'The rich man replied, "Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to my father's house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not come to this place of torment too". "They have Moses and the prophets," said Abraham "let them listen to them.". "Ah no, father Abraham," said the rich man "but if someone comes to them from the dead, they will repent." Then Abraham said to him, "If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead".'At a recent confirmation dinner, a group of us clergy were discussing various discredited or dubious visionaries and the way so many people (even priests & bishops) who should know better are taken in by them. It's natural to look for extraordinary signs to confirm or strengthen our faith, and indeed, the Church has a long enough list of authentic visionaries and mystics that we can't just assume that these phenomena are always fraudulent or inauthentic. However, I think the parable of Lazarus and Dives serves to warn us that God's Revelation is essentially public.
Abraham insists on the sufficiency of the Law and Prophets - the scriptures known and revered by the Chosen People teach God's commandments with sufficient clarity to let Dives's brothers know their obligations. If their hearts are hardened against God's Word, then even the wonder of a risen Lazarus won't change things.
Implicit in that, is, I think, the idea that God had made known all that was necessary in a very public way and there would be something deficient about a faith based on the terrifying wonder of the ghostly warning of one who was dead.
One of the earliest challenges faced by the Church was the rise of Gnosticism - a mystical sort of teaching which claimed that there was a deeper and higher knowledge beyond the Gospels that could only be understood as one progressed spiritually. In facing down this teaching, the 2nd century bishop, St Irenaeus of Lyons insisted on the public nature of revelation - Christ taught openly, the Apostles taught openly and the truth of the Church's proclamation is seen in the way in which the different Apostolic Churches openly proclaim the one and the same Gospel in harmony with each other, whereas the furtive and elaborate teachings of the differing gnostic sects are in contradiction with each other and in contrast to the manner in which Christ and His Apostles taught.
Bringing things up to the present day, with the different schisms and disagreements in Christianity, the whole idea of the harmonious and public proclamation of the Gospel might not be as convincing an argument as to the truth or credibility of the faith. One has to do a bit of spadework to see how the Catholic Church preserves the Apostolic Faith in a way that the Orthodox Churches and protestant denominations don't. However, the principle of the essential nature of Revelation being Public casts an interesting light on a number of areas of Church life.
As a Church, we should be very clear that we have no hidden agenda or secret motive in what we do. All our aims and intentions are to be found in what we teach. Our only task is to live according to the Gospel we have received and to bring others to that same saving knowledge and lifestyle. What is more, NOTHING about that knowledge or lifestyle is secret. There's no secret technique for nirvana, there's no hidden knowledge about Christ or the Church that is only revealed to an inner elite. All that we believe is public knowledge, and any claim by anyone within the Church to have secret knowledge is a denial of the public teaching of Christ, the Apostles and their successors.
Certainly, one doesn't deny that as one grows in the knowledge of the faith, one receives new insights. Likewise, a life of prayer brings a deepening knowledge and intimacy with God. However, none of this, strictly speaking, is truly a secret knowledge in the sense of being an understanding or teaching that is different from that publicly professed by the Church.
I think that also puts a certain duty and responsibility on Christian teachers, lay and ordained. We need to be upfront about what the Church teaches and diligent in passing on a full and thorough understanding of the faith. Certainly we need to have 'pastoral instincts' in our manner of teaching - but when these 'pastoral instincts' lead us to obfuscate or obscure the teaching of the Church, then we're failing in that duty to pass on what we have received and we're being fundamentally untrue to that same Gospel.
We need also to be aware that we should be seen to be people of integrity. If we fudge things or act evasively, then we're not being faithful to the One who is Truth Himself. Our behaviour needs to reflect His charity and His integrity.
When I meet the parents of children who are being prepared for the sacraments, I like to make a point of explaining that their children come into contact with so many different competing world views - what they see on TV, what's pushed at them by advertisers, what they pick up from other youngsters and the adults they come into contact with them. The Church has an agenda for their children as well, but almost uniquely, we're totally upfront about what it is. We want to help children and parents alike to come to know Jesus Christ and His Gospel and to live their lives in following Him as best they can. And there's nothing hidden or concealed about that agenda. It's perfectly public, there's no ulterior motive and we're totally transparent about our intentions.
Finally, it's important to remember this public nature of Revelation when dealing with the plethora of visionaries, messages and private revelations that are out there. I won't deny that some of them have been found to be genuine and that God's grace can and does work through them for many people. However, no matter how personally helpful or authentic they may be, they are essentially secondary when compared to the public proclamation of Christ's Gospel by the Church. Christ wants to speak to all nations through His Church, and we should be especially sceptical about any small group or clique that claims to have an 'ínside track' in terms of our salvation. Putting too much interest on a particular devotion as being the way to be saved or constantly chasing after signs, wonders and special messages run the distinct danger of distracting us from the utterly sufficient and complete Revelation given to the world by Christ through His Church.
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