Opening
1. Let us open the course by discussing the
word “theology”. “Theology” can be cut into two parts: theo which means “god” and logy
(or logos) which often means “study”
or “discourse”. These are Greek words. In the old Greek sense theology would
mean “account of the gods”. Theology would be “discourse about the gods”. In
our Christian use it would mean a
Christian effort to try to understand what God has revealed to us. “Real
theology”, says Rahner, “has as its basis an undistorted hearing of God’s word
with a view to salvation, ultimately in the service of salvation itself”.
Notice there is the “hearing of God’s word”. There is a receiving of what God
has said—in particular what God has said in Jesus Christ.
2. If we look at the different faculties of
theology in Catholic seminaries we may find two basic areas of theology: a. historical and b. systematic. The area of history deals with the historical aspect of God’s revelation. So we find studies in the
Bible (exegesis and biblical theology), Church history, patrology (or study of
the Church Fathers), hagiography (or the study of the lives of saints) and
mission theology. In the systematic area we find dogmatic theology (like
Christology, Mariology and Ecclesiology or “Church theology”), we find moral
theology, cannon law, sacraments, liturgy, pastoral theology.
3. Let us go a bit further to appreciate
what theology involves. Let us first take a look at the way many of us
Christians would live out our faith.
a. Many would
spend a lot of time giving praises to
God. Much of their time is spent on doing liturgies like the mass and the
novenas. This way of Christian living is what is often called as “doxology”.
b. Many
Christians would like to spend their time teaching, preaching and proclaiming
about Jesus Christ and the Christian message to the world. This way of
Christian living is what is often called as “kerygma”.
c. There are
Christians who would spend time giving witnessing to Christ and the Christian
message. Through their daily lives and activities they introduce to others who
Christ is and hope that others join the Church. This way of Christian living is
what is often called as “evangelization”.
d. Then of course
there are Christians who spend a lot of time studying about many things—the
Bible, the Church etc. They hope to interpret well the Christian message. This
way of Christian living is what is often called as “hermeneutics”.
Of course we find
these happening together. For example a teacher doing kerygma may, at the same
time, be a scholar doing hermeneutics. Then he or she takes time out for mass
and liturgy, doing doxology.
4. What about you? What do you notice is the
more pronounced way of your life?
Look at the amount of time you spend expressing your Christian faith. Maybe you
have been reading a lot about the Bible. Or maybe you have been so active in
the apostolate of your community—giving witness to the faith. Somehow there is
something “theological” in what you do.
5. Whatever it is that we do, notice how
basic is the fact that we have received something about Jesus Christ—a revelation. We live it out with some
form of understanding because we know that whatever it is that we do, it
implies God’s revealed love and concern for everyone.
6. Theology participates in Christian life.
God has revealed in Jesus Christ and, according to Pope John Paul II, the
function of the Church is to direct the world toward the mystery of Christ (Redemptoris Missio 4). Theology keeps
its eyes on the truth about Jesus Christ and tries to deepen an understanding
of that truth.
7. There is something important here
regarding the nature of theology. In theology we do not create the truth. We receive the truth because it has been
revealed. This is why we use the word “revelation”. The truth about Jesus is a revealed truth. So, whatever it is that
we do—worship, preach, witness, study—we assume that we are rooted in what has
been revealed to us. This is central in Christianity.
8. We live in a very specific time in
history. There are many questions and problems that come out today. How well do
we face them? How well is our being rooted to the truth? How well is our
theology? Theology is always linked with the situation of the Church in the
world, in society.
9. Take the example of doing catechism. We
might be teaching young people about Adam and Eve. But with the development of
science today, like evolution, how can we offer young people a solid
understanding of Adam and Eve? We need some deeper study of the Bible, and this
is part of theological formation. Take another example. In a neighborhood a
couple of young people are sexually involved. They say they really love each
other but they are confused with the morality
of what they do, since they are not married. How can we explain to them the
“truth” in solid ways? Again we need a good amount of theological
formation—like moral theology. It is our response to dialogue with the world.
10. Theology would root itself in truth—one
way or another. Here are three approaches to how being rooted can take place.
It depends on how truth is seen. (Cf.
Jean Lamblot)
a. Truth is
sometimes understood as a “hidden treasure”. It is revealed as mystery. It needs to be penetrated and
understood. Theology would be a way of penetrating this mystery. In the older
times, many centuries ago, theology was often associated with contemplation of
the mysteries of God. Christians believed that there was also something hidden
in God and the task of theology would be to un-cover and discover that hidden
reality. This way of looking at theology is ok, and we can follow it. But it
has a risk if we are not careful. The risk is to say that theology in the hands
of a few. We might say that not everyone has access to the mystery of God; so
only a few can “see”. So we need to be careful here. Theology will appear like
a study of a privileged few.
b. Truth is sometimes understood as a “bright
lamp” that guides us in our lives. The truth, for example, is the eternal face
of Jesus and the strong virtues of Jesus. Jesus has revealed to us his self as
model of how to live correctly. He has given us some rules and norms for
Christian living. So truth can become a “norm”. It tells us how we should understand the truth and how we should lead our lives. In the olden
times, the Church was so involved with this type of understanding the truth.
There was a time when there were many heresies facing the Church. So theology
had to function in the service of countering the heresies by giving norms of
what to believe and not believe. This looks ok, but also we need to be careful.
When we focus a lot on giving norms, we might give the impression theology imposes and even sends signals of fear. An
over normative approach can be judgmental.
We might be led to say that we have access to the truth, we lead the
correct lives and others do not. We might say we have the monopoly of truth.
So, we need to be careful here.
c. A more
“today’s” approach would say that truth is God’s initiative to
self-communication. This is truth that tries to be as close as possible to biblical revelation. In the end of
Matthews’s gospel we read that Jesus sends his disciples on mission to teach.
(See 28/6-20). For Jesus truth teaches.
Truth communicates to all. In the gospel of John, who is the truth? “I am the
Truth” (14/6). Jesus is the truth. So both the teacher and the truth are one
and the same. The teacher—Jesus—communicates about who he really is. Jesus
communicates by sharing himself, giving himself to others. He lives the
conditions of people; he “dwelt among us”. It is a communication by form of
“living with”, “being one with”. We feel
that God is really “truthful” to us because God is “one with us”; God is in
“solidarity” with us. Theology, rooted in this kind of truth, would like to
show how God participates in human life. Theology would be a way of expressing
that presence of God in the world. God communicates with us and invites us to
participate in his life style. This approach is very attractive. There is a
risk here too. The risk is to “take it easy too much”, as if a very rigorous
study is not important. Let us not forget that theology is also “logy” or
study. Let us be careful.
What does it mean to believe?
From Bernard Sesboüé S.J.
Introduction
1. What does it mean to believe? We might
have an idea of faith but the act of believing can be strange to many. To
believe is not easy to understand in our world today. We also need to ask about
the meaning of believing rather than just go through the “routine”.
To believe, to know
2. Belief is sometimes opposed to knowledge.
Here is how the opposition is at times described. In knowledge we know
something—there is an object to know.
In belief we are not so sure of the object. Instead we have an intimate conviction about something. It
as not as clear as in the case of knowledge. Judges in courts are said to
sometimes make decisions based on “intimate convictions” even if evidences are
not so clear. They might work with “hunches” rather than with “solid
information”. (Does this not happen to us too). In science and for the
scientist, knowledge is at work. There are objects that are very clear to the
scientist. In belief, there can be room for doubt and imprecision.
3. Today we have confidence in scientific
knowledge. But when it comes to belief
we are told to be careful because belief is said to be “inferior” to scientific
knowledge. So when we hear “science says that…” we tend to accept at once. But
when we hear “I believe that…” we might be hesitant to agree at once. Belief is
something more personal, unlike scientific knowledge. Belief cannot be
discussed, verified and debated on. Is the opposition—belief versus
knowledge—correct? Let us see.
