Today's entry focuses on this final section of Chapter two, which quite honestly borders on the mystical. I kind of prayed with it in a dream like state this morning, but I feel that these paragraphs lent themselves very fruitfully to a more contemplative frame of mind.
It begins with this idea that through scripture, we can reflect on the way Jesus would have gazed at the world. To help us reflect on this, Pope Francis turns to scripture rather beautifully, quoting Gospel passages 10 times( and other New testament sources 3 times)in this section. This may seem like overkill and it certainly would not be the first time a papal document was accused of being a little excessive with the use of bible quotations that are sometimes taken out of context just for the sake of 'quoting the source'.
However, I feel the verses are there not only to help us reflect upon Jesus' loving gaze, but also deepen our understanding of his world view. Francis reminds how important it was for Jesus that those following him recognize that paternal relationship God has with all God's creatures. (96) One of the passages he uses to illustrate this is from Luke 12:6 which invites us look at creation in order to understand how God has indeed carefully provided for the survival of all creatures, each one which is deeply valued and cherished by God.
Inspired by the gaze of Jesus, we're asked to go a little deeper in our understanding of God at work in creation, to focus less on the pragmatic 'look at how God cares for us', and enter the more contemplative state of fondness and wonder where we 'marvel at how much love and beauty is expressed in each individual species'. In fact, Francis believes this is of great importance in Jesus' teaching, as it was an invitation to 'be attentive to all the beauty of God expressed so eloquently in nature (97).
We don't often think of Jesus being 'in harmony' with creation, but think back to all the various food, grain, harvest, farmer, shepherd, and other imagery in his teachings that point to this clear relationship between us and creation. Look at those moments when Jesus was so connected to creation, he seemed to control it: “What sort of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” (Mt 8:27).
Think back to how Jesus was fully engaged in his experience of humanity, that unlike John the Baptist, he would not live the ascetic life denying himself all human pleasures in the world ( Mt 11:19) but would fully share with his friends, disciples, and all of us many profound joys of the human experience... an idea phrased so eloquently in the prologue of John's Gospel that captures the essence of our belief that the destiny of all creation is bound up with the mystery of Christ, creatively present from the beginning as the as the Divine Word (Logos), but also fully incarnate in the human story (the word became flesh) . (99) (Jn 1:14). But there is one other piece of this mystery that Francis names so concisely: the mystery of Christ is at work in a hidden manner in the natural world as a whole, without thereby impinging on its autonomy. (99)
This is humbling to me, because it reminds me that God created beauty, and shared it with us but doesn't allow it to affect how we live our freedom and autonomy;Christ partook in that beauty and continues to express himself through it (a simplistic expression of the controversial theology of the Cosmic Christ that even some Jesuits find theologically lacking, but that I find is so instrumental to helping us enter deeper in union with the idea of the trinity at work in creation!) but we are free to ignore Christ's expression in the cosmos; And the Holy Spirit nudges us to engage with the mystery, to contemplate the way Christ would have gazed upon the world, and upon us as individuals and leading us towards a renewal of love and hope in our world, a renewal we're very free to walk away from if we so chose. Like I said. Humbling...especially when we think back to all the moments when we did walk away from it in our collective history.
Thankfully, With the trinity's help, we can indeed understand more and more how the entire New Testament reveals to us facets of that mystery, that interaction between the divine and the world, everyday. And the more we get caught up in this interaction, in this story, the more we can start thinking about being directed toward 'the fullness (of our humanity) as our end' as our purpose as daughters and sons of God, and sisters and brothers of Christ, and of all creation. A tall order to live up to, but not so daunting when we're reminded again and again that God's gaze is upon us, and his strength always available to us!
It begins with this idea that through scripture, we can reflect on the way Jesus would have gazed at the world. To help us reflect on this, Pope Francis turns to scripture rather beautifully, quoting Gospel passages 10 times( and other New testament sources 3 times)in this section. This may seem like overkill and it certainly would not be the first time a papal document was accused of being a little excessive with the use of bible quotations that are sometimes taken out of context just for the sake of 'quoting the source'.
However, I feel the verses are there not only to help us reflect upon Jesus' loving gaze, but also deepen our understanding of his world view. Francis reminds how important it was for Jesus that those following him recognize that paternal relationship God has with all God's creatures. (96) One of the passages he uses to illustrate this is from Luke 12:6 which invites us look at creation in order to understand how God has indeed carefully provided for the survival of all creatures, each one which is deeply valued and cherished by God.
Inspired by the gaze of Jesus, we're asked to go a little deeper in our understanding of God at work in creation, to focus less on the pragmatic 'look at how God cares for us', and enter the more contemplative state of fondness and wonder where we 'marvel at how much love and beauty is expressed in each individual species'. In fact, Francis believes this is of great importance in Jesus' teaching, as it was an invitation to 'be attentive to all the beauty of God expressed so eloquently in nature (97).
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| The beauty of the divine expressed in sacred new life every day at Ignatius Jesuit Center, Guelph (photo: Susan Sprague) |
Think back to how Jesus was fully engaged in his experience of humanity, that unlike John the Baptist, he would not live the ascetic life denying himself all human pleasures in the world ( Mt 11:19) but would fully share with his friends, disciples, and all of us many profound joys of the human experience... an idea phrased so eloquently in the prologue of John's Gospel that captures the essence of our belief that the destiny of all creation is bound up with the mystery of Christ, creatively present from the beginning as the as the Divine Word (Logos), but also fully incarnate in the human story (the word became flesh) . (99) (Jn 1:14). But there is one other piece of this mystery that Francis names so concisely: the mystery of Christ is at work in a hidden manner in the natural world as a whole, without thereby impinging on its autonomy. (99)
This is humbling to me, because it reminds me that God created beauty, and shared it with us but doesn't allow it to affect how we live our freedom and autonomy;Christ partook in that beauty and continues to express himself through it (a simplistic expression of the controversial theology of the Cosmic Christ that even some Jesuits find theologically lacking, but that I find is so instrumental to helping us enter deeper in union with the idea of the trinity at work in creation!) but we are free to ignore Christ's expression in the cosmos; And the Holy Spirit nudges us to engage with the mystery, to contemplate the way Christ would have gazed upon the world, and upon us as individuals and leading us towards a renewal of love and hope in our world, a renewal we're very free to walk away from if we so chose. Like I said. Humbling...especially when we think back to all the moments when we did walk away from it in our collective history.
Thankfully, With the trinity's help, we can indeed understand more and more how the entire New Testament reveals to us facets of that mystery, that interaction between the divine and the world, everyday. And the more we get caught up in this interaction, in this story, the more we can start thinking about being directed toward 'the fullness (of our humanity) as our end' as our purpose as daughters and sons of God, and sisters and brothers of Christ, and of all creation. A tall order to live up to, but not so daunting when we're reminded again and again that God's gaze is upon us, and his strength always available to us!
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