home * back issues index * author index * getting back issues
Renewing the Face of the Earth: A Meditation
This article was originally
published in Caelum Et Terra, Summer 1996,
volume 6 no 2, and is used here with the author’s permission.
To obtain permission to republish
this article, contact the author by clicking on the link above.
In
the glorious mysteries of the Rosary there is an interesting shift of
perspective between the second mystery, the Ascension of our Lord, and the
third, the Descent of the Holy Spirit.
After his crucifixion Jesus Christ rose gloriously from the grave and
spent a period of weeks putting the finishing touches on his instruction of the
Apostles. And then he left this
world. This action shows us that
Christ's eternal kingdom will not be on this earth. He did not set himself up in Jerusalem as universal king, and
compel the obedience of all nations by miracles or force. He turned our attention to the things above,
reminding us that someday we too will leave this present life. But then, the very next mystery of the
Rosary gives us an entirely different viewpoint. Jesus Christ sends his Holy Spirit to this earth, to the very
place he had just left behind. The
Church even prays, in the words of Holy Scripture (Psalm 104:30), that the Lord
will send out his Spirit so that the face of the earth will be renewed. So on the one hand, by ascending into
Heaven, our Lord is showing us that we must not expect an eternity such as the
Jehovah's Witnesses propose for most of their believers, everlasting life on a
perfect planet earth, with a never ending supply of this world's goods. But on the other hand, he is also showing us
that a very important part of our vocation is concerned with this world, the
world to which he sent the Holy Spirit and the face of which is to be renewed
by the Spirit's coming. If we hold both
of these truths in our minds, if we meditate on both of these mysteries of the
Rosary, then we are apt to keep these two aspects of our faith in their proper
harmony. But it is particularly the
second of these mysteries that I want to look at now. And it seems to me that there is much in this mystery that is
well worth the consideration of those of us who still dwell on the face of the
earth and who might be able to have some role in renewing that face.
The
created things of this earth - with the exception of human beings - that the
Holy Spirit is sent to renew are all things that will eventually pass
away. The Post-Communion prayer for the
first Sunday of Advent (in the original Latin) refers to them as praetereuntia,
that is, things that are passing away.
Yet these very things that will pass away, these things that will not
last, someday will be arrayed under the lordship of Jesus Christ, the King of
all creation, and in some manner will contribute to his glory. In the first chapter of his letter to the
Colossians (verses 15 through 20), St. Paul says of Christ that "in him
all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible"
and that "all things were created through him and for him." And that the fullness of God dwelling in him
was pleased "to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in
heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross." In fact, this is only one of several passages in the New
Testament which speak of Jesus Christ as the head or the climax and crown of all
creation, or of the related idea of creation being presented or subjected to
the Son of God. In the first letter to
the Corinthians (15:23-28), St. Paul writes of all things being subjected to
the Son and "then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put
all things under him, that God may be everything to every one," while in
Ephesians (1:10) he speaks of God's purpose to "unite all things in him,
things in heaven and things on earth," and a little later (verse 22) that
"he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all
things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in
all."
If
these created things are to be presented to Jesus Christ and united in him or
reconciled to him, it would seem that they are not to be regarded as merely
passing things, in the sense that they have absolutely no lasting importance or
meaning. For the passages from the
letters of St. Paul that I quoted above refer to the establishment of the
eschatological order, the final ordering of things when the fullness of the
kingship of Christ Jesus is made manifest.
If with the final coming of the Kingdom of God these created things are
simply cast off and allowed to perish, then why would St. Paul state that
"all things...things in heaven and things on earth," are to be united
in that final and eternal order?
If
we were to read Paul without the guidance of the teaching Church we might
conclude that Christ is to reign over the planet earth forever, an earth pretty
much like it is today, except that disease, poverty, war, etc. have been
eliminated. As I said before, this is
not to be the case. Obviously there is
much here that must remain a mystery to us, but we can ask the question of what
effect this mystery might have on us and on our conduct. That is, since we know that the things of
this created order, even though they will pass away, have, in some way or other,
eternal significance for the reign of Jesus Christ, should that have any
practical influence on our present way of life in this world? Can we cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the
renewal of the face of the earth and perhaps facilitate the restoration of all
things in Christ?
From
another passage of St. Paul it seems that there definitely is a relationship
between us and this renewal of creation.
This passage can be found in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 8,
verses
19 through 23.
For
the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of
the
sons of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not
of its own will but by the will of
him who subjected it in hope;
because the creation itself will be
set free from its bondage to
decay and obtain the glorious liberty
of the children of God. We
know
that the whole creation has been groaning in travail
together until now; and not only the
creation, but we ourselves,
who have the first fruits of the
Spirit, groan inwardly as we
wait for adoption as sons, the
redemption of our bodies.