4. Let us look at it the case way. Belief is
something that happens everyday. Many of what we know come from other people
telling us about them. And we believe what those people have said to us. A
child in school learns his or her lessons believing
in what the teachers say. The child cannot go and verify everything behind
what the teachers say. Maybe one day, when the child reaches adulthood, he or
she can check if all that the teachers have taught are true and correct. But
the child at school learns with a lot of believing taking place.
5. What happens to us when we read the
newspapers or when we hear other people tell us news? We can be very critical.
We might say that the newspaper is manipulating information. We might say that
the people telling us news or views are only exaggerating. So we might be
prudent in accepting what we read and hear. Yet, think of this. We cannot live without some amount of
believing in what others say. We cannot always question and be critical of
everything. We live with a good amount of belief. Belief in what others say is
at the base of our relationships. Telling a lie is a very serious fault in
society.
6. Let us even move a step towards
scientific knowledge. Even in science there is believing that takes place.
Scientists, for example, make hypotheses. What is a hypothesis? It is a belief that a law in nature explains
some events. The scientists can build
experiments to verify their hypotheses. If the experiments fail, then the
scientists can say that their “beliefs” have to be corrected and changed. But
scientists cannot avoid believing that there are laws of nature at work in the
world. Belief is in science too. (When scientists talk to each other and
discuss their researches, they also have to somehow believe in the words of each
one. Without this they cannot work together at all…and there will be no
science).
7. It is not accurate to completely oppose
knowledge from belief. They form a relationship too. Sure, there are times when
we see them different. But we cannot
always oppose them. Many of what we know result from believing in the words
of other people. This is true in science and in daily life.
Belief in others
8. Let us take a close look at human
relations. In life we need to put some amount of confidence in others. We
cannot live without somehow believing in others. How can we love or be friends
if we do not believe in each other? The “yes” in marriage is a result of belief
too. The love of married couples is based on mutual belief. The partner accepts the credibility of the other partner. Each of them relies on the
fidelity of the other.
9. Look at your “apostolate”. A person (like
a religious) goes to an “apostolate” guided by a love for the victims of
injustice or unfortunate events. A person goes to an “apostolate” guided by a
faith in the humanity of the people he or she serves. The person going on
apostolate believes in sense of the apostolate; it is a faith in the fact that
there is one way or another a “solution” to the problem of a victim. If the
person who goes on apostolate is guided by love, he or she is also guided by
faith.
Belief in values
10. We have our ideas of “good” or “bad”. Of
course we can make mistakes in our evaluations. Some of us might be very strict
in saying what is good or bad. Some of us might be more lax. But one thing is
clear; we hold beliefs in what we see as good or bad. We say, “I believe this is good” or “I believe that this is bad”. There are
moments in life when we see that we are not respected. We believe that there are dignified ways of treating us too. If others
disrespect us, we believe that our
dignity is violated.
11. It can happen that we do crazy things. We
make major mistakes and we are also not faithful to the values that we hold.
Have we not, at times for example, spoken a big lie? As soon as we realize we
lie, we feel something. We sense that we ought not lie. We sense that we are
not worried simply of a punishment or penalty. We see that we are breaking an
important value. Think of what it means to tell a big lie in the government or
at work. It is a lie that affects so many lives. It has wide consequences. For us,
in case we make that fault, we sense that the problem is not just with the
punishment that will fall on us but on the damage we can do to the lives of
others. The problem we experience is that we
are not faithful to what we believe in.
Our belief in the value of honesty is
damaged.
12. If a person has no values at all—zero and
completely absent—how can that person live coherently in life? A value to which
we commit ourselves becomes an object of faith. We believe in that value.
Notice that we are not just talking about knowledge. When we live according to
values, we just do not spend time knowing things. We also discern situations.
We believe that certain situations
must be marked by our values.
13. So to believe is really an essential part
of human life. It is not shameful to believe. Belief is part of life, even if
it is not strictly a religious belief. We believe in persons around us, we
believe in values, we believe in what others say. There is a “minimum” of
believing at work in human life. To remove the reality of belief is not just a
contradiction to who we are. It is also a loss of who we really are.
Decisions
14. We make decisions in life. Some decisions
are major decisions. Very often we make decisions even if knowledge is not so full. Not to decide is itself a
decision. It prohibits us from realizing the benefits of our engagements. Think
of a decision to engage in a career or the religious life. We make a decision
that does not tell us all the details involved. Our knowledge is incomplete.
(At the time you decided to engage in religious life you did not know
everything that will take place in the course of your formation. You probably
did not even know about MAPAC).
15. In making a decision there are the “for”
and “against”. We weight these. “Do I join or not?” “Do I take this path or
that path?” “Will I marry this person or join the religious life?” Just think
about it, it is very hard to be entirely sure of the security of the future. We
will never know what happens next—in five or six years, for example. Some
people hesitate, for example, to get married because they are not sure if it
will work after some time. Yet, who can escape the situation of decision? “I am
not getting married”, so a young person says. But this is a decision too. Decision-making
is as certain as the shadows of the future. In life, as we decide, we make
leaps. We need to believe in something, one way or another.
Religious Belief
16. Religious belief today is presented in
different ways—sometimes good and sometimes bad. There are aberrant religious
sects, for example, and we read about sexual abuses and even collective
suicides. These sects give a sad picture of what people can do, together with
the perversion of faith. Beliefs turn out to be manipulative and depersonalizing.
There is the emergence, in some parts of the world, of religious savagery.
17. It may, however, be unjust to quickly
judge religious beliefs. In history we see the nobility of religious beliefs
too. We see what different religions have done to promoted human dignity. Think
of Mother Theresa of Calcutta. She was motivated by religious belief to go to
the poorest of the poor.
18. An expert in the history of religions, G.
Van der Leeuw, says that the ancient Hebrews gave birth to a religious faith
marked by total confidence in a God who
is personally encountered. The ancient Hebrews gave birth to a particular
faith. Consider Abraham “who had faith in the Lord and the Lord considered him
a just man” (Gen15/6).
19. The question of faith in the Old
Testament did not focus on whether God existed or not. That existence was
already accepted at that time. In fact, in the land of Palestine and around it
there were many beliefs in many gods. Those gods were said to be dominating
over the lives of people. There were practices of magic, for example. Those
powerful gods had to be appeased. Abraham started something new and different.
He introduced a relationship with a unique—one and only—God. That relationship
was personal with that God. It started with hearing the word of God—hearing the
call of God. In that call was a promise, and Abraham believed in that call and
promise. It meant, however, leaving the homeland and moving into an unknown
land. The faith of Abraham developed and deepened, as a covenant was made
between him and God.
20. What is striking with this faith shown by
Abraham is not that God exists but that the
human person exists for God. Let us put it is a form of question. Faith
does not ask whether God exists or not. Faith rather asks: Is God interested in the human person? Faith asks: Would God enter into human life for the good
of the human person? Since Abraham, faith has been a reply “yes, God is
concerned with the human person”. At the time of Abraham, this was what took
shape and it became the spiritual tradition to which our Christian faith has
been grafted.
21. Hebraic faith is not something very
technical. It is more of an “attitude” of putting all one’s strength in God. It
is more of an “attitude” of finding in God the support of life during times of
difficulties. It is more of an “attitude” of recognizing security in God who is
the most solid support. God is the solidity
of the human person. In the psalms we read images of this solidity, like
“God is the rock of Israel” (Ps.61/4). In the prophets we see this image of
strength of support, like “if you do not hold on me, you cannot stand”
(Is.7/9). Abraham had shown this kind of
faith.
