r Taken from The Way of Jesus Christ, by Jurgen I, Moltmann, Fortress Press, 1995, pp. 78-87. 79 78 The Messianic Mission of Christ Christ's Birth in the Spirit e r he s i s s s er hr t New es e i t elf mor and more f om 12 Helpful Definitions of Words Used in the Reading -�ariolo_g_y!detached e church:rhi u i h s wa e he s s and in c tain C istian tradition T tam nt i:Zst mony: e e ere e e h its lf. At no he i he u taining fo ndat on of c ri tology Christology(ies) (from Greek Χριστός Khristós [Christ] and -λογία, - actually mad t he e s e s h e n t e doctrin of th Orthodox po nt is t diff nce b twe h logia [study] is the field of study within Christian theology which is ot r e nt a e e e i that of t N w Te tam Roman Cat olic church s and he and i e e s e t e primarily concerned with the ontology [the nature of being, existence s 13 s h s Mary, th ological mariology, and gr at as in the v n rat on of e h r st s e s t and relationships] of the person of Jesus as recorded in the canonical u e d n d, the di tanc between dogma . A t i gap w s he marian the s he it. Gospels and the epistles of the New Testament.(wiki) es e ianity' J wi h tradition gr w wit rch's th ology and Ch i he ch e i he e is 't es r her h Child Je us in r arm - do th Madonna with se What es h ss i te Miriam h e se do w th t J w h mot r Mariology is the theological study of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Godd s and he o' - av to s t e s d him lf e ? e t lf-willed son J us, w o di oc a Mariology aims to connect scripture, tradition and the teachings of the and er ind pendent, e h ehe u hesus s i is of Mary and it i the roo s of h church' veneration Church on Mary. It can be broadly defined as the study of devotion to from h r Ar 14 , i s ? h B t l m, b t in Ep ith to be ought, not n Jew e and thinking about Mary throughout the history of Christianity. (wiki) mar ology i re ll hi e u . Diana cult e t s w t he e e e of th Romani bapt smal c ed runs: ' ...born The t rd-c nt ry ix IX ay,ou xa, Romulus (and his twin brother, Remus,) was the legendary founder and aapxwei:vwIn t Nic n cre d th bir h i e and the V rgin Mary ...' h Holy Spirit r e e irit first king of Rome. The had a miraculous birth story, in which they c; ,iJc; 11:apei:vou i 71:VcUfJ. '!'Oc; Mapcalink d with the incarnation: ' ... ex Maria incarnatus est de spirituHoly sancto Sp and t e· were raised by a she-wolf. i ...' (' ... nca nat of th est de e e conceptus virgine .. Latin:t e ' ...t es V rgin Mary'; Maria virgine e e spiritu sancto, natusApos ex l ' cr ed we r ad: ' ... is the English transliteration of .'). In h e hese si (שכינה :The Shekhina (Biblical Hebrew he (' ... conceiv d by th Holy a Hebrew word meaning "dwelling" or "settling" and denotes the dwelling ss he e i he e es e confes onal st i Virgin Mary .. .' ). Ar t Spirit, born of t e is ? or settling of the divine presence of God. i ess ? Can t y sh e w th t N w T tam nt witne atements n accordanc t t ? s i e s of chr tology e h s e olog cally nec ary compon nt §2 CHRIST'S BIRTH IN THE SPIRIT be own to be a th ? he e s h e s to ay o us oday Is Doh s tt si cr dal formula t ll hav anything onc aid s t e r w at i ays today t sam a w at it In thisti sectiontr we hall noe talks about J sus' virginrt bi th,es ass 1. Christ's Birth in the Spirit from a Historical Perspective e h e e e e s dogma c adition has don .We hall talk about the bi h of J u e i t s t he s sus s e Christe i from th Holye Spirit; fors we ate w ar ds aling withe her i not a Th virgine b r h i no onehe