“Now so it was that after three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and answers.” Luke 2:46-47
This text is picked for reference, for the case I’m bringing to the table. Jesus at such a tender age asked questions. Like most children do. Asking questions provides insight and understanding to relevant cases in life.
Our context is religion; and even though we practice hallowness of some degree, some things never made sense to me.
My father was catholic. And so we were introduced to rosaries and Mother Mary as an intercessor.
However, I got disturbed having not seen the rosary anywhere in the Bible. Yes! The Bible is our manual! — What’s with the beads? The repetitions of a specific line? These were red flags. Even for the sacraments made … holy communion was now for a specific category of people, which I don’t see in the Bible.
Over on mom’s Anglican side, holy communion is not permitted for the unmarried or widows! I didn’t get it! And yet Jesus told us to do take communion as so often as we could. If the clergy then prevent widows, they seem in some kind of way fighting a command Jesus left — as often as you can
What’s confirmation? All these boxes we blindly follow to tick. Traditions the denominations have constructed, which fall in the bracket of what Jesus said in Matthew 15:6; you make the commandment of God vain (or of non-effect) by your tradition.
I have seen the miracle of communion! I saw my sickle-cell-friend’s health improve in 3 days where previously it used to require 3 weeks. Now if we deprive men of that, won’t we be guilty before God? See how tradition has made His commandment of non-effect!
Back to the catholic roots: praying through Mary! Mary can’t intercede for you because she was a human like you. Her purpose was one! It wasn’t to hold your burden of sin. She’s probably chilling in heaven with the rest of the elders. The Bible calls out Jesus and the Holy Spirit as our intercessors before God! For it took God to save us; therefore, only God can can it take, to intercede for us. For Jesus is not a high priest that is unable to sympathize with us … Hebrews 4 tells us. His being tempted positioned Him to walk in the shoes of our humanity.
The flaw about Mary being an intercessor is; she is not THE judge. God however is 3 in one! If two thirds of Him plead for you to the other one third; it is a greater chance at a good adjudication from who all nations and all flesh shall stand before at the end of age. If we say Mary has already been judged, to eternal life — I doubt she’ll stay behind to weep for those that shall be crying out to her when her turn is done.
You know how the defendant has zero chances if a witness is absent!? Same applies here! Mary may be in the bliss already, unable to pull out your clean records!
But if the judge has had mercy on you, and by mercy I mean through His son Jesus, and He being present throughout the judgement, I see no reason as to why you must worry…
Many doctrines have stained Jesus’ words. And many of us follow blindly. Even for traditions that come up in pentecostal churches, one must have the leading of God’s word first, or His voice before execution. That is a live and dialogue relationship. Not a one-way one, as if God can’t talk back. Even the business of priests having to pray for commoners, it throws us back to the old testament ways. Not that one can’t pray with another; but if it becomes some sort of ordeal, that a priest has to be confessed to — to forgive your sins, it becomes nonsense. For the priest who is being confessed to, who shall he confess to?
Perhaps what has led to this is the notion that God can’t talk back. And so we think it is only the dead — the canonized saints that can whisper a word or two in His ear for us; forgetting that He is omnipresent!
Nevertheless … God wants us to run to Him personally! And in the wilderness of nothing, if you seek Him for forgiveness, He says you will find Him. The veil that separated Him from man was rent in twain, that you would not first wait for a priest to go in on your behalf. As humans, we are selfish, and so, if the priest is to go in for you, who will go in for him? It only makes sense that God Himself goes in for us to Himself, and resolve the matter Himself.
The stressing of your sin’s washing is such a dubious topic that even God decided to forgive you in advance that you could talk about other things! He said He chose to forget your sin! Even before you were born! Isaiah 43:25 states it! That He — one; blots your sin — not Mary, not the priest … and two; forgets your sin. He is the one Judge we all must fear and tremble before! Even Mary needed her own share of forgiveness. Having mothered one third of God didn’t exempt her from lying or envy or anger … So through some lens, she and you share some things in common.
Moving on, amidst pentecostal churches, I see some limit what I see in the Bible. Some have fully desisted the speaking of tongues behind the pulpit. So when one who does sees it not encouraged at the altar, they tend to cringe…
But I didn’t see it being discouraged in the Bible. It was only required to be done in order especially if interpretation was pertinent.
Or … if you have heard of this phenomenon, one can ask questions like, ‘why tongues?’ This will equip you better, than just randomly brushing off the entire matter as a whole. Seek this knowledge, lest you perish like God stated in Hosea.
I do hope this will be of help to you if you need it. And may God’s Spirit guide you to the answers that you seek!
Cheers!
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