450. In the New Testament, we meet Christ our
Lord responding in similar fashion to the same question about salvation. When
the rich young man asked, “What must I do
to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied: “Keep the commandments” [a Torah so
righteous]. . . “If you wish to be perfect, . . . come, follow me!” [a God so
near] (Mk 10:17-22). In Jesus Christ our Savior, God is with us, for
us. Therefore obey Him!
INTEGRATION
451. The Old Testament obviously serves with the
New as the major source of all three basic dimensions of the Catholic Faith: doctrine,
morals, and worship. It is tempting to link the three-part Old
Testament canon (the Torah, the Prophets
and the Writings) to doctrine, morals and worship respectively. But this
will not do: each major part of the Old Testament contains elements of all
three dimensions of our Faith.
452. Moreover, there is good reason for not
trying to keep the three parts of the Old Testament canon too clearly apart.
For all three parts are so intimately related that in the complex editing
process of creating the Old Testament in its final written form, much
overlapping resulted. For example, the claims of the Torah moved into the
Prophetic books, while the prophetic word became important for interpreting
both the Torah and the Writings. Finally, the Wisdom books and the Psalms help
to appreciate both the Torah and the Prophets.
453. Doctrinal Dimension. Nevertheless, the Old Testament’s inspired narrative grounds most of
the basic doctrines of our Catholic Faith. For example, regarding God,
He is the Father and Creator, who will send a Savior to redeem us from sin, and
create within a new heart and among us a new people, through His Spirit.
Therefore
we recognize today how one-sided and unbalanced it was to picture the Old
Testament God as the great avenging, vindictive Jehovah. Rather we find
• Yahweh the shepherd who “seeks
out the lost, brings back the strayed” (Ez 34:16),
• a vinekeeper caring for his
vineyard (cf. Is 5: 1-7),
• the savior who loved Israel as a father
loves his son (cf. Hos 11:1), and with the tenderness of a mother for
the child of her womb (cf. Is 49:15).
Yet all this prepares for a greater revelation, for
ultimately only Jesus Christ, “the Son, ever at the Father’s side” (Jn 1:18)
can reveal the full mystery of the living God.
454. Moral Dimension. The moral code of the “Ten Words” at Sinai still grounds the New
Covenant’s moral stance, as Jesus himself presented it. Moreover, the mystery
of moral evil, sin, is dramatically presented in Genesis and throughout the Old
Testament. Perhaps even more important is how sin’s social nature,
and the corresponding call to liberating action are most powerfully described
by the prophets, as today’s liberation theology clearly manifests. In addition,
the book of Proverbs provides ample examples of common sense advice for
“training in wise conduct, in what is right, just and honest” (Prv 1:3).
455. Worship Dimension. The Church’s liturgical worship in the Eucharist celebration
draws directly on the Jewish synagogue service of God’s Word in Sacred
Scripture, and especially on Israel’s
great feast of the Passover. This practice simply builds on Christ’s own
example at the Last Supper. Moreover, especially in Israel’s songs, the Psalms, the
Catholic Church finds the inspired expression of her deepest spiritual
longings.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
456. What is the value of the Old
Testament for Christians today?
The
Old Testament gives us the living Word of God that brings God’s promise of
salvation to us. Salvation is not a material thing, but a spiritual reality
only gradually understood through its promise.
The
OT provides the background for interpreting our own experience as well as the
words, example, and presence of Christ our Savior.
“When
the holy Scriptures are read in the Church, it is Christ himself who speaks to
us” (SC 7).
457. Where is God’s Promise of
salvation found in the OT?
God’s
Promise of salvation is found in all three parts of the OT: the Law
(Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings (the Wisdom books and
Psalms).
458. What does the Law teach us
today about God’s Promise?
The OT Covenant Law was God’s great gift
to His people, offering them a special vocation and way of life as a
community heritage.
The
Law reveals a God for and with His people, whose commandments are
meant to liberate His people, despite their infidelities toward Him.
459. What do the Prophets say of
God’s Promise?
The
prophets interpret the present situation as viewed by God. They constantly call
for conversion of heart worked within His people by God Himself.
460. How, according to the
Prophets, would God accomplish this?
The
messianic prophecies foretell a Messiah King who brings salvation to his people
precisely as a “Suffering Servant.”
They
call the people to radical conversion, to turn back to Yahweh’s Covenant
by renouncing evil and doing justice.
461. What is meant by “prophetic
hope”?
The
prophets grounded the hope of salvation on God Himself, based on the memory of
Yahweh’s saving acts in the past, but always looking toward a future new life
that, through God’s creative power, drives out all resignation and despair.
462. What promise of salvation do
the “Writings” give?
