Jesus: Two Millennia of Truth and Alternatives

John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God, so quite a few churches display pictures of a young sheep with a halo. That's a visual metaphor, though. WiseGEEK has a fairly painless discussion of visual metaphor, and I'm drifting off-topic.

I don't worship a lamb, of course. Jesus is human, which is how my Lord is often portrayed. Details vary with time and place.

Jesus, All Over the World

The artist's image Jesus I've seen most often looks very European, hardly surprising since my native culture is rooted in Europe.

Folks in other parts of the world often show Jesus and Saints as nice, normal people from that region.

We don't know what Jesus looked like, at least not before the Resurrection. My guess is that my Lord's appearance was Middle-Eastern, but that's just an educated guess.

Tradition tells us that Mary is a descendant of David, and Joseph, husband of Mary and foster-father of Jesus, is "of the house of David." That makes Jesus a descendant of David: legally and by ancestry. (Luke 1:26-27; Catholic Encyclopedia, Genealogy of Christ)

Anyway, my Lord gave tacit approval to being called the son of David. (Matthew 21:8-16) He also pointed out that the Almighty is — all-mighty: "...God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones...." (Matthew 3:9; Luke 3:8)

True God and True Man: Really

Jesus is human on his mother's side.

I wouldn't worship a fellow-creature, and I don't: Jesus isn't just human. His father is God. (Luke 1:26-38)

For two millennia, the Church has said that Jesus is true God and true man; fully human and divine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 464-469)

"...Jesus is inseparably true God and true man. He is truly the Son of God who, without ceasing to be God and Lord, became a man and our brother...." (Catechism, 469)

In some circles, that went over about as well as "eat my flesh." (John 6:53-60)

Some folks who had no trouble believing that Jesus is divine balked at accepting my Lord's humanity. They claimed that Jesus is:

• Created by God
  • And therefore subordinate to God
  (Arianism)
• Not human
  • His apparent humanity was an illusion
  (Docetism)
• Human and divine
  • Not at the same time
    • Was human first
    • Then became divine
    (Monophysitism)
  • At the same time
    
    • But the divine and human natures didn't mix
    (Nestorianism)

I think some of the trouble is a distaste for the physical world that's endemic to Western civilization. (March 5, 2012)

Another objection to the mysterious union of God and man may be that the crucifixion is undignified, to say the least.

I don't like the idea that God voluntarily became one of us, and was nailed to a cross: I'm too aware of my unworthiness. But as a Christian I must embrace the Cross and my Savior who died and rose from the dead. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 595-618)

For my Lord's death to mean anything, Jesus must be the Son of God and Son of man: fully human, fully divine. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 456-478)

"Before Abraham Came to be, I AM."

Jesus said, in no uncertain terms, "I am God."

"So the Jews said to him, 'You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?' ²³

"²⁴ Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:57-58)

---

"Philip said to him, 'Master, show us the Father, ⁷ and that will be enough for us.'

"Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, "Show us the Father"?

"Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works.

"Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else, believe because of the works themselves."
(John 14:8-11)

Jesus looked and acted like one of us. He was in a particular time and place, learned to speak, and grew up: just like we do. (January 16, 2013)

I'd like to think that I could believe that Jesus is God with nothing to go on but my Lord's word. Happily, I can also "believe because of the works themselves." After twenty centuries, going on twenty one, we've got quite an accumulation of works: that's yet another topic.


(From AnonMoos/Sumudu Fernando, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)

Related posts:

• Jesus
  • "Jesus, Knowledge, and Stories From Egypt"
    (January 16, 2013)
  • "Jesus: Human; Really Human"
    (January 9, 2013)
    Particularly
    • Jesus: Human and Divine
    • "...Believe me ... or ... believe because of the works..."
  • " 'But who do you say that I am?' "
    (October 10, 2012)
  • "The Man Who Wouldn't Stay Dead"
    (March 11, 2012)
  • "Just Who is This Jesus Person, and Who Does He Think He is?"
    (January 17, 2010)
• Hope and joy
  • "The Eighth Day: Two Millennia and Counting"
    (April 20, 2014)
  • "Seeing the Horizon"
    (May 19, 2013)
  • "Fasting, Penance: and Infinite Depths of Joy"
    (June 3, 2012)
  • "A Little Look at the Big Picture"
    (February 13, 2012)
  • "We Won: Quite a While Ago"
    (January 13, 2011)

The Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God: Yeah, It's Kind of a Big Deal

Today is the 43rd World Day of Peace. Although some rather tightly-wound individuals may not agree, I think most people feel that peace is nice, and that we should have more of it. I also think that, although being nice is nice: Sometimes niceness alone isn't enough. (see "About the Just War Doctrine" (June 7, 2009))

Aside from observing that it would be nice if everybody would decide to be nice, that's all I've got to say about the 43rd WDoP.