This passage seems to be saying that the earth
and all that is has been waiting for us, for the children of God, for the Holy
Church of God. And why? What are we to do to relieve the "eager
longing" and the "groaning" of the created world? Perhaps we, by our treatment of creation,
could begin, even now, that healing process which the actions of our first
parents make necessary. It is true that
the wounds caused by the sin of Adam go very much deeper than anything we can
do to heal by the way we treat created things.
But nevertheless, since mistreatment of created things is rooted in
Adam's sin, it does not seem amiss for us, after we have received the grace of
our new birth, to cooperate with the Holy Spirit in renewing the sum of created
natures. Especially since "the
creation waits with eager longing" and "has been groaning in
travail" for us. For the
earth has been waiting for those who would treat it with the respect due to a
work of God, who would not, for example, recklessly bulldoze forests for
trivial purposes, but would respect the trees at the same time as we cut down
those we need for our churches, homes, schools and other buildings. It has been waiting for those who would (the
words are Leo XIII's) "learn to love the very soil which yields in
response to the labor of their hands, not only food to eat, but an abundance of
the good things for themselves and those that are dear to them." It has been waiting for those who would with
their hands work the silver and gold or iron and copper into objects both
useful and beautiful, not force them into giant machines, there to undergo
impersonal grindings and wrenchings.
And if this seems farfetched, consider the words of the Scripture I
quoted above, "creation waits with eager longing." It is not just animate creation, but the
trees, the grass, bushes, rocks, metals within the earth. They are longing "to be set free from
[their] bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of
God." They are "groaning in
travail together," waiting for us.
It is certainly true that their final liberation will not occur until
our Lord returns as judge of the living and the dead. But it is equally true that our life and our actions now are not
something unconnected to our life hereafter.
In fact, as St. John says, the believer has already "passed from
death to life" (John 5:24).
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church, in its teaching about creation, says
much about the relations that ought to characterize man and the rest of
creation. In no. 340, it states,
"Creatures exist only in dependence on each other, to complete each other,
in the service of each other."
Moreover, "There is a solidarity among all creatures...."
(no. 344, emphasis in original). And
what is our role in this? We were
created "to offer all creation back to" God (no. 358) and "to
share in [God's] providence toward other creatures; hence [our] responsibility
for the world God has entrusted to" us (no. 373). To
sum up the argument so far: Although
the things of earth will not last forever, they are nonetheless to be offered
to God the Father through Jesus Christ, as part of the restoration of all
things in him. Only in this way can the
wounds of original sin, which affected even inanimate things, be healed. Moreover, the earth and even all the cosmos
is waiting for the cooperation of the "sons of God" with this work of
restoration and healing, for man was created "to offer all creation back
to" his Creator.
In
what ways can we share in God's providence toward the world and help offer it
back to him? In one way, of course, our
task is obvious. For we have
considerable to do with what kind of world will be presented back to Jesus
Christ, and through him to the Father.
We can offer to God a world of sins, a world of injustices, a world
filled with the products of an art and culture which degrade and corrupt. Or, on the other hand, we could offer, in
some degree at least, a world in which true community and justice flourish, a
world whose artistic works are formed by a local and traditional popular
culture, not mass-produced and imposed by the financial might of
corporations. But I think there are
also other ways in which we can take part in this work, ways which are complementary
to those I mentioned just now.
The
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is the supreme act, not only of worship of Almighty
God, but of that offering of all things to him of which St. Paul and the new
catechism speak. Even in its material
aspects is this so. In the Mass we
offer bread and wine, created products of the earth, products in which the work
of man complements the natural growth of wheat and grapes. And we offer them in vessels made from
minerals taken from within the earth.
If the bread and wine are offered in the setting of a beautiful liturgy
within a beautiful church building, then the best works of human culture are
also included in that offering, the theology, spirituality, music, art and
architecture which were created under the inspiration of the Catholic faith,
God's final revelation to man. If the
Mass is seen as the height and center of any civilization, then the offering of
the Mass sums up that civilization's offering of created nature back to God.
For example, if the bread and wine are products of a system of farming and an
economic system that respect the earth and the social nature of man, it could
be said, I think, that those farming practices and that economy are offered to
God in and through the offering of Jesus Christ. In this way we can attempt to make our offering the best that is
possible.
On
a different plane, as the re-presentation of the sacrifice on Calvary, the Mass
actually takes part in that reconciliation between God and man which must
precede and accompany any reconciliation between man and the rest of
creation. Moreover, the Victim who is
offered at Mass is the God-Man, that is, one of flesh and blood, whose flesh
and blood were nourished over a period of thirty odd years with the products of
this earth, with plants and animals, water and wine. Thus the physical body of Jesus Christ also sums up the offering
of created things to God the Father.
