Intercession of Saints - My View!

 The topic ‘Intercession of Saints’ has received much importance in all Christian sects on different basis. Apostolic Churches proclaim its need whereas the newly emerged Protestant Churches reject it, and consider it as a misinterpretation of the Bible. Being in the midst of these different theories, all of them being emerged from the Bible, an average believer in an Apostolic Tradition might question its need. The protestant theories have great influence in questioning the belief in intercession. This influence is often watered by the extreme actions of some Apostolic Churches and believers, on occasions of intercession prayers, when they go beyond Biblical basis.  Let us briefly analyze the reasons which trigger the thought that intercessions of saints are wrong. 

1. Misunderstanding about the real idea: Many are concerned that the intercession of saints might take us away from the importance we have to give to Christ and to God. We are not praying to the saints, but asking them to pray with us in our prayers together. 

 2. We often wonder for its need, and arise many questions like, do we need their prayers?

 3. We doubt, can they hear and pray? This do not seem logical to our limited intellects.

  These are the primary reasons which I can think of which actually leads to the Bible verses which are explained as in rejection to intercession. Before analyzing these reasons, I guess we need to go a little further in to understanding Church, the Body of Christ. 

Oneness in Christ

St. Paul has described the Church as the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ in his epistles. Church being the group of people, who has their names written in the Book of Life, and not in the register of their respective denominations. In this Church, each person with his/her name written in the Book of Life, they all have an active part in the Body of Christ in keeping it alive. God, due to His abundant love, requires the whole creation to be saved, but unfortunately, the devil has influence over many millions which distract them from the path of God. God invited all, many came, but only a few were ready. These few are what really comprise the Body of Christ. 

What does this really means, to be the Body of Christ? "Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf." (1 Cor 10: 17). By part-taking in the Holy Eucharist, in which the Bread and Wine, the efforts of humans, are transformed in to the Body and Blood of Christ, providing us with eternal life, for all who participates with righteousness. Christ prayed, "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one: I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me." (John 17: 20-23). The purpose of creation of humans was to share the love God had in the trinity. God proved the same while giving His son to the world to die for our sins. And, due to the same reason, WE (not I) are called to be ONE in Christ, as the triune God is one. “And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Eph 2: 22). The body of Christ said above is ONE is Christ, and we are called to praise Him together, with unity. In this ONENESS, we retain our differences too as individuals. In this same oneness, we can fulfill the commandment, "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mat 5: 48). We are called to be saints (Rom 1: 7).

The grace of salvation is given to the humans to become one with God. Salvation is a grace fromGod(Rom 4), and we on the passage of time, renew it by our works (James 2: 14 - 26),

thereby growing in Christ, step by step, climbing the Ladder of Divine Ascent, to attain the Oneness mentioned above. Therefore, we have to understand that salvation is not a One minute process, but it is a journey. In Christ, we see the light, and then we travel towards the light. This journey starts at the time when we are baptized, when we are unified in the death and resurrection of Christ (Col 2: 12, Romans 6). Death and evil forces has no power over us once we are unified with Christ. Thus we are saved, and is given the responsibility to continue in His grace, and to grow to reach perfection. Protestants often ask "Are you saved?" and many get confused. My answer is, "I am saved and is in the process of salvation, salvation being a process which should happen in every minute part of our life." Humanities concern should be in extending its efforts on meaningfully using the future to make the past worthy in such a way that each minute part of it counts on its journey towards unifying with the divine.

Let us summarize the above paragraphs.

1. The Church is the Body of Christ.
2. The Church is in Oneness with Christ.
3. The Church is called to be saints and to be perfect as the Father.
4. Salvation is a grace from God, and an ongoing process which enables us to attain unity with the divine. In this context, let us analyze the topic.

Who are the saints?

Whom does the church call as saints? Saints are those who reflected the life and love of Christ in their own lives, in loving God and in loving the Creation. We are called to do the same by being witnesses of Christ in this world. We should radiate the love which we receive from God through prayer, to the world. We glorify God through following the words of Christ. We consider those people who have radiated the love of Christ in their worldly lives as righteous. We identify them with these verses in Mathew chapter 5:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

The apostles, the martyrs, all are witnesses of Christ, through whom we were able to hear the word of God. St. Paul said, "Since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Heb 12: 1). These witnesses have experienced God before we did, and they have traveled their journey through the "narrow gate" because "small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it." (Mat 7: 13, 14). These witnesses are not among THEM but among US. “And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Eph 3: 17 – 19). We are part of the same group. As we love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we do have to identify the departed faithful as the same Body of Christ and has to love them and respect them too. Once this attitude is created, saints are no longer a group of people who distracts our focus from God, but a group that guides us and leads us in our way towards God. 

Concerns

 Now, we can analyze the concerns in intercession of saints:

 1. Christ and the saints.

A primary concern of many on intercession is that it might or will deteriorate the importance of Christ.  This should be considered only as a misunderstanding. The prayers of the saints are in the same way as ours and are focused on Christ. It is not the saints who give us the blessings, but Christ. And, are we excluding Christ while asking the saints to pray for us? This, of course, is the first point brought up against intercession of saints. How does intercession of saints really work?

 St. Paul says, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2: 5). The cross of Christ has served as a bridge over the river of sin taking us to God in holiness. And, only through this cross, we will reach our Father in heaven. The prayers in His name will be answered by the Father. “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” (John 14: 13). “I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.” (John 16: 23). “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (Col 3: 17). Christ is the nucleus of Christianity.