22. If we look at Jesus we can see him affirm
the same attitude. Remember what Jesus said about building a house on rock
versus building a house on sand (see Matt.7/24-27). Concretely this would mean
finding in God our support, placing confidence in God by responding to his
expectations.
23. Faith, as we receive it from Abraham down
to Christ, calls for fidelity. It is fidelity to God who has always been
faithful to his own promises. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. We
read in the Old Testament that the “I believe” consisted of giving a list of
what God had accomplished for his people. God was indeed faithful, and so the
people returned with their own fidelity. The people of Israel and they would
say that “God never abandons those who seek him” (Ps.9/11).
24. Faith implies a strong relationship
between God and people. In a sense we can use the word covenant. Faith is a covenant. At the start of the covenant, God
took the initiative. He “elected” his people. It was a very small nation. But
God “elected” that small nation for the salvation of all peoples. The covenant
then became a two-way arrangement. It required dialogue—a response from the side
of the people. God took the starting
steps; he took the initiative. Later, people respond by living according to the
Law of justice, fraternity and love.
25. Faith involves “belief in” and “belief that”. In
the New Testament it starts with an encounter. Jesus took the initiative to
reach out and meet others. The response of those he encountered was a decision
to follow his footsteps. To “believe in” is an action in which the disciple
gives himself or herself to Jesus, in the footsteps of Jesus. The disciple
places confidence in Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you may go”. This may not be so easy to do. In the case of
believing in someone—like a friend or a teacher—we know that we can be
disappointed. We may have “believed in” someone only to discover later that we
cannot trust that person, we cannot trust the fidelity of that person. We get
hurt. It cannot be with Jesus. In the case of Jesus, when we believe in Jesus
we assume that what Jesus asks is what
God alone could ask of us. Jesus is
the definite and true one sent by God. Through Jesus we are asked to believe in
God. Through Jesus we believe in God. Just like in the Old Testament, God keeps
faithful. God does not disappoint. We believe.
26. What about “belief that”? There is also
belief concerning the truth about Jesus. To believe in Jesus is, at the same time, to believe in what he said. It is to
believe that what he said is true and
saves us. To believe in Jesus is, at the same time, to take as true all that he
said. Christian faith has a content
concentrated in the person of Jesus who lived, dies and has risen.
27. In Church history we find theologians and
thinkers giving views about faith. Saint Agustin, for example, specified three
aspects of Christian faith.
a. There is “believe God”. This meant, for Saint Agustin, “believe that God
exists”.
b. There is “believe to God”. This meant, for Saint
Agustin, “believe in what God has said”.
c. Finally there
is “believe in God”. This meant, for
Saint Agustin, “give oneself to God, give one’s life to God”. For Saint
Agustin, “believe in” corresponds completely to the Christian faith.
Entering into Dialogue
28. When a Christian declares: “I believe in
God” (this is the Credo, as commonly
known), the Christian expresses faith in God’s initiative as Father and
Creator. God took the initiative to create us and God has become our Father. “Credo” for the Christian also means that
God manifested as Son who died on the
cross and has risen from the dead. “Credo”
for the Christian also means that God manifested as Spirit offered to the Church. In Baptism we see a dialogue regarding the “Credo”. So we hear, during the ritual,
three questions and three answers:
a. Question: “Do
you believe in God the Father?” Answer: “I believe”.
b. Question: “Do
you believe in God the Son, Jesus Christ? Answer: “I believe”.
c. Question: “Do
you believe in God the Holy Spirit? Answer: “I believe”.
29. The Covenant is evident here. God did
everything through his Son and through the Holy Spirit. Good took the
initiative. We respond, “Yes I believe”. Yes, we believe, we accept, we
recognize, and we follow. Yes, we recognize that God is interested in us and wants the best for us. So we accept, we
believe.
Voluntarism and Intellectualism
30. There is a saying: “believe first then
you will see”. This is not so healthy, actually. It is like saying, “never mind
if you are sure or not with what you believe in, just believe; things will be
clear later”. It gives priority to the will
to believe. It is “voluntaristic”. There is, also a saying: “to see is to
believe”. This too is not so healthy. It is like saying, “be sure with what you
are getting into, do not just believe”. It starts with the intellect. It is “intellectualistic”.
31. We need to set things straight. We can
put both positions together. We can see reciprocity between them. In other
words, we can say: “the more we believe
the more we see; and the more we see the more we believe”. As we enter into
faith, we sense certitude, truthfulness in what we are involved in. As we
discern the truth and get more certitude about it, the more we would like to
believe. Is this clear—or “clear as mud”? Let us illustrate, taking from our
experiences. It is an illustration and
it can help us understand better what we are saying here. But as illustration,
we will need to supplement it with more thinking and reflecting.
32. In making a choice between—say two
jobs—do we not weigh our choices? Let us say we are attracted to one of the
choices. We try it out. We do not see things clearly from the start, but we
give it a leap. Slowly, as we involve in the choice, things become clear. In
the end we feel “at home” with the choice. It is what is clearly for us. But
then, we might be disappointed. We feel uneasy and unhappy. We see things
clearly. So we move out and take the other choice. Notice the movement. We can
engage in something (voluntarily) then see clearly as we move on
(intellectually). Then we see things clearly (intellectually) and we discover
the nature of our engagement (voluntarily). The illustration, again, is simply
to help us appreciate the relationship between “Voluntarism” and
“intellectualism”. Faith cannot be exclusively one or the other.
33. Our attitude plays a role here too. If we
are enclosed in our ideas and feelings and we are enclosed in our past wounds,
we will find it difficult to see things clearly when we decide. We are somehow
“blinded” by the “issues”. On the contrary if we open up with sympathy, justice
and love, we would see more what we enter into.
Faith as God’s gift
34. Why must our relationship with God go
through faith? Why go through the mystery of faith that can be shaken by
suspicion, doubt and distress? Why make the leap of faith? Why can things not
be so totally clear and evident? If we ask this way, perhaps we do not know
what we are asking. In such questions we would be supposing that God can be
placed in a “box” and we can know him and understand him totally. This is like
saying that we can “domesticate” God.
35. God is God, however, and we are humans.
If we understand God, he will not be God anymore, says Saint Agustin. In our
desire to know God we might fall into the danger of what is called “idolatry”.
Idolatry is a construction of God according to our image, interests and likeness. The living God, however, is
always beyond what we could think of him. God can surprise us. God can show
different aspects that are, for us, so unexpected. God does not always fit in
the boxes we make for him. To believe
cannot be anything else but to receive from God. Hence faith is a gift.
God, and God alone, can talk to us about God. As one poet, Pascal, would say,
“God speaks well of God”.
36. To believe is also the result of an
experience that is so unique and so deep. Today it might be called “religious
experience”. In the experience of God, the believer sees a gift coming to him
or her. It is a gift that goes beyond enclosures. Yet, the believer accepts it
freely. It is in this acceptance that the believer is “justified” just like
Abraham. For us this means that when we believe we are “justified”—reconciled
with God, in communion with God, in the grace and love of God, welcomed in the
life of God.
God, the Father of Jesus
From Bernard Sesboüé S.J.
1. In the New Testament the image of God is
a caring God towards the human person. To express this care the preferred word
in the New Testament is “Father”[1].
God is Father. There is a strong presentation of God as Father and the human
person as child of the Father. The image of friend and bridegroom of the human
person is given in Jesus Christ.
2. But wait. We might feel that the image of
God as Father is something hard to accept. Do we not sometimes feel a rejection
toward this image? The image is so marked by negative meaning that we like to
reject. Let us take some examples.