The
Wisdom books remind us how to be faithful to God in daily actions and events.
• Proverbs take up the practical moral wisdom in ordinary daily life.
• Job
wrestles with the deepest mysteries of evil and death.
463. What is the special value of
the Psalms for the Christian?
The
Church has adopted the Psalms, the prayers Christ used, to express the New
Covenant created by the Triune God.
The
Psalms are song-poems of praise, lament, thanksgiving, repentance __
arising from the deepest longings of the human heart and drawing on God’s
saving acts among His people.
They
express total personal commitment_to God, the Savior of His people, in daily
obedience to His Law.
Chapter 10
Jesus Christ:
Mission and Person
“And you,” he said
to them, “who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the
Messiah, the Son of the living God!”
(Mt 16:15-16)
Thomas said, “My Lord and my God!”
(Jn 20:28)
OPENING
464. The center of our Christian Faith is Jesus
Christ. Hence he is the heart and center of catechesis (cf. PCP II
157-9; CCC 426-29). Thus the chief aim of this Catechism is to put
Filipinos “not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ:
only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share
in the life of the Holy Trinity” (CT 5). Like PCP II, this
Catechism intends to be a venue for “meeting with Christ.” It is
directed “toward a New Evangelization based on the preaching of Christ
Crucified to today’s Filipinos and Asians. . . To proclaim the wonderful
redemptive acts of Christ our Lord, from Aparri to Jolo. To re-animate our life
in Christ Jesus; to unite all things in him” (cf. Message of the Council;
PCP II 7).
This is
the first of three chapters focusing directly on Jesus as he is presented to us
today through the teaching, witness and prayer life of the Catholic “People of
God,” the Church.
465. At a critical point in his public ministry,
Jesus asked his disciples: “Who do you say that I am?” (Mt 16:15) This
same question is posed to each and every Christian Filipino today. Its unique
importance is that our own self-identity and life-meaning as persons, Filipinos
and Catholics, rests on our personal response. To truly know ourselves and the
ultimate meaning of our lives “we need to contemplate the face and the heart of
Christ” (PCP II 36).
This chapter
takes up the mission and identity of Jesus Christ. The two
following chapters develop the central truths of his Paschal Mystery as
proclaimed in the Eucharistic acclamation: “Christ has died, Christ is risen,
Christ will come again.”
CONTEXT
466. As the only “Christian nation” of Southeast Asia, we Filipinos can be proud of our faith in
Jesus Christ. Chapter 1 pictured the Catholic Filipino in terms of five images
of Christ: as Son of God and Son of Man, as Eucharist, as Suffering Servant, as
King, and as “Miracle worker,” within a Mary-inspired approach. Here we wish to
focus on how to come to a deeper, truer understanding of what Jesus Christ
does and who he is. This tells us something of both the real Jesus
Christ living today, and of our deep-felt values and needs as Filipinos, our kalooban,
as redeemed “disciples of Christ” (PCP II 34).
467. Three popular Filipino images of Christ are
particularly expressive. First is the Santo Niño
(the Holy Child) imaging the innocence, simplicity, child-like wonder of
Christ. While responding to the Filipino’s natural love for children, the child
image of Christ can sometimes foster a one-sided focus which neglects the
mature, adult Christ and the demands of responsible discipleship.
A second
common image is Hesus Nazareno, picturing the suffering Jesus and
inspiring many folk devotional panata. This image of Jesus’ suffering
love is very consoling to numberless Filipinos in dire poverty and hardships.
Yet, unless it is balanced by the image of the Risen Christ, the Victor over
sin and death itself, it can foster a certain self-centered, passive fatalistic
attitude that impedes free, creative response to everyday challenges.
468. A third popular image of Christ,
common in jeepneys and tricycles, is the Sacred Heart, whose meek
and mild countenance invites like attitudes in his followers. Traditional
Filipino courtesy and patience in the face of suffering are thus religiously
grounded. But this serene image needs to be related to Christ the Liberator,
inspired by his mission to “light a fire on the earth” (Lk 12:49). It is
this image of Christ, liberating us both within our personal lives and social
structures, that has captured the special attention of many Filipinos today.
469. Two realities dominate the present Philippine
context of preaching Christ. On the one hand, the startling growth of “Born
Again” and Fundamentalist groups indicates a widespread
yearning among Filipinos for a closer, more personal, intimate relationship
with Jesus Christ. PCP II does not hesitate to admit that “the Church
has failed in many ways to satisfy the spiritual hunger of many of the
faithful. This we must correct” (PCP II 223).
