Christology
Essay 1 - Models of Jesus Christ - Jesus the Liberator and Jesus the Universal Saviour
" Religion can domesticate God - reduce God to images that we can manage or that fall within our comprehension" (Coloe, 1993. p. 22).
In a way, the above statement is similar to what we do when we formulate a Christology - using human language to express an attribute of the Divine and creating a paradigm based on our own biases and interpretations of Scripture. As a result, the need to apply a Hermeneutic of Suspicion to each of these models of Jesus becomes more acute. As Pope John Paul 11 states, we need to develop the 'informed awareness of the field and limits [of particular theologies]" in order to ensure that we do not make errors which can be avoided when it comes to interpretation of Scripture and Tradition (Hill, 1995. p. 12). The Models of Jesus as Universal Saviour and Jesus as Liberator are not exempt from the need for informed awareness. Not only is an analysis of these Christologies and their relationship fascinating, it reveals the extent to which the words of John Paul are true. A contrasting of, and comparison between Jesus as Universal Saviour and Jesus as Liberator renders clearly discernible the characteristics of both models, especially when the following are used as points of reference; the models' position in theological criticism, their implications for interpretation of Scripture, their view of the human person and the person of Christ and their impact on one's understanding of Church.
Whilst the Jesus as Universal Saviour model is a High Christology, revealing a transcendent God, (at the heart of which is an awareness that the role of Jesus is to save the vast majority of people in the world who have never heard His Name), the Jesus as Liberator model is a Low Christology, stressing Jesus' humanity and his self-emptying. The former mirrors our contemporary sensitivity to a global consciousness and the latter starts with the particular community faced with social injustice and a variety of forms of oppression. Liberation Theology is the one most associated with the Jesus as Liberator model.
Hart calls Liberation theology "One of the most significant theological movements to emerge in the last twenty years" (Hart, 1984. p. 119). In their attempts to recover the historical Jesus, "his teachings about wealth and poverty…his labours to bring all people freedom and life" the proponents of the Jesus as Liberator Christology have experienced the persecution faced by the early church as it sought to gain acceptance in a hostile culture, thereby strengthening their faith and gaining new insight on the meaning of suffering and the role of the Church as herald of Christ's reign on earth. Of course, rather than accepting all suffering as has been customary in some parts of the Church, those influenced by Liberation Theology do not accept 'needless suffering' (Higgins, 1991. p. 42). Their suffering takes on new meaning.
Part of Liberation Christology, is a lack of emphasis on the Christ of Faith and an emphasis on the Jesus of History, who 'pronounced woe' to the rich, whose Beatitudes confront the values of the world, whose just anger is demonstrated and is a reality and who asks that we follow him even on the way of the cross (Hart, 1984. p. 122). The natural response then is one of 'Discipleship over Religion' following Jesus and serving neighbour without 'escape into a spiritual realm" or the world of doctrine and formulations (Hart, 1984. p. 122). Apart from the renewed strengthening of the communal spirit of fraternity in the form of basic communities (Hart, 1984. p. 123), there lies the heart of Liberation Theology - the 'Basileia'.
This concept of the Reign of God, which was central to the teaching of Jesus, is interpreted as a new social order on earth - not just in Heaven - where repentance is necessary and injustice is overcome, 'radically changing the way human beings relate to God and to each other" (Hart, 1984. p. 125). Likewise, the view of sin and its relationship to the work of Christ is also new. [This emphasis on the 'Basileia' Jesus preached indicates that a further characteristic of the Liberator Model is a more contextual approach to Scripture (Hill, 1995. p. 121) one which also reflects the New Criticism method (Hill, 1995. p. 92).]
Liberation from sin in Liberation Theology is not so much liberation from individual sin as from social sin inflicted on the innocent and oppressed, thereby influencing the interpretation of Jesus' death and its meaning. Rather than dying to redeem the world, Jesus the liberator died as a natural consequence of the way he lived - a revolutionary (Hart, 1984. p. 127). In that death, is revealed the love of God in the face of a wicked humanness and in this, the two models are somewhat linked. As Hart contends "Here liberation theology shows a similarity to process thought" which, in Hart's description bears a striking resemblance to the characteristic of the Universal Saviour model. He writes, " The process conception of God is that God is creative love, present in the world and in each entity in the world always. God is not just present to everything, but active…drawing the world and each entity within it" (Hart, 1984. p. 57). Lobo, who clearly advocates Jesus as Universal Saviour reveals that Christ is "the centre of the great cosmic sphere… the source of the new order…the part of the evolutionary current for which he himself is responsible….[which will gather all ] into the consummated Christ" (Lobo, 1989. pp.108 - 109).
