This paper will explore the inherent connections and parallels between Jesus’ words as He sent out his disciples at the end of the Gospel of John and the exhortations of St. Ignatius of Antioch in his letters to the seven churches. The analysis will begin with a careful consideration of the Trinitarian identity and mission of the Church, with specific mention of the Triune God at work throughout the ages of salvation history. Thereafter, an examination will be made of Jesus’ commissioning of his Apostles, the unity he desired for his Church and the foundation he laid for said unity. Finally, a scrutiny will be made of St. Ignatius’ appeals to the various churches echoing this call for unity and his reasoning to how it can be achieved, namely …show more content…
All born into the Church through Baptism confess the Apostles’ Creed, declaring their consent and confirmation of faith. The gospel of John also communicates right worship of God and its intended aim of bringing man into communion with him. When talking to the woman of Samaria, Jesus states there would come a time when true worship would no longer be “neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem” but rather “the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.” (Jn 4:21,23) Later, John 6 recounts Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist, and finally, in chapter 15, Jesus refers to himself as the vine and calls his followers to “abide in me, and I in you.” (Jn 15:4) All of this Eucharistic foreshadowing and imagery gives way to the understanding that Jesus is the new Temple, and that communion in the Eucharist is the new form of worship and intimate union with the Trinity that Christ came to give humanity. After his Resurrection, the Risen Lord spent 40 days with his disciples teaching them all that He wanted them to spread throughout to the world. Then, in John 20, before his Ascension into heaven, Jesus sends forth his disciples to continue the Triune mission of salvation. Equipping them with the Holy Spirit, Jesus entrusted the Apostles with the mission of the Church to perpetuate God’s saving plan to the world. The Son returned to the Father, but sent the Holy Spirit to guide and sanctify the Church. The Church’s ultimate aim, therefore, is to draw man into communion with the Triune God. Consequently, “all the activities of the Church are directed, as toward their end,
In chapter two, ‘Francis and His Companions,’ Cunningham exposes the considerable growth in Francis of Assisi’s influence, as he recounts his companions that joined him after deciding to live his life. The chapter is significant because it exposes how Francis of Assisi’s gospel is different from the orthodox Catholic practices, which recognized the pope, as the sole Vicar of Christ. (Cunningham 32). This chapter is important in my life because it reinforces my conviction God is the almighty and all-powerful, and all people regardless of the status of the needed to worship
The book of Luke, found after the books Matthew and Mark, focuses on the ministry of Jesus Christ but it also gives us a look into His birth and growth in totality. In this chapter we see a historical account of some of the journeys that Christ experienced. It is important to keep in mind that the Bible and all of its books do serve as historical accounts but each book is unique in the fact that they incorporate a theological timeline. The Bible is, conceivably, the most important book that has ever been written. It gives the world eyewitness accounts to historical events that helped not only shaped a region of the world but the whole entire world. It is nearly impossible to go through some formal societal education and have never once read a part of the bible or have heard a story that adapts from the stories within the bible. The bible has helped formed institutions, associations and so much more. By reading the Gospel of Luke we are truly reading what is meant for us to read as Christians. The principal plot in the book of Luke is the life of Jesus Christ, his sacrifice, His ability to beat death and remain perfect as the son of GOD despite being human as well. Jesus is seen as the perfect savior for humans in the book of Luke. Luke not only gives multiple examples of the power of Jesus but also it gives us a look at The Lord’s triumph over temptation. Luke also depicts Jesus as a man/GOD who had a very deep concentration on people and relationships. The book of Luke gives Jesus a loving characteristic but doesn’t shy away from showing that at times Jesus got angry too. Jesus showed a great deal of compassion to the sick, those in pain, the poor, and unambiguously the sinful. Jesus had genuine love for everyone. Throughout this...
Furthermore, the renewal and rejuvenation of the Catholic Church makes Pope John a major reformer of the 20th century and a significantly large influencer during his time. He made universal and worldwide impacts to religious adherents by reforming and revitalizing the Christian traditions through achieving ressourcement, aggiornamento. In addition, his passion for unity amongst Christian faiths and interfaith dialogue, world peace and economic justice also furthered his impact not only within the Catholic Church but also in other Christian denominations. Moreover, in the short time of Pope John’s authority and power within the Catholic Church, the contributions and achievements he made had a substantially large impact to the Christian traditions as he brought the Catholic Church into the modern era,
With this in mind, the objective of this essay is to focus on the main ideas of each theologian, and discuss how each theologian’s ideas are compensatory to the other. This is important because even though each theologian’s writings were inspired by the harsh realities of the societies, and also by the effect each writer experienced in their moment in history, their critiques specifically of Christian institutions remain a consistent amongst all three writings. Furthermore, not only are their critiques consistent, but their goals for providing new frameworks for the future of the Church and Christian discipleship are consistent as well.