On the
other hand, the continuing violence in armed conflicts and kidnapping manifests
the deep-set cry of so many Filipinos today for social liberation. They are
seeking a way to break out of the injustices and oppressive structures that
exploit them. It is in this concrete Philippine context that Jesus Christ must
be approached today. As “Church of the Poor,” we Filipino Catholics must be
“willing to follow Jesus Christ through poverty and oppression in order to
carry out the work of salvation” (PCP II 135).
EXPOSITION
I.
PRESUPPOSITIONS
470. First,
we must recognize that to really know Jesus Christ is a life-long task.
This is the experience of all who believe in him. It is life-long because to
know Jesus is to know the only one whom “God has raised up” (Acts 2:32),
who “takes away the sin of the world” (Jn 1:29), who is the “only Son of
the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). It is life-long, too,
because only in Jesus Christ do we come to know our own true selves, and the
deepest meaning and destiny of our lives (cf. GS 22; PCP II 34).
471. Second, knowing Jesus is a living, changing,
growing and deepening experience. It is not like knowing some
fact of information, or knowing how to do something, some skill. Rather,
knowing Jesus means entering into a personal relationship with him. As
PCP II declares, “the believer lives in Jesus and Jesus lives in him” (PCP
II 66). “Knowing him” animates and liberates us in a way like no
other relationship could possibly do.
Concretely,
most Filipino Catholics learn of Jesus when taught their prayers as young
children. We learn about Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary, his mother, and recite
the Hail Mary. Our parents take us to Sunday Mass where we learn to listen to
Christ’s teaching and his works of power by hearing the proclamation of the
Gospel’s Good News. We pray the Creed together with the whole congregation.
472. Third,
the Jesus we come to know is both the historical earthly Jesus and the Risen
Christ of faith. One cannot be separated from the other. St. Paul exemplifies this in his description
of the Gospel:
the gospel concerning His Son,
who was descended from David according to the flesh but was made Son of God in
power according to the spirit of holiness, by his resurrection from the dead:
Jesus Christ our Lord
(Rom 1:3-4).
473. Fourth,
to know Jesus means being committed to following him, being his disciple
(cf. PCP II 34, 44). As expressed in a popular song a few years ago, “to
see” Christ more clearly involves “loving him more dearly” and “following him more nearly.” There is no authentic
“knowing Jesus Christ” outside of personal commitment to his teaching and
way of life. Knowing Jesus must make a difference in our lives. It must
accompany loving service of others in living faith (cf. Jas 2:17).
Otherwise it is knowledge that “puffs up,” rather than “builds up” (1 Cor
8:1). PCP II declares: “expressing our faith through deeds of
justice and love is particularly urgent in the Philippines” (PCP II 80).
474. From this practical necessity of following
Jesus in order to know him adequately flows a fifth basic principle:
that we come to know who Jesus is from what he did, his salvific
mission. This is exemplified by one Eucharistic acclamation which proclaims:
“Lord, by your Cross and Resurrection you have set us free. You are the Savior
of the world!” John’s Gospel was written according to the same principle:
“Jesus performed many other signs as well. . . . But these have been recorded
to help you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, so that through
this faith you may have life in his name” (Jn 20:30-31). So we turn to
the Gospels, which “faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while he
lived among us, really did and taught for our eternal salvation” (DV 19).
II.
MINISTRY OF THE HISTORICAL JESUS
475. The irreplaceable starting point for
knowing Christ is the historical Jesus. So it was with the first
disciples of Christ, whose Easter proclamation asserted that “the God of our
fathers has glorified his Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and disowned in
Pilate’s presence” (Acts 3:13). So it is with us Filipino Catholics today:
we come to personal faith through the Christian community’s witness to Jesus’
historical life, interpreted with the help of the inspired Scriptures and of
the continued inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the living Tradition of the
Church. The life and work of the historical Jesus alone provides the basic
ground for confessing Jesus as Christ the Lord.
476. Why the Historical Jesus? We proclaim in the Creed that the Son of God came down from heaven “for
us and our salvation.” Scripture likewise
declares: “The Father sent His Son as Savior of the world” (1
Jn 4:14). This means first, that God sent His Son as an offering for
our sins (cf. 1 Jn 4:10). Second, he came to reveal to us God’s
love, that we might have life through him (cf. Jn 3:16). Third,
he came to be our model for sanctity, so that, fourth, we could share in
his divine sonship (cf. 2 Pt 1:4; CCC 456-60).
At
Christmas St. Augustine preached: “He who was the Son of God, for you has
become the Son of man, so that you who were children of men, might become the
children of God. That he might give us of his good things, he shared with us
our infirmities.”