The two models speak of the work of Christ in reference to his love 'drawing us in' and redefine the relationship between sin (and original sin) and the cross. Whilst they both speak of the new order that Christ will bring, they do so in different ways because they are not speaking about the same Jesus. Whilst the divinity of the 'Liberator Jesus' is less visible than in Classical Christology, the divinity of the Universal Saviour Jesus is spoken of as an energy or 'system'. Lobo's writing indicates that the adherents of the latter Christology believe more in Christ's 'system' rather than His person and reign. Lobo invites us not to 'reproduce the historical existence of Jesus' which cannot be reproduced, but to 'imitate each in his own way, the pattern of [Jesus'] life" (Lobo, 1989. p.109). This mirrors what Higgins describes as the 'relational approach' where Jesus saves us from false notions of God, others and self and brings us a 'message of love which enables us to experience…solidarity of human fellowship and the goodness of our own selves" (Higgins, 1991. p.41). Both the Universal Saviour and Liberator models oversimplify what we need to be saved from. Johnson says the focus should be a salvation from the 'disease of the human heart' (Johnson, 1997. p. 130).
As we have seen, both 'theologies' seek to define Jesus' work of Salvation, explain what humans are saved from and describe what we are saved for - how we need to respond to God in our lives. A closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of each model reveals more about the validity of their Christologies for the Third Millenium.
The greatest strength of the theology of Jesus as Liberator, is that its critical reflection and praxis testifies to the 'fundamental option for the poor' which nourishes the pastoral work of the Church as it clings to Jesus' words, " As you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me" (Mt 25:45). Basically, this focus is a renewal of Church and the Romero experience is a perfect example of this.
Brockman, in his book Oscar Romero, Bishop and Martyr (1982) clearly outlines how a new fidelity to the words of Jesus resulted because of the oppression experienced by his community. Archbishop Romero took on the challenge of heralding God's Kingdom. In doing so he was killed , but not before having led his church to a new understanding of its role as servant, similar to the servant model advocated by Dulles (Hill, 1995. p. 100). Along with this paradigm shift came the emphasis on the role that the whole people of God had in the Church's evangelical mission. The polarisation which occurred away from the institutional model of Church as a result of this new awareness, also enabled the Church in El Salvador to realise that it could no longer function as a societas perfecta alongside the civil state (Hypher, 1996. p. 45). As the following quotes indicate, the experience of Jesus as Liberator in El Salvador renewed the Church's understanding of itself as Herald, and Servant, but also as Community and Sacrament/Sign for a civil society in need of Salvation.
It is interesting that the practice of the Sacraments increased in Romero's diocese when he decided to be a voice for the people, thereby proclaiming Jesus' healing mission. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick, for example, was "no longer just for the dying" and pastors were "encouraged to have communal celebrations of the Sacrament for the sick in the parish" (Brockman, 1982. p. 136). Furthermore, in the face of the closure of churches he reminded his people that they, not the buildings were the true temple of God (Brockman, 1982. p. 177) and that "only those will be saved who can use the things of earth with the heart of God" (Brockman, 1982. p. 66).
In the former quote, the renewed vision of Church is that of the Church as the People of God; in the latter, the people of God as Stewards of Creation (which undoubtedly caters for the ecologically minded), one which focuses on the whole person - not just the soul. Finally, Romero's identification with Jesus the Liberator led him to espouse the Servant Model of Church. As he stated to his suffering people "You are the image of the Divine One who was pierced…If your suffering is done with faith and is given a redemptive meaning then [our land] is singing the precious stanza of liberation" (Brockman, 1982. p. 53 - 4). You can almost hear the song of the suffering servant in Isaiah. It would seem that, at least in the Romero experience, the Jesus of Liberation was the source of renewal for a Church which reaslised its' role as 'salt of the earth' in the words of Jesus (Mt 5:13) preserving the people from sin and social injustice. As Hart states, " Liberation Christology expects that those who follow Jesus will meet his fate…it is the only way that sin and sin's effects in the world can be overcome [and] justice and love [can increase]" (Hart, 1984. p. 129).