3. Modern psychology has unveiled the doubt
and confusion in the relationship father-and-child. Freud has even captured the
image of the son wanting to “kill” the father in order to move on in life. Look
at our own experiences within the family and we will notice the difficulties
involved: possessiveness of the parents, the abuse of parental authority, the
downplaying of the father towards the son who cannot comply with the father’s
ideals, etc. In some of our societies we even hear of news about parents
abandoning their families. In fact, within society we also experience
“paternaism” and “condescension”. (Paternalism is experienced when a
professional assumes he/she always knows better than the client). So the
tendency in us and in some of our societies is to be free from the father or
from authorities. The image of Father is not well received. So, it may be
difficult to see how God is Father. Yet, we shall try.
When Jesus speaks of God
4. What does Jesus say about God whom he
calls as Father? The God that Jesus speaks of is the God of the Old Testament.
He is the God Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses
and the prophets (see Mt.12/26 Mk.1/44
7/10). This God is the “wholly Other” who is radically different from
the human person. There is nothing of “flesh and blood” in this God. What God
thinks and does is not what the human person thinks and does.
5. This can be a powerful God of which Jesus
says, “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Most Powerful” (Mk.14/62). The New
testament does not hesitate to give God the tles used in the Old Testament:
“Master”, “Lord”, “King” and “Judge”. He sits up in heaven. He is all knowing,
he even knows more than the Son (see Mk.13/32).
6. This explains why God knows what is going
on inside our hearts. When we pray we do not need a lot of words because God
already knows what we need (see Mt.6/7-8). God can see our secrets (see
Mt.6/4.6.18). He is full of goodwill for us (see Lk.12/6-7). Remember when
Jesus is called “good master”, how does he respond? “Why do you call me good?
No one is good but God alone” (Mk.10/18). The goodness and concern of God is
confirmed in the forgiveness of sins (see Lk.11/4). This God saves (see
Mk.13/13). He is also the one who reveals to the little ones and not to the
wise and intelligent (see Mt.11/25-26).
7. Like the God if Israel, the God of Jesus
is a faithful God. But he is also disturbing.
In the parable of the vineyard workers he gives the same salary to those who
have worked for less than an hour and to those who have worked under the burden
and heat of the whole day (see Mt.20/1-15). In the name of generosity, God does
not follow the rule of “pay according to the hour”. God is a God who wants us to love our enemies
(see Mt.5/44-45). This is a contradiction to the practice in the Old Testament.
It is also a contradiction to the usual reaction of a person hurt by someone
else. Are we not surprised by the call to love those who make us suffer and
miserable? Yet this God who tells us to forgive is the one who does it.
8. This God is the God who has sent Jesus. Let us look at this.
God, the Father of Men and Women
9. When Jesus speaks, the place of God the
Father has a very high value. He is God who is so related with the human
person. Jesus invites his disciples to pray by calling God “Our Father” (see Mt.6
Lk11/2). Jesus speaks to his disciples by saying that “Your Father is in heaven” (Mt.5/45
Lk.6/36 & 11/13). Thus , presented
through the disciples of Jesus, there is a relationship of father-child between
God and the human person.
10. The paternity of God is also expressed in
parables that show the relationship of father and son. The famous one is that
of the so-called “parable of the prodigal son”. The younger son leaves and
spends all his money in waste. Repenting, he returns to his father. His father
blows a big feast. The elder son who thinks he remains faithful is
disappointed. He is, in fact, always welcome to the feast. Jesus makes use of
the parable to give explanation for his attitude of willing to mix with
sinners. Jesus is like saying, “I do with sinners what God does with them, and
it scandalizes others”.
11. There is also another parable involving
two sons and a father. The father asks them to work. The first one says “yes”
but does not go to work, and the second one says “no” but goes anyway. The
parable is an invitation to conversion.
12. These parables show the paternal
relationship of God with people in the course of the history of salvation. They
are, in fact, in the line of the insights of the Old Testament. They make more
concrete those insights.
13. Jesus is sent by God to show men and
women about the true love of God who is Father to them.
God, the Father of Jesus
14. Jesus claims a very unique relationship
with God by calling him a “my Father”. This is more than the adoption we have
with God. Look at one statement that
Jesus makes. “Father, Lord of heaven and earth, I praise you because you have
hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to simple
people. Yes, Father, this is what pleased you. My Father has entrusted
everything to me. No one knows the Son except the Father. No one knows the
Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Mt.11/25-27).
The statement reveals how Jesus relates to God. It is such a direct and
intimate relationship. It reveals how Jesus is so familiar with God. We see
here the “behavior of a son” to his father.
As the saying goes, “like father, like son”. The father and the son know
each other so well. It is such an intimacy that others do not share. This is
why Jesus could say, “My Father and your Father” (Jn.20/17) to imply that his
relationship with the Father is so different from our relationship with him.
15. Jesus calls his Father “Abba”—“papa”. At
the time of agony before the crucifixion Jesus says to his Father, “Papa, everything is possible for you,
take this cup away” (Mk.14/36). This way of calling God is extremely strange
and new. The call “Abba” is the typical way by Jesus talks to his Father[2].
Within the world of Judaism, Jesus is the only one who dares call God as
“Abba”, showing how intimate he is with the Father.
16. All this would not make sense without the
attitude of Jesus towards his Father. Jesus takes the attitude of Son towards
his father. Jesus shows to us who the Father is by showing us how to be son to
the Father. Jesus loves in full communion with his Father. His prayer is a
breathing of a son. He loves the Father and he is willing to obey the Father in
his mission all the way. He obeys not as a fearing slave but as a beloved
child.[3]
God, the Father of the Crucified
17. The mission of Jesus leads him to the
cross. At the end of the route of the mission, God becomes the Father of the
crucified. This is a mystery. Jesus reaches a point when he complains with a
cry that his Father abandons him. Yet,
his attitude as a child does not lie. In his manner of dying, Jesus shows to us
how far the power of God reaches. The almighty God in the Old Testament becomes
the powerless God in the New Testament. God, in the life of Jesus, is not
“paternalistic”. Jesus is not a victim of paternalism. Jesus simply
accomplishes his mission received from the Father. This attitude of a son to
the father is so clear in Jesus, it is an attitude he brings with him all the
way to the cross.
18. The notion of “Father” here takes a new
meaning. Through the attitude of Jesus as Son to the Father, we discover that to see Jesus is to see the Father!
“Philip asked him, ‘Lord, show us the Father and that is enough’. Jesus said to
him, ‘…Philip, whoever sees me sees the Father” (Jn.14/8-9). “Like father, like
son”, as the expression goes. What Jesus reveals is the humanity of God. God turns our to be the powerless one. As one
Protestant Theologian (J. Moltmann) would say, God is Crucified.
19. “Who is this God for us to be his love,
child of the earth? Who is this God who ties himself with love to be our equal?
Who is this God who must find the heart of the poor? Who is this God,
destitute, great, vulnerable? Who is this God, who comes to our side and walks
with us? Who is this God whose heart never fades at our table? Who is this God
who nobody can love if he does not love us? Who is this God who we hurt so much
whenever we hurt our fellows? Who is this God for us to be his love?” (J.
Servel)
Jesus Christ, the Summit of Christian Revelation
From Bernard Sesboüé S.J.
Our desire for the Absolute
1. A document of Vatican II gives us a
picture of what revelation means. The document says that out of his goodness
God really wanted to make himself known. He wanted us to know about his plan
for us. In this plan God wanted us to have access to him through Christ in the
Holy Spirit. Through his revelation, the invisible God speaks us like friends.
He speaks to us to invite us to a life of communion with him. He speaks to us;
he tells us that he receives us in this communion (see Dei Verbum 2).
2. The big concern of God, therefore, is to
communicate himself to us, to offer himself personally in view of having a
communion. He wants us to share in his life. This is God’s own free initiative.
He comes to us like a friend—like God with Moses in Sinai (see Ex.33/11) and
like Jesus calling his disciples “friends” (see Jn.15/14-15). God invites us to
meet him, “Come and see” (Jn.1/39). When we meet it will be like friends
talking and conversing. It is a dialogue with God.
