The second story in Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron provides a short but powerful picture of the Holy Spirit at work in the Church. The story is about a virtuous man named Abraham. Gianotto, his friend, wants him to convert to Christianity. Abraham politely listens to his friend, but never accepts the invitation. Finally, Abraham says he will go to Rome and see how the Pope and cardinals live. If they are virtuous, then he will convert and become a Christian. Gianotto feels that all is lost, thinking, “If he goes to the court of Rome and sees the wicked and filthy lives of the clergy…he will not change ” (Giovanni Boccaccio The Decameron Tr. Mark Musa and Peter Bondanella. Signet Classics, 40). So, Abraham goes to Rome, and sure enough, he sees more vice than he has ever seen in his life. When he returns, the friend asks him if he liked Rome and the Church officials of the Holy See. Abraham’s answer is surprising, funny, and very encouraging:

“I don’t like them a bit, and may God condemn them all; and I tell you this because as far as I was able to determine, I saw there no holiness, no devotion, no good work or exemplary life, or anything else among the clergy; instead, lust, avarice, gluttony, fraud, envy, pride, and the like and even worse (if worse than this is possible) were so completely in charge there that I believe that city is more a forge for the Devil’s work than for God’s: in my opinion, that Shepherd of yours [he means the Pope here] and, as a result, all of the others as well are trying as quickly as possible and with all the talent and skill they have to reduce the Christian religion to nothing and to drive it from the face of the earth when they really should act as its support and foundation. And since I have observed that in spite of all this, they do not succeed, but on the contrary, that your religion continuously grows and becomes brighter and more illustrious, I am justly of the opinion that it has the Holy Spirit as its foundation and support, and that it is truer and holier than any other religion” (41-42). In the end, Abraham is baptized and becomes a virtuous Christian. It’s a great story–comical, but able to combine pointed criticism with a hopeful vision.

The Church seems to always be in dire need of a great house-cleaning, regardless of denomination. And yet, we need to make a clear distinction between the Church and the impostors who seem to live in and use it for ungodliness. This may seem like a No True Scotsman fallacy, but theologically speaking—it is not. It would be if the Church were merely a human institution. The Church, however, is neither an institution nor an organization. It is the body of Christ and the reign of God in which we are one. It is not ours to define or manipulate, try as we might. Only Christ defines what the Church is. Jesus warned that hypocrites would be rejected from the Kingdom: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’” (Matthew 7:21-23). On the other hand, we also need to make a distinction between the Church and our own sinful works. Much of our theology is flawed; many of our practices are unspiritual. Nevertheless, it is not we who build the Church, it is the Holy Spirit working in our lives who builds it, and He builds it on Jesus, the Son of God, not on our works or on our human thoughts. The Catholic Church is not the Church. The United Methodist Church is not the Church. The Churches of Christ are not the Church. The Church is greater and holier than that. I imagine there will be Catholics, Methodists, Baptists, and Campbellites in heaven—but it won’t be because they were good Catholics, good Methodists, good Baptists, or good dyed in the wool Church of Christ Campbellites. It will be because of their faithfulness to the grace of God through Christ and their doing of the will of the Father who is in heaven by the power of the Holy Spirit.