AGE AND TIME have no effect on truth

The former Pope Benedict the sixteenth has died. He served as the 265th pope from 2005 to 2013. After years of illness, he closed his eyes for the last time on December 31st, 2022, at the age of 95. When he renounced his title due to health issues in 2013, it deeply affected the Catholic world. A papal abdication is a highly unusual event, and the latest other example of a pope renouncing his position before his death is 700 years back.

Chosen

700 years is a long time, but the existence of popes goes back way further. In the Catholic church the Apostle Peter was the first pope. Among the twelve apostles, Jesus singled out Peter for a special task: “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church (…) I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.” (The Gospel of Matthew, chapter 19, verse 18-19). Peter was the leader of the apostles, and Jesus gave him a special responsibility in the process of building and upholding the Christian Church. When Peter was crucified in 61 AD, he was the leader of the Roman church. Therefore, it is always Peter’s successor as bishop of Rome who is also the head of the Catholic Church. In the crypt beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome you can see the place where the Apostle Peter is buried. There is no final proof, but the evidence suggests that it is actually him.

Stay grounded

Sometimes, the Christian faith can become so exalted and “spiritual” that we tend to forget that its foundation is in fact very down to earth and rooted in history. Although they lived long ago, Jesus and his apostles were real people. When Benedict the 16th abdicated, it reminded us that age and time does not make a fundamental truth untrue or irrelevant.

Jesus is a historical figure, and the things we know about Jesus from Scripture are historically accurate. The British writer C.S. Lewis says that Christians tend to make God so spiritual that he loses contact with reality. They thank God for all things spiritual but forget to thank him for more palpable things like a fresh morning wind, a delicious meal, or an intimate conversation with a friend.

Believing in a living God

As a Christian, I don’t believe in a detached and distant God. No, I believe in the real God. When I fold my hands and pray to Jesus, I’m not just speaking to my bedroom walls. My words reach the ears and heart of Jesus – and I mean that literally.

At the beginning of time, God created Heaven and Earth, humans, animals, and everything that surrounds us. He created the oceans. This is historically true. It really happened. 700 years, 2000 years, time does not change the truth.

So, what does all this mean to us? I find it almost obvious! The Christian faith is a safe and firm foundation on which you can build your life. Everything Jesus teaches us is true, which means that our brief lives on Earth are connected to a much larger picture, and that we belong with God, also when the day comes where we must follow in the path of Pope Benedict the 16th. •