My sheep hear my voice;
I know them, and they follow me.
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.
No one can take them out of my hand.
My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all,
and no one can take them out of the Father's hand.
The Father and I are one.
The champion of May 2nd, Saint Athanasius, certainly delighted in hearing, "The Father and I are one!" The great proponent and defender of the Trinity fiercely opposed the Arian heresy, despite its enormous popularity among the majority among Christians, and the Emperor Constantine's preference.
They believed Jesus and the Holy Spirit were demigods, at best. That is, they were superior to the saints and angels, but not equal to the Father whose absolute authority resembled the Greek's Zeus, the Roman's Jupiter, and the emperor's.
Arianism befit the Roman Empire neatly; it lent a patina of divine legitimacy to civil authority. There is one God whose authority is absolute and can be neither challenged nor questioned; and there is one godlike emperor who must be obeyed as God's representative on earth.
Arianism dismissed kenosis, the divine humility of Calvary. Humility, approachability, service, compassion: by all Arian estimates, these were unworthy of God, though they might suit his demigods and the emperor's subjects. The Arian Jesus had come to teach us obedience to the emperor. That way of salvation was simple. It required neither courage nor creativity; compliance sufficed and communion was assured.
I suppose today's Chinese government, if they must abide Christianity, would prefer the Arian version. In defiance of the Pope, they want to name, control, and dismiss the bishops of the Church. Their isolated, compliant Catholics can have no communion with the rest of the Church.
Saint Athanasius required and practiced a much deeper obedience; it was directed not to the Emperor but to the Lord. It sought the will of God in the Spirit of One whose obedience challenged the superficial conformity of good citizens. If he made enemies of most Christians and all civil authorities, so be it. The bishop spent many years in more than one exile, away from his diocese of Alexandria, Egypt. But he was known among the faithful and his influence prevailed when the bishops gathered in Constantinople to complete the Nicene Creed. Arianism was vanquished and its obsequious followers were dismissed to the outlier, heretical regions of the Church.
One of the greatest Fathers of the Church, Athanasius could not be taken out of Jesus's hands. He knew he had been given to Jesus by the Father who was greater than every human authority. And Jesus, in the same Spirit, offered Athanasius's suffering to the Father. Eternal life flourished within him and he lives to this day as one of the great champions of our faith.
No comments:
Post a Comment
I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.