everything is the direct effect of our Father’s love.”
This idea of grace would have been the farthest thing from
the minds of Adam and Eve as they were being banished
from the garden. But, as mentioned earlier, the banishment
was more of God’s loving protection from what could have
been their eternal hell.
Posting St. Michael at Eden’s gate was the first act of grace
bestowed upon humanity after our Original Sin. This
unearned grace comes from God who is Love. Our first
parents who desired to be “like” God, failed to understand
the immensity of God’s merciful love. And so, they walked
away in shame.
It should be noted that our first parents never asked God for
forgiveness and, for that matter, nowhere in the fifty chapters
of Genesis do we find anyone ask God to forgive them.
Grace is truly unearned and everything is grace.
Throughout the Bible, we see grace unfold. From the Garden
of Eden to Noah’s family, to Abraham’s clan, to the Holy
Nation of Israel, and through the line of King David, we
witness grace upon grace.
Finally, we witness in Scripture the fullness of grace in
Christ, our Lord. The history of grace (or salvation history)
is brought to completion in Christ Jesus.
Though we are made from dust and dust we shall return, the
Amazing Grace of our God saved us from an eternal hell and
raised us with his Son.
When God created angels, they were complete. Saint
Michael, St. Gabriel, our guardian angels, all are wholly
integrated souls complete with intellect and free will.
However, as we discover through salvation history of
humanity, we are not made complete until the death and
resurrection of our Lord.
Remembering that our nature includes body and soul, we
stand at the pinnacle of God’s creation. This, at first, would
suggest that we are sufficiently whole.
Indeed, the book of Genesis has God say, “It is good,” after
each day of creation. And when He creates humanity, God
says, “It is very good!” But, not until Jesus dies on the cross
do we hear the words, “It is finished!”
These words are uttered by our God who became man,
humbling himself, being born in our likeness, and suffering
for our sake. This Amazing Grace takes on our human
nature with body and soul, so that through his death and
resurrection we could be sharers in his divine nature.
We are wholly integrated beings only through Christ’s death,
resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Together with
the breath of the Holy Spirit through faith and baptism in
Christ, we are more than human. We are properly called
Christian.
From an ancient homily delivered on holy Saturday
morning, we read about Jesus who descends into hell to call
out Adam whom God spared from perpetual misery:
“But arise, let us go hence. The enemy brought you out of the
land of paradise; I will reinstate you, no longer in paradise, but
on the throne of heaven. I denied you the tree of life, which was
a figure, but now I myself am united to you, I who am life. I
posted the cherubim to guard you as they would slaves; now I
make the cherubim worship you as they would God.”8
Through faith and baptism, we are born again and enjoy
what is referred to as divine filiation. Thus, the Catechism of
the Catholic Church states: “By his death, Christ liberates us
from sin; by His Resurrection, He opens for us the way to a
new life. [Justification] brings about filial adoption so that
men become Christ’s brethren.”9
Over the course of human history, God’s masterpiece moved
from good to very good, but was finally finished when God’s
Son signed it with his own blood. Through, with, and in
Christ we are God’s opus.
All of this is made possible because of grace. Not by our
nature are we called Christian. Our nature is body and soul
with intellect and will. By Grace we become Christ!
It is important to note that we are not “like” Christ. Rather,
we are Christ. Jesus is the head while we are, as St. Paul
reminds us, his body. But, as our church fathers would ask,
“What is the head without the body?”
The whole Christ, head and members, sits at God’s right
hand. This, of course, is hard to fathom and is a deep
mystery. A mystery worth pondering in prayer throughout
our lifetime.
With this mysterious gift of being one in Christ comes
great responsibility. Not only are we called by nature to be
stewards of all that is seen and unseen, but also we are now
called by grace to love as God loves, to be merciful as God is
merciful, to be forgiving as God is forgiving.
Jesus’ commands to carry our cross each day and follow
him, to abide in his love, to love our enemy, are not for mere
humans. This rule of life first belongs to God’s nature and,
being born again in Christ, we now take ownership of these
commands. This rule of life is for those who are not “like”
Christ, not “like” Love, not “like” God, but are now one in
God.
In Christ, we are not 666 trying to be that perfect seven.
Rather, we are being conformed into Christ to be perfect as
our Heavenly Father is perfect.
------
NOTES:
8. This Holy Saturday homily was written in Greek around the 4th century. It is found in the Catholic Office of Readings. The author is unknown.
9. (CCC 654)
No comments:
Post a Comment