3. The New Testament gives us a picture of
the communion between God and us, humans. “We were given the most extraordinary
promises. Through them you share in the
divine nature” (“Pet.1/3-4). In this letter of St. Peter we are told that
in entering in communion with God we
shall be sharing his divinity. It may be misunderstood, but we might
rephrase this as: we will be divine too!
Careful. This does not mean that we become less human as we turn divine. On the
contrary, the more we are made to share in the divine, the more we are human.
How does this happen? The answer lies in our desires.
4. Our desires tend to go “non stop”. We
want “more”. Not only do we want to “have more”, we also want to “be more”. Not
only does a person want to have more reputation, he or she might want to be more
of a…politician or religious, maybe. This force of desire can make us great
artists, scientists, priests, brothers, nuns, etc. We are finite creatures but
our desires tend to go “infinite”. When a desire goes infinite, it can mean
that it goes on indefinitely. Desire
is here never satisfied. Or it can go to the absolute. When a desire moves to the absolute it moves to a certain
freedom. It settles down and finds satisfaction. The absolute is God. As St.
Augustine would say, “You have made us for you oh Lord, our heart is without
rest until it finds rest in you”.
5. Our desires find rest only in God. We are
inhabited by the desire for God himself. We cannot be fulfilled without God.
The more we encounter him, the more we become who we really are; the more we
fulfill our vocation as humans. The more we enter into communion with God—this
is our “divinization”—the more truly human we become—this is our
“humanization”.
6. The love of God wants this to happen. It
is a love that wants to share. God wants to share his life with us. God wants
to confer with us all his nobility. He wants to share with us his joy and
happiness. How can this happen? The answer lies in Jesus Christ. Christ is the mediator and the fullness of the revelation of God. He is the mediator because he is
the revealer. Through him God reveals
his message. Yet Jesus is also the
content of God’s message. The good
news is the person of Jesus Christ! He is therefore the fullness of the
revelation. He is the definite revelation of God. He is the summit of that
revelation.
Revelation in Nature and in our Hearts
7. Of course we can have a revelation of God
from the created universe. “The heavens declare
the glory of the Lord, the firmament proclaims
the work of his hands. Day talks it
over with day, night transmits the
knowledge to night. No speech, no words, no voice is heard, but it resonates
throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth”
(Ps.19/2-5). The psalmist seems to say that the universe is “saying
something”—declaring, proclaiming, talking, and transmitting. Yet it is not
with words and with a voice. Rather there is this message which is felt everywhere. There is “Someone”
behind the existence of the things of the world. This “Someone” is God.
8. God wants to communicate with us, and he
does this through the presence of a created world. St. Paul explains this when
he writes, “Everything that could have been known about God was made clear. God
himself made it plain. Though we cannot see him, we can at least discover him
through his works; for he created the world and through his works we understand
him to be the eternal and all powerful and to be God” (Rom.1/19-20). This
revelation is permanent. It applies
to everyone at any given time. It is a “language” inscribed within creation.
Traditionally this revelation is called “natural revelation”.
9. God also reveals within the human
heart—within human conscience. This revelation helps open the path of vocation.
This other form of revelation is traditionally called “supernatural revelation”.
God speaks in the human heart and God offers the gifts necessary for the human
person to accomplish his/her vocation, which is to be happy living in communion
with God.
10. Sure, we are “fallen” and we are
“sinners”. But God does not give up his initiative to maintain us in the hope
of redemption. God takes care of the human being “without interruption”. God wants to give eternal life to anyone who
seeks for him. St. Paul would say, He will give eternal life to whoever seeks glory, honor and immortality through
perseverance in good works” (Rom.2/7). Always God wants everyone to be saved
and have knowledge of the truth (see 1Tim.2/4), God neglects nobody. Everyone
can know God sufficiently. This holds for everyone—including those who have
never been linked to Abraham and the history of the Hebrews and Christians.
11. This “supernatural revelation” is
“written in the heart” of each and every human being (see Rom.2/15). The main guide of everyone, even of those who
do not know Christ, is the light of
conscience. In the heart of every person is a “command”. It is not just
feeling nor opinion. It is not just impression. “It is a law. It is a voice
that speaks with authority” (H. Newman). We can disobey this voice but it
stays.
Revelation through history[4]
12. In Christian faith, God is not simply
“beyond” and “out there” as “Someone” behind the created universe. God is also
not just within the heart of everyone. In the Christian perspective, “God has
spoken in the past to our fathers through the prophets, in many different ways,
although never completely; now in our times he has spoken definitively to us
through his Son” (Heb.1/1-2). Here the author of the letter to the Hebrews
implies that God has made himself known.
He made himself know within history—the history starting with Abraham through
Moses and the prophets. God has made himself known definitively in Jesus
Christ.
13. We can fully appreciate God’s revelation
in the past—in the OT—in the light of Christ.
All that happened, like from the time of Moses and the prophets, are
already moving towards Christ. The fullness of Revelation took step-by-step realization with the OT. And so in
Christ and in the texts of the NT we can already detect the OT. God took his
own time to reveal himself. The revelation from the Old testament to the New
testament in Christ is viewed as a long process of “preparation”. God sets
aside a people; God elects them. The election is not a matter of privilege but
of mission. To the people of Israel has been given a mission to make God known
to all the nations. The people are then slowly prepared.
14. This history moving up to the first
century Palestine points to Christ. One thing needs to be emphasized. God
reveals himself through human culture, language and tradition. His message does
not just fall from the sky. It comes through the historical growth of a people
with its culture, language and tradition. When God gives a message there is
always a mediation. It was, before
the mediation of Abraham, Moses, and
the prophets. It was the mediation of
Biblical authors. Without such
mediation, God will never be understood.
The Summit is Jesus Christ
15. After many “mediators” of God’s word in
the Old Testament, revelation finds it summit in Jesus Christ. The word is now
the Son of God. In the gospel account of St. John, especially in the prologue,
we read that “the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us; we have seen his
glory” (Jn.1/14). The message of God is now not just a teaching or a program.
It is not a catalogue of lessons. It is a person—Jesus
Christ. In the life and death of Jesus we see God. We see the Kingdom and the
path to communion with God. Thus Jesus is the definite and unique mediator between us and God (see 1Tim.2/5) because in him
God makes himself absolutely and
definitely known. In the Old testament the revelation took a process of
time and there were still a lot of things hidden. But in Jesus Christ what remained unknown about God has been
communicated to us. Revelation finds its definite conclusion in the
revelation through Christ. This really is the fullness of Revelation.
16. Of course there are lessons and teachings
in Christianity. But these are secondary. The primary revelation is a
person—Jesus Christ. The Christian is called principally to assent in faith to
the person of Jesus Christ. But Jesus came before this invitation to believe.
He offered his life to us, and so we are called to have faith in him. In Jesus
we find our true happiness because to see him is to see God. “Who sees me sees
the Father” (Jn.14/9). In Jesus, “the way, the truth and the life” (Jn.14/6) is
the Absolute, the satisfaction of our deepest desire.
17. Then there is, of course, the Church. The
Church has received the definite revelation. The Church also announces it. The
truth of God’s self-communication exists permanently
inside the Church. We would like to understand well what God has said in Jesus
Christ, the Word, because what God has said involves our salvation.
18. God’s revelation is definite in Jesus
Christ. God does not say, “Ooops, I made a mistake, I will start revealing
something else and send someone else”. This revelation is permanent in the
Church. We are members of the Church.
The Church preserves God’s revelation and interprets it with constant reference
to the Bible.
Jesus Christ, God Who Comes Near
Marcel Domergue S.J.
