Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Church, Theology, and Culture - Class 4

Jesus didn't come to establish the Church, although He laid the foundation for the Church. In reconciliation, for instance, the community is always involved. As Catholics, we repent to a Priest, and although we all know that repenting to a person is not valid, repenting directly to God is. Even when repenting to a Priest, both are present and hear our confession; the Priest gives us absolution while God gives us forgiveness.

Theology changes as history changes; and if our faith does not change it dies. Good theology is not faithful to time; it interprets things differently in different times. Those who thought they were creating a theology "for all time" didn't understand their place within time. Hindsight is 20/20 but at the time what is happening is confusing to all, it just takes a long time to figure things out. You don't change the "that" of the creed, even though your understanding is different.

The Church as Institution was the dominate model for about four centuries. The mystery of the church was not written about; it was the community, visible, and tangible, and not spirit which was considered to be invisible and intangible. In fact mystery wasn't considered until the 12th century as civil structure was growing stronger. Even though the structural Church was in need of reform, because too much trust was being placed in the visible and tangible, the Mystery of the Church wasn't discussed in its entirety until 1964.

The Mystical Church is the oldest model of the church, the People of God or the Body of Christ. The Church as Sacrament unlocks the mystery of God's grace for us. The Church as Herald is essentially preaching, or the Liturgy of the Word. The Church as Servant although not popular at the beginning of the church, is popular with today's young people; serving God by serving neighbor. The Church as Disciple is also popular with young people, and it is embodied in the community.

People think they can define the Church, but like love, poetry and music, it is difficult to define something that is intangible. As we can see there are many models of church, even though no one model works by itself. These models do however unlock the mystery of the Church. The Church began to become a reality at the time of faith in the resurrection. The Church emerged from the community experience (not from a few isolated individuals) in faith in God through Christ in communion with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is present in the celebration of the Mass and it is the presence of the Spirit that is required for the Sacrament to be valid.

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