NO GREATER LOVE: HIERARCHY IN THE CHURCH 

Before going more deeply into the teachings and activity of the Lord, Pope Benedict, in Jesus of Nazareth, first discusses the disciples of the Lord, and especially the Apostles. In all the stages of Jesus' activity that we have considered so far, it has become evident that Jesus is closely connected with the "we" of the new family that he gathers by his proclamation and his action. It has become evident that this "we" is in principle intended to be universal: It no longer rests on birth, but on communion with Jesus, who is himself God's living Torah. This "we" of the new family is not amorphous. Jesus calls an inner core of people specially chosen by him, who are to carry on his mission and give this family order and shape. That was why Jesus formed the group of the Twelve. The title "apostle" originally extended beyond this group but was later restricted more and more to the Twelve. In Luke, for example, who always speaks of the twelve Apostles, this word is practically synonymous with the Twelve. Yet, why did Jesus choose His Apostles rather than just let the Holy Spirit call up souls to follow Him? 

First, we need to realize that the early Church considered the Lord’s choosing of His Apostles to be extremely important. A listing of the Twelve Apostles is given four times in the New Testament, Mt 10:2-4, Mk 3:16-19, Lk 6:14-16, Acts 1:13. All four Gospels recount the Lord’s calling of one or more of the Apostles. John 17 gives us the Lord’s prayer for the Church. This prayer gives us insight into why He chose Apostles for a special task. Referring to the Apostles, He says “for I have given them the words which you gave me, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.” (Jn 17:8) First, the Lord had to make sure that His Apostles understood who He was and really believed it. They needed to know that He was not just a great prophet but something much more than that. The task of communicating to the world His Divinity was not initially given to everyone, but to them. “I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” (Jn 17:9) Later, the Lord says “I have given them your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the evil one.” (Jn 17:14-15) The Lord tells us that His Hierarchy is not to accommodate to the world but can expect opposition from the world. Next, the Lord tells us why we receive Him through His Hierarchy: “I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, for they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn 17:20-21) Thus, we learn the faith from His Hierarchy for the sake of unity. Disunity in the Church is a great scandal which fosters unbelief. 

The early Church still had to translate the Lord’s wishes into a concrete reality. St. Paul tells us what was happening in the Church even when he was still alive. “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it. And God has appointed in the Church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, then healers, helpers, administrators, speakers in various kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1 Cor 12:27-30) St. Paul tells us that even in his time there were different functions in the Church. The first in the Hierarchy was the apostles who were succeeded by the bishops when the original apostles died off. Some of the functions St. Paul lists are “higher” and some are “lower”, but all are important. 

St. Paul also tells us that the head of the Hierarchy is Jesus Christ. “He is the head of the body, the Church; He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.” (Col 1:18) Writing to the Jews and Gentiles of the Church in Ephesus and the surrounding areas, St. Paul tells us more about the Hierarchy and what it was supposed to accomplish. “for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built into it for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.” (Eph 2:18-22) The various functions in the Church are like a temple built upon Jesus Christ Himself.

Later in the same letter to the Ephesians, St. Paul tells us why the Church is a Hierarchy built on a foundation of the apostles with Christ as the Head. “And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ: so that we may no longer be children, tossed back and forth and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the cunning of men, by their craftiness in deceitful wiles. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every joint with which it is supplied, when each part is working properly, makes bodily growth and upbuilds itself in love.” (Eph 4:11-16) Here, St. Paul speaks about the implementation of the Lord’s wish for unity in the Church. The Hierarchy is needed to prevent everyone from being swept away by every “wind of doctrine”. Even many believers would wish that the Church would validate their own particular moral compromises. In addition, there are many teachers in the Church who would accommodate by their teaching what some people may want. However, since the Apostles were His Apostles and now the Hierarchy is His Hierarchy, this Hierarchy and ultimately the Pope are responsible to the Lord and no one else. Of course, the Hierarchy is human and can be unfaithful, but they bear a very special responsibility. Even the unfaithfulness of the Hierarchy cannot knock the Church off course since the Lord himself guaranteed that the “gates of Hell” (powers of death) would not prevail against “my Church”. (Mt 16:18) 

While the Lord wanted a Hierarchical Church, this does not mean that the laity is not important in the Church. After the apostles, St. Paul lists “prophets” as another function in the Church. If we define a prophet as one who is close to God and can speak for God, this function is very important in the Church. The first example of this in the early Church was Mary. She was very close to her Son for she bore Him. She must have been consulted by the Apostles very often while she was alive. Another example would be Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany. Both Mary and Martha speak in the Gospels, but Lazarus says nothing. When Lazarus dies, Jesus comes to his tomb. At the tomb St. John records that “Jesus wept”. (Jn 11:35) When the Jews see this, they observe “See how he loved him” (Jn 11:36) When Jesus was in Jerusalem, He must have often stayed at night in Bethany. Especially during the tense times before His crucifixion, Lazarus must have been a great friend and consolation to Jesus. In the last 2000 years there have been many people like Lazarus who, like Catherine of Siena, have conveyed His Will to the Hierarchy or have just been a consolation to Him by living in union and obedience to Him in a world that has largely rejected Him.

Why did the Lord choose twelve Apostles to be the core of His Hierarchy? The number certainly comes from the twelve tribes of Israel. The Church is meant to be the new Israel, but it was to go beyond Israel to be world-wide. In the book of Acts, we read how one of the disciples of the Lord, Matthias, was chosen to be an Apostle after the Apostle Judas had hanged himself. (Acts 1:12-26) Judas, who had been chosen by the Lord to be an Apostle, had to be replaced. Yet the other Apostles were not replaced in the same way. Their successors were not called Apostles. Even when the original twelve were still alive, they were being assisted by successors who were eventually called bishops. Of course, because of the international and world-wide nature of the Church, the bishops were many more than twelve and they were not called Apostles. The bishops became the Hierarchy of the Church assisted by priests and deacons. Yet one of the Apostles, Peter, who was the first Bishop of Rome, has had successors who are known right down to Pope Francis. The Pope is the core of the Lord’s Hierarchy and bears ultimate responsibility before the Lord to protect us from the “wolves” who would destroy us. As the Vicar of Christ, he surely needs our prayers. – Jim Nugent, CFP