In his second exposition on Psalm 29 Augustine reflects on the role of Christ as mediator between God and humanity. 

“What does it mean to be a mediator between God and humankind?  Notice that scripture does not say, ‘between the Father and humankind,’ but between God and humankind.  What is God?  Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit.  What are human beings?  Sinners, godless creatures, mortals.  Between the Trinity and the weakness and sinfulness of men and women came the Mediator, made human, not sinful but nonetheless weak, so that he might unite you to God by virtue of his sinlessness, and might draw near to you by being weak.  In this way, then, the ‘Word was made flesh,’ that is, the Word became a human being, so that a Mediator might arise between humanity and God.”

In describing Jesus Christ, the Mediator, Augustine writes that he was “not sinful but nonetheless weak.”  This is an important description.  In order to help mine the richness of what Augustine is proposing we need to go to the famous hymn found in the second chapter of the Letter to the Philippians: 

“Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus. 

Who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
  something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
coming in human likeness;
and found human in appearance,
  he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death,
  even death on a cross. 
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name
that is above every name…”  (Philippians 2:5-9)

Both this passage from scripture and Augustine’s assertion raise an important point for reflection – does the salvific event in Christ come through his independent action and strength as Son – the second person of the Trinity – or through the eternally lived communion of Trinity?  I think it is through the latter.  Christ, “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave”.  The Mediator between God and sinful humanity was himself, “not sinful but nonetheless weak”.  These assertions negate any thought of a triumph achieved solely through an exercise of independent action and strength.   

The salvific event in Christ is achieved exactly through the weak humanity of Christ (emptied freely of any claim to the authority of divinity) clinging in obedience to the will of the Father and the grace of the Spirit.  Throughout scripture wherever one person of the Trinity is present there are the other two to be found.  For an example we can look to Matthew’s depiction of the baptism of Jesus:

“After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming upon him.  And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”  (Mt. 3:17)

The proclamations, powers, signs and healings found throughout the ministry of Jesus – from the wedding at Cana all the way to the foot of the cross – are not signs of the Son as second person of the Trinity exercising his “own” power but rather the Son emptying himself of all authority in love and through his weak humanity clinging to the will of the Father and the movement of the Spirit. 

And this is indeed good news for us!  We cannot make a claim on the Mediator in terms of his divinity but we can make a claim in virtue of his weakness!  Augustine points this out for us when he says that the Mediator came, “so that he might unite you to God by virtue of his sinlessness, and might draw near to you by being weak.”  Through the grace of baptism in Christ we now have the claim of brothers and sisters to the Mediator and we have the promise of divinity and kingship not by an exaltation of strength and independent action but by participation in a weakness that clings to God.  In Christ, we also can now cling to the Father’s will and the movement of the Spirit in our lives.  We can do this and we must do this. 

The salvific event is rooted in the grace of weakness and communion.

About ten years ago now, the U.S. Bishops issued a document entitled “Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us: A Pastoral Plan for Adult Faith Formation”. In the plan the bishops invite us to re-imagine the place of adult faith formation in our parishes. More often than not, faith formation in our churches is focused on our young people with any continuing adult faith formation viewed more as a by-product and not the real heart of the ministry. The bishop’s document invites us to turn that perception around. Our churches need to recognize that formation in our faith needs to be seen and promoted as a lifelong journey and not just the “convenience-store mentality” of an occasional visit when necessary; “Okay, we will be ready to get you confirmed and then we hope to see you again when you get married and as children come into the scene and sacraments are needed we will do the formation needed for those also. Come back when you need us.”

The bishops’ plan goes on to even make the rather revolutionary appeal to shift the structure of faith formation in parishes from being centrally focused on our young people to that of a view encompassing the whole of life where adult faith formation opportunities bear just as much weight as religious education for our young people.

Faith formation is a lifelong journey of encountering Jesus and coming to know him more deeply as our risen Lord and Savior.

In a spirit of continuing formation I took some time during this Christmas break (from ministry at the university while the students are away) to read up on the Gospel of Matthew. (Matthew is the gospel that we read from during this year’s cycle A of the Sunday Mass readings.) I learned more about Matthew’s proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ during this time of study and reflection and realize that I still have much more to learn.

