Jesus As The Fullness Of Revelation PDF

UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS TUGUEGARAO Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500 Philippines SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, CRIMINOLOGY, ARTS AND PSYCHOLOGY CHRISTIAN FAITH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE...

UNIVERSITY OF SAINT LOUIS TUGUEGARAO Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500 Philippines SCHOOL OF EDUCATION, CRIMINOLOGY, ARTS AND PSYCHOLOGY CHRISTIAN FAITH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE CFED 1013: God’s Journey with His People LESSON: THE INCARNATION AS GOD'S CONTEXTUALIZATION OF HIMSELF TOPIC LEARNING OUTCOMES At the end of this lesson, you will be able to: a. Discuss the theological importance of the Incarnation, including how Jesus' divinity and humanity bridge the divine and human realms, revealing God’s closeness and solidarity with humanity; and b. Reflect on how the Incarnation influences the Christian understanding of God's involvement in the world, particularly through themes of solidarity with the marginalized and a call to renewal of relationships with others and creation. INTRODUCTION: How can we understand experience meaningfully? Apparently, context, situation, or condition is important ways in gaining understanding about something or someone. These factors depict the reality of being unique and different but such differences present a rich way of knowing authentically. We are familiar with the comment in Filipino that goes like this: "Hindi mo ako naiintindihan dahil hindi mo naranasan ang aking napagdaanan" (You cannot understand me because you did not experience what I went through). THE WORD BECAME FLESH (JOHN 1:18) 1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome[a] it. 6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all might believe. 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”) 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b] is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.  This introduction to the Gospel of John became partly the Scriptural basis for the doctrine of the incarnation, which is central to Christianity. Incarnation literally means ‘becoming flesh” or “enfleshing.” The Christian teaching holds that in the person of Jesus, God became human like us. God revealed who he is in Jesus so that in another part of the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the Father,” and “The Father and I are one.” Among the other Biblical bases for the teaching on the incarnation are the stories in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke about Jesus’ conception and birth. For many Christians, these stories are familiar because they are usually narrated or read during the prevalent season of Christmas. The Gospel of Matthew tells Christians about the miraculous conception of Jesus and describes the events leading to his birth. The Gospel of Luke tells Christians of the miraculous birth of John the Baptist. It also describes the journey Mary and Joseph took from Nazareth, where they lived, to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. In these stories, Jesus is described as God’s Son born of a human being. He is understood as a heavenly figure who became human precisely to save human beings. He is Emmanuel, God-with-us. The idea of a “god” involving himself in the affairs of men by coming to the earth is not a novel one. In the Greek culture of New Testament times, numerous instances in which the “gods” were said to have manifested themselves in human flesh. In our times, there are numerous examples of “super-beings” who have intervened in human history. Just check out the movies and the novels proliferating around, and you will find these "super- heroes." All of our present-day “super-beings” offers little help when it comes to the doctrine of the incarnation, however. In the first place, these are fictional characters--nobody believes in them. These “super-heroes” of our time are vastly different from the person of Christ, who is God incarnate. There is nothing in fact or fiction in the history of human beings which matches the mystery of the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Humanly speaking, no one anticipated God’s intervention into human history by the birth of a child, born in a manger. Starting from the Biblical perspective, the Church reflects further on the significance of the incarnation. The Incarnation is a unique and singular event. Its truth informs the way we view God and ourselves (God became man, 2018). When Jesus arrived on earth, He changed the way humanity viewed God. In Jesus, God came down from heaven to earth without compromising his divinity. The Incarnation of Christ crowned centuries of divine revelation, God’s slow revealing of himself, making himself known to humanity over time. God’s divine communication was now to be known through the Person of his Son. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines the Incarnation as “the fact that the Son of God assumed a human nature to accomplish our salvation in it” (CCC, 461). This is the most profound meaning behind our Christmas celebrations. The Incarnation of the Son of God does not mean that Jesus Christ is part God and part man, nor does it imply that he is the result of a confused mixture of the divine and humans. He became truly man while remaining truly God. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. (CCC, 464). This holy condescension of God means that we can never accuse God of being absent or lofty or unreachable or inaccessible. Jesus, coming as a human person, changed the way we view ourselves. For by his incarnation, the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. The doctrine of the incarnation, the Church provides us with these two important themes: 1. The incarnation is God reaching out to the whole of creation. 2. The incarnation is God immersing Himself in the very concrete situation of people.  As you ponder on what these two themes mean, focus on “reaching out,” “whole of creation,” “God immersing Himself,” and “concrete situation of people.” In Jesus, the Incarnate Word, God continues to reach out in love for creation and renews creation. Through Jesus, God has shown us the way of life, a way of relating with ourselves and others, and indeed with the whole of creation, which can lead to the renewal of our world. The incarnation is also God’s solidarity with people, especially with the poor and the oppressed. In Jesus’ life and ministry, we see God’s concern for the sick and the marginalized. Pitching tents with others is a symbol of an intimate relationship, solidarity, or oneness. Biblical scholars usually use this expression concerning the incarnation. God tented with the Israelites in the wilderness, and in Christ, God pitches his tent with us. God is with us, up close, in person. How amazing that God pitches his tent among the likes of us! Praise God from whom all blessings flow. ** END OF LESSON ** REFERENCES: Catechism of the Catholic Church. (1997). *Catechism of the Catholic Church: With modifications from the Editio Typica* (2nd ed.). Doubleday. Holy Bible. (1982). *New King James Version.* Thomas Nelson. Pope John Paul II. (1996). *God became man: Incarnation and salvation.* Libreria Editrice Vaticana.