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  • A Profile

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    Rafael Mediavilla
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    A profile of Christian Ministry in Augustine?s commentary on John 21:12-19

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    A profile of Christian Ministry in Augustine?s commentary on John 21:12-19

    Drepturi de autor:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Descărcați ca PDF sau citiți online pe Scribd
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    10 vizualizări10 pagini

    A Profile

    Încărcat de

    Rafael Mediavilla
    A profile of Christian Ministry in Augustine?s commentary on John 21:12-19

    Drepturi de autor:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Descărcați ca PDF sau citiți online pe Scribd
    Indicator pentru conținut neadecvat
    din 10
    ‘They are invited to ask themselves chow wil- ling and able they are to broaden their action in order to extend God's Kingdom» The presence of Institutes of contemplative or active life is particularly important be- cause of the variety of their charisms with which they can enrich the local Church and witness to the Gospel (cf. RM 69-70). Greater space is given to the laity (cf. RM 71-74), recalling their duty-right to cooper- ate in missionary activity, the many sectors where they are present and undertake mis- sionary activity in society and in the Ghurch and the various expressions of the lay state itself. Movements have a special mention, as does the role of catechists and of the many ministries. The role of the laity is men- tioned also with regard to new forms of co- operation: in fact they can have an influence also in international affairs, in the field of communications, of politics, economy and culture (cf, RM 82). Innovations and emphases Missionaries are the special envoys of mis sion, not only because they live and work on the frontiers of the Church (cf. RM 22, 27, 30) and develop new ways (cf. RM 24, 65) but also because they are stirred up by the Spirit (cf. RM 24, 65) and’ must let them- selves be lec by the Spirit. «Phe Spirit trans- forms them into courageous witnesses to Christ and enlightened heralds of his word. It was the Spirit himself who. guided them along the difficult and new paths of mis- sion» (RM 87). «The mission of the di: ciples is to cooperate in the mission of Ghrist “Lo, 1 arn with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28:20). Mission, then, is based not on human abilities but on the power of the Risen Lord» (RM 23; cf. 36). Among missionaries particular impor- tance is given to members of Institutes with a truly missionary goal and to priests of the young Churches, who are seen as privileged groups for a new missionary dynamism. The categories that have received new atten- tion are those of diocesan priests who are * OK 238 invited to missionary exchange and service (cf. RM 64, 70) and those of the laity above all in relation to ecclesial movements (cf. RM 37, 72). The commitment for vocations is a consc- quence of the need for missionaries in order to realise the mission ad genées. Lt is referred to directly several times, especially in the context of missionary cooperation and ani: mation (cf. 32, 66, 79, 80, 84). «Cooperation is expressed above all by promoting missionary vocations. While ac knowledging the validity of various ways of being involved in missionary activity, it is necessary at the same time to reaffirm thata full and lifelong commitment to the work of the missions holds pride of place, especially in missionary Institutes and Congregations Promoting such vocations is at the heart of missionary cooperation. Preaching the Gospel requires preachers; the harvest needs labourers. The mission is carried ow. above all by men and women who are conse- crated for life to the work of the Gospel and are prepared to go forth into the whole world to bring salvation. I wish to call to mind and to recommend this concern for missionary vocations» (RM 79). In this sense Churches, families and young people are questioned (why do mis sionary vocations threaten to disappear in some Nations while offerings are increas ing?). And to mi Societies the Pope repeats: «[ earnestly recommend that their promotional work be increasingly directed to this goal» (RM 84). The Redemptoris Missio has the great merit of having explained not only the relation ship between the Church's general and spe- cific mission (82-88) but also of have re called the role of the special envoys of mission. «To say that the whole Church is mission ary does not preclude the existence of a speci fic mission ad gentes, just as saying that all Catholics must be missionaries not only does not exclude, but actually requires that there be persons who have a specific vocation to be “life-long missionaries ad gentes”. (RM 32). ok Cu6 |h A profile of Christian Ministry in Augustine's commentary on John 21: 12-19 Fr. George P. Lawless, OSA Projesson; Patristic Institute, Augustiniannem, Rome, Adjunct Professor, Angelicum and Gregorian Universiiies | This year is the 1600th Anniversary of St. Augustine's took place im January 391. To commemorate this om the, discourse or tractate 123 of the Bishop of Hippo, which illuminates the figure and duties of | pastors of the Church s sinner and saint, supremely talented theologian, penitent and polemicist, philosopher and monastic legislator Augustine of Hippo is superbly well-known. Appreciably less attention, however, has deen directed towards Augustine as pastor of souls; notwithstanding the fact that nearly half his life was devoted to a vast spectrum of activities ranging from administrative duties, teaching and preaching to the cele- bration of the liturgy. Augustine Minister seems destined 10 take second place to hi monumental impact upon western civ tion as Augusline Magister A