However, one main area of weakness in this Christology has been its reduction of the Gospel to a political one. As the "Instruction on certain aspects of the "Theology of Liberation" (1884) indicates " The new hermeneutic inherent in the "theologies of liberation" leads to an essentially political re-reading of the Scriptures" creating a new 'temporal' Messiah (man himself), through 'self-redemption' achieved via a 'class struggle'. Jesus' essential role as God-Man who saves us from sin 'which is the source of all evils' is thereby distorted. Ironically, for a Christology which seeks to recapture the Historical Jesus, it has created its own Jesus of Faith, a Jesus who (in the theology of one Liberation Theologian named Sobrino) " wants us to fall behind him in labouring to realise the reign of God [so that we do not] rest in worship [of Him] and lose our way" (Hart, 1984. p. 127). It would appear, in final analysis, that this Christology has distorted not only the person of Jesus but the nature of Justification. Are we saved by our own efforts or by the grace of God?
The 'Jesus as Universal Saviour' Christology shares some of the weaknesses inherent in the Liberator model. As will be demonstrated, one interpretation of Jesus as Universal Saviour has succumbed to quasi - New Age philosophy. However, considered in the light of official Church teaching, it is a Christology which, I believe, to be at the heart of our call to be the 'light of the world'.
Hypher states that the Church has "adopted the agenda of being the effective model and instrument of unity for the whole human race", an 'evangelical mission' of which we are all part (Hypher, 1996. p. 45). Herein lies the major strength of the Universal Saviour model; namely its emphasis on dialogue and its support of the work of the Second Vatican Council. Gone are the days when we are led to believe that " Neither those who have never heard the Gospel nor those who by reason of their infancy were unable to believe …are separated form that mass which will certainly be damned" (Hill, 1995. p. 14). Rather, this model helps us to realise that Jesus came for all and that His call for Evangelisation is possible, despite the fact that the majority of the world is not Christian. God has prepared all races for the reception of Christ's Gospel, firstly, through the law written on the hearts of all, as St. Paul testifies in Romans Chapter 2: 15 ( " [the Gentiles] show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them") and secondly, through the presence of God with all peoples, through the Holy Spirit.
Pope John Paul 11 mirrors the teaching of the Second Vatican Council when he reflects on the 'semina Verbi…present in all religions' (John Paul, 1994. p. 81) which are indicative of The Spirit's presence. The Universal Saviour model is thus an optimistic model which remembers that Christ is, after all, the 'focal point of history' (Lobo, 1989. p. 113). The fact that Jesus has "His own ways of reaching [all people] in the present eschatological phase of salvation history" (John Paul, 1994. p. 83) does not question the validity of Evangelisation. It is God's will to proclaim that "Christ is 'the way and the truth and the life'… (John Paul, 1994. p. 81). In a beautiful mystery, we, as the Church, are the 'mystical Body of Christ' called to share in His Evangelisation of the world. This Evangelisation;
Finally, it also enables the Church to take part in transforming the world (O'Connell, 1996. p.101). All this is possible when we see Jesus as the Universal Saviour and we can experience what Mother Teresa did when the dying Hindu man under her care exclaims " Glory to Jesus Christ through you" to which she proclaims " No, but glory to Jesus Christ through you, because you are sharing in His passion" (Hill, 1995. p. 4).
Looking at the model objectively however, as with the Liberator model, the Universal Saviour model of Christ, with its cross-religious dialogue, has led to a selective adherence to the Historical Jesus, to the extent that Jesus' unique role as Saviour has been blurred (Johnson, 1997. p. 129). The main weakness which arises from this is the distortion of the relationship between Evangelisation and Ecumenism and therefore the person of Christ, who is their source.
Some theologians supporting this theology would see an evangelical spirit and assurance of the truth of the Gospel values under the guidance of the Church, as at odds with Ecumenism. However, one could suggest that this confusion has evolved as a result of a lack of proper understanding of the meaning of 'Ecumenism" which the Universal Saviour model has encouraged. It is possible for the Church to be ecumenical and an 'open society' as well as secure in its identity. A 'knowledge of other confessions' needn't compromise objective truth or indicate an assent to these other confessions. It would seem that a particular interpretation of Ecumenism, and the 'semina Verbi' in other faiths spoken of earlier, has led to the notion such as that experienced by Raimon Panikkar. " I went to India a Christian, found myself a Hindu and became a Buddhist - all without ceasing to be Christian" (Lecture notes). This theologising does not respect the fact that Ecumenism emphasises the 'movement toward unity' through dialogue (Egan, 1988. p.32) in the 'one and only Church' which fully "dwells in the Catholic Church" (The Documents of Vatican 2, 1965. P. 348). Pride and security in our Catholic identity and the special revelation we have experienced of the one God in Jesus, is not to be confused for arrogant exclusivity.
