Jesus and the Church

8/13/2019 Jesus and the Church

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JESUSAND

THE CHURCH


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I. Return to the Jesus who walked over thisearth

The Churchcannot solve the crisis of itshistorical identity and its societal legitimation in apurely interpretative or hermeneutical manner, butonly by practical identification. The problem of her

identity is fundamentally a theory-praxis problem.That praxis whose intelligible and identity-securingpower be replaced by interpretation is calleddiscipleship. The Church crisis is due to a deficit indiscipleship and to difficulties in adapting to Jesus.

J.B. Metz


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Signposts to Discipleship

The obedience of the cross Poverty

Freedom Joy

These attitudes and behaviors counted sohigh in Jesus own life.


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A. Dulles proposed a new conception of theChurch which he calls Community of Disciples.

Community of Disciples Realization that the basic vocation of any Christian is first

and foremost to follow the Lord as he walked over this

earth.

A community whose lives profession is to follow the Lordto build a community called Church.

Discipleship gives to the individual as well to the Christiancommunity a unique identity and purpose.


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II. Biblical Findings Concerning Israel and

Church

The Exodus story: God s election of a counter

society

Oldest historical summary of Israel s faithNumbers 20:1

Official Creed Deuteronomy 26:5-9


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The call of Israel can only be understood as newcall of God to create an alternative socialreality. The break of Moses and Israel from theimperial reality is a break from both the religionof static triumphalism and the politics ofoppression and exploitation. What emerges is

an alternative religion of the freedom of God,and the politics of oppression and exploitation ismet with a politics of justice and compassion.

What emerges is a new social community thatmatches the vision of God s freedom. Walter Brueggemann


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This creed has the followingscheme of action:

1. People are in distress

2. They cry out to God

3. God hears their cry & sees their distress

4. God intervenes and alleviates the distress


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The intervention of God into the history ofhumankind on behalf of Israel aims at creating analternative social vision..The Exodus opens upa new vision of what it means to be human in theeyes of God.

God envisions a society in which human beingswill live as his children in justice and peace witheach other.

Israel was to witness to this plan, but its historyshowed clearly how the people failed constantlyto the degree that the Old Testament Covenanthas been looked upon as the history of a brokenCovenant.


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Jesus main mission must be seen in this context of abroken Covenant. He understood his mission as beingsent to restore the Covenant to its original intention

and meaning.

In Jesus time, holiness and purity was the dominantsocial vision ostracized almost half of the population.

Jesus offered again an alternative vision based on theideal of the covenant Yahweh had offered Jesusfocused on justice and compassion.


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Jesusand the Foundation of the Church

Four representatives of the common positions

1. Richard McBrien: Catholism

a. The Church having its origin in Jesus - YES

b. The Church having been founded by Jesus -NO


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Jesus did lay the foundations for a church

1. Jesus did gather disciples around himself (Mt10:1-16)

2. Jesus anticipated an INTERIM PERIODbetween his death and the Parousia.

3. The group of the disciples did stay together

after the rejection of Jesus Last Supperbecomes decisive: Do this in remembrance ofme


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2. Gerhard Lohfink: Did Jesus found a Church?

Seven Points:1. Jesus never waned to found a new religious body

distinct from Israel. He saw and understood hismission in the confines of Israel.

2. Jesus did not intend to found a distinctcommunity, a holy remnant WITHIN Israel, like theEssenes.

3. Jesus concern was for ALL; he wanted to gatherand renew the whole people for the in-breaking ofthe final Kingdom.


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4. The early community saw itself as God seschatological people who, by faith in the risenChrist and his message, were to gather all Israel.

5. The fact that the majority of Israel rejected Jesushad a decisive influence on the phenomenon wecall Church.

6. It is hard to fix a point for the Church s origin. Itwas rather a process that gradually brought forthwhat we now means by Church.

7. The establishment of the Church is the work ofGod, who through Christ and the Spirit created hisend-time people.


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3. Walter Kirchschlager1. The most fundamental basis for the emergence of the

Church is Jesus proclamation of the Kingdom of God

2. Jesus called disciples, men and women (Lk 8:1-3), andbinds them to his person

3. The community that followed Jesus is structured from thestart and shows an initial ordering

4. Jesus gathered disciples, both men and women, into apersonal communion with himself the purpose:

missionary

5. The institution of the last supper makes it clear that Jesusreckoned with the certainty that his disciples wouldcontinue to proclaim his message of salvation.


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4. Leonardo Boff: Church, Charism and Power

Jesus concern was the Kingdom of God, not the

Church - the Church exists only because the Kingdomwas not accepted by the Jewish people and Jesuswas rejected by them.

The Church substitutes for the Kingdom and must beseen as an instrument for the full realization of heKingdom and as a sign of a true yet still imperfectrealization of this Kingdom in the world.

The Church is the presence of the Kingdom in historyinsofar as the Risen Christ is present in thiscommunity of believers but she is not the Kingdom.

Jesus and the Church

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