LOOKING AT THIS GOSPEL TEXT, WHICH CONTAINS HARSH WORDS CONCERNING PURIFYING AND POTENTIALLY DIVISIVE EFFECTS OF GOD'S CALL. PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW THE WAY OF CHRIST OFTEN ENCOUNTER HOSTILITY AND REJECTION, EVEN FROM THOSE THEY LOVE, LISTEN TO OUR TEXT: " I CAME TO BRING FIRE TO THE EARTH, AND HOW I WISH IT WERE ALREADY KINDLED! I HAVE A BAPTISM WITH WHICH TO BE BAPTIZED, AND WHAT STRESS I AM UNDER UNTIL IT IS COMPLETED!
DO YOU THINK I HAVE COME TO BRING PEACE ON EARTH? NO I TELL YOU, BUT RATHER DIVISION! FROM NOW ON FIVE IN ONE HOUSEHOLD WILL BE DIVIDED, THREE AGAINST TWO AND TWO AGAINST THREE; THEY WILL BE DIVIDED:
FATHER AGAINST SON AND SON AGAINST FATHER, MOTHER AGAINST DAUGHTER,
DAUGHTER AGAINST MOTHER, MOTHER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER.-IN-LAW. HE ALSO SAID TO THE CROWD'S, WHEN YOU SEE A DARK CLOUD RISING IN THE WEST, YOU IMMEDIATELY SAY " IT'S GOING TO RAIN.; AND SO IT HAPPENS. AND WHEN YOU SEE A SOUTH WIND BLOWING, YOU SAY, " THERE WILL BE SCORCHING HEAT;" AND IT HAPPENS..
YOU HYPOCRITES!! YOU KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THE APPEARANCE OF SKY AND EARTH, BUT WHY DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO INTERPRET THE PRESENT TIME? WINDS FROM THE WEST BLEW OFF THE MEDITERRANEAN; THOSE FROM THE SOUTH OFF THE DESERT. JESUS SAY THERE ARE MANY SIGNS OF SPIRITUAL CRISIS THAT HUMAN BEINGS NEGLECT. WHEN WE SPEAK OF JESUS,THE SON OF GOD, WE SPEAK OF THE" MYSTERY" OF JESUS IN St. PAUL'S SENSE, WE ARE THINKING OF HIM AS A SACRAMENT-A "SIGN" THAT REVEALS AS WELL AS HIDES. HE IS THE SELF-REVEALING OF GOD THROUGH THE SIGN OF A HUMAN BODY.
HE IS A MYSTERY IN ANOTHER WAY ALSO, IN THAT THERE IS SOMEHING BEYOND
UNDERSTANDING HIS MAKE -UP.
HE IS TRUELY GOD.
HE IS TRUELY MAN.
HE IS ONE PERSON.
JESUS IS NOT TWO PERSONS COOPERATING IN HARMONY. HE IS NOT GOD WITH A HUMAN FACADE, AND HE IS NOT MERELY A HUMAN BEING WITH A VERY CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
AS A TRUE HUMAN BEING, JESUS IS PSYCHOLOGICALLY A "PERSON" IN A WORD TODAY. THE COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON (451 A.D.) AFTER WRESTLING WITH THE PROBLEM OF JUST WHO JESUS WAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING WAY OF TALKING ABOUT JESUS IN THE COUNCIL:
WE UNANIMOUSLY TEACH THAT THE SON, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, IS ONE AND THE SAME, THE SAME PERFECT IN DIVINITY, THE SAME PERFECT IN HUMANITY, TRUE GOD, TRUE MAN, CONSISTING IN A RATIONAL SOUL AND BODY, CONSUBSTANTIAL WITH THE FATHER IN DIVINITY AND "CONSUBSTANTIAL" WITH (HAVING THE SAME SUBSTANCE) US IN HUMANITY... IN TWO NATURES WITH CHRIST UNCONFUSED,, UNCHANGEABLE, UNDIVIDED, AND INSEPARABLE.. THE DIFFERENCE OF NATURES WILL NEVER BE ABOLISHED BY BEING UNITED, BUT RATHER THE PROPERTIES EACH REMAINED UNIMPAIRED, BOTH COMING TOGETHER IN ONE PERSON AND SUBSTANCE, NOT PARTED OR DIVIDED AMONG TWO PERSONS, BUT IN ONE AND THE SAME ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THE DIVINE WORD, IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. WE HAVE TO BE A LITTLE PHILOSOPHICAL FOR A MOMENT. TWO NATURES IN CHRIST. "NATURE" IN THIS SENSE IS THE BASIC CONSTITUTION OF ANYTHING OR ANYONE. WHEN WE ASK, " WHAT IS THAT?" WE ARE ASKING ABOUT THEIR NATURE. "WHAT IS A PENCIL?" MEANS "WHAT MAKES A PENCIL A PENCIL AND NOT SOMETHING ELSE?" "WHAT IS A HUMAN BEING MEANS?" " WHAT MAKES A CERTAIN CLASS OF BEING HUMAN?" WE ANSWER TO BE HUMAN IS TO HAVE A SPIRITUAL-PHYSICAL WAY OF BEING. WE ARE NEITHER ANGELS, NOR ANIMALS, BUT "EM-BODIED SPIRITS OR SPIRITUALIZED BODIES. WHEN WE SAY "WHAT MAKES JESUS JESUS?" WE ANSWER THAT HE IS A BEING WHO HAS A NATURE OF BEING HUMAN AND THE NATURE OF BEING DIVINE, BUT HE IS ONLY ONE PERSON. HE IS ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE. ONE PERSON IN CHRIST. WHEN WE SAY:" WHO IS THAT?" WE ARE NO LONGER ASKING WHAT MAKES SOMETHING TO BE WHAT IT IS. RATHER WE ARE IN THE AREA OF PERSONS. WE WANT TO KNOW THE PARTICULARE IDENTITY-THE-NAME-OF SOME PARTICULAR BEING.
