The Church is built as a household of God on a foundation laid on the Apostles and the prophets where Christ himself is the chief corner stone (Ephesians, 2: 19-20). While the Apostles belong to the New Testament period, the prophets should be taken as not only of those of the Old Testament, but also of all other religions from the beginning of the world. If we restrict the category of prophets to those from Samuel onward only, thereby we exclude not only Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but also Moses and others who were people who spoke the word of God as the situation demanded. There are different kinds of prophets for various purposes and yet the one criterion that sets apart a true prophet from false ones is the speaking of the word of God. On many occasions we see that some prophets perform signs and wonders and even predict future events in testimony of their genuineness.. However, these are not the ultimate criteria for distinguishing a genuine prophet from the false ones as even the Egyptian magicians were able to perform many of the feats executed by Moses. The genuine prophet is always identified with his message, which is the word of God, and is ready to face the consequences for announcing the same. The words of God announced by genuine prophets ultimately point towards the Word of God Himself and thereby those prophets turn out to be the foundation of the household of God along with the Apostles.
In order for us to know the nature of the Church and its priesthood, it is enough to start with the call of the Apostles by Jesus provided we do not exclude the pre-history of the Church envisaged by God from the beginning of the world. The first promise Jesus made to Peter and Andrew when they were called from their daily work of fishing was to make them fishers of men (Matthew, 4: 19). The only condition for the same was to go with Jesus, that is, to follow him. Going with Jesus or following him is an absolute requirement for truly attracting people to us for the purpose of making them see him through us for which the Church and the priesthood were established. That is why Jesus called the twelve from his many disciples for the specific purpose of being with him, to be sent for proclaiming the Gospel and to be given authority to drive out the devils (Mark, 3: 14-15). From that time onward, the Apostles were close witnesses of what Jesus said and did and above all his special and constant communion with God Whom he addressed as his Father. This communion was very specifically expressed through his prayer, especially during night, as the daytime was fully packed with proclaiming the Gospel in support of which he had performed signs and wonders for the benefit of the people. Even these activities were nothing other than prayer for Jesus as he was always in communion with God. The Apostles were called to learn this first lesson of their priesthood to be always in communion with God wherever they were and whatever functions they were performing.
The second lesson they were to learn was to seek the Will of God always and everywhere. Jesus experienced how difficult it was to form the character of the Apostles for the purpose for which he had called them. They always had the tendency to substitute God's Will with their own believing that they were still with Jesus following him everywhere. What Jesus wanted from them was not merely their physical presence, but their presence in spirit so that they would be able to do God's Will. But, this could not be a reality for them during the public life of Jesus as a presence in spirit was not possible without the presence of the Holy Spirit and this was their third lesson. This, however, could not be achieved by the Apostles before the resurrection of Jesus as the Holy Spirit was not given before the glorification of Jesus (John, 7:39). The fourth lesson the disciples learned from Jesus was that their communion with God should be reflected in their communion with their fellow-human beings with a soft corner for the poor, the marginalized, the incapacitated, the outcasts and in general the powerless of this world. Jesus introduced table-fellowship as one of the main means of initiating, developing and sustaining the bond between individuals and groups of people in the form of a celebration of life. The culmination of such a fellowship was executed by Jesus in the Last Supper by offering his own body and blood for our eternal life, which is re-enacted in our Eucharistic celebrations. Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the midst of the Paschal meal and the early Church continued the practice of celebrating the Eucharist, known as breaking of the bread, followed by a full meal. The fifth lesson Jesus taught his disciples was the rule to conduct themselves in communion with each other through service exemplified in the washing of the feet of the disciples by the Master. Washing of the feet was but an external expression of the internal attitude one must have to others in the daily interaction of life and was not meant for the mere observance of an annual ritual with full solemnity without any relevance for the daily life!
In order to continue the mission of Jesus, it was necessary to establish certain parameters for action and life itself for which Jesus equipped the Apostles with authority to carry out their duty. The authority he conferred on them was not one of domination, practiced in the world , but of service to convey his love for the world. The authority to bind and loose, to forgive sins or to retain them,, etc., is not something the world can give as it is spiritual authority capable of binding or liberating the conscience of people for leading them to eternal life. It is not meant to be mingled with worldly authority called power nor with material benefits accruing from the exercise of such authority as it is received freely to be given freely. This authority is received on the basis of the reception of the Holy Spirit, so understood even by Simon the magician who confronted Peter in Samaria with his unholy request for receiving the same power (Acts, 8: 18-24).
The authority conferred on the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus and effectively received by them in the infusion of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was already indicated in the public ministry of Christ. It is seen in the promise to Peter in Matthew 16:17-20, in sending the Apostles with authority over the devils in Luke 9: 1-6 and in sending the seventy two with powers of healing ahead of his own visit in Luke 10: 1-12. The priesthood of Christ shared by the Apostles through their position as leaders of the community of the disciples of Christ does not abrogate the other forms of the same priesthood seen in the royal priesthood of the faithful (1 Peter, 2: 9-10) as well as forms of priesthood outside the confines of the visible Church (Acts, 10: 34-36). There is an interesting instance of the permanent character of the priesthood of Christ in those who have received Holy Orders and are forbidden by the Church to practice public ministry as they violated some discipline or other of the Church. They too do not lose the indelible character imprinted on them at the priestly ordination and are even allowed to administer necessary sacraments in exigencies when other priests are not available. The ultimate reason for this is that God does not repent of the gifts once given whatever the consequences. As Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, his priesthood cannot be restricted to within the visible Church, which is made visible for the purpose of promoting all types of priesthood acceptable to God. The trusteeship character of the Christian priesthood may be expressed by saying that it is priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek just as in the case of Jesus Christ about which we shall see in the next Post.