A return to the Gospel
1. Christians are accused of pretending to
know the truth. They are accused of their dogmatism. The Gospel is not,
however, a series of answers. It is rather the “good news” about an encounter between God and the human
person, and an encounter among human persons. Let us return to the Gospel.
2. Why is the gospel story—and the Christian
faith in general—so unacceptable to some very serious and responsible people?
This rejection is an unhappy result of what happened in history. Many
Christians have given the name of Christ “anti-gospel” meanings. So things have
emerged, like authoritarianism, pretension to monopolize knowledge of the
truth, exclusivism, etc. Christianity has become known for these.
3. This is a challenge for us. Maybe we need
to return to the basics. Let us start all over again. Let us return to the Gospel and see its state
of birth before the complications of history and culture arose. This is not the
way of receiving from fixed tradition imposed on us and has become obligatory
to our faith.
4. Where do we find the Good News in its birth form? The quick answer may be to read the New
Testament and read about the words of Jesus. Maybe we can look at how Jesus
behaved and see how we can do the same. This looks ok. But the four gospels are
really about the birth of the Good News in
a culture of long ago. They may tell us about the Good News and how it took
place at that time. But they might not tell us much about how it can take place
in our world today.
5. Of course the stories there give words
and images that transmit an original experience. But this is secondary. We can
even study the culture behind the written texts and see what the texts mean.
The Good News, however, is really underneath
the written texts. If Jesus came today he would not be saying the same
words nor will he be doing the same gestures.
6. The Good News is, first of all, about an encounter. The Good News is born in
a world where there are persons who risk showing
who they really are. The Good News is born when there are persons who
overcome their antagonisms and they try to live in harmony with each
other. It is not a harmony against other people, like that we see
in political and international pacts. Rather it is harmony “for”. It is a
harmony that can spread throughout and be shared so that finally we can truly
understand each other. It is a humble birth. But it is serious. The Good News
produces itself, like when electrodes touch and an electric spark arises. The
Good News is the way persons come near each other and reconcile.
Jesus
7. The Good News is not a series of
“questions and answers”. It is mutual presence; it is encounter. It is
impossible to fully estimate and predict what will arise from this encounter.
The gospel texts are stories of an encounter. Someone, a man named Jesus, was
encountered. It happened over 2,000 years ago in the 1st century of
Palestine. It is an encounter so meaningful and so fundamental—it is an
encounter between God and humanity. It has become the source of encounter among
persons.
8. Who is Jesus? To answer this, let us
first say who he is not. So, who is he not? Jesus is someone who does not have obstacles in encountering
others.
9. Jesus of Nazareth is not a “personal
institution”. In the Letter to the Hebrews we read, “If he were here, he would
not be a priest” (8/4). Jesus did not carry anything institutional in him. The
Letter to the Hebrews continues to say that what priests do is only an
imitation—a “shadow and copy”—of what is real.
10. Jesus is here and now, today. How? If he
comes visibly, will he be sitting on a throne? Will he be sitting on an
Episcopal throne? Perhaps we will find
him, instead, in a poor neighborhood telling the voiceless and the marginalized,
“the kingdom is in your midst”. He would be telling them how wonderful it is to
welcome the kingdom.
11. The Kingdom? Let us keep in mind that it
is about the life of harmony and mutual understanding. Jesus would not be part
of the club of Pharisees. No, he would not be member of such. He would be a
“free-lancer” and we would not be able to classify him.
12. Jesus is the figure of an Absolute Liberty. In the gospels we read about people who
wonder, “Who is he?” We read that he would be speaking. But he would not be
speaking like giving a professional speech—like the speech of a lawyer. Jesus
would not place his words under the authority of others—as professionals would.
He would speak under the authority in
himself. “Come and see”. What speaks in Jesus is what gives witness to him.
There are his “works” which are the works of God—they are works of Love. Jesus
does not hide behind authorities to authenticate his message. He refers to
scriptures, and he does this to absorb the scriptures. But instead of looking
at the scriptures to see how he can justify his words and actions, he would
instead say, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing”
(Lk.4/21).
13. Jesus presents himself with such freedom towards everyone. He is the beginning—the beginning from
where emerges a new way of being human.
Jesus is so free he does not put in
chains the freedom of those who listen to him. He does not say, “You should
believe in this or that”. Instead he says, “Believe in me, believe in God”. He
does not say, “Believe that God
exists”. Rather he would say, “Lose yourself in God and follow me”. Everything depends on the freedom of whoever
listens to him: “if you want…if you want”. He proposes…and he does not
propose a system of truths. In the case of Jesus, he proposes his very
own self—his very own person. “The truth? It is me”.
Expel the forces of division.
14. If truth is a person, it is not enough to
have convictions. We cannot enclose a person in a box or on a prison of
concepts. There is one episode in Luke and Mark that is curious. It is given in
Lk.9/49-50 and in Mk.9/38-40. We read that the disciples try to stop someone
expelling demons in the name of Jesus. Why? Because that person is not a member
of the group of disciples. Jesus disapproves. “Do not stop him,” he says, “who is not against us is with us”. This
statement actually can go very far. Jesus invites us to build a world where
everyone is “with”. Whoever refuses to be
“against” and whoever expels the forces of division is already “with”. This “with” concerns all human and it cannot have
exclusion in the name of Jesus.
Jesus and Resurrection
Marcel Domergue S.J.
1. To believe in God does not immediately
make a person Christian. St. Paul clarifies this. For him to be “without God in
the world” is at the same time to be “without Christ” (see Eph.2/12). If we do
not have God “in the world” there is no point in believing in a God “out there”
and “out of the world”. St. Paul sees that the God “in the world” has something
to do with the resurrection. Faith, for St. Paul, is faith in the resurrection of Christ. If Jesus had not risen, God
would not have come in the world. If God did not come in the world, everything
is useless and senseless.
2. For St. Paul, a believer is someone who
has faith in the God who has risen Jesus from the dead. “If Christ has not been
raised, your faith is empty; you are still in your sins” (1Cor.15/17). God who
does not reveal as God with us in the world is not an important God. We can
ignore him and go on hopelessly in life.
3. The resurrection is the standard of faith
and it is proof of faith. Instead of comforting the disciples, the resurrection
challenged them. They were challenged to either show themselves as believers or
to be unbelievers.
4. When St. Paul was talking to some Greeks,
he was interesting to them. He spoke of God in whom “we live and move and have
being” (Act.17/28). The Greeks would feel secure in this type of thinking. But when St. Paul started talking about the
resurrection, the Greeks left him. They could not see themselves listening to
what he had to say. What does this tell us? When we talk about the
resurrection, we cannot cheat ourselves. Either we proclaim for or against God
who overcomes death. We cannot “water down” our faith. If we do so, then we are
no longer faithful to the reality of the
resurrection.
5. Faith tells us that Jesus is risen from
the dead. What about those who came before Jesus? Abraham, for example, lived
centuries before. Yet he is recognized as “father of faith”. Could he have had
faith without believing in the resurrection? In the Letter to the Hebrews we
read that Abraham was so ready to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham reasoned “that God
was already able to raise from the dead” (Heb.11/19).
6. The reality and faith in the resurrection
had been in the ancient times of the Old Testament—but in a hidden way. The
resurrection was already there hidden since the origin of the world. The Christ
extended his hands at the hour of his passion to destroy death and to allow the resurrection to show.
The resurrection was real but not yet revealed. St. Paul himself wrote, “If
there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither Christ has been raised”
(1Cor.15/13). St. Paul assumed that there was the resurrection before Christ.
7. The resurrection is a reality that
affects us all and it is revealed in
Christ. Jesus himself had said, “Concerning the resurrection of the dead,
have you not read what was said to you by God, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but the God
of the living” (Mat.22/31-32).