of t esspillar thath i tains the New qu st one of egyna cology;s e it i a tht m of Chri tiant pns eumatology.e Testamt nt faith sin i Christ.e T e conft e iion of fait n Je sus, th Sons of Ine th N w Te tam nt, uChris 's 'virgin birs h'e ei r lati d onlyt t by 15 God, hes Lord, i ndepthe nd nt ofhe h ev rgines birth,e andh s i not ba edi on Luk and Matthew.s It was s nknown,e or con id r d un mpor an , in it. Ae wees know, faithis ofs t esNrew tiT tam nt a itsi foundate on weide area eof earlye Chri tian belief (thee Pauline and sJohannine e e in tht t timony to Chrs t' r uri hc theon. It isi only n Luk ande s ctors, for xampl ).But e fhroms th thirde c nturye onward it bs cam 11 Mat hew thate anye link i forged w t i nativi ty story.i Moreovh r,h a firm componente e ofe th Ce ri tian cree ds and th ological chri etolog e he i i e i h s e e he s we findth conf ssion of faith in Christ n Chr stian trad tions w ic ies. Th r is no sp cial th ological t aching about Mary in th N w knows nothing of t v rgins ub rth, or do not m nt on it. T i T stament, and no acknowledgment of her as 'moth r of t Chri t'. t th i ir h t e s t ess e i e indi putable fact alone allow s to draw th� theol_g_gi_calconclusion �ath t e v rginhe be t does not providee th heju tificaeion fore confe ingh __ But wh n the chr stological conflictse e b gan,e mariologys startede to y C ris . If t r is a link a all, th n t matt r is r vers d: t e expand and to take on ever mor laborat form in the anci nt - 3 i +5]iB rnEE "s i Ei$i;Fgiglllig flifiFI1; giF; g r i+i i iaiii I i ii ii ili$[ii ltlitgg iii rEgglir FiFii;alar1riqf$a rr: rilr,,$$gBfE 93 ots * O H ; i fFFif li{i [ler[[iB*t+si s gr![r[f,ffiEli[[ii+liilrrg ir; ii i afi E r*xiIE+s; I: rXFiIb*gIfiliif alFirs Is +E E rts,. g I H=B 11= B-: r *{ ; r a 3 ,$rrl}sEriiiEigiigilgilFi[iflii li $ e*ri';u*Ec=, *$ nr[E!$ flF; ;fiE'Elgiiilfi$gF$g ileEafl iE $ ff i glF+iEi rEgL€E:F I lii li}i$iiiliigi$Eil$igii i i; ; { il. , u i1flliEi'- lluEagE++r; Iif ilii T, r: i i E
[[ilEi$liiEEiiEisirlifli$igtiiiiEliEiii ii r;lgl liI lffi+iggiriliiiiisililiigIll;+ [t i,1
0|o N
t G
o
o Iir$iia li $ slgigis$iilisgiitrliflltli \t
F { *Ta' t a=.As=' 9 s.3 E rB i'5 il EHEs"; P ; s.i:-' ; +Etfi*; Fs"{E:; i S IJr'a 9--;.-t3 I J J
j E -t 8x.E EE 9 E S bE.ElEE-"i :; I € !I b"- € H o - gc" HUq5".i .E U I !.E?E-o;i.ES 'H artr-tr94tr(! y? c==.Zd oi-c "+ 9 bD EirEilIEEEi{IE iiiEiEEiiig E{E E .i€: E E.: E 8". r' I i= u€;Er = ; ?E€E;[i:Ss* S F u 3 X. Ii: ii{EIIEtiI ti;i iIEiEijiigI EIa t €E:is=?9EtE-H;es6.;.." S' tioof XZ Ui troF€ 3,E;i+O't ilEif H ifEfiIiI ;€f:E e 5.g-3; iiliEEiEfrE f 3E Eii o!r[{i;;:s 6'i5 B : o X c :i,ffEifiiiiEisE =:=€:..::it Fo Eir I+Ei:E..gEP; i=uilfEEirE .x.=.is,rtE-7i{ Hs E?:i r F* 8:: it E B "ru^ o : E+ i e.E E 3* p (n giE s EgEg EEEs€ (! igiEE sI igiiiE 5ff .,F ffEiiiiiE ii -;/ I - tl.l'{..�;-- � \-·.. :t:. ;, -;---,.,... - ::- 'f"-#-- #-rl- 'h,,./\,· (),.._."' l.. Li .. i :. {-,.,,,...._.-.._t. �
..P I L � .,,, j ( -- . +' -' ." J' ,:_'.> ·' . ; , I;{._;,_,,�,,..__,_ i'> I/_ C f" i°)11,.