A Penitent Blogger
The mind of men and the light of God
On the Feast of the Epiphany (celebrated in many places today), we hear the familiar Gospel account of the Magi visiting the Christ Child in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:1-12).
Among other things, this familiar story gives us interesting examples of the interplay of human reason and the light of God's revelation.
On the one hand, we have the Magi, who are not orthodox believers and do not belong to God's chosen people. They believe in astrology (albeit in a more sophisticated fashion than those who check their horoscopes in the newspaper every day). Modern scientists would denounce them as superstitious fools and many people of faith would dismiss them as heretics or pagans.
But in this case, they got it right, at least partly.
Somehow, the light of God's revelation worked within their human reason, the light of God's revelation worked even within their unorthodox worldview and the light of God's revelation put them on the path where they would find Christ.
On the other hand, we have the reigning King of the Jews: the man who rebuilt God's holy temple in Jerusalem and thus helped restore the traditional forms of worship commanded by God himself.
In this case, however, (and in many others) he got it wrong: horrifically, demonically wrong.
For him, human reason and even God's revelation were just tools to advance his own interests. He would consult the Scriptures and make a show of piety, but these were all just pieces in his murderous scheme.
There are many lessons we can draw from this passage: lessons in how to deal with those who do not share our faith and lessons in how we ourselves live that faith.
By the grace of God, human reason can be the road that leads a person to Christ.
Human reason can therefore be a valuable means for interacting with non-Christians and we should always try - in our immediate surroundings and in the wider world - to cultivate an environment of reasoned discourse: for the sake of the common good and to provide a greater opening for the gift of faith.
We ourselves can be God's instruments to make use of that opening, so that by God's grace they may come to believe fully and explicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ (God's infinite and unique channel of salvation) and join us as members of his Body.
By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can better prepare ourselves for this by tying human reason and our God-given faith more firmly together in our own minds: not to simply rely on a "feel-good" faith or the things we learned as children, but to educate ourselves and inculcate whatever intellectual gifts we may have with the truths of the faith.
Thus, when we encounter men and women of reason in the midst of their searching, we may reach out to them and walk together with them into the fullness of the light of Christ, saying, "Come, my friends, together let us adore Him."
Venite,
adoremus
Dominum
Among other things, this familiar story gives us interesting examples of the interplay of human reason and the light of God's revelation.
On the one hand, we have the Magi, who are not orthodox believers and do not belong to God's chosen people. They believe in astrology (albeit in a more sophisticated fashion than those who check their horoscopes in the newspaper every day). Modern scientists would denounce them as superstitious fools and many people of faith would dismiss them as heretics or pagans.
But in this case, they got it right, at least partly.
Somehow, the light of God's revelation worked within their human reason, the light of God's revelation worked even within their unorthodox worldview and the light of God's revelation put them on the path where they would find Christ.
On the other hand, we have the reigning King of the Jews: the man who rebuilt God's holy temple in Jerusalem and thus helped restore the traditional forms of worship commanded by God himself.
In this case, however, (and in many others) he got it wrong: horrifically, demonically wrong.
For him, human reason and even God's revelation were just tools to advance his own interests. He would consult the Scriptures and make a show of piety, but these were all just pieces in his murderous scheme.
There are many lessons we can draw from this passage: lessons in how to deal with those who do not share our faith and lessons in how we ourselves live that faith.
By the grace of God, human reason can be the road that leads a person to Christ.
Human reason can therefore be a valuable means for interacting with non-Christians and we should always try - in our immediate surroundings and in the wider world - to cultivate an environment of reasoned discourse: for the sake of the common good and to provide a greater opening for the gift of faith.
We ourselves can be God's instruments to make use of that opening, so that by God's grace they may come to believe fully and explicitly in the Lord Jesus Christ (God's infinite and unique channel of salvation) and join us as members of his Body.
By the grace of the Holy Spirit, we can better prepare ourselves for this by tying human reason and our God-given faith more firmly together in our own minds: not to simply rely on a "feel-good" faith or the things we learned as children, but to educate ourselves and inculcate whatever intellectual gifts we may have with the truths of the faith.
Thus, when we encounter men and women of reason in the midst of their searching, we may reach out to them and walk together with them into the fullness of the light of Christ, saying, "Come, my friends, together let us adore Him."
Venite,
adoremus
Dominum
posted by Penitens | 1:11 AM
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