X God The Son, Prt. I (Cts) Poem by Jordan Legaspi

GOD THE SON

….doctrines of Atonement.

a. Mankind is shown that Jesus was totally loyal to God
even though his loyalty resulted in his conviction for treason, in torture, and in death.
b. The Cross is an example of the extent to which human beings can hate
a non-conforming, loving person.
c. Jesus' death puts our sufferings into perspective;
few others will ever have to undergo such an ordeal.
d. The Cross shows us how far God lets humans use their freedom.
e. The Cross expresses and reveals the power, hatefulness,
and worst consequences of humanity's broken relationships with God and each other:
killing the Innocent.
f. The Cross is a symbol that Jesus asks nothing of us that he has not demonstrated.
g. Jesus' death was the point where the world's alienation from God came into focus
and showed both its reality and power.
h. Jesus sacrificed himself; he offered himself fully to God.
He gave himself for his fellow human beings
so that he could represent to them the reality of their separation from God;
he also represented to God the human condition:
the capacity to love as he 'lived love' and the reality of evil as evil was done to him.
i. The Cross is humanity's 'no' to God.
j. Jesus' sacrifice of his life is the oblation (offering) of a perfect life that we cannot offer.
Alone he has fulfilled the intention of God for human life,
and God accepts the offering of that life.
Our imperfect offerings are now acceptable when joined with his one perfect sacrifice.
k. Jesus died 'for us and for all persons' in the sense that all humanity is affected
by his total self-offering, and all people are called to believe, to trust, his word.
l. Because of long-standing human sinfulness,
the very fabric of the universe had become corrupted; the sacrifice of Christ to God
brought about redemption (restoration) of all created reality.
The Resurrection of Jesus, which Christians specially celebrate each Easter Day,
has also been interpreted in more than one way, as an actual,
literal event just as described in the New Testament,
or as a poetic symbol of the Disciples' inner sense of joy and victory –
their response to Jesus' teachings and personality.
Either way, the Resurrection means that the Cross is not the end;
God's Will of love is ultimately victorious for all who confess Jesus as 'God's Word.'
Every human life, even those who endure harsh suffering (represented by Good
Friday) , may enter into the joy of Easter as the over-
all perspective of living, if they are part of the Easter fellowship of Christians.
Other meanings of the Resurrection for various Christians include:
a. The Resurrection is a point of transition for human history:
a new order of life based on love (not rules, procedures, or ceremonies)
and based on being part of a joyous, loving fellowship, the Church,
(not being alone or part of a lesser fellowship) has been established.
b. God has placed his seal of approval on Jesus' life and ministry;
death did not silence Jesus' life or teachings.
c. The Resurrection is God's confirmation of Jesus as his Messiah.
With a new meaning, Jesus is viewed as the awaited Messiah,
one who brings to humanity deliverance from hardness of heart,
one whose focus on love can liberate all of life, including the political.
d. Everlasting life, begun as individuals enter the New Easter Covenant
focusing on Love, continues beyond death.
One's transfigured personality survives death,
which like birth is an entrance to another realm of existence.
e. Without Easter, the story of Jesus would be a dismal failure;
as a mere footnote at most, history would mention an unbelieved
and unbelievable executed rabbi living and teaching love!


Note:
Catholic Teaching Series, On God the Son, Part 01