Reflections on the Gospel, #4: Fulfillment’s Meaning

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I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11

If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Romans 6:5

As Christians plant seeds of divine life in the world, they are bound to seek a deeper participation in that life for themselves. That, in turn, increases their fruitfulness for others. But what does divine fulfillment look like? The simplest answer to that question is that it looks like the person of Jesus Christ himself. Jesus is “God’s mystery … in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2-3). He said, “I am the door of the sheep. … If any one enters by me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” (John 10:7, 9), and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

The shape of fulfillment, then, is the pattern set by the life and person of Jesus Christ.

Can we say more? How can we encapsulate the personality of Jesus Christ, so that we can know the pattern of our fulfillment in God? The truth is that there is no real replacement for seeking him sincerely for oneself, in the Sacred Scriptures and in the life of his Church. But there are some things that we can say.

We have already explained that fulfillment in Christ makes a person in some sense more like God, and therefore makes him or her a child of God. But where does Jesus reveal to us most clearly the pattern of his Divine Childhood? In the death that he embraced on the Cross: “If any man would come after me,” he said, “let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). The death of Jesus Christ reflects the character of God, and hence the pattern of life that should be followed by those who wish to be his children and to receive the fulfillment of his promises. And what is that pattern?

Have this mind among yourselves, which was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross. Therefore God [his Father] has highly exalted him.
Philippians 2:5-9

The character of Jesus, then, and hence the character of God, is one of humility: he “emptied himself.” But this is not mere self-abnegation. God is, of course, the highest and the greatest, and the source of all things. It is immensely important that we — as creatures of the good God — recognize that he is great and worthy of all praise. But in God’s love for us, he humbles himself by reaching down to our level, as it were, and generously giving grace — the undeserved gift of a share in his divine life. And though it is for our own highest good that we acknowledge God and submit ourselves to him, God himself is patient with us in our foolishness, willing to let himself be abused, denied, and blasphemed by his own creatures, in the hopes of eventually winning us back to himself. This is what Jesus did on the Cross, and what God does in every human heart that harbors evil within; that is, within my heart and within your heart.

As God revealed himself to the people of Israel, he is,

a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.
Exodus 34:6-7

Though he punishes, he does not do so gladly and does it only for good. His fundamental identity, his character, is mercy and love.

So too, then, should be the character of those who follow him. We should (1) be humble, we should (2) mourn evil, (3) be slow to anger, (4) desire justice, (5) be merciful and (6) pure of heart, (7) be peacemakers, and (8) accept our share of suffering in this world, even when we have done nothing wrong to deserve it. These are eight special characteristics of God’s children, who share deeply in the divine life, and are called “the Beatitudes,” because they give us true happiness. The Beatitudes are among the most central teachings of Jesus (see Matthew 5:1-12). They give us a window into his heart, and so also reveal the heart of his Eternal Father.

In Jesus Christ, God says to us, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11). This, then, is the meaning of the Cross, the shape of fulfillment in the divine life of God: In love, God humbles himself and lays down his life for us, and so we should do the same—for God and other people. The greatest commandments of the law, according to Jesus, are “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength,” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:30-31). This is the great height of the fulfillment we long for, as it can be experienced in this life. But it has an even greater fulfillment in the next life. As Paul the Apostle wrote, “If we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his” (Romans 6:5).

See the rest of the series,

#1 Promises Hidden / #2 Promises Fulfilled / #3 Fulfillment Extending / #4 Fulfillment’s Meaning / #5 Fulfillment in Jeopardy / #6 Fulfillment Offered to You