There is one thing that I would like to share though that I learned from this time of study and reflection. We know that the gospels work on a variety of levels in their proclamation of Jesus Christ and some levels are more subtle than others. In Matthew’s gospel there is a distinction in the titles different groups of people use in addressing Jesus. Those who stand outside of belief in Jesus – the Jewish authorities, Roman authorities, those who scoff and question – address Jesus either as “master” or “teacher”, a human title of civility and etiquette. Those who believe – the disciples, the sick who have faith, the poor and outcasts – address Jesus as “lord”, a proclamation of faith. To further underscore this distinction; Matthew in his gospel has Judas address Jesus only twice and each time Judas uses the title “master” – unlike the other disciples – he does not use the term “lord”. The title “lord” can assume both of the other titles: “master” and “teacher” but neither of these two can automatically assume the title “lord” because “lord” moves beyond mere human custom and etiquette into the realm of faith.

On the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord and throughout Matthew’s gospel the fundamental proclamation of faith is put before us: “Jesus is Lord!”

In the first reading for the Feast we hear these words, “Thus says the Lord: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, upon whom I have put my spirit…” (Isaiah 42:1) In the second reading from Acts we find Peter in the house of Cornelius saying these words, “You know the word that he sent to the Israelites as he proclaimed peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all…” (Acts 10:36) In the gospel we hear the very voice of the Father proclaiming, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Mt. 3:17)

Human custom can bring us to “master” (i.e. the title “sensei” in Japanese culture). Etiquette can bring us to “teacher”. Faith alone brings us to “Lord”. It is more than a title; it is a proclamation and a cry from the depth of our being and behind it stands all of salvation history and the fullness of God’s Kingdom that is coming. Jesus Christ is the first of the new creation – of which we are all a part through baptism and God’s grace. When we say, “Jesus is Lord” we say all of this … and all the powers of hell shall not prevail against it.

The bishops – in their teaching authority – are right. It is a lifelong journey to come to know Jesus Christ and to fully realize what the title “lord” truly means.

“Welcome Morning” by Anne Sexton

There is joy
in all:
in the hair I brush each morning,
in the Cannon towel, newly washed,
that I rub my body with each morning,
in the chapel of eggs I cook
each morning,
in the outcry from the kettle
that heats my coffee
each morning,
in the spoon and the chair
that cry “hello there, Anne”
each morning,
in the godhead of the table
that I set my silver, plate, cup upon
each morning.

All this is God,
right here in my pea-green house
each morning
and I mean,
though often forget,
to give thanks,
to faint down by the kitchen table
in a prayer of rejoicing
as the holy birds at the kitchen window
peck into their marriage of seeds.

So while I think of it,
let me paint a thank-you on my palm
for this God, this laughter of the morning,
lest it go unspoken.

The Joy that isn’t shared, I’ve heard,
dies young.

There is a legend that says the wise men from the gospel nativity story were of three different ages. Caspar was a very young man, Balthazar was in his middle age, and Melchior was an old man. When they arrived in Bethlehem they went to the cave of the Savior’s birth and once there they went in one at a time.

When Melchior, the old man, went into the cave, there was no one there but a very old man his own age with whom he was quickly at home. They spoke together of memory and gratitude. The middle-age Balthazar encountered a middle-aged teacher when he went into the cave, and they talked passionately of leadership and responsibility. When young Caspar entered, he met a young prophet and they spoke words of reform and promise.

When they had all gone outside after going in one by one, the three of them took their gifts and went in together. This time, when they went in, there was nobody but a twelve-day-old infant. Later on they understood. The Savior speaks to every stage of life. The old hear the call to integrity and wisdom. The middle-aged hear the call to generativity and responsibility. And the young hear the call to identity and intimacy.

The Savior speaks to every stage of life. At different times in my ministry I have heard people talk about different times in their lives when they felt closer to God and more engaged in their faith and how they now wish they could “get back” to that time. I wonder – is the goal to get back to a certain time and experience or is it to discover, anew, who Christ is for us now, today? Maybe the reason we cannot get back to a previous experience of God and faith is not because God is no longer there but because we are no longer there. We have changed, our world has changed – we must discover anew who Christ is for us today. The Savior speaks to every stage of life. This is the wisdom of the wise men.

Further, the wise men teach us another lesson – they show us the method of how to find out who Christ is for us when we are searching. We bring to God the gifts of who we are – the gold of the blessings and joys of our lives, the frankincense of our prayers and faith (no matter how simple and small), the myrrh of our sufferings and pains. When we bring these gifts in humility and trust to Christ, He will show us who He is for us today.