Today is also the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. Which doesn't mean that Catholics worship Mary and think God is less than Mary because He's her child. But, if that's what you really feel, deeply and sincerely: that's what you feel.

I am, though, going to write a little about Jesus. And, while I'm at it, Mary.

Before I do, though, a link to something from the Holy See (if you're an American, odds are you call it "the Vatican."):

• "Homily of His Holiness Benedict XVI"
  Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and 42nd World Day of Peace, St Peter's Basilica (January 1, 2009)

January 1, 2010: Yet Another Holy Day of Obligation

I can see how people get the idea that Catholics are ground under the heel of a whole bunch of rules and stuff like that. Look how often "obligation" shows up when we talk. A holy day of obligation is "a day when Catholics must attend Mass and refrain from servile work, and Episcopalians must take Communion" (Princeton's WordNet).

Catholics! We've Even Got Rules About the Rules

I'm Catholic, so for me and my house today was a day when we went to Mass and refrained from servile work. Or, rather, my oldest daughter and I went to Mass. The rest were too sick: and yes, we're also obligated to maintain our health, and not infect others; so sometimes we're obligated to skip an obligation. I don't say that being Catholic is easy: just that it's a really good idea.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has a page that might answer some questions about holy days of obligation in America:

• "What are the Holy Days of Obligation in the United States?"
  USCCB

If you don't live in the same country that I do, your bishops will have determined what's scheduled when in your area, under the direction and authority of Rome.

Catholicism isn't a 'roll your own' religion, where people pick and choose what they feel like believing and what they don't: but there's a fair degree of leeway for local customs and culture. Some of my ancestors, for example, liked to drag trees inside around this time of year - but that's another topic.

Where Was I? Right: Mary, Mother of God

"Just who is this Jesus person, and who does he think he is?"

Short answer? God. And he made it stick. Which is another topic.

One thing about my lord: He is not a person to politely refrain from making definite statements. Like the time he was in the temple area in Jerusalem:

"Jesus said to them, 'Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.' "
(John 8:58)

A bit earlier, in that burning bush incident, there was this:

"God replied, 'I am who am.' Then he added, 'This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.' "
(Exodus 3:14)

And yes, I know: that's in English. The words of Jesus were recorded in another language. So was the whole Moses-God dialog. There are some interesting footnotes discussing that sort of thing, like footnote 24 for John 8 and footnote 6 for Exodus 3.

When Jesus said (as translated into English) "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM" - I'm inclined to think that what he really meant to say was "Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM."

Looks to me as if Jesus was trying to say that he was around before Abraham, and that he and God were - well, comparable.

I don't think it's all that much of a stretch, from this and other points, to think that Jesus is God.

And, Mary is the mother of Jesus. So, "Mary, Mother of God" is - given the earlier assumptions - a fairly reasonable title.

God Couldn't Possibly be Human/A Man Couldn't Possibly be God?

It's possible to break heresies down into a few categories. A pair that keep cropping up are Gnosticism and Arianism - the idea that, respectively, God couldn't possibly be a mere human; and that a human couldn't possibly be divine. Better minds than mine have explained what the Church believes, and why: and this post is getting a bit long as it is, so I'm moving along (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 465, for starters) (There's a pretty good article on Arianism on the EWTN.com website)

I don't understand how God the infinite, eternal, all-present, could become one of us - or how one of us could be "...eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father...." But I'm okay with the idea that God is smarter than I am, and knows more, too.

That's Jesus: the God-man. "One in being with the Father" as the Nicene Creed puts it.

I've told my kids that one way to look at it is that "he's human, on his mother's side." But yeah: Jesus is God, one person in the Trinity - and no, Christians aren't polytheists, which is yet another topic.

"Do Whatever He Tells You."

Back to Mary.

Yeah, we Catholics make a pretty big fuss over her. It's "veneration," not "worship:" and I was impressed with Mary long before I started learning what the Catholic Church was really about. It took guts, accepting the assignment Gabriel delivered. (Luke 1:26-38)

I don't see a problem with paying attention to Mary, because her message to us is what she told the servants at that wedding: " 'Do whatever he tells you.' " (John 2:5)

Related posts:

• "The Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph"
  (December 27, 2009)
• "Yesterday was the Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe"
  (December 13, 2009)
• "Feeling Forgiven: My Faith and Emotional Perks"
  (November 24, 2009)
• "Our Lady of Guadalupe: Empress of the Americas"
  (August 11, 2009)
• "Mary, Mother of God, Mother of the Church: Yeah, She's Pretty Important"
  (August 11, 2009)

More:

• "John 2"
• "Exodus 3"
• "God Comes to Meet Man"
  Catechism of the Catholic Church
• " 'I Believe in the Holy Catholic Church' "
  Catechism of the Catholic Church