By Dr. Greg Cochran, ICC Fellow

Protestants and Roman Catholics have coexisted in various degrees of bellicose relations for more than five centuries. From the Thirty Years War of the 17th century to the infamous Bloody Sunday of the 20th century, Catholics and Protestants have at times been at literal war with one another. More routinely, the combative relationship involves debates, arguments, and, occasionally, jokes, like this one:  

Jesus stops the stoning of the woman caught in adultery by declaring, “Let the one without sin cast the first stone.” Rising up to escort the woman away, he is startled by a stone striking the woman just above her left temple. He quickly turned to the crowd and demanded, “Who threw this stone?” But before anyone could take responsibility for the action, he recognized the source of the stone and said, “Mom, what are you doing here?”   

What makes this Protestant poke work is, of course, the not-so-subtle jab at the Roman Catholic doctrine of the sinlessness of Mary. Protestants and Catholics disagree on several aspects of the veneration of Mary, including her divine motherhood (Theotokos), perpetual virginity, immaculate conception, and assumption into heaven. More recently, debates regarding the role of Mary in Christ’s redemption have further perpetuated the pugilistic relations.   

While the debates are substantial (affecting the gospel itself) and ongoing, they also (perhaps ironically) underscore a kind of non-adversarial relationship between Protestants and Catholics — a kind of unity, if we are bold enough to use the term. Protestants and Roman Catholics alike believe that Mary is someone worth fighting about. Both groups accept the historicity of Jesus and Mary, the reliability of the New Testament accounts, and the theological necessity of the virgin birth. These affirmations unite these disparate groups in distinction from the majority of people on earth who either do not know or do not accept the biblical account of Jesus and Mary.   

Once Christians dig into the root-level concepts of Scripture, the Marian dialog also reveals a more substantial aspect of unity. The miraculous involvement of Mary in Christ’s incarnation spotlights God’s grace and his insistence that human beings are invited by him to participate in his redemptive work. 

Catholics and Protestants agree: God from heaven came to Mary on the earth and graced her to participate in the Incarnation of Christ. This unity of Protestants and Catholics separates each group from the non-believing world. This unity of faith against the separation from unbelievers leads to persecution against both Catholics and Protestants around the world. Persecution can unite Christians and Roman Catholics.   

Beyond the disagreements, looking at the biblical portrait of Mary reveals two core Christian beliefs — God’s grace and God’s design for believers to participate. These beliefs are shared by Catholics and Protestants alike. These two root-level truths empower Christian giving to the persecuted church (as will be demonstrated below). First, notice the two truths in this passage:   

“And [Gabriel] came to her and said, ‘Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!’ But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be. And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God” (Luke 1:28-30, ESV).  

Notice how plainly the messenger shares with Mary that she is favored. The root words used for favor in this passage derive from the Greek term for “grace.” Grace, of course, originates with God. Mary is favored in that God has come to her and graced her with a monumental opportunity. The grace (favor) God bestowed on her set her up to participate in the amazing work of redemption being accomplished through Christ, the child she would bear and nurture. Mary’s physical reception of the Christ child in utero became something of a paradigm for later followers who would spiritually receive Christ. Like Mary, those who received Christ would receive him by grace. And that grace would persist to empower participation in his redemptive work.  

These same two root-level truths — receiving grace and being offered an empowered participation — guided the earliest collection of the Christian church. In fact, Paul highlights these two truths in the Corinthian correspondence to provoke the Corinthians to participate in the offering for saints suffering in Jerusalem. Notice Paul’s persuasive argument in 2 Corinthians 8:1-4:   

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints …”  

Paul made grace and participation so obvious in his appeal to the Corinthians that they could only have missed his point by ignoring him altogether. He challenged the Corinthians by noting how God “graced” the Macedonians to participate. The appeal must have connected with the Corinthian congregation. Would they dismiss or refuse God’s grace? Moreover, if they received God’s grace, they would naturally follow up that receiving of grace with participating in God’s work. In this case, this participation meant joining the collection for saints suffering in Jerusalem.   

Grace and participation work together like a transmission works with the shifter in the console of a car. Once the car shifts to drive, the transmission fully engages to move forward. Shifting into drive makes little sense if the plan is to sit still. Likewise, receiving God’s grace makes little sense if there is no expectation to participate in his mission of giving.  

The churches of Macedonia not only understood this dynamic, but they also hungered mightily for the privilege of living it out. Paul says of them that they “begged earnestly” for the favor (grace) of taking part in the offering. Note how tightly grace and participation fueled the Macedonian zeal. These churches begged for God’s grace so they could take part (participate) in the offering to help those suffering in Jerusalem.   

Many lessons can be learned from a thorough study of 2 Corinthians 8-9 regarding this special collection for suffering saints, but the two core ingredients in Paul’s appeal — grace and participation — signal a consistent theme in the New Testament. Christ comes to believers by the grace of God, and the grace of God leads to participation in the work of God.  

Paul’s point in these chapters on giving makes it clear that the churches that receive God’s grace (favor) also participate in providing relief for God’s people in need. Some congregations seek and receive God’s favor. Those congregations — like the churches of Macedonia — participate in helping the suffering saints in Jerusalem. These churches might be called “favored fellowships.” Receiving God’s favor, they get the joy of participating in God’s work. By power of implication, Paul directly challenges the Corinthians to be a favored fellowship, to receive God’s grace that drives them to give to suffering believers.  

Again, by implication, this same challenge speaks to churches throughout the world. Each of us might ask, “Is my congregation a favored fellowship? Has my church received God’s grace?” If so, then participating in offerings for suffering saints should naturally follow. Grace and participation go together. God’s grace drives our caring for the needs of Christians who are suffering — especially those suffering directly because of their connection to Jesus Christ.  

Fellowships of Protestant and Catholic convictions ought to share the basic conviction that if we are Christians, we bear the great name of Christ by God’s grace alone. And the grace that so privileges us with the name of Christ remains the grace that begs us to participate in God’s love for his family.  

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