The Gospel of John, the last of the four gospels in the Bible, is a radical departure from the simple style of the synoptic gospels. It is the only one that does not use parables as a way of showing how Jesus taught, and is the only account of several events, including the raising of Lazarus and Jesus turning water into wine. While essentially the gospel is written anonymously, many scholars believe that it was written by the apostle John sometime between the years 85 and 95 CE in Ephesus. The basic story is that of a testimonial of one of the Apostles and his version of Jesus' ministry. It begins by telling of the divine origins of the birth of Jesus, then goes on to prove that He is the Son of God because of the miracles he performs and finally describes Jesus' death and resurrection.
Christ for the third time refuses. Since Christ refused the power presented to him, the church must now attempt at unifying the christian religion. A goal of mankind is to unite the civilizations into a “universal state” (pg. 31). A universal state brings along security in replacement of free will which humans are more than willing to give up especially if the one who unites them is the one that also provides for them. Humanity has suffered because we have had no unity among all civilizations until the church came around. Since christ has died and did not assume the role of a universal leader the church must assume this power for the sole purpose of benefiting man. Along with assuming this role, the church must also correct errors that Christ has caused. The church now has finally been able to convince mankind to submit their freedom in return for happiness, security, and a sense of unity. The last anguish of man is “the craving for universal unity” (pg 31). Now that the church has provided this to mankind we should not mess with or upset the
Nearly 300 years separated Ignatius of Antioch and Augustine of Hippo, during that time a lot changed for Christians in the Roman Empire. The church moved from being a criminal religious organization, to a legal religious organization, to the only legal public religion. Christians during this time were always engaging the culture around them—religion, politics, literature, education, etc. This paper will describe the Christian Roman religion before Constantine and after Constantine.
The Gospel of Matthew is an eyewitness story written for an audience of believers, under great stress, and persecution. Matthew develops a theological plot incorporating genealogy, speeches, parables, inter and intra textual references, common vocabulary, and fulfillment quotations, with a tension that builds as we are invited into the story. The crucifixion and resurrection bring us to a Christological climax that symbolically points beyond its conclusion to God’s Kingdom, bringing atonement, salvation and the ushering in the Eschaton. The extraordinary events surrounding the crucifixion act as commentary, adding important details concerning the death of Jesus.1
John was a dedicated apostle of Jesus Christ. His adult life was dedicated towards serving Christ and his doctrines. From his time of appointment to the ascension of Christ, John was among the disciples chosen to spread the word of God. After the ascension of Christ, John continues with his service to Christ, spreading the word of God from Galilee, across borders to Greece. The paper will illustrate the various lessons that can be demonstrated through John’s life, preaching and service to Christ.
John’s Gospel is unspeakably mission oriented. John the Baptist come out and go to the community and tell them what it means to get rid off their sin, enjoy freedom, and being justified. John the Baptist did not present the one to come (the Son) as a humble and ordinary human rather he presents him as powerful, mighty (John 1:27). But later in John Chapter 13 we see a humble and feet washer Son of God. Does Jesus came as a mighty and powerful who human being is even unworthy to untie His sandals straps (John 1: 27 NIV) or humble feet washer and fish cooker (John 13 and 21:7), came to create incredible relationship with humanity? How do we see both John the Baptist and Jesus mission to community, how much the humanity (becoming flesh) favor the mutuality between the messiah and human being. There no time when Jesus’ Divinity overshadow his humanity. Our justification is based on...
The political differences within the church were at one time very united. This was around the time that Rome had introduced its Hellenic culture, so Greek and Latin were understood very well throughout the Roman Empire. However this unity gradually disappeared especially in the third century when the e...
The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
Finally, the last book of the Bible inspires hope in the lives of the worshipping church. It depicts they day when God and the Church will be united forever and face-to-face. No longer will there be a temple to go and meet God, because God himself will be the temple (Revelation 21:22). The hope for ultimate intimacy with God forever drives the focus and vision of the church to worship in the meantime. Through good or bad, easy or difficult, success or failure, pleasure or pain… the reality of intimate worship with God for eternity gives strength and eager expectation of the New Earth to come.
...express their beliefs as well as listen to the words of the Lord. As Jesus said at his last meal with his disciples before his execution, “Do this in memory of me”. This quote is reflected in the mass in the stage of ‘being fed’ when an adherent receives both the body and blood of Christ, called Transubstantiation. In this way, Christian adherents are able to unit in a diverse environment following the ways that our Lord has taught us. Therefore through this, Christian adherents are able to express their faith.
The ideal of unity seems to be of great importance in the religious world, but rarely is it ever achieved among professed Christians. However, it is vitally important to comprehend unity in its Biblical light. Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “That they all may be one, as thou, Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.” By definition, unity is the state of being one. In order to have a unified church every member must be one one with the Father and the Son. Subsequently, to achieve such an oneness, each member must be perfectly holy, because God is holy. Unfortunately, this is where a clear contrast is made between the saints and mere religious professors.