The contemplation of Christ’s
face cannot fail to be inspired by all that we are told about him in sacred Scripture,
which from beginning to end is permeated by his mystery, prefigured in a veiled way in the
Old Testament and revealed fully in the New, so that St. Jerome can vigorously affirm: "Ignorance
of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Remaining firmly anchored in
Scripture, we open ourselves to the action of the Spirit (cf. Jn. 15:26) from whom the
sacred texts derive their origin, as well as to the witness of the apostles (cf. Jn
15:27), who had a first hand experience of Christ, the Word of life: They saw him with
their eyes, heard him with their ears, touched him with their hands (cf. 1 Jn. 1:1).
What we receive from them is a vision of faith based on precise
historical testimony: a true testimony which the Gospels, despite their complex redaction
and primarily catechetical purpose, pass on to us in an entirely trustworthy way.
The Gospels do not claim to be a complete biography of Jesus in
accordance with the canons of modern historical science. From them, nevertheless, the face
of the Nazarene emerges with a solid historical foundation. The evangelists took pains to
represent him on the basis of trustworthy testimonies which they gathered (cf. Lk. 1:13)
and working with documents which were subjected to careful ecclesial scrutiny. It was on
the basis of such firsthand testimony, that enlightened by the Holy Spirit’s action,
they learned the humanly perplexing fact of Jesus’ virginal birth from Mary, wife of
Joseph. From those who had known him during the almost 30 years spend in Nazareth (cf. Lk.
3:23) they collected facts about the life of "the carpenter’s son" (Mt.
13:55), who was himself a "carpenter" and whose place within the context of his
larger family was well established (cf. Mk. 6:3). They record his religious fervor, which
prompted him to make annual pilgrimages to the temple in Jerusalem with his family (cf. Lk
2:41) and made him a regular visitor to the synagogue of his own town (cf. Lk. 4:16)
Without being complete and detailed, the reports of his public ministry
become much fuller, starting at the moment of the young Galilean’s baptism by John
the Baptist in the Jordan. Strengthened by the witness from on high and aware of being the
"beloved son" (Lk. 3:22), he begins his preaching of the coming of the kingdom
of God, and explains its demands and its power by words and signs of grace and mercy. The
Gospels present him to us as one who travels through towns and villages, accompanied by
Twelve Apostles whom he has chosen (cf. Mk. 3:13-19), by a group of women who assist them
(cf. Lk. 8:2-3), by crowds that seek him out and follow him, by the sick who cry out for
his healing power, by people who listen to him with varying degrees of acceptance of his
words.
The Gospel narrative then converges on the growing tension which
develops between Jesus and the dominant groups in the religious society of his time until
the final crisis with its dramatic climax on Golgotha. This is the hour of darkness, which
is followed by a new, radiant and definitive dawn. The Gospel accounts conclude, in fact,
by showing the Nazarene victorious over death. They point to the empty tomb and follow him
in the cycle of apparitions in which the disciples - at first perplexed and bewildered,
then filled with unspeakable joy - experience his living and glorious presence. From him
they receive the gift of the Spirit (cf. Jn. 20:22) and the command to proclaim the Gospel
to "All nations" (Mt. 28:19).
(To be continued next week) |