recent study, for example, describes him as «the greatest sin- gle mind in Christian history.» (1) Hopefully the current year may initiate a trend in the direction of redressing so one- sided_an emphasis upon Augustine. Thus far, however, the anniversary of Augustine’s ordination to the presbyterate sixteen centu- ries ago this year has gone by virtually un- noticed. He was ordained a priest in late January 391 in the Basilica of Peace at event Fr: George Laialess presents anil comments ee ordination to the priesthood, which Hippo Regius, a coastal city and seaport on the southern shore of the Mediterranean sea. Four years later, December 395 or carly 396 Megalius consecrated Augustine co- adjutor bishop of Hippo. That is to say, Augustine served his congregation at pr sent day Annaba in Algeria as priest and bishop for thirty-nine years. Priestly ordina- tion was forced upon Augustine; he had wished to remain an ascetic, a monk + siding in his parent’s house at Thagaste Posterity has been immeasurably enriched hy the fact that the aging Valerius and an assembled congregation at Hippo decided otherwise. The contents of this essay are limited 10 the exposition of a single sermon whic! forms part of Augustine's Commentary on the Gospel according to John. There arc 124 sermons in this series. With a fair degree of certainty we know that tractates |- 54 were preached between the years 406- 421; tractates 58-124 reveal a somewhat 5 cial character and were preached, as far as we can reasonably conjecture, during the year 422 and shortly thereafter. The designa~ tion «tractates» tells us that Augustine sim- ply allows the fourth gospel to soar, as he himself says, like the flight of an eagie (¢r 15,1). The structure of the gospel itself deter mines the sequence of the bishop’s reflec- tions. Basically the 124 wactates are exegeti- cal pieces, preached extempore, sometimes at a hurried pace, and simultaneously recor ded by secretaries on the spot, with all the imperfection which such a style of delivery adiits. It is conceivable that some of tractates 55- 124 were dictated by Augustine with a view to permitting others to preach them or read them aloud to congregations beyond the diocese of Hippo. Their special character, referred to above, consists in a theological maturity which requires of their listeners a evel of sophistication which can hardly be expected of a general congregation ‘One gets the impression that tractates 55- 124 were composed as clergy conferences or lectures designed for a homogeneous gathering which was keenly interested in the Scriptures. With some modifications the same can be said, however, of tractates 1-54 Jy fail to understand how the con tents of many of these earlier tractates whi were preached to a general audience can be regarded as ordinary fare even for the most +: of churchgoers. In our present context, then let us consi- der tractate 123, the penultimate sermon or lecture in this noteworthy collection (more than seven-hundred pages of Latin text in the Corpus Christianorum), if not as a confe- rence for clergy, certainly as a magna charia addressed to people who are chiefly con- cerned with the issue of leadership in the Church. Tractate 128 divides into two seg- ments: the meal on the shore of Lake Tiberias and Jesus’ dialogue with Peter. Easter Faith No less within a brief compass the preacher credits everything he has to say to the gift of God’s grace, ‘Augustine is greatly helped by the Lord who nourishes with God's word both the preach- er and his congregation. For Augustine, total surrender to Christ is always rudimen. tary. In this instance, to be a fisherman, whether of fish or human beings as Jesus had said (Mk 1:17), requires an act of faith, God's loving providence put the fish in Lake Tiberias in the first place. On every score Jesus takes the initiative: he invites the disci- ples to the meal; he provides the fish: he supplies the bread; he tends the fire and cooks; in the manner of a head waiter he serves them their food. At the bidding of Jesus the disciples are commanded (Augustine uses the Latin judere three times), rather than requested to place on the fire some fish from their catch. Here too recall that Jesus had instructed the disciples where to cast their nets for they had caught nothing the previous night. In this scenario Johannine irony fis Augustine's purpose superbly well. It was ‘Jesus after all who introduced the subject of food by asking the disciples in a straightforward manner: «Have you caught anything to eat? Nota thing, they answered» (v. 5). This is precisely Augustine's point inisters of religion, of themselves, have nothing to offer everything depends on the Lord. There is sheer arro- erally every gance in claiming a Master of Divinin during a lifetime struggle master one’s humanity ‘As to who Jesus is there is no doubt what- soever in the minds of the disciples. That they raise no question at all in this matter of identity argues for the basic historicity of the coe eee says Augustine, for the authenticity of Jesus’ risen body. Aerial bedies, phantoms or ghosts do not ignite a fire and cook fish. ‘The risen presence of Jesus dominates the scene; his instructions are minutely adhered to by the disciples. Quite emphatically, the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus establishes the basis for the formation of the nascent Christian community. Like the disciples. convincingly, NN ee st. i t } fish asa s | Both biblical images underscore Augustine's ‘jugustine takes for granted the historical presence of Jesus, real presence, that is at the same time both sacramental (bread) and sacrificial (fish). Eucharistic resonances are unmistakable. Augustine, meanwhile, is content with nuancing them within an eccle- ial context before pressing on to his princi- pal concern, leadership in the Church. Christ and His Church Lake Tiberias signifies, for Augustine, the