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Nicolás Ortega Froysa 2020-11-26 11:42:58 +01:00
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filename = 2020-11-20-christ-was-not-a-revolutionary.html
title = Christ Was Not a Revolutionary
description = A common phrase that we hear time and time again about Jesus Christ is that He was a revolutionary. However, this is not only erroneous, but can lead to some rather problematic errors.
created = 2020-11-20
updated = 2020-11-05

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<p>"Jesus was a revolutionary", "Jesus Christ's revolutionary message",
"the Christian revolution." These are phrases we've probably all heard
before in reference to Jesus Christ and His teachings. Most notably,
the equivocation of Jesus Christ with any kind of revolutionary spirit
tends to come from those who wish to change some fundamental Church
Teaching, and by framing our Lord as a revolutionary, it makes it appear
that such changes are "what Christ would've done", or indeed possible in
the first place. Yet, this makes little to no sense, neither biblically
nor philosophically.</p>
<p>To start, what is a <i>revolution</i>? Well, as the Oxford Dictionary
would define it, a revolution is: "A forcible overthrow of a government
or social order, in favour of a new system." In this case, we know
certainly that our Lord was not trying to overthrow any government. In
fact, He purposefully avoided titles that would associate Him with the
political liberation from foreign powers that the people of Israel had
been hoping for, preferring instead to use the title "Son of Man."
Therefore, it is clear that if one wishes to imply that Jesus caused
some kind of revolution, it would be to the social order and not the
government. But even this is unfounded in any real biblical evidence. In
fact, it's quite the opposite. Jesus makes clear that His mission is not
to change or abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them:</p>
<blockquote>
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I
have come not to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I tell you, until
heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a
letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished."<br />
- Matthew 5:17-18 (NRSVCE)
</blockquote>
<p>However, we do know that Jesus does continuously make efforts to
correct the Pharisees on their interpretation of the Law. So what does
this mean? Did Christ lie when He said He had come to fulfill the Law?
No, it means that, much like many Christians of today, the Pharisees
held to their own traditions rather than those of God. In their pride,
they held their own customs to the same standard as the Law given by
God (or perhaps even higher).</p>
<blockquote>
"'You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.'
Then he said to them, 'You have a fine way of rejecting the
commandment of God in order to keep your tradition!'"<br />
- Mark 7:8-9 (NRSVCE)
</blockquote>
<p>Therefore, it becomes clear that it was not Jesus Christ who was the
revolutionary, but the Pharisees. Our Lord came to fulfill the Law which
the Pharisees had manipulated.</p>
<p>However, even from reason alone we can see how calling Jesus Christ a
revolutionary is illogical. Jesus Christ is God the Son, who has existed
since the beginning, eternally with the God the Father. He is also the
Truth and the Word through which all was made. As God, He is also all
good, and perfect, and <i>ordered</i>. God cannot contradict Himself,
otherwise there would be disorder and falsehood. What Christ teaches is
the same Law with which God created the Universe: Divine &amp; Natural
Law. These have existed since always, and are prior to any Man-made
conceptions of law. As such, since Divine &amp; Natural Law precede
the laws of Men, it would be the laws of Men that are revolutionary, and
Jesus Christ, who upholds Divine &amp; Natural Law a reactionary or
counter-revolutionary.</p>
<p>Now, of course, usually the retort is that although all this is
true, the we say something is revolutionary or not in contrast to the
anthropological social order, not the metaphysical. But even if we
accept such an excuse - which I do not - it encourages certain very
false ideas as to what can and cannot change with regards to Church
Teaching. Namely that fundamental Church Dogmas &amp; Doctrines can be
changed, which they cannot. The idea is that if Jesus came and
<i>revolutionized</i> all that God had revealed to the people of Israel
prior, then who is to say that teachings cannot be revolutionized again?
It calls into question the Dogma of the Church that the fullness of
Divine Public Revelation was received with Jesus Christ, and all we need
to know for our Salvation is present in Sacred Scripture and Sacred
Tradition, which are interpreted by the Magisterium of the Church (see
CCC § 74-87)<sup><a href="#r1" >[1]</a></sup>. As such, even if it is
just for the sake of avoiding scandal, we must refrain from calling
Jesus Christ a <i>revolutionary</i>.</p>
<label id="r1" >[1]</label>
<a
href="https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a2.htm"
target="_blank" >
https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a2.htm
</a>