In order for us to know the nature of the Church and its priesthood, it is enough to start with the call of the Apostles by Jesus provided we do not exclude the pre-history of the Church envisaged by God from the beginning of the world. The first promise Jesus made to Peter and Andrew when they were called from their daily work of fishing was to make them fishers of men (Matthew, 4: 19). The only condition for the same was to go with Jesus, that is, to follow him. Going with Jesus or following him is an absolute requirement for truly attracting people to us for the purpose of making them see him through us for which the Church and the priesthood were established. That is why Jesus called the twelve from his many disciples for the specific purpose of being with him, to be sent for proclaiming the Gospel and to be given authority to drive out the devils (Mark, 3: 14-15). From that time onward, the Apostles were close witnesses of what Jesus said and did and above all his special and constant communion with God Whom he addressed as his Father. This communion was very specifically expressed through his prayer, especially during night, as the daytime was fully packed with proclaiming the Gospel in support of which he had performed signs and wonders for the benefit of the people. Even these activities were nothing other than prayer for Jesus as he was always in communion with God. The Apostles were called to learn this first lesson of their priesthood to be always in communion with God wherever they were and whatever functions they were performing.
The second lesson they were to learn was to seek the Will of God always and everywhere. Jesus experienced how difficult it was to form the character of the Apostles for the purpose for which he had called them. They always had the tendency to substitute God's Will with their own believing that they were still with Jesus following him everywhere. What Jesus wanted from them was not merely their physical presence, but their presence in spirit so that they would be able to do God's Will. But, this could not be a reality for them during the public life of Jesus as a presence in spirit was not possible without the presence of the Holy Spirit and this was their third lesson. This, however, could not be achieved by the Apostles before the resurrection of Jesus as the Holy Spirit was not given before the glorification of Jesus (John, 7:39). The fourth lesson the disciples learned from Jesus was that their communion with God should be reflected in their communion with their fellow-human beings with a soft corner for the poor, the marginalized, the incapacitated, the outcasts and in general the powerless of this world. Jesus introduced table-fellowship as one of the main means of initiating, developing and sustaining the bond between individuals and groups of people in the form of a celebration of life. The culmination of such a fellowship was executed by Jesus in the Last Supper by offering his own body and blood for our eternal life, which is re-enacted in our Eucharistic celebrations. Jesus instituted the Eucharist in the midst of the Paschal meal and the early Church continued the practice of celebrating the Eucharist, known as breaking of the bread, followed by a full meal. The fifth lesson Jesus taught his disciples was the rule to conduct themselves in communion with each other through service exemplified in the washing of the feet of the disciples by the Master. Washing of the feet was but an external expression of the internal attitude one must have to others in the daily interaction of life and was not meant for the mere observance of an annual ritual with full solemnity without any relevance for the daily life!
In order to continue the mission of Jesus, it was necessary to establish certain parameters for action and life itself for which Jesus equipped the Apostles with authority to carry out their duty. The authority he conferred on them was not one of domination, practiced in the world , but of service to convey his love for the world. The authority to bind and loose, to forgive sins or to retain them,, etc., is not something the world can give as it is spiritual authority capable of binding or liberating the conscience of people for leading them to eternal life. It is not meant to be mingled with worldly authority called power nor with material benefits accruing from the exercise of such authority as it is received freely to be given freely. This authority is received on the basis of the reception of the Holy Spirit, so understood even by Simon the magician who confronted Peter in Samaria with his unholy request for receiving the same power (Acts, 8: 18-24).
The authority conferred on the Apostles after the resurrection of Jesus and effectively received by them in the infusion of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost was already indicated in the public ministry of Christ. It is seen in the promise to Peter in Matthew 16:17-20, in sending the Apostles with authority over the devils in Luke 9: 1-6 and in sending the seventy two with powers of healing ahead of his own visit in Luke 10: 1-12. The priesthood of Christ shared by the Apostles through their position as leaders of the community of the disciples of Christ does not abrogate the other forms of the same priesthood seen in the royal priesthood of the faithful (1 Peter, 2: 9-10) as well as forms of priesthood outside the confines of the visible Church (Acts, 10: 34-36). There is an interesting instance of the permanent character of the priesthood of Christ in those who have received Holy Orders and are forbidden by the Church to practice public ministry as they violated some discipline or other of the Church. They too do not lose the indelible character imprinted on them at the priestly ordination and are even allowed to administer necessary sacraments in exigencies when other priests are not available. The ultimate reason for this is that God does not repent of the gifts once given whatever the consequences. As Jesus Christ is the Lord of all, his priesthood cannot be restricted to within the visible Church, which is made visible for the purpose of promoting all types of priesthood acceptable to God. The trusteeship character of the Christian priesthood may be expressed by saying that it is priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek just as in the case of Jesus Christ about which we shall see in the next Post.
No comments:
Post a Comment