Wednesday 4 May 2011

Jesus of Nazareth 'Dialectic Recognition and non-Recognition' Benedict XVI

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Donald ...
To: WILLIAM ....
Sent: Mon, 2 May, 2011 21:09:57
Subject: Re: Dialectic recognize and not ...

Dialectic of Recognition and non-Recognition. Benedict xvi

Dear, William,
Thank you - we have interesting Easter events. How can I keep a Log up to date?

My Lenten Book, Jesus of Nazareth Part II, did not receive the proper monastic regularity.
Some gems surface with the aid of Index and clue on Doubting Thomas.
Some phrase of Ben xvi fastens in my brain and I puzzle away.
Maybe, I can pass it on to you and see if you can tease it out more clearly to me.
See the COPY below . . . . ..
Emboldened challenging words, dialectic, narratives, Theophanies.

I trust all goes well in Easter Tide.

Donald
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JESUS ONAZARET
J
ESUS' RESURRECTIOPROM THE DEAD

The appearances of Jesus ithe Gospels
pp.265-272

The appearances thawe read oin the Gospels are manifestlydifferentOn the onhandthe Lord appears aman likother menhe walks alongsidthe Emmaudiscipleshinvites Thomas to touch hiwounds, and in Luke's account he eveasks for a pieceof fish to eat, in order to prove his real bodilpresence. Anyet these s do not presenhim simply as a mawho has comback from death in the same condition as before.
Onthinthastrikes us straightaway is that thdis­ciples do not recognize him afirst. Thiitrunot only othe two in the Emmaus story, but also oMarMagdalene and theagaiat the Lake of Gennesaret: "Jusas day was breakingJesus stood othbeach; yethdisciples dinoknow thait was Jesus" (In 2I:4). Only afterthe Lorhas instructed them to set out once again does the beloved disciple recognize him: "That disciple whom Jesulovesaid to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'" (21:7). It is, as it were, an inwarrecognition, whicnevertheless remains shroudein mystery. Foafter the catch of fish, when Jesuinvites them to eat, there is still a strangequality about him"None of thdisciples dareashim, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord" (2I:I2). They knew from withinnotfrom observing the Lord's outward appearance.
Thidialectic of recognition and non-recognitioncorrespondtthmanneof the apparitions. Jesus comes through closed doors; he suddenly stands in their midst. And in the same way he suddenly withdraws again, as at the enothe Emmaus encounter. Hipresence is entirely physical, yet hinot bound byphysical laws, bthlaws of space and time. In this remarkabledialectic of identity anotherness, oreal physicality and freedom from the con­straints of the body, we see the specialmysteriounature of thrisen Lord'new existenceBoth elements apply herehe is the same embodieman, and he is the neman,hav­ing entered upon different manneoexistence.
Thdialectic, which pertaintthe nature of thRisen One,is presented quite clumsilin thnarratives, and it is this that manifesttheir veracity.    . . . . .(later)

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----- Forwarded Message ----
From: WILLIAM  ....
To: Donald ....
Sent: Tue, 3 May, 2011 21:54:49
Subject: Re: Dialectic recognize and not ...

Dear Father Donald,
 
This is a very challenging piece of writing, on a challenging subject, and I confess that it bewildered me when I read it for the first time today - I too had too much by way of duty in the course of Lent to complete the reading of the book, ....
These are my light foot prints as I step gingerly across this vast high plateau:
 
1) Terminology - clearest meaning of the key word [dialectic] using synonyms - intuition; sweet reason; reasonableness, rationality; dialectics, logic; logical process, logical sequence, inference, generalization;distinction...

2) Benedict XVI concentrates on the distinction between Jesus as seen in His appearances (physical) and asrecognized in them (spiritual), stressing the mystery ofidentity (physical) and otherness (spiritual), determining that the distinction resides uniquely in the nature of the Risen One, the way in which He is now revealed in His two natures at one and the same time. 

3) Whilst using the word "apparitions", Benedict XVIdistinguishes between the OT "theophanies", where the angelic persons remained, in essence, spirits, and Our Lord's appearances, for Jesus is "truly man", living "anew in the dimension of the living God".

4) Benedict XVI stresses that the encounters with the risen Lord are not just "interior events" or "mystical experiences", but "real encounters with the living one who is embodied in a new way and remains embodied". Benedict XVI adds that "mystical experience is a temporary removal of the soul's spatial and cognitive limitations, not an encounter with a person coming toward me from without". In Jesus' appearances "a new dimension of life emerges, a new dimension of human existence".

Other important teaching in this chapter adds to the above:"matter itself is remolded into a new type of reality"... "spirit and blood have a place within God"... "only now the place exists in which man's immortal soul can find its 'space' and 'bodiliness' in which immortality takes on its meaning as communion with God and reconciled mankind"..."an ontological leap occurred, one that touches being as such, opening up a dimension that affects us all, creating for all of us a new space of life, a new space of being in union with God".

5) Benedict XVI writes of the "third element" of the manifestations of the risen Lord - "appearing, speaking,sharing meals" (whilst considering that Luke's Gospel passage, or narrative of Jesus' requesting and eating the fish is over dramatized), proposing that the word used by Luke to describe the meal is "of great significance", for in translation the word means "eating salt with them", making reference to the historical meaning of salt, by which a lasting covenant was established. Not merely an enactment representing, or recalling, the Feeding of the crowds or the Last Supper, Benedict XVI teaches that this is "a sign of new and everlasting life" and "points to the risen Lord's new banquet.. a covenant-event... expressing an inner bond between [the Last Supper] and the risen Lord's new table fellowship [the eternal banquet]". As salt was used at every sacrifice, Benedict XVI teaches that different meanings come togther here: "covenant renewal, the gift of life, and purification of one's own being for self-offering to God".

Thank you for drawing me into this complex chapter, for I have now come to a degree of understanding of the teaching of the mystery.

I am quite in awe of the mind of Benedict XVI, the depth of his understanding of the mysteries of faith and the intensity he brings into his interpretations !

.... in Our Lord,
William
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Dear, William,
Many thanks.
The wheels are turning from your impetus
and we are both "
in awe of the mind of Benedict XVI, the depth of his understanding of the mysteries of faith and the intensity he brings into his interpretations !"
For the moment, these Emails are Posted while the 'dialectic' reveals and 'the third element' begs for the creative grasp of Benedict XVI.
Thank for the synonyms of 'dialectic' of the pillars. Maybe this suggests the bridge of the 'third element'. 
The computer facility of the digital reading and re-reading, under-lining, high-lighting, helps the way to Benedict's high paths.

God does not ration his gift of the Spirit. Jn 3:36

Donald

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