- -f'J ,, "'-- ,( ,f1., l) 86 The Messianic Mission of Christ Christ's Baptism in the Spirit ' .,:;�·-v-��-�:-'",,. - · 87 > , \:, • �:-· ..,,; 1 whole being is the warp and weft of the Spirit. He comes into stop talking about Christ's virgin birth, and talk instead about his ,:,1' existence from the Spirit, as the Nicene creed says. The descent of birth from the Spirit, we can then say: without the Holy Spirit there is the Spirit of God and its indwelling in Mary must even precede the no Mary, and without pneumatology there is no mariology which is 29 expectation of the messianic Son of God. Otherwise we should not sufficiently related to Christ. be able to say that he came 'from the Spirit'. Th! Spirit does not 'ci:eate';it 'engenders' and 'brings forth', as the birth metaphor says. J If the messiah is called the Son of God, then to be consistent we have to talk about the Spirit as his divine 'mother'. He therefore comes Questions for Reflection & Wondering into the world from the Father and from the Spirit, and-with his coming God's Spirit takes up its dwellin-- in the world; filstof:all in the messianic Son, thro�gh lttsbirffi -:..:tQen 10 the-fellowship of the 1. How do you fathom and wonder about the nature children of God, through their rebirth (Jonn 3.6; I Peter 1.3, 23) - (ontology) of Jesus of Nazareth? How is he - was he - then through the rebirth of the whole cosmos (Matt. 19.28). The divine and human? How do you explain that? - to birth of the messianic Son of God 'from the Spirit' is the beginni�g and_£_��ig!:}_ _9i__!:!_9pefor the rebirth of human beings and the cosmos yourself, to others? th_i:Qt,1gh 9od's Sh�ki!]_ah. That is why the indwe)ling of the Holy Spirit has to be told at the same time as the birth of Christ. 2. How does that mystery (what we call in Theology the If we take the birth of Christ from the Spirit seriously, then much Incarnation) shape the meaning, purpose and th:it the church has ascribed to 'the Virgin Mary' is transposed to proclamation of Christmas? �od the Holy Spirit himself, .and Mary can once again be that which she was and is: the Jewish mother of Jesus. The Holy Spirit, not Mary, is the source· of life, the mother of believers, the divine 3.How is the radical aspect of who Jesus is (from before Wisdom and the indwelling of the divine essence in creation, from his birth, back to his divine origin and up through his which the face of the earth will be renewed. Mary is a witness, and in resurrection) reflected or pointed to in our modern the form of the myth of Christ's origin she also embodies the indwelling of the life-giving Spirit. The so-called 'feminine' side of celebrations of Christmas.... both in the church, and outside God, and the 'motherly mystery' of the Trinity, is to be sought for, of it in our culture and economy? not in Mary but in the Spirit. It is only after that, in a second stage, that it can be discovered in the story told about Mary. If the 'virgin 4. As you wonder about the Christmas Story - which . birth' reflects the life.giving and engendering mystery of the Holy ( Spirit, then any possible mariology has to be part of pneumatology. ') part (or parts) of it speak the most to you? Why? How
1,, If in the history of Christ Mary has this ministering function, a do you they give you hope?; nourish your faith? ''' ! 1 function that points away from herself, then and then especially she 1 '! will arrive at her full significance in the history of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit, not Mary herself, >.yh9 js__ co worker with the messianic Son of God, and who together withJ1im will redeem the world. The history of Christ is a trinitarian history of th� reciprocal relationships and mutual workings of the Father, the Sp_irit_ and the_ _Son. Wide sectors of the church's later mariology must be viewed as a pneumatology narrowed down to the church. If we /, ·
..::k. -+t?)t,,_ (,.._,-;;,.. , t�,r-�}, >.:-,'jv•:1>) c... ' ;_'"Vkr�.,;:J)' cs \..., . ".-1 - . > I � c�, '"\ vv; 1 ' ' . ,q. ,
