop praying for his fellow Christians. The same would be true of other Christians, who would be expected to continue expressing their concern for those on earth by their intercession. Those reasons are as follows.

 

First, it was charity that moved Paul and other Christians to intercede for one another here on earth in the first place. Well, charity doesn’t cease to exist in the soul upon entering heaven. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 13:8-12, “Love never ends,” unlike prophecies, tongues, and imperfect knowledge, all of which Paul says will pass away when we see God face to face.

 

Since charity endures in heaven, it’s reasonable to conclude that Paul and others, upon entering heaven, would continue to exercise charity and intercede for Christians remaining on earth. (Christians in heaven don’t need prayers.)

 

Second, given that charity endures (and is perfected) in heaven, it’s reasonable to think that the saints would not cease heeding Paul’s instruction to “bear one another’s burdens,” which, Paul says, “fulfills the law of Christ” (Gal. 6:2). If the saints in heaven didn’t intercede for us, they would no longer help bear our burdens. And if that were true, then they’d no longer be fulfilling the law of Christ.

 

Perhaps this law of Christ applies only to this life. But that doesn’t make sense because it’s charity that makes this law binding in the first place, which endures and is perfected for the saints in heaven.

 

Third, mutual Christian intercession is made possible by virtue of the union all Christians have as members of the mystical body of Christ. Recall, Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 12:21-26 that each member of the body contributes to the good of the others. Christians in heaven are still members of the mystical body. According to Paul in Romans 8:35 and 39, death can’t separate us from that which makes us members of Christ’s mystical body: God’s love in Christ Jesus.

 

Therefore, as perfected members of the mystical body of Christ, Christians in heaven, it’s reasonable to think, would continue to contribute to the good of other members of the mystical body: us who are here on earth. And a way Christians contribute to the good of others is through intercessory prayer.

 

Fourth, the saints in heaven are not distracted by the goal of attaining their own salvation, which frees them up to help others attain their salvation. St. Jerome takes this approach in his refutation of Vigilantius, a fourth- and fifth-century priest who opposed several Christian practices of his time, one of which was the invocation of the intercession of the saints. Jerome presents his argument this way: “If apostles and martyrs while still in the body can pray for others, when they ought still to be anxious for themselves, how much more must they do so when once they have won their crowns, overcome, and triumphed?”^[i]

 

The second detail worth highlighting in this second reading is Paul’s expression of confidence that Christ will complete the work that he began in the Philippians. He writes, “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.”

 

My claim here is that this text supports the belief that we don’t have absolute certainty of our final salvation.

 

To begin, we ask, “What is the good work that Paul speaks of?” One might answer that he’s simply referring to the work of sanctification—the work whereby a person is made holy. For adherents to the “once saved, always saved” doctrine, sanctification doesn’t have any bearing on our salvation.

 

But I think this text from our second reading proves otherwise.

 

Consider, for example, how Paul subsequently prays that the Philippians “may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ.” The purity and blamelessness spoken of here is clearly their sanctification, and this is the good work that Christ has begun within them and that which Paul prays Christ will bring to completion.

 

But notice that he prays for the Philippians to be pure and blameless “for the day of Christ”—that’s to say, for the day of judgment.

 

Now, why would there be a concern for the Philippians to be pure and blameless at the time of judgment if such interior holiness had no bearing on their final salvation? If sanctification, or a Christian’s interior holiness, had no bearing on receiving salvation at judgment, then such concern would be misplaced. But I don’t think we want to say Paul’s concern and prayer is misplaced. Therefore, sanctification, at least for Paul, does have a bearing on receiving salvation at judgment.

 

As to how this proves the possibility to lose salvation, note that Paul merely expresses a “confidence” that Christ will bring the interior work of sanctification—the work of purity and blamelessness—to completion by the time of judgment. This implies that Paul believes Christ could, if he willed, allow the Philippians to fall from such purity and blamelessness at the time of judgment, thereby not receiving final salvation at judgment.

 

So, Paul knows nothing of the “once saved, always saved” doctrine. Nor does he believe our sanctification has no bearing on our salvation.

 

Let’s now turn to the Gospel reading, again, taken from Luke 3:1-6. Luke records,

 

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas,
the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.
John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,
as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah:
A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

 

The first detail to highlight is Luke’s historical markers for Jesus’ life:

 

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,
when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea,
and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee,
and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region
of Ituraea and Trachonitis,
and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,
during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas

 

This is apologetically significant because it shows Luke wasn’t intending to write mythology, nor was he intending to perpetuate legendary developments.

 

Myths usually aren’t concerned with real-life details, such as time periods marked by governing roles of high-ranking officials. Such details make a story subject to verification or falsification. If you’re creating a myth, you want to exclude it from such verification or falsification. Luke’s inclusion of such details, therefore, proves he didn’t intend a mythological genre.

 

The inclusion of these details also points to Luke’s belief that the Jesus story wasn’t a story of legend. Again, these sorts of details make a story subject to historical verification or falsification. Why drop names like these when writing during a time of living memory if you thought these was the stuff of legend? That Luke drops such names shows that he didn’t think the Jesus story was the stuff of legend but was a story that was historically accessible.

 

This fits with Luke’s prologue, which many scholars see as a clear attestation to Luke’s historical intent. He writes,

 

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed (1:1–4).

 

The second detail in our Gospel reading that has apologetical value is Luke’s quote of Isaiah 40:3-5:

 

A voice of one crying out in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make straight his paths.
Every valley shall be filled
and every mountain and hill shall be made low.
The winding roads shall be made straight,
and the rough ways made smooth,
and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.”

 

For Luke, the voice is John the Baptist. And he is preparing a way for Jesus. The message, therefore, is clear: Jesus is the Lord for whom the voice prepares a way. And it is Jesus, God, who brings salvation.

 

Conclusion

 

Well, my friends, that’s brings us to the end of this episode of the Sunday Catholic Word. The readings for this upcoming 2^nd Sunday of Advent, Year C don’t sell us short when it comes to material that’s relevant for doing apologetics.

 

• The intercessory prayer of Paul gives us reason to think he would continue such intercessory prayer in heaven,
• Paul’s prayers for the Philippians to remain pure and blameless when they stand before Christ in judgment reveals Paul’s belief that we don’t have absolute certitude that we will receive our final salvation at judgment,
• Luke’s mention of historical figures of prominent rank provides us reason to think he intended to write a historical narrative subject to verification and falsification, and
• Luke’s application of Isaiah 40:3-6 to John the Baptist and Christ reveals his belief that Jesus was the God for whom the voice prepares a way.

 

As always, thank you for subscribing to the podcast. And please be sure to tell your friends about it and invite them to subscribe as well at sundaycatholicword.com. You might also want to check out the other great podcasts in our Catholic Answers podcast network: Trent Horn’s The Counsel of Trent, Joe Heschmeyer’s Shameless Popery, and Jimmy Akin’s A Daily Defense, and Tim Staples’ 1-on-1 with Tim, all of which can be found at catholic.com.

 

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I hope you have a blessed 2^nd Sunday of Advent, Year C. Until next time, God Bless!

 

 

 

^[i] Jerome, Against Vigilantius in St. Jerome: Letters and Select Works, vol. 6, eds. P. Schaff and H. Wace, trans. W. H. Fremantle, G. Lewis, and W.G. Martley (Christian Literature Company, 1893), 419.

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