There is no salvation
through anyone else,nor is there any other name under heaven
given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
As Didi and Gogo wait for
Godot, Didi proposes they discuss “our savior” and why the gospels have
differing accounts of his crucifixion. This conversation, he says, might pass the time. Concerning the two thieves, “one is
supposed to have been saved and the other… (he searches for the contrary of saved) … damned.”
Gogo asks, “Saved from
what?”
Didi: “Hell.”
Gogo is not interested. He
finds the topic intensely boring; it’s even worse than the idleness of their
fruitless, endless wait.
Occasionally in the play Waiting
for Godot by Samuel Beckett, Didi will attempt to launch a serious
conversation about meaning. He finds it extremely difficult to speak because he
has no religious training and little knowledge of western philosophy. He knows neither the words nor their meaning. Where does one begin to discuss God without knowledge of words and ideas?
His only
companion is not the least interested. He can only complain about the stones in
his shoes and his physical aches and pains – and the waiting. Periodically Gogo
wants to leave but Didi reminds him they have nowhere to go. They have only a
vague hope of some direction, labor or assistance from “Godot.” They must wait
for his arrival.
When Saint Peter announced
to the people of Jerusalem that Jesus is “our savior” they at least knew they
needed salvation. If they differed about what that might be they knew it had to
come from God. They could neither escape nor overcome the four horsemen of conquest,
war, famine, and death.
After two devastating
world wars in which all four horsemen repeatedly slew millions of soldiers and civilians alike, many thoughtful Europeans despaired of God’s intervention. They also wearied of the Church’s harangue
that they should only get in the boat, pay, pray and shut up. The wise men of
the Church seemed as clueless as everyone else.
Sixty years later we
have made some progress, in that some within the Church acknowledge the
problem. We have not yet answered Gogo’s question, “Saved from what?”
Last week I listened to
NPR’s Science Friday and a discussion about God’s existence. A scientist – who might
be Didi -- insists that science cannot determine whether God exists. The Science
Friday website witnessed some angry rebuttal from Gogo-like listeners. They seemed
upset that the question should be raised on their radio program. The topic
was as welcome as a pork chop at a bar mitzvah, and it seemed to offend the
same religious sensibility. “How dare they…?”
Those who celebrate Easter
and the Lord’s resurrection have a sense of what salvation means. It comes to
us from the Holy Spirit and within the liturgies of Baptism and the Sacraments.
It comes to us in prayer and song. We have known the need for deliverance in
our self-centeredness; occasionally we have been relieved of resentments, greed, lust
and other vices. No freedom is ever final but we know its reality. Because it
is not final we rely on the Lord day by day, and are grateful for that.
Anchored in prayer and
the Church we believe “There is no salvation through anyone else, nor is there any
other name under heaven given to the human race by which we are to be saved.”
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.