RCIA Presentation on Jesus 10/2017 Jesus permeates the fabric of our society as well as every society world-wide to various extents. The influence of a Man that lived over 2000 years ago is clearly visible in our day to day observations with believers publically proclaiming His various attributes. So who is Jesus, really, and why are we so absorbed in Him? The Dogmas of the Catholic Church concerning Jesus: Jesus is mentioned in many of the dogmas of the Catholic Church. This is a distilled list which addresses only those items which directly refer to the Person of Jesus. Although RCIA makes no attempt to become a discussion on Theology, we must in this case examine some of the theological aspects so that we may better understand who/what Jesus is or is not. The list of Dogmas are best broken down into two groups, the first group being those which are easier to understand at least from the stand point of having terms that we are familiar with. The second group contains terminology that may contain certain words or concepts that are more abstract. In the first group we have: a) Jesus Christ is True God and True Man. b) Christ assumed a real body, not an apparent one. c) Only the Second Divine Person became man. d) Christ was free from all sin, original as well as personal. e) Christ was truly generated and born of a daughter of Adam, the Virgin Mary The Second group may contain some terms or concepts that need some explanation. a) Christ assumed not only a real body but a rational soul. b) The Divine and human natures are united hypostatically in Christ. c) The Hypostatic Union of the two natures continues unimpaired, untransformed and unmixed with each other.
d) Each of the two natures of Christ possesses its own natural will and it own mode of operation. e) The Hypostatic Union was effected by the Three Divine Persons acting in common. f) Christ’s human nature was passable. When we speak about Hypostasis we mean that there is a true, real, concrete connection. Just like our bodies have a hypostatic union with our souls, so does Christ’s body have a solid and real connection with His Divine Person. Rational Soul is the Spiritual portion of us that wraps us up in the belief of Eternal Life. It provides us with the internal principles by which we feel, believe, and demonstrate will outside of normal biological imperatives. It motivates our intellect and animates our bodies. We all have a hypostatic union within us. The concrete connection between or bodies and our souls. That is what defines a ‘person.’ In Christ’s case he had those TWO things which made Him a “Man.” Additionally He had another Hypostatic Union with His Divine Nature which, in turn made Him Truly God. The two natures are unimpaired, untransformed, and unmixed. His Human nature was passable. His Humanity did not ‘over ride’ His Divinity nor did His Divinity ‘over ride’ His Humanity. In other words, He was not just a man being guided by God, nor was He a Divine Entity simply cloaked in flesh and bones. A passable body means that it was subject to the same laws of nature that we are. He could not, as a natural man, walk through doors. He had to eat. He had to learn to walk. It may be easier to understand what Christ is by looking at some of the things that he IS NOT. These are called Heresies. These are a few that plagued the early Christian Church. Arianism : The Son of God did not always exist. He was a construct of God the Father. Jesus was a simple flesh and blood human being, being controlled by a Divine Entity. The Holy Spirit was a creation of the Son, working through the Father and was subservient to the Son as the Son was to the Father. In other words, this is a Non-Trinitarian belief. Non-Consubstantial.
Monophysitism : The form Jesus was only an apparition of a Human. The person known as Jesus was purely Divine as The Second Person of the Trinity. As such His body was “impassable.” That is to say, immune from suffering, devoid of doubt, omniscient, and not subject to physical laws. In other words, Jesus, as a person, had no Human Nature. Apollinarianism : Jesus had an actual flesh and blood body but it was animated by a “lower animal soul.” That is to say, his physical body was subject to the same laws that apply to all living things. However He did not possess a “Rational Soul.” Therefore his soul lacked the component of Eternal Life and did not motivate the intellect or emotions. The Divinity of the Son was a surrogate for the Soul. Hybrid Heresy. Our standard beliefs in Jesus are articulated in the Nicene Creed. I believe in one God, the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all things visible and invisible. I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, born of the Father before all ages. God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through him all things were made. For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven, and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate, he suffered death and was buried, and rose again on the third day in accordance with 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. To continue the discussion of ‘Jesus, the Man’ we only have to agree one thing;
Jesus was truly God, and Truly Man The name ‘Jesus’ was pre-ordained. It was commanded by the Angel Gabriel at what we refer to as ‘The Annunciation.’ The name ‘Jesus’ means ‘God Saves.’ As one name it expresses both his identity (God) and His mission (salvation). The term ‘Jesus Christ’ is often used as if ‘Christ’ was a surname. Actually “Christ” is not a surname. It is more of a title. It is the Greek translation of the Hebrew word Messias meaning ‘The Anointed One.’ In Greek it is Kristos. In English it is Christ. Although we commonly say “Jesus Christ,” it would be more appropriate to say “Christ Jesus” or “Jesus the Christ.” Even though it was His given name no one that was closely associated with Jesus ever called Him ‘Jesus’ to His face. His disciples usually referred to him as ‘Lord, Master, Rabbi, or Teacher.’ Only those who were not believers or saw Jesus as a problem called Him by his given name, with a few noted exceptions. When was Jesus born? Only two Gospels, Luke and Matthew address the circumstances of his birth. Lots of effort has been made to pin-point an exact date. Let’s look at what we know. Let’s start with the year. Our current way of keeping track of years is based on the Gregorian calendar which was approved in 1582 and tried to establish time by working backwards to a particular event. The birth of Christ. There is no year zero. Matthew states that Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the Great. Herod died in 4BC. Additionally Herod ordered the Slaughter of the Innocents. All male children two years old and younger. That could potentially move the date back to 6 BC or earlier Luke uses the census ordered by Quirinius to frame the date.
Trouble is, that census didn’t take place until 6 or 7AD. The possibility of a more ‘localized’ census is not ruled out. We have a “landing pad” of between 10 years and 14 years. There are dozens of mitigating circumstances based on solar eclipses, Zechariah Abijah, the alignment of Jupiter, Mars and Venus..etc There is no real concrete year known. What about December 25 th as the day? Plenty of evidence against that too. The shepherds would not have been out with their sheep. The possible planet alignment time. The assumption that a census that would require people to travel would have taken place closer to the harvest. We don’t really know. At some time in some culture the Birth of Jesus has been variously celebrated in every month and practically every day. What about Jesus childhood? What do we know? He spent some time in Egypt. (Matt 2) Somehow he ended up in Nazareth (Matt 2), and “Grew and became strong filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:40) Each year the family went to Jerusalem for Passover. The last time we hear anything about His childhood is when He was 12 years old. He was teaching in the Temple. “Why were you looking for me? Did not you know that I must be in my Father’s House?” But they did not understand what he had said to them. And he returned with them to Nazareth and was obedient to them, and his Mother kept all these things in her heart.
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