I know it is not everyone’s cup of tea, but I do so enjoy an ol’ fashioned fire and brimstone sermon.
Week before last we had a visiting priest to our parish. I didn’t catch his name because we had several children with only one shoe and thus we were a minute or two late and didn’t hear the introductions. This, unfortunately, is not an uncommon occurrence. Anyway, we stood in the narthex because the baby was cranky and we were late. The narthex is windowed with speakers so you don’t miss anything there.
Anyway, I didn’t catch Father’s name but he told us that he was eighty years old. By the sound of his voice, I think he probably grew up in Ireland but had been in the States most of his life, his brogue only detectable on a few words. Father may have lost most of the sound of the ol’ country but he was most certainly still old school.
This mostly bald eighty year old man had a booming voice and knew how to use it. Throughout his 30 minute sermon he shook the rafters more than once. I am a fan of the speaking style that uses a judicious amount of yelling surrounded by almost whispering. I think it is a very effective technique that is widely ingored in favor of the card reading monotone of many parish priests.
This eighty year old priest did not need cards, he knew what he wanted to say. He talked about things you hardly ever hear about anymore. For instance Hell. Demons. Yes, you read that right.
Father was talking about the nature of sin and what it does to us and what it means to us. The beginning was a rather typical dissertation on sin when he moved on to mortal sin. Softly, he explained how mortal sin, by our own choice, cuts us off from God. Almost in a whisper, he reminded that God longs for us to return to Him and be reconciled with Him. But if we don’t “WE WILL SPEND AN ETERNITY IN HELL. ETERNITY! BEING TORTURED BY DEMONS. YES, DEMONS! I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP! THIS IS WHAT THE SCRIPTURES SAY. THIS IS WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES. HELL IS REAL AND IT IS FOREVER!” Then Father returned to a near whisper, “But this is not what God wants.”
Being in the narthex, I had a perfect view of the congregation. More than one person jumped when Father bellowed these words and many people were looking at each other surprised but what just happened. So accustomed to the sing songy and spiritless fare, they were rocked by Father’s approach..
Father continued. He spoke of Jesus’ passion and the tortures that he endured even prior to the crucifixion. With great detail that evidenced the long hours Father must have spent in contemplation of the Lord’s suffering, he conveyed with great tenderness the sufferings he endured. The beatings. The Mocking. The Crowning with thorns. Softly Father said, “In mockery of the title King of the Jews, a crown of thorns was placed upon his head. Do you know who placed this painful crown upon the head of our Lord? WE DID! WITH EVERY SIN THAT WE COMMIT WE DUG THOSE THORNS DEEPER AND DEEPER! OH HOW OUR LORD SUFFERED BECAUSE OF ME! BECAUSE OF YOU! DO YOU EVER THINK ABOUT IT? DO YOU? I DID THIS TO JESUS! YOU DID THIS TO JESUS!” and back to a whisper “but He forgives us” and almost near tears, “He forgives us…”
This time I looked at the congregation from my window on the nave, but they didn’t look at each other. This time they looked down. Heads hung. It was clear to me that many people were really thinking about it. I know I was. Really thinking. Contemplating our sins.
As we walked back to the car I said to my wife, “Gimme that ol’ time religion — any day.”
April 1, 2009 at 11:00 pm
I certainly agree that to abandon the notion of hell completely is not a good thing to do. But fear of hell should be understood to be less good than love of heaven… this is how we get get the notion of perfect contrition, where I fear the pains of hell, but am more concerned about offending God who is all good and worthy of all my love. It is the love that leads to perfect contrition. Imperfect contrition is fine… but perfect contrition is better. I would think that preaching about hell is fine, but preaching about heaven is better.
April 2, 2009 at 1:46 am
“Shaming and scaring people into obedience is exactly what caused the previous generation to leave the Church.”
I agree with you, but not for the reasons you think. The generation that left the Church found and/or invented a lot of places that accepted them completely and wholeheartedly, sin and all. The previous generation brought swingers’ clubs into public light and embraced the “right” to an abortion. Of course they’d run from even a whiff of odor about their behavior.
They’d also run from the Bible, though. I mean, stay away from Revelation with its “I am He who searches the minds and hearts” and admonitions to repent. Possibly skip Jude, too, especially Jude 1:4which warns of “persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness”. Hmm, that ALMOST sounds like condemnation of some sort. Like Christians shouldn’t be do more than act like Our Lord’s sacrifice was a Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card.
But no. That’s Old Style. Now everyone feels free to leave after Communion or not show up for several months; it doesn’t matter. As a randy old sinner once sang, “Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus, God Almighty, what a Pal!” He totally understands if we skip out on Super Bowl Sunday. After all, we are good people. God loves us. That whole “separate wheat from the tares” and “deny oneself and take up one’s cross” stuff doesn’t apply to us; we are basically good people, blah blah blah.
April 2, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Aquinas said “Beauty” is the attractive power of the Truth, that which is not only true, but so compelling as to make people be drawn to it. There is a truth about hell, but the truth about heaven is much more compelling. I would much rather be drawn to the beauty of heaven than scared by the ugliness of hell. Perhaps there are some who need the fear to get motivated, but that would be a “tough love” situation and not the norm.
April 2, 2009 at 7:22 pm
"I DID THIS TO JESUS!"
I remember thinking & feeling precisely this thing during the film "The Passion of the Christ" during the nailing of Jesus to the cross. Each fall of the mallet I saw as one of my sins being driven into his hand and each drop of blood I saw as that sin falling away into nothingness. It was a powerful, powerful moment of realization for me as a Christian. (I come close to tears just thinking on it) Yes, perhaps screaming "you killed Jesus!" at people isn't a great approach to say the least, but that internal realization that it was MY SINS, MY DISOBEDIENCE, AND MY LACK OF LOVE that did this is something I think all of us need to face in our journey with Christ.
-Chris M
April 2, 2009 at 9:57 pm
Anonymous wrote: “I would much rather be drawn to the beauty of heaven than scared by the ugliness of hell.”
Why not both? They’re both Truth. It’s better to know both “waiting in joyful hope” and “Momento mori”.
Several of the saints had visions of Hell sent to them, including St. Faustina and St. John Bosco. I particularly recall St. Teresa of Avila, who was shown where her “small” sins would lead. And these were some joyful saints, when you read about their lives.
Psalm 111 instructs us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth for ever.”
April 3, 2009 at 2:38 am
Ironically I heard a retired Irish priest in Long Beach preach that we have moved into the new covenant and that sin was no more. No more need for confession. Had to properly catechize my kids on the way home.
April 3, 2009 at 8:47 pm
who thought that you should leave church feeling lifted up and that Fr. So and So’s homilies didn’t do that.
Amy,
You could remind this person that at the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus left feeling “lifted up”.