8. In calling God as “the God of the living”
Jesus corrected the image people had of God. In fact, he dropped that image
altogether. We can return to Genesis 3 where we see the serpent promoting doubt
about God. The serpent was showing that God was selfish and did not want our
lives. In front of the sight of death the human being started to believe in it.
Thus the human person really died—giving hope and happiness. The human being defied God. The human being
doubted the source of life. That defiance started to affect human life too.
9. Let us put it this way. Someone gives me
a wonderful gift. I say, “This is too good to be true, there must be a trap
here”. The human being was given the gift of life and the gift of happiness. It
was too good to be true, the human being started to suspect God. Thus started the fear of life and the fear of
God’s love.
10. The resurrection of Jesus confronted the
doubt promoted in Genesis 3. The resurrection of Jesus is the last statement of God about God. All that happens after is a
deployment of the resurrection. God is now revealed as the God who gives
himself. He entered our death to condemn death and to denounce the influence of
death in our lives.
11. The resurrection is revealed in Christ.
Here is our hope even if we have not quite experienced actual death and rising
again. Let us see what the gospel accounts can say. They might help us.
12. The main image given by the gospel
accounts is the empty tomb. Mary Magdalene thought someone took away the body
of Jesus (see Jn.20/11-18). The tomb was empty but it was not proof that Jesus had risen. We can still say that
someone took the body away. The empty tomb is an invitation to faith. it can signify that Jesus had indeed risen.
The empty tomb also tells us that death could not take hold of Jesus. Jesus did
not corrupt. “Why do you seek among the dead he who is alive?” Death has been
deprived of its fruit.
13. The stone covering the tomb was rolled
away. An “exodus” has taken place. It was the exodus of going out of death and
darkness. The resurrection can be like a re-birth. “When a woman is in labor,
she is in anguish because her hour has not yet arrived; but when she has given
birth to a child, she no longer remembers the pain because of her joy that a
child has been born into the world” (Jn.16/21). Israel left Egypt, the people
left slavery. It was a moving out of death. A nation was then born. Then God
was recognized as the God of liberty.
14. Jesus disappeared when he resurrected. It
was not possible to locate him and say, “He is here” or “he is there”. Before his death he would disappear—to go for
prayer. Then the disciples would seek him and find him. Now, after the
resurrection, Jesus could not be simply within reach. He is not anymore of this
world. Of course he is still embodied, but his body is glorified. He could not
be easily recognized. Mary Magdalene mistook him for a gardener (see
Jn.20/11-18). In Luke he was mistaken
for a ghost (see Lk.24/37). What do these accounts tell us? Jesus is present
and absent. This is his way of being with his disciples. Never, however, is he
without body. “Look at my hands and feet, that is I myself. Touch and see me,
because a ghost does not have flesh and bines as you can see I have.” As he
said this he showed them his hands and his feet” (lk.24/39-40).
15. So we believe in the “resurrection of the
body”, as we pray in our creed. Jesus
completely passed through death and he completely re-took life. That too is our
destiny. We believe.
A Discussion about the Biblical Inspiration
From Marcel Domergue S.J. and Bernard Sesboüé S.J.
1. We might want to look at the meaning of
Creation. Creation is not an event that happened only once. It is on-going. We
are still in the process of Creation. We are still in the process of fulfilling
ourselves, moving to our becoming fully human. Creation is on-going in our
history, both social and personal. We go through the ups and downs of
life—becoming more and more images of God. The Bible is part of our process. It
is integrated to our growth as humans. In a way we can say that the Bible is
part of our creation. It is very much part of our path to our fulfillment.
2. The Bible is also a “story”. The entire
Bible is a result of a “mobilization” of many authors. The entire Bible is a
“great story”. It is the great story of human fulfillment. It is a great story
of God teaching the human being how to overcome the different ways of becoming
“inhuman” and how to become “child of God”. The great story therefore moves to
Christ who is the last and definite Word of the story. The great story leads us
to see how the human person becomes conformed to Christ.
3. How do we interpret the notion of
“inspiration”? How can we say that the Bible is inspired? One way of replying
is by seeing the great story of the Bible as the route of God’s plan for
humanity. Each part of the Bible reveals the path of this plan—and the path is
human striding towards Christ. Each part of the Bible also reveals human
deception and how the human person is called to be free from it. Liberty is
found in Christ. Each part of the entire Bible is therefore “inspired” in the
sense that it points to the route towards Christ.
4. The Bible is inspired when we see it as a
result of the Covenant between God and the human being. It is a common work
between God and human authors. We might be used to think that the Bible is
“Word of God”. But we should not forget that those who wrote the books
contained in it were human authors (see Dei
Verbum 3). Human authors wrote with their own temperaments, cultures,
linguistic styles, literary skills, states of mind, etc. The human authors
wrote about their experiences of God within their lives. Human authors recorded
God entry into history.
1. We can rely on the created universe and
our own hearts to discover the revelation of God. But we cannot deny that God’s
revelation has passed thorough history too. It was the history of the Hebrew
people in the Old Testament and the history of the coming of Jesus Christ. God
really intervened in history and he has definitely historically revealed in the
person of Jesus Christ. God’s revelation passed
through the inner lives or conscience of people—like Abraham, Moses and the
prophets. It also passed through the
inner lives of the Biblical authors. People encountered God and they
responded through their actions and, for some, through their writing down the
encounter. People articulated, in their own culture and language, their
experiences of God.
2. God “in-forms” people and people express
that “in-formation”. Revelation is not something that falls from the sky. The
Bible is not a “dictated” book which human authors jotted down. The Bible is
mediated. What the mediators (the authors) wrote was the object of their faith.
An illustration from the New Testament can help us understand what happened to
the authors. Consider the confession of Peter. What do we read? Jesus asks his
disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” On behalf of everyone Peter gives the
response, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God”. How does Jesus react
to this? He says that it is not by human invention that Peter is able to give
his confession. It is “by my Father who is in heaven” (see Mt.16/13-20). What
do we see in this? Jesus is saying that God
makes the confession of Peter possible. God has revealed the truth to Peter
and Peter, in his faith, makes the confession. Peter’s confession is a result
of “inspiration”. Peter was “inspired”.
3. In the same way, Biblical authors were
“inspired”. Then they wrote, using their talents, skills, language and cultural
concepts. In their own human capacities, they mediated the message of God by
putting it in writing. God entered and revealed within human history and that
revelation was recorded as Biblical texts. We said, above, that the summit of
revelation is Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. God’s revelation passes
through the words and deeds of Jesus.
The story about Jesus, including the experience of seeing him risen from
the dead, became the “material” of the Gospel authors. They received the
definite revelation of God and in their faith they put down the experience in
writing. They were “inspired” to write.
4. The authors were not interested in writing
a historical account of God, not in the modern sense of history. They did not
hesitate to write with fantastic images.
The truth that they wrote went beyond the exactitude of events. Of
course “something happened”. Of course events took place. If we read the
Gospels we cannot deny that the authors were going back to real historical
events of Jesus. But the written texts were interpretations
of the events. So when we say that St. Mark wrote about Jesus, we mean “the
gospel according to Mark”. The point
is, there was an experience of God and this experience found its way into
written texts.
5. This allows us to do scientific work on
the Bible. There are many fields in Biblical study—like historical criticism,
form criticism, structuralism, semiotics, archaeology etc. They are quite
scientific. They do not destroy confidence in the Bible. In fact, scientific
work can help us see better what the human authors might have wanted to say.
They can help us deepen our understanding of the meaning that human authors have
given to their writings.
6. The Bible is not God’s work alone. It is the result of the “face-to-face”
relationship between God and human authors. It is a kind of “covenant” between
God and the writers. The Bible is a result of encounters between God and the
authors. Then it was expressed in written texts. God inspired authors to write,
just as he inspired Peter to confess that Jesus is Christ. This is what our
Christianity tells us. The human authors, such as the Gospel authors, wrote
using their concepts and categories. They used their own language, talents and
resources. They took materials from the community they lived in. They recorded
the memories of those who knew Jesus. What they wrote then became part of the
community.