Our understanding of Ecumenism, which therefore seeks to be inclusive and yet support a clear Catholic identity, has nevertheless been questioned as a result of theologians' pondering of Eastern Mysticism which is a fruit of the Ecumenical drive. Hill explains that even within the Christian East, the emphasis in theology has been on healing, as opposed to sin and on speculation as opposed to the administration of Sacraments (Hill, 1995. p.46). This bent towards speculation in Eastern philosophy is now a tool used by Western theologians pondering the Mysticism of the East, a mysticism which "unites the various religions" (Hart, 1984. p. 135) and moulds Jesus into the image of the Cosmic Christ. However this notion of the Cosmic Christ is ambiguous.
The misinterpretation of the Church's teaching on the 'semina Verbi', has led to the notion that Christ is not the only Saviour, although he is the 'normative one' as Paul Tillich suggests (Hart, 1984. p.137). The creation of the 'Cosmic Christ figure' can be interpreted as the way certain theologians counter act this conclusion in order to still claim affiliation with Christianity for a 'Cosmic Christ' is not restricted to the historical being known as Jesus. As Hart explains " The reality of God is larger than the reality of Jesus" (Hart, 1984. p.139).
In Fox' theology we the fruits of a Universal Saviour Christology (interpreted through a post-structuralist interpretation of Scripture), are more pronounced. Fox speaks of the 'creative energy' instead of Logos thereby 'de-personalising the Word made flesh..[and transforming] Christ into an impersonal energy" (Pacwa, 1992. p. 176). Fox is not against Evangelisation, however. He is pushing the 'Cosmic Christ', which he calls all of us to give birth to 'within ourselves' since "We are Cosmic Christs…divine and human, animal and demon" (Pacwa, 1992. p. 181, quoting from Fox' The Coming of The Cosmic Christ). Fox is a good example of how one interpretation of the Universal Saviour Christology, (the Cosmic Christ) can lead to a form of panentheism which survives at the expense of both the Historical Jesus and the Christ of Faith.
As is clear from an exploration of both the Universal Saviour and Liberator Christologies, the concerns which each raise are valid - for example a need for 'a better love of creation and the environment…Passion for justice and concern for the poor' (Pacwa, 1992. p. 189). We have seen that each have arisen out of the contemporary world setting and Church scene and have been motivated by a desire to make Christianity relevant to this generation where change is the norm, truth perceived as relative, pluralism a given and the minority status of Chrsitianity a reality. We have also seen in 'theologies' promoted today, a more positive attitude towards the dignity of the human person, not as innately sinful but innately good. The challenge for the Church continues to be an exploration of different 'theologies'. However, this should be executed with an awareness that absolute Truth exists and that the human is not placed above God for the "greater the ability of humans to raise themselves up out of their condition, the less they need a saviour" (Higgins, 1991. p. 39). If faith in absolute revealed truth is not the yard - stick by which we can determine the validity of contemporary 'theologies', then the following words indicate what is:
Thus you will know them by their fruits. (My emphasis)
(Matthew 7:15 - 20)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Egan, Sr.J. (1988). Opting Out: Catholic Schools Today . Herefordshire. Fowler Wright Books
Hart, T..N. (1984). To Know and Follow Jesus. Paulist Press. New York/Ramsey.
Hill, C. (1995). Making Sense of Faith: An Introduction to Theology. E.J.Dwyer. New South Wales.
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Higgins, G.C. (1991). "The Dilemma of Salvation and Human goodness" in Twelve Theological Dilemmas. Mahwah, N.J: Paulist.
Hypher, P. (1996). "Can We Be a Collaborative Church?" in Priests & People, February, 1996. Course Reader.
Johnson, L.T. (1997). "How does Jesus save us?" in Priests & People, April, 1997. Course Reader.
Lane, D.E. (1997). "The Saviour of the world" in Priests & People, April, 1997. Course Reader.
Lobo, SJ, G. (1989). "Christocentric Morality" in Guide to Christian Living. Christian Classics. Westminster, MD.
O'Connell, T.E. (1996). "Vatican 11 and Moral Theology: Legacy and Agenda" in Chicago Studies 35: 1, 1996. Course Reader.
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Course Lecture Handouts.