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filename = 2020-11-26-reverence-for-authority.html
title = Reverence for Authority
description = Although we still see it as normal and important to show many feelings, such as love, in a physical way, reverence is one that we've depreciated. Yet, perhaps now more than ever, it is absolutely important.
created = 2020-11-26
updated = 2020-11-26

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<p>Some time ago I was at the bar with some of my friends, and the topic
came up about signs of reverence during the Mass, in particular kneeling
in order to receive Communion, and the importance of receiving Communion
on the tongue (as opposed to on the hand). It was at this point that I
explained my usual bit about both the facilitation of sacrilege to the
Holiest of Sacraments when Communion in the hand is made common-place,
but also the possible scandal that can occur for an observer who may be
doubting the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist. I suspect,
however, that my explanations did little good and were not too
convincing. Not because there was any flaw in my reasoning, nor because
my friend was incapable of understanding it, but because I had
completely missed what he was truly asking: why is reverence to
authority - in particular the highest authority which is Jesus Christ -
so important? In particular, he had asked about <i>physical</i>
reverence. I will go over this here, although I hope to have the chance
to bring it up to him as well sometime in the near future.</p>
<p>To start, I would like to make some semantic clarifications with
regards to the term "reverence". Reverence is always something that is
demonstrated outwardly, because on its own it is not a feeling as
respect is, but rather it is the outward demonstration of respect. Hence
I do not enjoy referring to <i>physical</i> reverence, since reverence
is in itself <i>physical</i> in the sense that it is always demonstrated
outwardly. This is true not only in English (the language in which I am
writing this article), but also in Spanish (the language in which I was
speaking with this friend). Therefore, reverence is always a display of
respect, but not the respect itself.</p>
<p>So why then must we demonstrate respect outwardly? Why must we
<i>revere</i> our authorities, and most importantly the highest of all
authorities, Jesus Christ? Especially in the case of Jesus, does He not
know of our respect for Him that we hold in our hearts? Why does He need
us to show Him reverence?</p>
<p>To answer this, I'd say it's important to ask why we outwardly
demonstrate any kind of emotion. For it is not only respect that we
should demonstrate outwardly. Take love as an example. When we truly
love someone - parents, siblings, children, one's spouse, friends, etc.
- it is of no doubt to anyone that we should show our love in a physical
manner; we embrace them, we kiss them, we hold their hands through tough
times, and we throw our arms around their shoulder, we give them kind
words of encouragement or words of correction when they make mistakes.
Why? Does a mother not know that her child loves her? Do children not
know they are loved by their parents? It is because our feelings are
worth nothing if not expressed in our words and our actions. And even
the tiniest of gestures of affection can make the biggest
difference.</p>
<p>So returning to the topic of reverence, we must show reverence for
our Lord because, just like love, our respect for Him is worth nothing
if we keep it to ourselves. He knows what we hold in our hearts, but if
that is truly what we hold for Him, then we should be looking for every
excuse to show Him those feelings, whether in private or in public, in
small or big ways.</p>
<p>Therefore, every time you go to a church, or pray a Rosary, or the
Liturgy of the Hours, or in any way address our Lord, take a bow, take a
kneel. Show Him and all those around you that Christ is the Lord and
deserving of the highest reverence, above that of any king, for He is
King of kings. All nations, all creatures, all authorities shall bow
down before Him. And perhaps most importantly, when during the Mass you
go up to receive the Holiest of Sacraments, the Corpus Christi, if there
is nothing impeding you, kneel to receive our Lord. Whether or not you
receive Communion on the tongue, you can always receive Him
kneeling.</p>