The Beauty of the Catholic Faith, Part III

This is the third article in an eight-part series that reflects on fundamental Christian beliefs as expressed in the Creed. There are four main topics, each divided into two sections: (1) Reflecting on the Mystery of God;  (2) Gazing on the Face of Christ;  (3) Being Church in a Secular Society;  (4) Living in Hope: What Catholics Believe about Death and Eternal Life.

Gazing on the Face of Christ  (I)

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made. For us human beings and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became human. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

The understanding of the person and saving work of Jesus Christ (called “Christology”) is a topic that is receiving a lot of attention today. First of all, there is a lot that is being written about Jesus. Take a trip to popular book stores like Borders or Barnes & Noble and you will find a whole series of books written from a variety of perspectives. People seem to want to know more about the “historical Jesus.” These books, however, are of very mixed quality. Some contemporary authors speculate about Jesus by drawing on questionable writings that were not accepted into the Christian canon of Scriptures.  This dizzying medley of books on Jesus can leave people quite confused. Second, in a globalized world in which we are more aware than ever of other religious traditions, Christians struggle with how to conceive of and talk about their belief in Jesus as the savior of all humanity. The issue of the relationship between Christ and other religious traditions is a critical one today.

Each of us develops a personal portrait of Jesus throughout our lives. That portrait is like a mosaic, consisting of many pieces (tesserae) that have been drawn from a variety of dimensions of our lives: people whom we have loved and admired; images and concepts learned in our religious education, beginning at a very young age; our favorite biblical stories and images; spiritual devotions that have meant a lot to us; significant personal experiences of prayer, etc. Brian McDermott, an expert on Christology says this about our personal portraits of Christ: “As Christians grow up in the Church, they form a mental image of Christ. Their image may be very indistinct and, one hopes, undergoes many changes as they mature. It is a mixture, comprising pieces of the gospel accounts, things said or written about Christ by others, and their own experiences of Christ in their own lives, as well as their ideas about what it would be like to be the ‘authentic human being’ and the Son of God incarnate” (Word Become Flesh: Dimensions of Christology, Liturgical Press, 27).

This personal portrait of Christ is very important to our lives of faith. It influences the ways in which we pray, read the Scriptures, and make significant decisions.  Each of us, however, needs to allow this personal image to be measured and informed by what the Scriptures and the Christian tradition tell us about Christ. Sometimes our own mosaic of Christ needs a little “touching up” if it is to be a more authentic and life-giving image of the Lord. Let us see what we might learn about Christ from the Scriptures and tradition.
Insights From the Scriptures

Most of what we know about Jesus comes from the four gospels. Other sections of the New Testament, like the letters of Paul, offer us invaluable insight into the meaning and significance of Christ for history and the lives of believers.  But they do not give us much information about Jesus of Nazareth.  New Testament scholar Donald Senior has compared the four evangelists to portrait artists, each of whom composed a masterful rendering of the same compelling figure (Jesus: A Gospel Portrait, Paulist Press).  The Church teaches us that there were three main stages in the development of these gospels. (1) The initial stage was the experience of the earthly Jesus in his interaction with his disciples and others. As Senior points out, the gospel portraits of Jesus “must reflect in a credible way the words and works of Jesus himself. If not, if the interpretation of later history brings us to a Jesus who does not reflect the man who walked the roads of Palestine, then the incarnation becomes a strange assertion of Christian faith” (16-17). While the gospels were composed decades after the time of Jesus’ public ministry, they are rooted in real memories about Jesus and his interaction with others. 

(2) The second stage of gospel development was the period of the apostolic preaching about Jesus. The first item on the “to-do” list of the apostles was not to sit down and write gospels. It was to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and to form communities of believers. Senior remarks, “The conviction that Jesus was alive, that he was the Christ, the fullness of God’s promise, ignited a missionary campaign whose energy and success perhaps have never been equaled” (17). As they spoke about Jesus to others, the first Christians looked back on his life through the lens of the resurrection. Raymond Brown notes the significance of this perspective: “The postresurrectional faith illumined the memories of what they had seen and heard during the preresurrectional period; and so they proclaimed his words and deeds with enriched significance” (Introduction to the New Testament, 108). In their  catechesis of new believers, Christians handed on stories about Jesus’ words and deeds as they were remembered within the Christian community.