 While asking the saints to pray for us, we are not bringing the saints to the position of a mediator. We do not pray to the saints. And we do not ask the saints to give us blessings, but we ask them to pray for us with us. Rather, we are only asking for oneness in prayer, a collective effort together, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Church, from the early centuries, is very clear about the position of Christ and the Saints. We cry to our Lord saying, "Have mercy on me". On the other hand, we ask the saints, "Pray for us". The whole body of Christ is depended on each other, and therefore we seek prayers of others. We ask our physically living brethren to pray for us too. The word 'physically' living is incorrect, but I used it only for the sake of easier understanding. We seek the prayers of the spiritually alive, all those who are alive in Christ. "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6: 54). Through this collective prayer, the Body of Christ serves its purpose of glorifying the Lord. Each part being responsible and dependent on each other, prays together, in the name of the Lord for His mercy. The saints pray for us as one among us in Christ. There is no truth in arguing that through intercession of saints we break the Word of God which says Christ is the only mediator.

2. Saints and us, together in Christ

St. Paul says, “Pray continually” (1 Thes 5: 17). Prayer is conversation with God. God wants us to be focused on conversation with Him, through continual prayer, to make us filled with His overflowing love, so that it may brighten those in search of the love and those who have lost from the love. Prayer is the only hope we have, and it is through prayer that we receive all the graces from God. Even though our prayers have different intentions at different times, the major theme is to create the bond between us and God and to grow in that bond strengthening it, growing in purity. Therefore, the Eastern Christian traditions teach the Jesus Prayer, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner”, which has to be recited continuously. On this prayer, we call upon God for His mercy on us, the sinners, so that we will be worthy to share in His likeness (2 Peter 1: 4, 5). As a confirmation, our Lord says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” (Mark 11: 24). Prayer is the most essential part of a Christian.

We are one in Christ, and therefore, we are responsible to pray for each other. St. Paul always prayed for the Church. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone” (1 Tim 2: 1). “I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.” (2 Tim 1: 3). “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers” (Phil 1: 4). In the miracle of Cana, we observe Mother Mary interceding to Christ (John 2). “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other ...” (James 5: 16). In Genesis 18:26-33, we see Abraham interceding for Sodom. When prayed according to the will of God, we have the assurance from God that they will be heard. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” (1 John 5: 13 – 15).

 The saints are those who ‘walked with God’ (Gen 5: 24). They were ‘friends’ of God (James 2: 23). They struggled in their lives to be one with Christ. In the book ‘Mountain of Silence’, we read: “’When human beings completely obliterate their own egotism and reach the state of Theosis, or union with God,… then whatever they wish is what God wishes and it is given. There is little separation between the individual ego and God, between the will of the perfected, Christified individual and the will of God’… “Christified” human being continues to maintain a personal identity within the state of unity with God.” (p. 10)

In Mathew 8: 5 – 13, we read about Jesus healing the centurion’s servant. The centurion prayed with faith for his servant and he was healed. The effective and powerful prayers of the righteous of the church can bring miracles. “The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5: 16). Therefore, even though we, the believers, can pray and can have a personal relationship with God, there is nothing wrong in asking the intercession of others. This same principle is effective in the intercession of saints too. Due to their holiness, and the oneness they have attained with Christ, we consider them as righteous and believe that their prayers will be very effective. We ask the saints to join us in our prayers so that our prayers will become much effective too. 

3. Can they hear and pray?

            The Bible clearly testifies and proves that souls of the faithful await the second coming of Christ praising Him. “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6: 54). "We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.” (2 Cor 5: 8). “I desire to depart and be with Christ” (Phil 1: 23). Souls while waiting for the final judgment of Christ are not in a state of sleep. Let us analyze proofs for this from the Bible.   

            In the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, we see the state of soul after death. “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’” (Luke 16: 22 – 24). For all who claims that this was just a parable, remember that then you will be questioning the validity of each and every parable. In another instance, we see Moses and Elijah, Moses who died (Deut 34: 5), and Elijah who went up to heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2: 11), converse with Christ (Mathew 17). Christ after His crucifixion went to preach gospel to the ‘spirits in prison’. “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.” (1 Peter 3: 18 – 20).

The dead who don’t praise God (Ps 115: 17) are those who have not received Christ in their lives. Christ Himself is the life (John 14: 6), and all who accepts Him are not dead. All who have accepted Christ, and is following Him are not dead anymore. Many Church fathers and believers had many mystical experiences of the active presence of souls with them in prayers. These, Of course, are often incomprehensible for our intellects, but Christ said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed” (John 20: 29).  

Conclusion    

The Holy Church has believed in the Intercession of Saints for centuries. The true faith of the apostles was questioned only after the emergence of individualistic, literary and intellectualistic explanations of the Bible. The book ‘Mountain of Silence’ said, ‘But the way to know God… is neither through philosophy nor through experimental science but through systematic methods of spiritual practice that could open us up to the grace of the Holy Spirit.’ (P. 12). The Church fathers for many centuries has taught the truth with the authority of the Church, the Body of Christ, which they received from the apostles, and was continued through generations. The Holy Bible is part of this Holy Tradition in which the Holy Spirit has abundantly blessed and guided the church for centuries.

A question may arise that why should we consider the tradition? It is not some tradition that we follow, but the Holy Tradition, which was and is guided by the Holy Spirit, and therefore it is validatory. St. John concludes his gospel saying, “Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21: 25). “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thes 2: 15). True Church follows the tradition of the apostles which was transferred from them through the centuries with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from generations to generations. The Church has followed the truth and is following the truth. “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.” (2 Thes 3: 6). “Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.” (Heb 13: 7). Praise be to the God who redeemed us by His begotten Son, and has guided us through His Holy Spirit, even when we are unworthy, and due to His unfailing love, so that we may be part takers in His divinity, and thereby glorify Him forever and ever. 

References

The Holy Bible (New International Version)
Mountain of Silence by Kyriacos C. Markides