Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – After speaking in the most recent General Audiences on Saint Paul’s encounter with the Risen Christ and his relationship with the 12 Apostles and the Church of Jerusalem, in his catechesis on October 8, the Holy Father Benedict XVI reflected on “what St. Paul knew of the earthly Jesus: of his life, his teachings, his passion.” Saint Paul himself, in his writings, distinguishes two ways of knowing Jesus and, in general, two ways of knowing a person, the Holy Father said: “according to the flesh,” meaning “to know only from the outside, with external criteria: one can see a person many times…yet even knowing someone in this way, one does not really know the person, one doesn't know the nucleus of the person. Only with the heart is one able to truly know a person. In fact the Pharisees, the Sadducees, knew Christ from the outside, they heard his teachings, and knew many details of him, but they did not know him in his truth….On the other hand, thanks to their friendship, and the role of their hearts, the Twelve at least substantially understood and began to learn more of who Christ really was. This distinctive manner of knowing also exists today: There are learned individuals who know many details of Christ, and simple people who don't know these details, but they know Christ in his truth.”
Returning to this central question, the Holy Father continued: “it seems he never met Christ during his early life. Surely he learned the details of Christ's earthly life from the apostles and the nascent Church. In his letters we find three forms of reference to the pre-Easter Jesus.”
First, there are explicit and direct references that show that Paul knows of the unfolding of the Last Supper and the words of Jesus in various circumstances, for example on the indissolubility of marriage. Secondly, Paul “knew the passion of Christ, his cross, and the way in which he lived the last moments of his life. The cross of Jesus and the tradition regarding the fact of the cross is at the center of the Pauline Kerygma. Another pillar of the life of Jesus that Paul knew was the Sermon on the Mount, some elements of which he cites almost literally when he writes to the Romans.” The third mode of presence of Jesus’ words in the Letters of Saint Paul, the Pontiff said, “is when he transposed the pre-Easter tradition to the post-Easter period. A typical example is the theme of the Kingdom of God. This is certainly at the center of the preaching of the historical Christ. In Paul the transposition of this theme is revealed, for after the resurrection it is evident that Jesus, the Resurrected One, is the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom, then, is where Jesus is. And then necessarily the theme of the Kingdom of God, in which the mystery of Christ had been anticipated, is transformed into Christology. Jesus' own instructions for entering the Kingdom of God are valid for Paul in regard to the justification by faith: Both require an attitude of great humility and availability, free of presumptions, to receive the grace of God.”
Later, in referring to the “title” for Jesus that is attributed to Paul, the Holy Father mentioned that before Easter, Jesus “called himself "Son of Man"; after Easter it is evident that the Son of Man is also the Son of God. Therefore, the preferred title of Paul for Jesus is "Kyrios" -- Lord (cf Phillipians 9:11) -- that indicates the divinity of Jesus. With this title the Lord Jesus appears in the full light of his resurrection.” One last commentary from the Holy Father referred to the saving dimension of Jesus’ death, as we see in the Gospel: “the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45; Matthew 20:28). “The faithful expression of this phrase of Jesus appears in the Pauline doctrine on the death of Jesus as a rescue, as redemption, as liberation, and as reconciliation. Here is the center of Pauline theology, which is based in this phrase of Jesus.” In concluding his catechesis, Benedict XVI affirmed: “St. Paul did not think Jesus was something historical, as a person from the past…The words and actions of Jesus for Paul do not pertain to a historic time, to the past. Jesus lives now and speaks with us now, and lives for us. This is the true manner to get to know Jesus, and to learn the tradition of him.”
After having greeted the people in various languages, Pope Benedict XVI recalled that “the month of October, dedicated to the Holy Rosary, offers a special occasion for increasing our appreciation of this Marian prayer,” and he invited all to “recite the Rosary every day, trustfully abandoning themselves into Mary’s hands.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 9/10/2008)