7. The Bible is also a community work. The
community decides which books shall be considered “inspired”. In theological
language this is called “canon”. Canon means “rule”. The community decides
which book is “canonical”—that which is accepted as inspired and guide for the
community.
8. Christianity is not a “religion of the
book”, as some would say. It is a religion of the community. The community has
been provided with the Bible, yes. The Bible guides the community. But the
Bible is also what the community gives to itself. The Bible emerges out of the
“canonical” choice of the community. The Bible forms the community just as it
is molded by the community.
9. Let us focus on the Gospel stories. Jesus
did not write anything. What he left behind was a community of disciples to
whom he gave his teachings and to whom he showed his way of living. The
community then gave itself the written texts. In those texts the community recognized its faith. The written
texts were expressions of their faith.
10. In a way we can say that the Bible lets
God speak! The Bible lets Jesus speak! As a community we recognize our faith in
the Bible. When we enter into studying and praying the Bible we recognize how
God speaks in and through it.
11. We need to say a word about reading the
Bible as Christians. When we read the Bible we will notice how one passage
opens up to many other passages. Just look at the Bible you use. Notice the
notes and the passages recommended in margins. Take the example of the 40-day
Temptation of Christ in the desert. The number 40 tells us about the 40 years
of the Hebrews in the desert. The hungry Jesus was tempted to doubt the word of
God. Yet Jesus did not give up. The author wanted to tell us that although
Israel failed in confidence toward God, Jesus kept that confidence. The
temptation in the desert also refers to the future—to the Passion of Jesus. In
the Passion story Jesus refused to employ power and might. Already the
Temptation in the desert “previewed” it. So reading the Bible opens up to a lot
of references and cross references. For us Christians reading the Bible, the
references and cross reference should find their center in Christ. The Old
Testament is read beginning with Christ. Christ is the key.
12. In fact the New testament authors were
following the same path. Seeing Jesus they looked back at the Old testament.
They “retrospected” and saw in the Old Testament references to Christ. We do
not begin with the Old Testament and see the New testament as resulting from
it. This is not how we, Christians read the Old Testament. Christ is the key,
and starting from him we move to the Old Testament[5].
The Trinity? It is Complicated
Marcel Domergue S.J.
Introduction
1.
We are familiar
with God as Father and as Son. Why must there be a third person? Why must there
be the Holy Spirit? It is hard to figure this one out. One God and Three
Persons…what does this mean?
Human Experience
2.
It is an error to
say that we supplement our lives when we relate with Nature and with other
people. It is like saying that “first” we exist and “then” we enter into
relationships. In fact, when we eat and breathe we take from what come from
outside. Food and air are brought to us. We cannot say that “first” we eat and
breathe, and “then” we supplement these with food and air.
3.
What about ideas
and tastes, information and interests? They come also from somewhere else: our
parents, friends, teachers, etc. We are “crossroads” or “meeting points” of so
many currents of events and situations. Many things happen and each of us are
meeting points of these. To exist is, at the same time to be in relationship.
We cannot say that “first” we exist and “then” we enter into relationships.
Look at our birth. It is a result of the relationship between a man and a
woman. We start the development of our humanity with our parents, and then
slowly we meet others and we grow and develop.
4.
Although each of
us is unique, we depend on others and we are inter-connected with others. Our faith tells us that the reason for this
is because we are created in the image and likeness of God whose basic
“substance” is relationship and inter-connection.
No Two without Three
5.
As ancient as the
13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas was already saying that the Three
persons in God form a “subsisting relationship”. Sounds abstract? What the saint was saying is
that the basis of existence of Father, Son and Spirit is relationship. The Father cannot be Father without Son. Son cannot
be Son without Father. The Spirit links both of them.
6.
Where do these
ideas come from? Also, why do we have to speak of Three, why not just Two? Why
add the Spirit in the picture? Well, we rely on the Holy Scriptures—the Bible.
And the Bible tells us that the Three are involved in “mission” or in
“sending”. We read that Jesus, in the Bible, speaks of “he who the Father
sends” or “another defender, the Paraclete” or “the power from above”.
7.
The Bible tells
us that the Father sends the Son. The Father and the Son send the Spirit. So we have an idea of who God is.
There is a lot of “sending” involved.
8.
The New Testament
talks a lot about the Three. Among many accounts, the baptism accounts express
the presence of the Three. Two cannot
express the perfection of love. If there are just Two, then there is a
narcissistic face-to-face relationship. It is necessary to open up to the
Third.
Spirit, movement
9.
Theology, based
on the Bible, tells us that the Spirit “proceeds” from the Father and the Son. Also the Spirit
is, at times, creator too. The Spirit is presented as the movement of the
Father to the Son, the Son to the Father. Thanks to the Spirit, one moves to
the other. If, for us, we get confused thinking of the Spirit, it is because
the Spirit is also in us. The Spirit is God in us.
10. Father, Son and Spirit are all found in
the Bible. We might easily relate to the Father and Son because their
relationship resembles our experiences of fatherhood and son-hood. But actually
there is also a big difference. Saint Denys would propose that we consider
God’s Fatherhood in three ways. a. God is, indeed, Father. b. But God is also not Father in the human way.
c. God is Father in an “eminent” or “superior” way.
God is life, sharing, movement
11. When we think of Father or even Son we
might have images of bearded men. What about the Spirit? We might think of
breath, wind, dove, tongue of fire, oil, etc. It is not easy—not as easy as
when we think of men with long beards. Let us say that Spirit is the figure of
God-in-movement. God moves towards becoming human and moves towards death on
the cross. We are also put on the move when we receive the Spirit. We move in
the Paschal life. Through the Spirit God is within us. We are moved by the
Spirit.
12. But why speak of “persons”? Why say Three
“persons”? This might lead to a misunderstanding that there are three gods. No.
The term “Three Persons in One God” must help us see that God is not about three functions or that there
are three viewpoints about God. No. God is actually relationship—sharing. St.
Ignatius of Antioch would say that God, rather than “One”, is “Union” (Letter
to Tralliens X,1). In other words, the “substance” of God is love and life—it
is relationship and sharing.
13. We need to make more precision with the
word “person” here. Person takes place only when there is relationship—when
there is link and union with others. The Trinity is Unity. We have become
images and likeness of this—we exist only in this way, as relationship. This
explains why life is given the basic command—the command of all commands: love. Love unites without destroying
uniqueness. In fact, love magnifies each of us.
[1] Feminists today might react to this and say that this
image of Father is too sexist. God is also Mother, for the feminists. We must
respect this position too. But at this point we need to be clear that Jesus
called his Father “Abba”. His revelation about God is Father, therefore
“masculine”. Yet, to avoid confrontation, we can also say that the
characteristic of God as merciful has feminine
and maternal features. The Hebrew
word for God’s “mercy” is the uterus, which is very feminine.
[2] If today we call God “Abba”—as in Our Father—this is
thanks to Jesus teaching us to call God as “Abba”.
[3] We can learn a lot from this be “reviewing” our own
obedience to God. Are we obeying God because we are afraid of him or because we
see ourselves as his children?
[5] Let us give an example. When we read Isaiah we might
think that already the prophet was
talking about the coming of Jesus himself. When Isaiah mentioned “the virgin
shall be with child and bear a son and shall name him Immanuel” (Is.7/14) he
was actually thinking of the King Hezekiah. But New Testament thinking re-reads
that and applies it to Jesus Christ. New Testament would “retrospect” and make
use of Hebrew concepts and tradition to understand the presence of Jesus
Christ.
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