Christ centered vision of Creation: Fr. Roger Nesbitt

On this Holy Day of Christ’s birth and during this Holy Season let us gaze in wonder at the Christ Child, the center of the created universe and the source of our human dignity whereby we are elevated from the natural level to the supernatural level of being children of God.

The following is an excerpt from an excellent, well researched and thought out presentation in Faith Magazine by Fr. Roger Nesbitt. He shows from the witness of Scripture and Tradition that Scotus was right all along: “Man was made in view of Christ, not Christ in view of sin.”

The Council (Vatican II) called for a re-presentation of Christ to the world in a way which would draw on the whole wealth of Catholic tradition and shed the light of Christ on the best insights of the modern world. From all that we now know of the unity of the sciences and the dynamic unfolding of creation we are in an even better position to vindicate the Scotist line as the only worthy and coherent account of the Mystery of Christ. If we are to re-evangelise the modern world, and in the process answer the false or flawed theologies which have arisen to plague us in the last thirty years, we must be able to offer something deeper and more fulfilling, but completely true to the apostolic faith. The vision of Christ and His Church explored here is central to that task too.

 

We can show how God freely created us for fulfilment in the wisdom and joy which is His own Being. The Father thinks and wills us through the Incarnate Son for whose sake we are wanted and destined unto Himself in the love who is the Holy Spirit. This is the source of our dignity as human beings and the full meaning of being created “in the image of God”. We are built on Christ. Sin cannot be foundational to our humanity and most certainly not to His.

 

Man was made in view of Christ, not Christ in view of sin. His birth from Mary was not simply a means towards crucifixion. He did not merely borrow our humanity in order to die. He entered nature which had been prepared for Him since the beginning. He truly came into His own and in Him we see how God has loved us with the total fullness of Himself. But when He found us broken and alienated from eternal life He loved us also to the utmost of His psyche and the last drop of His blood on the cross.

This Christmastide I would invite you to take the time to read Fr. Nesbitt’s whole article: The Christ Centred Vision of Creation: The Witness of Scripture and Tradition. It is this perspective that enables us to see Christ as King and Redeemer without compromising neither His absolute kingship nor His merciful work of Redemption.

 

In Corde Matris,
fr maximilian mary dean