This physical body is, of course, made up of the things of earth. Yet Catholics should recall the startling
truth that this physical body is itself worthy of divine worship, not because
of its own properties, to be sure, but because it is united to the Eternal
Logos. As Pope Pius VI (1775-1799)
taught against the Jansenists, "...the humanity and the vivifying flesh
itself of Christ is adored, not indeed on account of itself and as mere flesh,
but inasmuch as it is united to the divinity." Thus the little things of this world, bread and wine, flesh meat
and fruit, fish, and all that Christ consumed during his life on earth, were
transformed by a natural process into the flesh of Jesus Christ, and thus, in a
sense, they were divinized.
Similarly,
but in a less concrete way, other human actions and good works helped to form
and sustain our Lord in his human nature. He was nurtured by the very human act
of being fed, first at his mother's breasts, then by the work of farmers and
herdsmen and merchants. He wore clothes
and shoes made by some human workman.
Furthermore, our Lord was taught, no doubt by his mother and St. Joseph,
possibly in a school; he lived under a political system, deeply flawed it is
true, but still, as St. Paul makes clear, having the essential properties of a
government. This government helped
create and preserve that human peace and common good which allowed him to grow
up within a human family and community.
Thus all the good things, works and actions that in any way contributed
to the formation of our Lord in his human nature are, in a way, offered as part
of the offering of Jesus Christ in the Mass, for, since it is Christ, man as
well as God, who is offered, necessarily all that shaped him in his humanity is
offered too.
And of course, a similar thing has
happened with regard to our Lady. Her
assumption into Heaven again shows how the things of earth will be taken up and
become things that last forever. And
when she was crowned Queen of Heaven, in a sense, all creation was crowned in
her, for she represents everything here below, as its Mother and Queen. And something similar will also be true for
all who will be saved. But obviously,
the examples of our Lady and of all the blessed are not something accomplished
apart from Jesus Christ. In fact, they
are accomplished only as part of his Mystical Body, thus as part of Jesus
Christ himself.
If
all this is true, what does it say to us?
Does it suggest new things for us to do, new devotions or new acts of
justice or charity? Not necessarily.
Ultimately what I am suggesting in this article is not that we do
anything new, anything that we are not, or should not, already be doing, but
that we see our good works, whether natural or supernatural, as intimately
related to the Sacrifice of the Mass, to the offering of Jesus Christ on the
Cross and on the altar, because in this sacrifice he offers not just himself,
but all of created nature, because all of created nature is, in a sense, in
him. And this offering of all creation
in and through the God-Man is itself the cause of the reconciliation not just
between God and man, but between man and the rest of creation, and between and
among each and every created thing, for it is the sacrifice and death of Jesus
Christ that effects this. Does this
give us new motives for doing good works and creating just structures? I would think so, for if we can understand
the connections between our acts and created works in this world and the
offering of creation to God the Father, how could this not give an impetus to
whatever efforts we can make here below?
Anything we can do "to offer all creation back to" God is more
than seconded by Jesus himself, for as both Priest and Victim in the Mass, he
offers himself, the sum of all that is and of all the good we have done. Thus we can aid the Holy Spirit in renewing
the earth, not just by what we do in our own lives, but by joining ourselves to
what Jesus Christ himself does when he offers himself as a Victim in the
Mass. Furthermore, these considerations
could be fruitful subjects for our meditations, and for connecting our meditations
with our life and actions.
St.
John, who was both seer and prophet, gives us a very vivid image of the earth
and all creation at the end of time.
Their exact meaning, of course, will remain a mystery for us until then,
but in his words we can see something of an earth truly renewed by the Holy
Spirit and entirely pleasing to its Creator.
Then
I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and
the
first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I
saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride adorned for
her husband; and I heard a
great
voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling of God
is
with men. He will dwell with them, and
they shall be his
people,
and God himself will be with them; he will wipe away
every tear from their eyes, and death
shall be no more, neither
shall there be mourning nor crying
nor pain any more, for the
former things have passed away."
- Revelation 21:1-4
At
the end of time, then, this mystery of the final ordering of created things
will become clear to us. Then we will
see the glory of all things arrayed beneath Jesus Christ and perhaps we will be
able to perceive how our cooperation in good works contributed to that glory.
Until then we can only pray to the Holy Spirit for grace to cooperate in his
renewal of the face of the earth, according to our own vocation as Jesus Christ
wills.
home * back issues index * author index * getting back issues