For the past several weeks, the word “divine” has been at the forefront of my thoughts. God has planted the word in my heart so that -amid the shopping sprees, twinkling tree lights, Santa’s hohohos, elves and reindeers, candy canes, and sentimental songs that have assaulted my senses since Thanksgiving – I stay keenly aware that the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. “Christmas,” I believe it is called.
Why is Christ’s divinity important? Because, in its misplaced attempt to be tolerant of all religions, America [and “we the people of”] is trying hard to tamp down the wonderful reality that Christ is the Divine Son of God, who became flesh to forgive us of our sins and lead us to eternal life. The popular notion being bandied about to push the teetering masses away from this truth is that Christ was simply another human prophet like Buddha or Muhammad.
Christ was either “Lord, liar or lunatic,” counter Catholic philosophers Peter Kreeft and Ronald Tacelli (2009, Handbook of Catholic Apologetics). Point by point, they systematically lay out how Jesus’ character was the opposite of a liar or lunatic’s. For example, whereas a liar is selfish and motivated by personal gain, Jesus was generous to the point of giving his life. And, whereas a lunatic is unable to understand, love or relate to others, Jesus practiced and preached love. Indisputably, Jesus’ character was one of utmost wisdom, goodness and moral impeccability (167-68).
Amazingly, the daily readings this week address the issue of lies versus truth: “Beloved: who is the liar? Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ” (1 John 2:22) and “Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar by not believing the testimony God has given about his Son” (1 John 5:10). St. John clearly warns us that if we discredit Christ as Divine, we also discredit God and our own path to eternal life. God gives us the free will to decide our fate. We sit in the captain’s seat and choose whether to steer our boat toward good or evil, life or death.
Not so with Eastern religions whose feel-good mantras are seductive. Believing in god requires no sacrifice, service or punishment for sin. As Kreeft and Tacelli note, “The pantheistic god of the gurus has no will, no law, no preferences. He is totally nondiscriminating, like modern amoral Westerners. For the guru, the morality is at best a preliminary for enlightment, a means to free the mind from passion (and love); at worst it is a dualistic illusion. It is our invention, not God’s. Their god is beyond ‘good and evil’ ” (177).
Setting our compass toward eternal life, Christians acknowledge God’s goodness and divinity as well as our own, having been created in His image. Aptly stated by Rev. Simon Michalski in his homily last week, “We become by grace what God is by nature.” Touched by His grace, our challenge is to stay alert and keep the Divine Christ at the forefront of our lives; to “know that the Son of God has come and has given us discernment to know the one who is true” (1 John 5:20).
And so I pray: Dear Lord, let me take in the word of God – Christ and Scripture – so that it purifies and opens my heart and soul to share Your truth and love.
For the past several weeks, the word “divine” has been at the forefront of my thoughts. God has planted the word in my heart so that -amid the shopping sprees, twinkling tree lights, Santa’s hohohos, elves and reindeers, candy canes, and sentimental songs that have assaulted my senses since Thanksgiving – I stay keenly aware that the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ is the reason for the season. “Christmas,” I believe it is called. 