477. After situating its work in the “Lights and
Shadows” of the Philippines, PCP II chose to present its Message with
“The Way of Jesus,” followed by “The Call of Jesus Today,” to ground our
Christian life of “Discipleship in Community __ The Church” (PCP
II 37-144). The actual work or ministry of Jesus was summed up by Vatican
II in the following description:
Jesus Christ speaks the words of God (cf. Jn 3:34),
and accomplishes the saving work which the Father gave him to do. . . . He did
this by the total fact of his presence and self-manifestation __
by words and works, signs and miracles, but above all by this death and
resurrection from the dead, and finally by sending the Spirit of truth (DV
4).
478. Following Vatican II, PCP II
described Christ as prophet, priest and king (cf. LG 10-13;
PCP II 57-61). In this chapter we shall sketch the ministry of the
historical Jesus under two main headings: prophet and Savior.
The exposition of Jesus as King will be developed in terms of Christ our
Moral Norm in Chap. 15. Jesus as Priest is explained in the section of
Chapter 28 entitled “Jesus Christ, the One Mediator/Priest.”
A. Jesus
as Prophet
479. The vocation of a biblical prophet often
embraces three typical tasks: 1) to proclaim the word
of God with authority; 2) to accompany this word with signs and wonders
(deeds); and 3) to suffer a martyr’s fate, death. This is the
pattern of Jesus’ ministry that we find in the Gospel of Mark. Jesus is “a
prophet equal to any of the prophets” (Mk 6:15). His ministry incited
the Pharisees to ask for signs (cf. Mk 8:11), and he was put to death
for being a false prophet (cf. Mk 14:65).
480. Jesus himself spoke of his own experience
in terms of a prophet’s rejection by his own people (cf. Mk 6:4) and
compared his own fate to a prophet’s death in Jerusalem (cf. Lk 13:33).
But most of all, Jesus lived a prophetic mission by reason of his possession
of the Spirit. In the synagogue of Nazareth, Jesus calmly appropriates to
himself the text of Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore He
has anointed me. He has sent me to bring good tidings to the poor . . .” (Lk
4:18). When asked by John the Baptist’s disciples “Are you ‘He who is to
come’? ” Jesus responds by citing his works of the Spirit:
“Go back and report to John what you hear and see: the
blind recover their sight, cripples walk, lepers are cured, the deaf hear, dead
men are raised to life, and the poor have the good news preached to them” (Mt
11:4-5).
We shall
briefly develop each of the three dimensions of the prophet’s task __ word,
deeds, and fate __ as Jesus gives them their
fullest meaning in his own ministry.
Word
481. The teaching and preaching of Jesus centered on the “Kingdom of God,” a dynamic symbol of God’s active presence among His people. For Christ,
this Kingdom, was grounded in the Old Testament hope for Yahweh’s
presence (cf. Ps 91:1, 96:10; 97:1; 99:1 etc). This hope was eschatological,
that is, something already present but not yet fully (cf. Mk
1:14f; Mt 4:17). Without ever defining precisely what the Kingdom of God
is, Jesus uses it to embrace all the blessings of salvation, a salvation of
God’s active presence within people’s daily life, liberating them from
the enslaving power of evil, for loving service of their fellowmen.
For
Filipino Christians today, PCP II sketches the essentials of the Kingdom
as a “gift of God,” made present in Jesus, as a “Task” and as a “Promise”
(cf. PCP II 39-43).
482. Christ’s typical method of communicating
his word about the Kingdom was by telling stories, parables. In them he
focused on the common life of his listeners, and drew them into recognizing
God’s presence therein. Jesus taught the people that God was their Father, not
in competition with them. That He was not
calling them out of their own humanity, but rather making their own
creative human efforts possible by His divine presence.
483. Another characteristic of Jesus’ preaching was
his peculiar use
of “Amen.” While “Amen” was customary in
responding to another’s assertion, Jesus used it rather to introduce his own
message. Jesus’ Amen expressed a unique blend of certainty, authority
and power. Certainty,
because Jesus claimed to be expressing only what he hears from the Father. “I
do nothing by myself. I say only what the Father has taught me” (Jn
8:26-28).
Authority,
because unlike the prophets of old, Jesus spoke in his own name: “I solemnly
assure you . . .” (cf. Jn 3:3,11; 5:19,24, etc.) Jesus puts his word
above Moses and the Law. “You have heard the commandment imposed on your
forefathers . . . What I say to you is. . .” (Mt 5:21-48).
Power, because Jesus claimed a unique filial relationship
with God his “Abba,” Father. And he claimed the power to share this
relationship with others:
“Everything has been given over to me by my Father. No
one knows the Son but the Father, and no one knows the Father but the Son, and
anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal Him” (Mt 11:27).
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