VATICAN
CITY, JAN.
14, 2008 (
Zenit.org).-
Here is a
translation
of the
address
Benedict XVI
delivered
during
today's
general
audience in
Paul VI
Hall.
* * *
Dear
brothers and
sisters:
Among the
letters of
the Pauline
collection,
there are
two, those
directed to
the
Colossians
and the
Ephesians,
that to a
point could
be
considered
twins. In
fact, both
have ways of
speaking
that are
only found
in those
two, and it
is
calculated
that more
than a third
of the
Letter to
the
Colossians
is found
also in
Ephesians.
For
example,
while in
Colossians
the
invitation
is read
literally to
"admonish
one another
in all
wisdom,
singing
psalms,
hymns, and
spiritual
songs with
gratitude in
your hearts
to God"
(3:16), in
Ephesians,
it is
similarly
recommended
to "address
one another
(in) psalms
and hymns
and
spiritual
songs,
singing and
playing to
the Lord in
your hearts"
(5:19).
We could
meditate on
these words:
The heart
should sing,
and also the
voice, with
psalms and
hymns, to
enter into
the
tradition of
the prayer
of the whole
Church of
the Old and
New
Testament.
We thus
learn to be
united among
ourselves
and with
God.
Moreover, in
both letters
is found a
"domestic
code,"
missing in
the other
Pauline
letters,
that is, a
series of
recommendations
directed to
husbands and
wives,
parents and
children,
masters and
slaves (Cf.
Colossians
3:18-4:1 and
Ephesians
5:22-6:9).
Even more
important is
to see that
only in
these two
letters is
confirmed
the title
"head,"
kefalé,
given to
Jesus
Christ. And
this title
is used on
two levels.
In the first
sense,
Christ is
understood
as the head
of the
Church (cf.
Colossians
2:18-19 and
Ephesians
4:15-16).
This means
two things:
above all,
that he is
the
governor,
the
director,
the one in
charge who
guides the
Christian
community as
its leader
and lord
(cf.
Colossians
1:18: "He is
the head of
the body,
the
church.")
And the
other
meaning is
that it is
as the head
that he
raises and
vivifies all
the members
of the body
of which he
is head. (In
fact,
according to
Colossians
2:19, it is
necessary to
"stay united
to the head,
from which
the entire
body,
through
ligaments
and joints,
receives
nutrition
and
cohesion.")
That is, he
is not just
one who
directs, but
one who is
organically
connected to
us, from
whom comes
also the
strength to
act in an
upright way.
In both
cases, the
Church
considers
itself
submitted to
Christ, both
to follow
his superior
leading --
the
commandments
-- and to
welcome all
of the vital
flow that
come from
him. His
commandments
are not just
words,
mandates,
but are
vital forces
that come
from him and
help us.
This idea
is
particularly
developed in
Ephesians,
where even
the
ministries
of the
Church,
instead of
being
attributed
to the Holy
Spirit (as
in 1
Corinthians
12), are
conferred on
the Risen
Christ. It
is he who
"gave some
as apostles,
others as
prophets,
others as
evangelists,
others as
pastors and
teachers"
(4:11). And
it is
because of
him that
"the whole
body, joined
and held
together by
every
supporting
ligament ...
brings about
the body's
growth and
builds
itself up in
love"
(4:16).
Christ in
fact is
dedicated to
"present to
himself the
church in
splendor,
without spot
or wrinkle
or any such
thing, that
she might be
holy and
without
blemish"
(5:27). With
this he
tells us
that the
strength
with which
he builds up
the Church,
with which
he guides
the Church,
with which
also he
gives
correct
direction to
the Church,
is precisely
his love.
Therefore
the first
meaning is
Christ, Head
of the
Church: be
it in regard
to the
leading, be
it above all
in regard to
the
inspiration
and organic
vitalization
in virtue of
his love.
Then, in
a second
sense,
Christ is
considered
not only as
head of the
Church, but
as head of
the
celestial
powers and
the entire
cosmos.
Thus in
Colossians,
we read that
Christ,
"despoiling
the
principalities
and the
powers, made
a public
spectacle of
them,
leading them
away in
triumph"
(2:15).
Analogously
in
Ephesians,
we find that
with his
resurrection,
God put
Christ "far
above every
principality,
authority,
power, and
dominion,
and every
name that is
named not
only in this
age but also
in the one
to come"
(1:21).
With
these words,
the two
letters
bestow us
with a
highly
positive and
fruitful
message. It
is this:
Christ need
not fear any
eventual
competitor,
because he
is superior
to any type
of power
that would
try to
humiliate
man. Only he
has "loved
us and
handed
himself over
for us as a
sacrificial
offering to
God" 5:2).
That's why,
if we are
united to
Christ, we
should fear
no enemy and
no
adversity;
but, this
also means
that we
should
remain
closely
united to
him, without
letting go!
