Christ: the Model for Human Nature
by Fr. David M. Knight
Thursday, October 17, 2024
Twenty-Eighth Week of the Year
Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
Lectionary 470
Eph 1:1-10/Lk 11:47-54
Ephesians 1:1-10: How we live in the present depends on how we perceive our past and future. To direct ourselves toward fulfillment, we need to know what inspired the design of our human nature and what goal God had in mind when he produced it.
Paul says the model for human nature was Christ: “God chose us in him before the world began.”
He is... the firstborn of all creation. For in him all things in heaven and on earth were created.... Through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:15-17)
A mystery. We are used to thinking of the Incarnation as an “afterthought”: God created Adam and Eve without any idea of becoming human himself, but when they sinned, God decided to “take flesh” in Jesus to save us. Paul says no: God’s plan of creation from the beginning was that the Son would take a created nature that would be the model for humanity. In the mind of God, we were first conceived as Christ, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.”
God’s goal is to bring us to perfection in the fullness of the “whole Christ,” head and members: the “perfect man, who is Christ come to full stature.” (See Ephesians 4:12-13 in the 1970 New Testament of The New American Bible.)
He has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
More mystery. The simple truth is that, for Christians, being a human is not as simple as just getting out of bed in the morning and going about our business. We rise as Christ. And our goal in everything we do all day is to bring about the ultimate unity of the human race “in Christ,” sharing together his divine life at the “wedding banquet of the Lamb.” This is our goal in family and social life, business and politics. It does not replace the natural purpose of any of these. But by doing as Christ what we are supposed to do in each (and only what is authentic according to the nature of each) we work “to bring all things in the heavens and on earth into one under Christ’s headship.”
We don’t confuse business with worship or politics with religion, turn our homes into monasteries or our fun into faith-sharing. But fun should be for us an experience of faith, and family life an expression of divine love. Religion should enlighten (not determine) our politics. And yes, our business should produce, not just profits but prophets.
Luke 11:47-54: Jesus condemns the “lawyers” for not reaching or teaching the depth of mystery.
Initiative: Don’t be superficial. Think, speak, act out of the mystery of Christ.
Reflections brought to you by the Immersed in Christ Ministry
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