I left behind in Connecticut an
enjoyable professional activity of being a periodic guest and substitute host
of some local radio and television talk shows. On one occasion I was
interviewed about Jesus. On my drive to the radio station, I heard an announcer
trumpet, "Be sure to join me in an hour. Dr. Richard Nolan will be here to
answer all your questions about Jesus and anything else you want to
know about the religions of the world." I cringed. Nothing like a buildup
that included omniscience! The first two listeners' questions were about two
Hindu sects I knew nothing about. "Folks," I said, "I was invited here to talk
about Jesus, and I'm prepared to do that. But, even on this subject, I may have
to disappoint you now and then." More focused, the remainder of the program
went well. Questions led to explorations of the New Testament portraits of
Jesus; his Jewishness; his birth, death, and resurrection; his teachings; and
his titles, such as "Son of Man," "Lord," "Son of God," "Rabbi," "Master," and
"Messiah" with its Greek rendering "Christ." Since that radio program many
years ago, I often envision Jesus by referring to three passages from the New
Testament.
The first passage, from the
Gospel According to John, is carved at the base of this pulpit: "And the
Word was made flesh and dwelt among us." We hear from this holy declaration
that about two thousand years ago the Creator's purposes for human history,
God's very Word, was personified in Someone who made his home with humanity. In
him we witness the glory of the Almighty's intentions for us all. For nearly
two millennia we Christians have confessed that Jesus, the Wisdom of God, is
the only full and exemplary image of the Father: the Son who has uniquely
disclosed the Supreme Being's personal activity and Will.
The second text is from today's
reading from the Gospel According to Matthew. Jesus seeks responses from
his disciples. Who do people think that he is? The replies include names of
many revered prophets. The really important question, however, was to his
friends: "Who do you say that I am?" Peter declares: "You are the Messiah, the
Son of the living God!" What a remarkable affirmation! Peter knew that the
expected Messiah was not only to be a savior who would deliver his people from
suffering and injustice, but also one who would be a political and military
leader. God's "Anointed One" was to free Israel from its oppressors and
establish a peaceful political order. Yet, with extraordinary, graceful insight
Peter saw in Jesus the godly, inner depth required first for outward freedom
and peace. In this pivotal proclamation Peter redefined "Messiah" as one who
would both console and challenge, the one who would call for a right
orientation of hearts and minds as prerequisite to social liberation and
political accord. In a real sense every generation of the Church rests upon
Peter's confession, witness, and ministry. He remains a moving example of how a
warm-hearted, impulsive, gifted but imperfect individual can be won by love,
deepened by nurturing, disciplined by hardship, and engaged by God to be an
outstanding servant.
The third, a composite passage
from Mark and Luke, is: "He is risen. He is risen indeed!" On that first Easter
Day the apostles and others were not touched by some type of inner
enlightenment. They were moved by the visible presence of the transfigured
Christ. I am persuaded that a transforming outward Event took place among some
ancient friends. I trust their fundamental testimony about the Resurrection. In
this unique Event the Almighty declared an awesome and powerful "No" to the
human attempt to silence God's Word. As the defining moment in history, the
Creator proclaimed an astonishing Yes: that Jesus - his proclamation of
God's sovereignty, his other teachings, the quality of his relationships, his
healing presence - that Jesus is the clue to the purpose of human history and
the meaning of human life. Recognized by a few as the Messiah, crucified and
now risen, Jesus embodies the Creator's purposes for all humanity.
On the contemporary scene
various commentators have alluded to several acute needs felt by many people.
For example, many individuals need to be recognized as unique, special, and
different. They attempt to satisfy this need in the way they dress, through
memberships in organizations and their home addresses, through their
achievements and possessions, sometimes by bizarre behavior - including setting
records for inconsequential, often hazardous, deeds. In this quest some play
superficially with New Age notions and potions. Never satisfied for more than a
short time, the ever-needy press on for further recognition with more of the
same. They have not experienced the satisfying contentment of true life,
of living in communion with God's Word and Risen Messiah. Isn't it sufficiently
unique, special, and different to be a human being baptized into the community
of Jesus Christ? Isn't it more than enough recognition to be a child of God?
Another pressing cultural need
is for a dependable hero. While many look rather desperately to public figures
in various vocations and leisure activities and are then disappointed by the
idols' inevitable foibles and deaths, would it not be more prudent to look to
the living Christ as the universal champion? Would that General Mills had seen
fit to place his likeness on Wheaties boxes! Imagine Jesus Christ
depicted as a worthy national exemplar! Certainly no one else is as
trustworthy!
An additional critical need
felt by many people is for stability, a sense of permanence - without
stagnation. It feels as if we are in the midst of unprecedented change, even
turmoil. New technologies in communication and health care provide
opportunities and challenges to what has been in place. Formerly marginal
patterns of human relationships are becoming mainstream. Even those of us
knocking at the door of elder status have experienced remarkable changes in
many segments of life. Is there an anchor, a rock, a mainstay that provides a
foundation for permanence and stability in our lives? Where do we find true
personal security? Bound up in this issue is another: Where is the depth for
which so many crave in their lives; where is the meaning, the purpose beyond
the routine of daily living?
If, as reported in Wednesday's
"Personal Health" article in the New York Times, and I quote: "Thoughts
and beliefs have a lot to do with how people feel and behave," - if this is the
case, I am confident that heartfelt belief in God through Christ provides our
needed permanence and stability, personal security, depth, meaning and purpose;
thereby, our overall well-being is enhanced. Our foundational beliefs
wondrously fashioned: "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us"; "You
are the Messiah, the Son of the living God"; and, "He is risen. He is risen
indeed!" Human need is satisfied by God's action.
My fellow parishioners, I am
convinced that the New Testament portraits of Jesus are sufficiently
illuminating for us to discover the rich meanings of Christ. As a Christian
community gathered together in unity by the Holy Spirit, we grow in our
understandings of his significance for redefining our lives, the Church, and
the world. In the Word Made Flesh heard and consumed this hour we may discern
the dynamic love of God. Moreover, we may, with heart and mind, comprehend more
fully our own shared identity as daughters and sons created in the very image
of God, a new people called to become more and more like their Lord Jesus
Christ. Day after day in this assembly of God we are nurtured as our Heavenly
Father's own community while we listen to his Word, share the Eucharistic bread
and wine, and reflect carefully on the Gospel's meanings for our daily lives.
We do this, in the words of another, so "that the story of our lives which we
write might become increasingly consistent with his; that we may in fact become
ourselves, the selves that God had in mind for us from before the creation of
the world - so that we might increasingly become those unique persons we
are."(1) No abstract idea this Word, this Risen
Messiah. Rather, you and I experience, as did Peter, the living, transforming
presence and power of Jesus Christ, he who is the Church's One Foundation.
Amen!
(1) . John B. Coburn, The Story of Jesus
Christ and Your Story, p.42.