(3) New Testament scholars conclude that it was toward the latter third of the first century that the four gospels were actually written, beginning with the gospel of Mark. It seems likely that each gospel writer composed his portrait of Jesus with a specific community (or perhaps communities) of Christians in mind. The gospels were written “from faith for faith.” They were written by committed believers with the intention of informing and strengthening the faith of other believers. Though grounded in authentic memories and traditions about Jesus, they were not composed as verbatim eyewitness reports of the life of Jesus, as a contemporary journalist might attempt to chronicle the life of a famous person. Rather, they are proclamations of the meaning and significance of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Let us take a brief look at each of these four gospel portraits of Jesus.  A careful reading of Mark’s gospel leads many to conclude that it was written for a group of Christians who had experienced intense suffering and disruption in their lives. Some scholars argue that it was written for Christians at Rome who had been persecuted under Nero in the mid-sixties of the first century. This gospel includes a carefully interwoven account of Christology and discipleship. For Mark, who Jesus is and what it means to follow him go hand in hand. At the beginning of his account of Jesus’ public ministry, Mark tells us something about the meaning of discipleship: “He appointed twelve [whom he also named apostles] that they might be with him and he might send them forth to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (3:14-15).  Discipleship, then, involves being with Jesus and sharing in his life-giving mission of proclaiming the reign of God.

In the first half of his gospel, Mark presents Jesus as the herald of the reign of God . The evangelist “portrays Jesus as someone who teaches with authority (exousia), for not only does Jesus proclaim that the kingdom of God is at hand but he effects its presence by casting out demons and healing the sick” (F. Matera, Introduction to New Testament Christology, Westminster John Knox Press, 11). In this section of the gospel, the disciples leave all and follow the Lord. They are exemplars of faith. The turning point of Mark’s gospel takes place with the confession of Peter in 8:27-33. In response to Jesus’ question about his identity, Peter confesses, “You are the Messiah.” This leads into the second half of the gospel, which is focused on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. The mystery of the cross casts a long shadow over this part of the story. Jesus is the Son of Man, who will suffer, die and be raised up. Here the disciples repeatedly misunderstand the teaching of Jesus, especially when he speaks of the suffering that awaits him. They just cannot accept the idea of a suffering Messiah.

Mark’s description of the events of Jesus passion is stark. Jesus is alone in prayer in the garden of Gethsemane, as his disciples sleep through this momentous hour. When he is arrested Mark writes, “And they all left him and fled” (14:50). On the cross, Jesus utters the opening line of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” He dies with a loud scream. Nevertheless, at the moment of his death, there is a great reversal. The veil in the sanctuary is torn in two, signifying that access to God is henceforth open to all people. And the Roman centurion, a member of the execution team, makes the most sublime profession of the true identity of Jesus found in the gospel. Mark writes, “When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’” For Mark, it is only in the shadow of the cross that one can truly understand what kind of Messiah Jesus is -- what it means that he is the Son of God. He is the Son who gives his life in ransom for the many. This great reversal continues at the scene of the empty tomb, when the angel commands the frightened women, “Go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you’” (16:7)

Matthew builds on the gospel of Mark but also includes material from other sources, e.g., his account of Jesus’ birth and of the Sermon on the Mount. Scholars think that he may have been writing for the Christian community at Antioch in Syria, an important center of early Christian life that is described in the Acts of the Apostles. The gospel of Matthew is the most “Jewish” of the four gospels. He wants his readers to know that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of God found in the Old Testament. He often meditates on incidents associated with the life of Jesus by citing a passage in the Hebrew Scriptures which he believes is brought to its fulfillment by Jesus. Matthew also seems to describe Jesus against the backdrop of Moses, e.g., in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus ascends the mountain in order to give the new law, just as Moses gave the law on Mount Sinai.  This evangelist allows the exalted status of Jesus to shine through during his ministry more clearly than does Mark. After Jesus comes to the disciples in the boat and calms the storm, they offer homage to him and say, “Truly you are the Son of God” (14:33). In a passage that has inspired and consoled believers throughout the centuries, Matthew depicts the gentle mastery of Christ, the Son who knows the Father: “Come to me all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves. For my yoke is easy and my burden light” (11:28-30).

Scholars like Donald Senior detect a subtle tension in Matthew’s gospel (The Gospel of Matthew, IBT Series, Abingdon Press). It presents Jesus as one who is thoroughly rooted in Judaism yet also impels the Christian community outward to the larger world. As we have already seen, this evangelist wants his readers to know that by believing in Jesus they are being faithful to the God who promised salvation to the people of Israel. At the same time, at the end of the gospel the risen Jesus commands the eleven disciples, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold I am with you always, until the end of the age” (28:19-20). This tension leads some scholars to conclude that Matthew’s gospel was written for a Christian community that was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles and that was experiencing a moment of transition from a mainly Jewish Christian past to a future that would be dominated by the mission to the Gentiles.

