Selling Indulgences and Buying Ministry

Allow me to set the stage.

Sin brings punishment (actually sin is its own punishment). Jesus Christ paid the ultimate price for our sins, and gave us the grace of forgiveness. In doing penitential acts like fasting, prayer and almsgiving, we unite our sufferings to the suffering of Christ, and therefore “in [our] flesh [we are] filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ…” (Colossians 1:24). Christ’s suffering was complete to win us salvation. I cannot receive the grace from this sacrifice of his suffering, however, if I am not united to it. What is lacking in the suffering of Christ is my union with him. Sin breaks that union. Penance is an act in which we ask that our unity with him be restored. In Catholic teaching, “indulgence” is the word that we use to designate the grace that I receive from doing an act of penance. An “indulgence” is a fancy word for the grace of forgiveness that I receive when I have done penance for my sin. Penance can take many forms.

St. Paul describes that within the unity of the Church, when one member suffers, the entire body suffers with it, and when one is honored, the whole body is honored (1 Corinthians 12:26). There is a sharing of grace and suffering. This means that one member of the Church can do penance for another. This does not exonerate another from doing his or her own penitential act of prayer, fasting or almsgiving. If I sin, I have to ask for forgiveness. It is a recognition, however, that we can benefit from others’ prayers. We all share in the suffering of one member’s sin, so we can all share in the honor of one member’s penance.

Ok. So penance is my way of asking Jesus to bring me back into unity with him, thereby washing away (the indulgence) the punishment of sin, which is the disunion my sin created.

In the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, such acts of penance were done by different means, like participating in building a church, making a pilgrimage to a holy site, or fasting. When one performed a penitential act of fasting or prayer or almsgiving, the grace of reunion with the Lord was recognized. So how did it come about that indulgences, that grace of reunion, were sold?

There was this thing that was becoming widespread during this period of history called money. Prior to this period of history, most commerce was done through a barter system. If I wanted my hut’s roof thatched, I would barter my trade, perhaps metal working, with a thatcher, and we would trade our labor. With the advent of money, goods and services were no longer bartered. This affected almsgiving, as well. In the Middle Ages, almsgiving was not necessarily the giving of money. Usually when people brought their tithe to Church or gave to the poor, they gave produce or livestock. Perhaps a metal worker would make a plow and donate the plow to the local monastery so the monks could work the land to raise their own crops. A thatcher could donate the material and work of putting a roof on a church building or parsonage. With the increase of money, people could pay for goods and services. Money began to equal the good or service for which a person paid. A certain amount of money equaled a certain amount of goods. A certain amount of money equaled a certain amount of labor.

So this is where indulgences got twisted. If I’m a rich man in 14th century Europe and I commit a sin, I don’t need to do the act of penance myself. I can pay someone else to do it for me. I’m not necessarily doing the act of penance, but because of the unity within the Church, I can benefit from another doing it. The act is being done, the benefit of the grace is received. My money equaled the other’s act, so I “bought the indulgence”.

That’s why you would often see things like a “180 day indulgence.” That did not mean that if I paid the amount, I got 180 days off my “sentence of punishment” (which is what it came to mean over time). 180 days indulgence meant that I paid the amount to have someone do the act, work on a Cathedral, go on a pilgrimage, fast, for 180 days. Then, because money equaled labor, I got the grace as if I had done it.

Like I said, the concept of doing penance as a means of asking to be reunited to Christ got twisted with the advent of money. Little known to most people, the Church had taken steps to correct these practices in the Council of Toledo nearly 40 years prior to Martin Luther nailing his complaints to the cathedral door. The corrections had not spread to the areas of Germany, northern France, nor the Netherlands yet.

So that’s how the selling of indulgences became a practice. Money equaled action, and so by paying the money, I didn’t actually have to do the act.

How is this related as I suggest in the title to “Buying Our Ministries”? I think we can begin to fall into the same trap as those in the Middle Ages. There are many services out there of which we as Christians can be a part. These services need monetary donations, no doubt. These services need, just as much, volunteers to work in them. It can be a very easy thing to throw money at these services and call it a “ministry.” I think this is done in good conscience. I don’t think anyone is trying to get out of ministry. As a matter of fact, I think it is because we are overcommitted that we begin to supplant ministry with money.

This is the way I see it happening:

Christian (that’s the name of our hypothetical and faith-filled friend) has a family, and of course this is his first commitment to ministry. Working to feed his children, provide a roof over their head, and kissing their boo-boos, is as much feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and comforting the afflicted as working in a soup kitchen. On top of this, he has a job. He goes to his home Church at least 2 times per week, and belongs to a prayer group because he knows that this small group of fellowship is also necessary for his spiritual growth. He volunteers to help with parish activities like chili suppers, pancake breakfasts, and other activities that come up. He’s thinking about a run for the church council position that’s opening up later this year. He also goes to the prison once a month to help his pastor with services. He’s involved.

So when Christian’s approached about volunteering once a month at the local food pantry or homeless shelter, he realizes he just doesn’t have time. Christian decides instead, that he’s going to donate $100.00 and let that be it. What’s the problem here? I don’t think there is one, until Christian begins to think donating the Franklin equals doing ministry. What Christian is doing is offering a tithe in almsgiving, which is also a penitential act. But it’s not ministry. Tithing and almsgiving are necessary; we are called to do them by our Lord. Tithing and almsgiving are not ministry.

This is the catch. It’s very easy to become complacent in our Christian lives. It’s very easy to say, “I’m too busy to volunteer at…” It’s very easy to think, “Someone else will shovel the snow out of my elderly neighbor’s driveway.” It’s also very easy to say, “I gave $100.00 to the Samaritan Center.” Jesus didn’t call us to do what’s easy. Jesus didn’t call us to stay in our comfort zone. Donating $100.00 to the local soup kitchen is necessary. It’s a tithe, an act of almsgiving, and goodness knows they need it. It’s not the same thing as pouring a bowl of soup while looking into a homeless man’s eyes. Giving money to St. Jude Children’s Hospital is necessary for our spiritual benefit (tithing) and for their work. It’s not the same thing as volunteering at the hospital to visit the sick or a local nursing home to visit an elderly person who has no one else who visits.

It’s important that we not begin to think that we can “do ministry” by offering a donation. Let’s keep that line clear. Both are necessary. We are called to tithe. We are called to give alms so that others can have food, clothing, shelter, medical care. We are also called to get out of our comfort zones so that we can be the one who feeds, shelters, clothes, and comforts our Lord in the least of these, his brothers.