For the
pagan world,
which
believed in
a world full
of spirits,
mostly
dangerous
and against
which one
had to
defend
oneself, the
proclamation
that Christ
is the only
victor and
that he who
is united to
Christ did
not have to
fear anyone,
appeared as
a true
liberation.
The same is
true also
for the
paganism of
today,
because also
the current
followers of
these
ideologies
see the
world as
full of
dangerous
powers. To
these
people, it
is necessary
to announce
that Christ
is the
conqueror,
such that
one who is
with Christ,
who remains
united to
him, should
not fear
anything or
anyone. It
seems to me
that this is
also
important
for us, who
should learn
to face all
fears,
because he
is above
every
domination,
he is the
true Lord of
the world.
Even the
whole cosmos
is submitted
to him, and
to him it
converges as
to its own
head.
Well-known
are the
words of the
Letter to
the
Ephesians
that speak
of the
project of
God to "sum
up all
things in
Christ, in
heaven and
on earth"
(1:10).
Analogously
in the
Letter to
the
Colossians,
it is read
that "in him
were created
all things
in heaven
and on
earth, the
visible and
the
invisible"
(1:16) and
that
"through the
blood of his
cross, he
has
reconciled
all things
for him and
through him
whether
those on
earth or
those in
heaven"
(1:20).
Therefore,
there is
not, on one
hand, a
great
material
world and on
the other
hand, this
small
reality of
the history
of our land,
the world of
people:
Everything
is one in
Christ. He
is the head
of the
cosmos; also
the cosmos
has been
created by
him, it has
been created
for us
insofar as
we are
united to
him. This is
a rational
and
personalistic
vision of
the
universe.
And I would
add that a
more
universalistic
vision than
this one, it
was not
possible to
conceive,
and this
converges
only in the
Risen
Christ.
Christ is
the
Pantokrátor,
to whom are
submitted
all things:
thought goes
toward
Christ
Pantokrátor,
who fills
the apse of
Byzantine
churches,
sometimes
presented
seated on
high over
the entire
world, or
even above a
rainbow to
indicate his
comparison
with God
himself, at
whose right
hand he is
seated (cf.
Ephesians
1:20;
Colossians
3:1), and
therefore
his
unsurpassable
role as
conductor of
human
destinies.
A vision
of this type
is
conceivable
only by the
Church, not
in the sense
that it
wants to
wrongfully
take for
itself that
which does
not belong
to it, but
rather in
another
double
sense. On
one hand,
the Church
recognizes
that Christ
is greater
than she is,
given that
his lordship
also extends
beyond her
limits. On
the other
hand, only
the Church
is
classified
as the body
of Christ,
not the
cosmos. All
of this
means that
we should
consider
positively
earthly
realities,
because
Christ
recapitulates
them in
himself, and
at the same
time, we
should live
our specific
ecclesial
identity in
plenitude,
which is the
most
homogeneous
to the
identity of
Christ
himself.
There is
also a
special
concept that
is typical
of these two
letters, and
it is the
concept of
"mystery."
Once the
"mystery of
the will" of
God is
spoken of
(Ephesians
1:9) and
other times,
the "mystery
of Christ"
(Ephesians
3:4;
Colossians
4:3), or
even the
"mystery of
God, Christ,
in whom are
hidden all
the
treasures of
wisdom and
knowledge"
(Colossians
2:2-3).
This
makes
reference to
the
inscrutable
divine
design over
the destiny
of man, of
peoples and
of the
world. With
this
language,
the two
epistles
tell us that
it is in
Christ where
the
fulfillment
of this
mystery is
found. If we
are with
Christ, even
though we
cannot
intellectually
understand
everything,
we know that
we are in
the nucleus
and on the
path of
truth. He is
in his
totality,
and not only
one aspect
of his
person or
one moment
of his
existence,
he who
gathers in
himself the
plenitude of
the
unsearchable
divine plan
of
salvation.
In him
takes shape
what is
called the
"manifold
wisdom of
God"
(Ephesians
3:10), since
in him
"dwells the
whole
fullness of
the deity
bodily"
(Colossians
2:9). From
now on,
then, it is
not possible
to think of
and adore
the approval
of God, his
sovereign
disposition,
without
confronting
ourselves
personally
with Christ
in person,
in whom the
"mystery" is
incarnate
and can be
tangibly
perceived.
Thus one
comes to
contemplate
"the
inscrutable
riches of
Christ"
(Ephesians
3:8), which
is beyond
all human
understanding.
It is not
that God has
not left the
mark of his
passing,
since Christ
himself is
the
footprint of
God, his
maximum
mark, but
rather that
one realizes
"what is the
breadth and
length and
height and
depth" of
this mystery
"that
surpasses
knowledge"
(Ephesians
3:18-19).
Mere
intellectual
categories
here prove
insufficient,
and
recognizing
that many
things are
beyond our
rational
capacities,
we should
trust in the
humble and
joyful
contemplation,
not just of
the mind,
but also of
the heart.
The fathers
of the
Church, on
the other
hand, tell
us that love
understands
much more
than reason
alone.