The Italian poet Dante once described Luke as “the scribe of Christ’s gentleness.”  Luke’s depiction of the compassionate ministry of Jesus is indeed compelling, and this evangelist has recounted stories and incidents that are deeply inscribed in the Christian imagination: the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son; the scene in Jericho with the tree-climbing Zacchaeus; Jesus’ promise to the Good Thief spoken during the moment of his own intense suffering. When the imprisoned John the Baptist sends a group of his own disciples to ask Jesus if he is “the one to come” Jesus’ response focuses on his life-giving ministry: “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them” (7:22). These life-restoring deeds of Jesus are his true “credentials;” they reveal him as the “savior” whose birth was announced to the shepherds by the angels (2:11).

The author of this gospel also composed the Acts of the Apostles. Like Matthew, though in a more subtle way, Luke wants his readers to know that God keeps his promises. The God of Jesus is the faithful God who fulfills his promises of old through the life and destiny of Jesus, as well as through the life of the Christian community. The way in which God brings his promises to fulfillment has a universal scope. Luke begins his gospel with a scene of Zechariah in his priestly service in the Jerusalem temple, the center of the Jewish world. He concludes the Acts of the Apostles with the apostle Paul giving testimony to Christ in Rome, the center of the Gentile world. The good news of Jesus Christ is intended for the entire world.

The gospel of John is “different” from Mark, Matthew and Luke. The Johannine scholar Robert Kysar called this gospel “the maverick gospel.” This evangelist adopts a distinct framework for his presentation of the life and ministry of Jesus. For example,  he presents Jesus’ public ministry as situated in Jerusalem more than in Galilee; Jesus engages in lengthy discourses and dialogues instead of telling parables; and Jesus speaks more directly bout himself. The Prologue to this gospel (1:1-18) is like an overture to a great symphony: it sets the overall tone for the gospel and sounds themes that will be developed throughout the gospel. Raymond Brown observes, “Serving as a preface to the gospel, the Prologue is a hymn that encapsulates John’s view of Christ” (Introduction to the New Testament, 337). Jesus is identified as the Word of God who has become flesh (1:14). This Word who was with God before all creation has entered into human history in order to be “the true light which enlightens everyone” (1:9).

Having begun his gospel in this transcendent realm, John is the evangelist who places the greatest emphasis on the exalted status of Jesus.  Jesus is the one who is in charge. In the very first chapter he is identified by a whole host of important titles: Messiah, Elijah, Prophet, Son of God, Lamb of God, Son of Man, King of Israel (1:19-50). The hour of Jesus’ passion is in fact his hour of glory, when the Son of Man is lifted up and glorified. In his account of the passion, which we hear each year on Good Friday, John continues to show that Jesus is in command of the situation. The series of dialogues between Jesus and Pilate during his trial convince that reader that it is really Pilate who is on trial. Brown comments on the portrait of Jesus given by this evangelist: “He retells the story from the viewpoint of the incarnation, almost making the words of Jesus in 1:50 his theme, ‘You will see greater things than that.’ Almost every scene of the gospel becomes a vehicle for manifesting the glory of Jesus, ‘glory as of an only Son from the Father’” (Introduction to New Testament Christology, Paulist Press, 141).

One of the ways in which John portrays the mystery of Jesus is through his use of rich symbols. Jesus is living water (chapter 4); bread of life (ch. 6); true light of the world (ch. 9); good shepherd (ch. 10); true vine (ch. 15). Each of these symbols, with different nuances, reveals Jesus as the source of life  for the believer. For example, in the famous vine and branches discourse, Jesus speaks of the intimate relationship he has with his disciples and of their need to stay “connected” to him in order to have life and to be productive in the Christian mission.

Imagine something for a minute: suppose that the early Church had decided to preserve only one gospel for its official scriptures. Doing so might have led to a simpler and “neater” Christian perspective on Jesus. But it would also have represented an impoverishment in our understanding of the mystery of Christ. Instead, we have received the gift of four masterful portraits of Jesus, each rooted in real experience of the one who taught, healed, suffered and rose from the dead. Each of these portraits offers us a distinctively rich perspective on the mystery of the one we name as Savior and Lord. All believers are invited to become better acquainted with these gospel portraits in order that their faith in Christ may be enriched.

Robin Ryan, CP