NOW HERE IS THE MYSTERY OF JESUS. EVERY INDIVIDUAL HUMAN NATURE WE KNOW OF IS A HUMAN PERSON.
JOE SMITH IS A HUMAN PERSON, WITH A HUMAN NATURE. BUT JESUS IS NOT TWO PEOPLE MORE OR LESS TIED TOGETHER, GOD AND MAN; HE IS ONE PERSON WITH A DIVINE NATURE, WHO HAS ASSUMED A HUMAN NATURE INTO HIS ONE PERSON. THERE IS ONLY ONE WHO IS JESUS, BUT TWO WHAT'S. WHAT HE DOES IS TRULY DIVINE; IT IS ALSO ENTIRELY HUMAN.
THERE IS NO MIXING OF NATURES, HOWEVER. HE IS THE WISDOM AND POWER OF GOD, THE ETERNAL AND INFINITE LOVE OF GOD; HE IS THIS MAN WITH FULLY HUMAN EMOTIONS, MAKING HUMAN DECISIONS. THE WAY ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS MAKE THEM, SUFFERING THE PAINS OF HUMAN LIMITATIONS AND THE JOYS OF A FULL HUMAN LIFE.
HOW DO WE PUT THESE TWO THINGS TOGETHHER? WE MUST SIMPLY SAY WE DON'T KNOW. WE LET THE TRUTH EXIST SIDE BY SIDE, AND WE BELIEVE THE MYSTERY.
JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS A REAL HUMAN INDIVIDUAL, A PERSON OF FLESH AND BLOOD WHO LIVED FOR THIRTY-SOME YEARS IN PALESTINE DURING A TIME THAT CAN BE HISTORICALLY VERIFIED. AS A HUMAN BEING HE SHARED THE SAME EMOTIONS, THOUGHT PROCESS, AND ABILITY TO CHOOSE THAT ARE COMMON TO ALL PEOPLE. HE HAD THE HUMAN LIMITATIONS OF INTELLIGENCE, AND HE EXPERIENCED THE STRUGGLE TO LEARN AND DISCOVER THE TRUTH (AT 12 YEARS OF AGE IN THE TEMPLE).
JESUS WAS A JEW WHO ACCEPTED AND CHERISHED THE RELIGION OF ISRAEL AND ITS TRADITION AS THE WILL OF HIS FATHER (GOD) FOR HIM AND FOR HIS PEOPLE.
HE TOOK PART IN THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF HIS TIME, WHICH INCLUDED LEARNING TORAH, ATTENDING SYNAGOGUE, MAKING PILGRIMAGES TO THE TEMPLE ( IN JERUSALEM). LEARNING FROM THE PRIESTS, RABBI'S, SCHOLARS, OF HIS TIME.
AND FOLLOWING THE LAWS AND RELIGIOUS CUSTOMS OF THE JEWS. JESUS LIFE WAS SHAPED BY THE JEWISH CULTURE, FAMILY, BY HIS LIFE IN NAZARETH AND OTHER AREAS OF GALILEE, AND HIS WORK AS A CARPENTER.
JESUS BEGAN HIS PUBLIC LIFE AS A FOLLOWER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. AFTER JOHN WAS EXECUTED, JESUS WENT ON HIS OWN INDIVIDUAL MISSION. TRADITIONAL MANNER OF WHERE FOLLOWERS PICKED THEIR LEADERS, JESUS PICKED HIS OWN FOLLOWERS, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN. RATHER THAN TO HAVE A SCHOOL, JESUS CHOSE TO BE AN ITINERANT PREACHER, DELIVERING HIS MESSAGE IN OPEN FIELDS, BY THE LAKESIDE. HE TAUGHT WITH AUTHORITY THAT WAS DISTINCTIVE, YET CONFINED HIS TEACHING MOSTLY TO SMALL TOWNS.
THE CENTRAL MESSAGE OF JESUS CONCERNED THE REIGN OF GOD. THIS WAS A COMMON THEME IN ISRAEL, BUT HIS VERSION WAS UNCOMMON, FOR HE APPARENTLY EXPERIENCE AN UNPRECEDENTEDINTIMACY WITH HIM, WHOM HE CALLED "ABBA," AND HE CALLED OTHERS TO SHARE THIS INTIMACY WITH HIM
SO WE PRAY THE SCRIPTURES WITH JOY AND ADMIRATION, AND THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE TO DO THIS, THAN "THE MAGNIFICENT PROLOGUE OF JOHN'S GOSPEL:
IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE "WORD"
AND THE "WORD," WAS WITH "GOD"
AND THE WORD WAS GOD. AMEN!
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