A last
word should
be said on
the concept,
already
indicated
before,
concerning
the Church
as spouse of
Christ.
In the
Second
Letter to
the
Corinthians,
the Apostle
Paul had
compared the
Christian
community to
a bride,
writing:
"For I am
jealous of
you with the
jealousy of
God, since I
betrothed
you to one
husband to
present you
as a chaste
virgin to
Christ" (2
Corinthians
11:2). The
Letter to
the
Ephesians
develops
this image,
specifying
that the
Church is
not just a
fiancé, but
the real
spouse of
Christ. He,
we could
say, has
conquered
her for
himself, and
he has done
this with
the price of
his life. As
the text
says, he
"handed
himself over
for her"
(Ephesians
5:25).
What
demonstration
of love can
be grander
than this
one? But
moreover, he
is concerned
for her
beauty, not
just that
already
acquired in
baptism, but
also that
which should
grow each
day thanks
to a
blameless
life,
"without
wrinkle or
spot" in her
moral
behavior
(cf.
Ephesians
5:26-27).
From here
to the
common
experience
of Christian
marriage,
the step is
a small one;
conversely,
it's not
even clear
what is the
author's
point of
initial
reference --
whether it
is the
relationship
Christ-Church,
from whose
light the
union
between man
and woman
should be
conceived;
or if
instead it
is the datum
of the
experience
of conjugal
union, from
whose light
the
relationship
between
Christ and
the Church
should be
conceived.
But both
aspects
mutually
enlighten
one another:
We lean what
matrimony is
in the light
of the
communion
between
Christ and
the Church;
and we learn
how Christ
unites
himself to
us thinking
of the
mystery of
matrimony.
In any case,
our letter
is situated
almost at
the halfway
point
between the
Prophet
Hosea, who
indicated
the
relationship
between God
and his
people in
terms of a
wedding that
has already
occurred
(cf. Hosea
2:4, 16,
21); and the
prophet of
Revelation,
who will
announce the
eschatological
encounter
between the
Church and
the Lamb as
a joyful and
indestructible
wedding (cf.
Revelation
19:7-9;
21:9).
There is
much more to
say, but it
seems to me
that, from
what I have
presented,
it can be
understood
that these
two letters
are a great
catechesis,
from which
we can learn
not just how
to be good
Christians,
but also how
to come to
be truly
persons. If
we begin to
understand
that the
cosmos is
the
footprint of
Christ, we
learn our
right
relationship
with the
cosmos, with
all of the
problems of
its
conservation.
We learn to
see [the
problems]
with reason,
but with
reason moved
by love, and
with the
humility and
the respect
that permits
acting in a
correct way.
And if we
think that
the Church
is the body
of Christ,
that Christ
has given
himself for
her, we
learn how to
live with
Christ in
reciprocal
love, the
love that
unites us to
God and that
makes us see
the other as
an image of
Christ, as
Christ
himself.
Let us
pray to the
Lord so that
he helps us
to meditate
well on
sacred
Scripture,
his Word,
and thus
truly learn
to live
well.
[Translation
by ZENIT]
[At the
end of the
audience,
the Holy
Father
greeted the
people in
several
languages.
In English,
he said:]
Dear
Brothers and
Sisters,
Continuing
our
catechesis
on Saint
Paul, we
turn to the
"twin"
letters:
Colossians
and
Ephesians.
Similar in
language,
they are
unique in
developing
the theme of
Christ as
"head" -
kephalé -
not only of
the Church,
but also of
the entire
universe.
These
letters
assure us
that Christ
is above any
hostile
earthly
power.
Christ alone
"loved us
and gave
himself up
for us" (Eph
5:2), so
that if we
remain close
to him, we
need not
fear any
adversity.
It was God's
plan to
"recapitulate"
all things
in Jesus
"through
whom all
things were
created", so
that "by the
blood of his
Cross" we
might be
reconciled
to the
Father.
Christ's
headship
also implies
that, in a
certain
sense, he is
greater than
the Church
in that his
dominion
extends
beyond her
boundaries,
and that the
Church,
rather than
the entire
cosmos, is
referred to
as the Body
of Christ.
These
letters are
also notable
for the
spousal
image they
use to
describe how
Christ has
"won" his
bride - the
Church - by
giving his
life for her
(cf. Eph
5:25). What
greater sign
of love
could there
be than
this? Christ
thus desires
that we grow
more
beautiful
each day
through
irreproachable
moral
conduct,
"without
wrinkle or
defect" (Eph
5:27). By
living
uprightly
and justly,
may we bear
witness to
the nuptial
union which
has already
taken place
in Christ as
we await its
fulfilment
in the
wedding
feast to
come.
I extend a
warm welcome
to all the
English-speaking
pilgrims
present at
today's
audience.
May your
time in Rome
strengthen
you to
imitate
Saint Paul
in "giving
thanks
always and
for
everything
in the name
of our Lord
Jesus Christ
to God the
Father" (Eph
5:20)!
