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Permanent Formation Study Program
for May 2011
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ as
Mystery and Good News
The Catechism of the Catholic
Church contains rich summaries of basic Catholic doctrine. The
section (§638-658) on the resurrection of Christ (provided here
in
the attachment) is a good example. Both because it is so timely,
given our Easter preaching about the mystery of the resurrection,
and because it contains so many allusions to striking details from
the various New Testament accounts, I thought it would be a useful
text for our common study.
The theological
methodology of the Catechism here is biblical theology,
basing itself upon the accounts as they are presented in the New
Testament without going into historical-critical issues that might
otherwise be raised on the basis of source or tradition criticism.
For the sake of our preaching, this approach is especially fruitful,
because it helps us both to account for specific details in the
texts of the lectionary that we will proclaim during the Easter
season and to link particular events in the different books of the
New Testament to the larger theological picture. So, although
critical exegetical questions can validly be raised about the
historicity of some of the texts, that is not the focus of the
present study project.
This rich text
oscillates between two equally important claims: first, that
Christian faith in the resurrection is based upon the historical
experience of the disciples; and, second, that the event nonetheless
remains a mystery that is so fundamental that it shapes the meaning
of our new life as baptized Christians. In §654, the theme of the
paschal mystery is somewhat abruptly (but fruitfully) introduced.
This theme is so central a part of Christian spirituality that at
some point we will have to come back to it and study it in detail.
But even in this context, it is obviously a valuable theme for
Easter preaching.
Please refer to the
attached text file [Permanent Form. Resurrection] or use your own copy of the Catechism.
Blessings on your study and your preaching!
Questions for Individual Reflection
1)
As just noted, Christ's
resurrection is both a real event in history and an invitation in
faith to understand our lives as linked to the risen Christ. Reflect
on whether your own "resurrection piety" is a vague amorphous
hopefulness, or whether it is concretely nourished by biblical and
liturgical texts. Do you need some way of re-grounding your
spirituality in the Scriptures? How might this help your preaching?
2)
As §644 notes, "Even when
faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still
doubtful…" How are your own doubts (about life’s meaning) related
to the power of the risen Christ? Can you see the importance of
working through the challenge of doubts to arrive at a real
(experiential) faith? See if you can articulate both the object of
your doubts and the grace of the risen Christ to respond to them.
3)
The resurrection is a work of
the Trinity as a whole (§648f). How does this theological
perspective help you to integrate the potential dissonance of
dealing with texts that say variously that Christ was "raised up" by
the Father, that he has the power to lay down his life and
take it up again, and that (as in St. Paul) the Holy Spirit gave
life to Jesus’ dead humanity? Can you see how preaching on these
texts might prepare the way for a more fruitful celebration down the
road of the feast of the most holy Trinity?
Questions for Group Discussion
1)
"By means of touch and the
sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with
his disciples" (§645). If this concrete and social experience of the
risen Lord was critical for the resurrection faith of the first
disciples, what parallels are there for our Eucharistic communities
today? How do we maximize the possibility that members of the Sunday
assembly will experience Jesus personally speaking to them, reaching
out to them, and sharing his table with them? Reflect on the link
between resurrection faith and liturgical community.
2)
Paul preached, "If Christ has
not been raised, then our preaching is in vain…" The Catechism
makes several points concerning this: Christ's resurrection is the
justification for the truths that Christ revealed, it confirms his
divinity, and it opens a new life of grace that constitutes adoption
into a divine relationship. How important is it to preach these
points? Do you find it difficult to do so? Sharing with one another,
how do you go about unpacking the significance of the resurrection
for the faithful? Do you use these points?
3)
§654 speaks of the paschal
mystery in terms of the church's earliest kerygma (fundamental
proclamation), telling us that the justification that is the fruit
of Christ's resurrection is "victory over the death caused by sin"
and "filial adoption so that [the faithful] become Christ's
[siblings]…" What cultural or theological difficulties do these two
claims pose? How do you deal with them? In today’s scientific
culture, how could you address the question of linking death to sin?
4)
This same exposition of the
paschal mystery says that "adoptive filiation gains us a real share
in the life of the only Son, which was revealed in his
resurrection." This is a key theme of First and Second Corinthians:
“If anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation." This idea of
being adopted by God has multiple dimensions: being loved and
cherished, being drawn into intimacy, being transformed so as to
share God's holiness, and becoming a visible instrument and
sacrament of God's action in the world through our lives and
behaviors. How can you fruitfully preach these themes as something
linked to the resurrection mystery?
Suggestions for Reading and Study
Over the last several
months, a number of you have asked me for some suggestions for
further study. With the help of Jerry Austin, I have come up with a
short list of books that I can highly recommend. I will give you a
more complete bibliography in the near future. For the moment,
however, here are some worthwhile suggestions:
Systematic Theology: Roman Catholic
Perspectives, ed. F.
Schussler-Fiorenza and J. Galvin
(Philadelphia: Fortress
Press, 2011 – new 1-vol. edition). ISBN: 9780800662912.
Avery Dulles, Models of
Revelation (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1992).
Richard P McBrien, The Church:
the Evolution of Catholicism (New York: HarperCollins,
2008).
Gerald O Collins, The Tripersonal
God: Understanding and Interpreting the Trinity (New
York: Paulist Press,
1999).
Thomas P. Rausch, Who Is Jesus?
An Introduction to Christology (Collegeville: Liturgical Press,
2003).
Stephen Finlan, Problems with
Atonement (Collegeville, Liturgical Press, 2005).
Joseph Martos, Doors to the
Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments and the Catholic
Church
(revised—Liguori, MO: Liguori/Triumph,
2001).
Kenan Osborne, Orders and
Ministry: Leadership in the World Church (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis
Books, 2006).
John W O'Malley, What Happened at
Vatican II? (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,
2008).
More to come. Preach
well.
Paul Philibert, O.P.
Promoter of Permanent Formation
<p_philibert@yahoo.com>
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