If I But Call Your Name
I was received into the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church last Saturday evening. It has been a long and trying road. I started out as a devout Calvinist, which is a fancy way of saying that I was as anti-Catholic as you can be. I set out to prove that Catholicism is false, and that it is a perverted version of Christianity. I studied in depth not only the New Testament, but a good bit of the first five centuries of Christian writers. I found that John ch. 3, 2 Peter, Mark 16:16, and Acts 2 supported the Catholic position on Baptism. Almost everything Jesus taught completely shot down the doctrine of salvation by mere faith alone. As did James chapter 2. I found that the Church in Acts was totally hierarchical. 1 and 2 Timothy taught about apostolic succession being a necessity of the faith. In fact, Paul teaches in 1Timothy 3:15 that the Church is the household of the living God, and it is the pillar and foundation of the truth. The Church is where we go to decide the fullness of truth, not just the Bible alone. And the Bible teaches that!
I fell in love with the mystery of the sacraments, the lives of the saints, the kneeling, the veneration of icons, the sign of the cross, and especially the incense. All of these aspects bring all of our five senses into the act of worshiping God. I was glad to finally find a Church where Jesus was present in the Eucharist; I did not have to conjure up the presence of God through emotional or technological euphoria or entertainment. Oh, and the Catholic interpretation of Holy Communion being Christ's actual Body and Blood comes straight from John chapter 6 and Luke 22. I encourage you to study those passages of scripture closely. All of the early Christian writers were Catholics! I found out that absolutely no Christian theologian or writer ever taught the things that Martin Luther or John Calvin taught, they actually taught just the opposite 9 times out of 10.
In March, I was welcomed as one of the elect by Bishop Daniel Thomas. At that rite of election, we sang a hymn entitled "The Summons." I will leave you with the lyrics of that hymn to meditate upon. I, a former anti-Catholic, am now discerning the possibility of becoming a Catholic priest. These words ring true for me, and I hope they will for you as well:
1. "Will you come and follow Me if I but call your name? Will you go where you don't know and never be the same? Will you let My love be shown? Will you let My name be known, will you let My life be grown in you and you in Me? 2. Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name? Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same? Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare? Will you let Me answer prayer in you and you in Me? 3. Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name? Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same? Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen, and admit to what I mean in you and you in Me? 4. Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name? Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same? Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around, through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in Me? 5. Lord, Your summons echoes true when You but call my name. Let me turn and follow You and never be the same. In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show. Thus I'll move and live and grow in You and You in me."
Song: "The Summons" Lyrics by John L. Bell
