THE VINEYARD AND THE STRANGER A Catholic Reflection on the Passing of a Protestant Pastor

 

Prologue: An Errant Voice of Praise

My attention was recently drawn to a misdirected voice of praise in honor of a passing self-styled, non-denominational pastor who founded and directed his own ministry and was closely associated with the noisy and theatrical Pentecostal movement in Nigeria.

The speaker went thus:

“The Body of Christ in this country has lost one of her generals who had great foresight. Right from my days at Unilag in the 80s, the name Rev. Dr. Uma Ukpai was continuously mentioned as one mightily used of God.

 We thank God for his life and rejoice in the fact that he is in the bosom of our Lord Jesus Christ having faithfully served in His Vineyard.”

These words sound noble, full of emotion and gratitude, and indeed well intentioned. But beneath them lies a quiet confusion that truth cannot ignore. Let us, with charity and clarity, look at what the Catholic Faith truly teaches.

1. The Body of Christ: One, Not Many

When the speaker says “The Body of Christ in this country,” he imagines that all who name the Lord—Catholics and Protestants alike—are one body.

But Our Lord founded only one Church, not a thousand. That One and only Church is His "Mystical Body" and He is the Head.

 He said to Peter, “Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church” (Matt. 16:18).

That Church, that Mystical Body of Christ, is the Catholic Church, visible, united, and apostolic—teaching with one faith, celebrating the same Sacrifice of the Mass, and governed by the legitimate successors of Peter.

Outside her, there may be elements of truth stolen from her treasury, but not the fullness of Christ’s Body.

To call a Protestant minister “a general in the Body of Christ” is to mistake an impostor outside the camp for a captain within it—to clothe rebellion in the garments of fidelity. 

Think on this: how can one who rejects the Church’s authority, sacraments, and doctrine be ranked among her defenders? The Body of Christ knows no foreign generals; her true soldiers fight under one banner, obey one Commander, and march within the one Fold that is the Catholic Church. Outside her walls, there may be noise and zeal, but not the discipline or authority of Christ’s army.

2. The True Vineyard

The “vineyard of the Lord” is a beautiful image from Scripture.

 Isaiah sings of it: “My beloved had a vineyard in a very fruitful hill” (Isa. 5:1).

 Christ Himself declared, “I am the vine; you are the branches” (John 15:5).

But only those united to the true Vine through the Sacraments and Faith remain alive in grace.

 A branch cut off may still look green for a while—but soon withers.

 So too, those outside the Church may appear fervent, but without the life of the true Faith, their labor bears no lasting fruit.

Mr. Uma Ukpai may have preached with great zeal, stirring hearts and filling halls with words that sounded aflame. Yet zeal without truth is like a torch in the wind—it dazzles for a moment but cannot guide the traveler home. When not rooted in the fullness of the Catholic Faith, such fervor becomes restless, burning brightly yet without steady direction. 

True zeal is born of truth, guarded by the Church, and fed by grace; otherwise, it becomes a wandering fire—warming no hearth, lighting no sure path, and soon lost in the darkness it sought to dispel.

3. Hope and the Limits of Charity

Should we condemn him? No—we pray for him.

 God’s mercy is beyond our sight.

Moreover, one who lived and died outside the unity of the Catholic Church, separated from her Faith, Sacraments, and lawful pastors, cannot be presumed to have “faithfully served in His Vineyard.” The “Vineyard of the Lord” is the one, visible Catholic Church, outside of which there is no salvation (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus). 

To declare a Protestant minister in “the bosom of Christ” is to speak beyond what truth and faith allow; the proper response is not canonization by sentiment, but prayer for God’s mercy upon his soul. God alone knows how culpable his ignorance was, and what graces He offered him—graces sufficient, if he had cooperated, to save his soul.

The Church never canonizes by sentiment. She weeps for those outside her walls, and she prays for their conversion, even at the hour of death.

 If this soul found grace in his final moments, may the Lord have mercy upon him.

But truth must still shine: there is no salvation apart from the one true Church, founded by Christ upon Peter and preserved through her Apostolic authority. The assurance of having served “faithfully in the vineyard” belongs only to those who live and die within her communion, professing the same Faith, receiving her Sacraments, and submitting to her lawful pastors. 

Outside this unity, one may labor, preach, and appear devout, yet his work stands apart from the divine order Christ established. Fidelity to God cannot be separated from fidelity to His Church; for as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it remain in the vine, so no soul can truly serve Christ while cut off from His Mystical Body.

4. A Lesson for the Living

The world today overflows with smooth words and soft tolerance. Many repeat the comforting error: “It does not matter what church you belong to, so long as you love Jesus.” But Christ never said this. He did not bless division; He prayed, “That they may be one, as Thou, Father, in Me and I in Thee.” He founded one Fold under one Shepherd, not a thousand folds in rivalry and confusion.

Dear reader, beware of the honeyed voices that make error sound charitable. Indifferentism—the notion that all religions are equally pleasing to God—is a sweet poison: it soothes the mind while it starves the soul. 

True charity does not flatter falsehood; it leads souls to the one Ark of Salvation, the Catholic Church. For truth is a sword that heals—it may wound pride, but it saves the heart, cutting away the darkness of error and bringing the soul into the light of Christ’s one true Faith.

5. Pray for the Wandering

We must pray, then, not with empty praise, but with humble love.

 May those outside the Fold hear the Shepherd’s voice.

 May they, in these times of the great Apostasy and confusion due to the Modernist imposture, find the gate of the true Vineyard, now eclipsed, before night falls.

 And may those presently numbered among the little flock of Christ remain faithful within the walls of Holy Mother Church, walls not identical with buildings, until the dawn of eternity. Amen! 

As a matter of fact:  Christ wills to have one Shepherd, one Flock, one Faith—and only those who persevered within it shall be called the true soldiers of Christ.