“But we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3, 18)
At the end of the chapter “Blessed are the pure of heart ...” I had stated: “By this I obtain certainty of His (Christs) divinity when I experience Christ revealing Himself to me– through an act of divine grace – and, from my part, that is through a “pure heart” which without skepticism and reservation directs the eye towards God, without my own doing!, that his love absolutely wants to embrace me, accept me in my whole existence (...) which, according to Bernard, is like a “lift upwards”. In light of this total desire to love which moves from Christ towards me with the appeal to include myself in establishing a union of the divine Will with the human will, so that I can also share in the fruit of this communication of love. This absoluteness of love which sacrifices itself and says to me that Christ is God.”
If I have obtained this insight, will the results be there, then? – that is, provide me a (religious) life? What does it mean for me? What do I gain by it?
- It grants the insight into His absolute Being,
- The knowledge of the legitimacy of all His claims
- The insight in the sense and purpose of His Institution, the Church, as an institute of salvation.
The insight into His absolute Being means the knowledge of the absolute validity of his Love which is decisive for all actions. I receive a strong belief, i. e., certainty in my attitude: I rise from the merely traditionalist approach of my position of faith, which is based on a trust towards the communicator of this treasure of faith, to a higher composed certainty. I do not only believe, I know that my faith is on a firm basis. That is why other “gods”, i. e. other religions are ruled out as equal. They have no right of acceptance. If Christ is God, that is, the Son of God, He cannot be the Muslim Allah; if Christ has come as the Messias, the modern Jews are waiting in vain for His coming. There is nothing in common and no reason for dialogue either. And it becomes transparent, why the presumed leaders, who pretend to represent the Christian religion but who do not believe that Christ is the Son of God (like Arius once in the 4th century) or who by accepting other confessions and/or religions relativizing this faith to different paths, betray Christ. But it should also be clear that we have to accept with hope those who are searching for God and be patient with them because the way to God is not a simple one, and we must let them be free so that they can decide freely.
The love of God reveals itself to us, it shows itself to us as an absolute Good and asks us to accept it, i. e., to enter into a covenant with God. This makes it clear what God wants from us and why He has created us, why He has gone out of His trinitary way of existence. Here is revealed the absolute sense of creation. He who is absolute for Himself, in Himself, of Himself leaves this unity to reveal Himself to us, to live with us. Here, then, is answered the question asked by St. Anselm: “Cur Deus homo?” (Why did God become man?). This love of God becomes such an excess of love, a love of atonement that is willing to sacrifice itself for us in order to open to us the possibility of entering into a covenant with God even after we have erred. God does not reject but practically offers a “second chance” to mankind. That is why trust in God can be fortified, for He shows Himself always as faithful and merciful.
Here I get an understanding and clearness of the history of salvation. God creates man in order to let him take part in His life (= love). He radically takes man seriously in his liberty because that for which he is to decide is the “life” (Gods love). It presents itself as an approach from the part of God and an answer from the part of man. This calling and answering takes place in the time of an interpersonal relationship, in a process which requires a real beginning, which must be fixed from the point of view of time, i.e. the opening of a dimension to the historical existence of Christ; for the love of Christ has been concretely encountered by us. It is no theoretical construction. Thus the following question arises as well: concerning his earthly life and the sources which prove, that is, describe this existence: Scripture and Tradition; by Tradition we mean here all the manifestations where Christs will has expressed itself. These manifestations extend even to the liturgy.
The history of salvation becomes understandable because in all the declarations and actions of God His original will is present. That is why the answers we give can contain by themselves the clearness of the will of Christ. The answer always remains free. But here the highest level is reached, where liberty must give its decision, where the divine spark is allowed to light itself when one opens oneself to God; in the words of St. Paul: “The Lord is a Spirit. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3, 17) It is like the love which forces me to pass it on becomes the motor of forming and transforming of my life: The problems remain, but their solution is nourished by the certainty that it is borne by the saving divine will: “Omnia vincit amor”. (Vergil, 10th Ekloge: Bucolica 10, 69: “Love conquers all”). This request to liberty is self-evident, and it is also to be taken as a responsibility with all its consequences. Thus the possibility of a history of salvation opens up, but also the possibility of a history of evil if the man reacts by rejecting the call of God, where there is no love but hate. This condition requires special consideration, for by hate the following problem has arisen: Something has happened intentionally which should not be. How is it possible to abolish this non-ought-to-be, to eliminate its being? For the non-ought-to-be is not supposed to be. Here is validated the idea of satisfaction, of compensation, of atonement by the sacrifice of Christ.
From the aspect of a history of salvation I also receive insight into the problem of when God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. How can it be God who demands from Abraham to kill his son? Isn’t this an order of murder? This demand can only be justified as follows: God only wants to test Abraham’s will to sacrifice – where this sacrifice can also be understood as a self-sacrifice, in the Hebrew/Jewish sense, for Abraham would interrupt the lineage of the promise of salvation by sacrificing his son. God wanted to see from man the will to sacrifice for He Himself sacrifices his Son (on the cross) to redeem mankind. God wants only that man join, that man cooperates in His sacrifice and where the son fulfills the will of the father in obedience. It is similar with the moment of His becoming a man and Mary, who is conceived without the original sin, declares her willingness to be the Lords handmaid.
Returning, then, to the topic of the history of salvation: Christ has entrusted the authority and the responsibility for His Institution, the Church, as an institute of salvation communicating salvation to men before His Ascension. They gave their responsible guarantee (to do so) in the confirmation that they loved Him – Christ. I am merely referring to the question Christ asked to Peter: “Do you love me?” in order to entrust the direction of his Church to him. Here the meaning of this Institution becomes completely clear as well. If God is love, He has, then, opened up the means of grace (the sacraments) which this Church is to administer and to communicate – and continue transmitting throughout the ages the established authority to other persons (succession) — so that the faithful are able to partake in this absolute life, most intimately through the Eucharist.
As He – and only He – says: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me” (John 14, 6) it is absolutely incomprehensible that the (pretended) direction of the (reformed) church has broken with Him. It is indeed the “mysterium iniquitatis”, the mystery of iniquity. That is why we should try to become virtually the reflection of the Divine Love and thus let the divine fire, even as a small flame, shine before all. St. Paul writes: “But we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (2 Cor. 3, 18) |