world; its circumference or shoreline has both temporal and spatial significance, the end of time and the end of the world. The presence of seven disciples suggests the uni- versality of the Church, whereas the number 153 suggests both all members of the Church and a successful missionary endea- vor. Three references to beatitude are undergirded by the fact that human happi- ness is essentially social in nature. Faith, nope and love are identified as the hall- marks of a people in search of beatimde nich particular emphasis upon the virtue of love. Tension between present and future shich is So conspicuous a feature of the fourth gospel pervades the bishop’s reflec- tions throughout tactate 123. As we noted above, the death and re tion of Je consiituie axis of u inchoate Christian y, while the ustine’s thought is the fundam: expressed by sh (sacrifice) and bread Latin leaps into the cars of his listeners: piscis assus, Christus est passus, ), reverberate in the ears of the bishop's lis teners. Here is another way of telling us tha minisiry becomes a prelude to sorrow, suf fering and death. «Preaching for the sake of Christ,» says Augustine, takes top priority among the responsibilities of a minister with love of Christ as its fundamental inspiration. Here as elsewhere it was proverbial for Church leadership in these or sim! «Feed my lambs because they are mine, not y hep because not yours.» No pastor can ever claim: «My people, mj parishioners!» The Church is eucharistic community, Jesus nourishes his ministers; his ministers, in turn, feed Jesus’ sheep. Love, sound guidance, service towards others and truthfulness, as we shall sof pastoral care. Fish swimming in the sea are attested t0 elsewhere in the bishop's writings as a com- monplace metaphor for humanity. Jesus Christ, the one fish, symbolizes authentic unity among the many represented by the full net of 133 fish, that is to say, the catholi- city of the Church enveloping all people and nations. As the neverfailing source of Church life, Jesus, the one fish and the one lamb, suggests the vertical clement of mis sion in the world of space and time. The duty of loving service exhibived in the faith- ful witness of fishermen and shepherds sug- gests the horizontal factor in a society which Teaches into the beatitude of eternity ‘Unworthy Ministers The pericope of 2 Tim 3:1-5° furnishes Augustine with a catalogue of vices which human flesh is heir to. Such lists were stock. in-trade equipment of both pagan orator and Christian preacher in the Graeco- Roman world. That Augustine should lean 50 heavily on a passage from one of the Pastoral Epistles is singularly appropriate in a sermon which highlights the responsibili- ties of the minister. Here Augustine literally adheres to the deutero-Pauline list (he very likely had it memorized), citing each vice singly, then immediately fleshing it out in terms of real life before going on to the next vice on the list. The bishop knew such ministers firsthand; his vast correspondence identifies many of them by name and often describes their malfeasance. To our modern sensitivity Augustine's citations of public misconduct in the name of religion are possibly shocking. To discuss the social, political, economic and cult ambiance of 5th-century North Africa would take us too far afield, except to affirm trom historical evidence that the bishop’s illustra: tions are not at all wide of the mark. The publication in Vienna in 1981 of twend: seven new letters, hitherto unknown, and written by Augustine during the last fifteen years of his life greatly augments our know: lege of late antiquity in this matter of Church discipline. In his Commeniary ot Psalm 99 the bishop goes to great lengths depicting both the good and bad behavior of Christians, specifically, clerics, monks, nuns and laity. In section 18 of this sermon preached at Carthage the bishop blunt remarks: «there are crooks in every profer sion» ( Augustine strongly urges ministers of relh gion to repudiate three of the worst feature: ee which characterized so many people from public life in the world of late antiquity: de- sire for glory, for power and for personal gain, respectively, On the contrary, says Augustine, listening with warm receptivity to the plight of the afflicted ought to usurp the place of selfglorification and boasting over any rank one might hold in the Church. Literally alle- viating the needs of others ought to distin- guish the ambiance of pastoral ministry where dominative power has no place whatso- exer. Meretricious motives and personal pro- fit must be set aside in favor of doing what is acceptable to God. Such love of pleasing, ser- ving and obeying God furnishes the finda wpenial impetus for ministry in the Church. Again Augustine recasts and extends the ti- junction of Jesus as though he had actually said to Peter: «Feed my sheep preci- sely because they are my sheep and not yours; see my glory in them and not your own; seek my dominion in them and not your own; my gain and not your own.» The heightened consrasis between boast ing of oneself and listening to others, lord- ing it over people and coming to their aid, between selfaggrandizement and God’s gra- cous will basically hinges on the binomial, ity and love (cupiditas/caritas), which ently puncuuates Augustine's writings. ant for his profile of unworthy ministers is found in the bishop's favorite Pauline text: «Everyone is busy seeking his own interests rather than those of Christ Jesus» (Phil 2:21). Here then is jugustine’s 5th-century update of 2 Tim 3:1- where the writer was describing the misconduct of false teachers in the primitive Chureh: neaitrereOFr om cio — others arrogantly tend to dominate peopie, — some revel proudly in honors or titles conferred on them by reason of their status in society and in the Church, — others go so far as to originate

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