The Divinity of Christ

Friends in Christ,

I recently read an article,[i] written by a Catholic from Europe, who describes what is happening in her country. She says that there, many Catholics are just going through the motions. They grew up in the Faith, but they really believe only what their culture tells them.  The vast majority do not attend Mass.   

At Mass, she says,  people often listen to gray-haired priests  go on and on about politics and a hundred things that are not related to Jesus Christ.  But the people have tuned it out long ago.   Their country is quite liberal,  with theologians often demanding that Rome give up its  ‘out-dated’ ideas.’  We of course have some of this in our country as well, but what caught my attention, was what the author said, sort of mater-of-fact. She said that a kind of Arian catholicism is present there..  It was a striking statement.  

Arianism is a heresy which hit the Church in the 4^th century. It is the belief that Jesus is not Divine, he is not God.   But Jesus’ Divinity is one of the most important doctrines of the Faith; He is fully God and fully man.  It is God the Son who took Flesh, to be born of the Virgin.   Yet it is surely true, that many today are really Arians, who think that Jesus was just a good man who taught some nice things.   

The writer I mentioned says of her country: There are few seminarians studying for the priesthood, because studying ‘about a nice guy in Jerusalem 2000 years ago, doesn’t draw too many students.’  

A ‘nice guy from Jerusalem’ cannot save us; he cannot change our life, he cannot raise us from the dead  anymore than Buddha or Gandhi or Mr. Magilicuddy can.   But for the honest person, this is not an option.  Jesus does not allow you to say that he is ‘just a nice guy.’  He claims to be God.   ‘You are not yet fifty years old and you have seen Abraham?, they asked. ‘Who do you make yourself out to be?’ And he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”  This is his claim – to be God; its why they tried to stone him.   

So as we approach Holy Week, the question lies before every person: If Jesus was just an ordinary man who was crucified, it means nothing. But if he is the Son of God, and has risen: it makes all the difference in the world.