Posted: March 8th, 2016

An Essay on Jesus’ Mortal Ministry:

Part II — An Essay on Jesus’ Mortal Ministry:

2.) Based on your reading of Chapter 2 and 3 in Gerhard Lohfink’s Jesus of Nazareth: What He Wanted, Who He Was (pages 24-58), identify three central characteristics of Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom of God and write an essay in which you (A) explain each of those three characteristics of Jesus’ understanding of God’s reign, and (B) demonstrate how each of these characteristics illuminate the following citation from Lohfink’s text:
“Jesus’ death did not revoke his proclamation of the reign of God; it did not put paid to the good news of the beginning. Instead, it demonstrated the reality contained in that proclamation. It definitively revealed the hidden and humbled shape of the reign of God. What does that mean? It means that the reign of God does not come without persecution, without sacrifice. Indeed, it does not come without daily dying. It cannot come any other way” (Lohfink, page 38).

3.) Jesus’ message and ministry was not conveyed merely through words, but it was also transmitted through gestures and deeds (interpersonal encounters, signs and symbolic actions). Give two or three examples of such signs and gestures. How does Lohfink deal with the difficult topic of miracles (Chapter 9, page 128-152)? What did you find helpful in Lohfink’s presentation on miracles? What difficulties still remain?
Based on our class discussion and your reading of Lohfink, explain the scholastic maxim, “grace presupposes nature and perfects it” (which is related to the medieval maxim, “grace builds on nature”) (Lohfink, 145). How does this expression, and a proper understanding of the verb “to perfect,” resonate with the definition of faith that you were asked to memorize at the being of this class (REL 78)?

Definition of faith from this class: Supernatural gift that bestows upon the human person a confidence in the fundamental meaningfulness of existence, and that orients a person towards the ultimate ground of all meaning and significance.

Regarding Question One, as you think through this question, reflect on our experience of the mystery of the human person and of our journey towards self-definition (and our quest for truth, goodness, beauty), as well as our experience of that greater Mystery (God or the God-Question) that underlies all of reality. How do we awaken to mystery and Mystery? Reflect on this and recall what we tried to do in those initial classes together, then trust your creative intellect and offer your response.

As regards Question Two of my part of our final examination, I would ask for you to demonstrate the knowledge that you gained through class lectures and through your reading of Lohfink. Lohfink identifies a variety of distinctive characteristics within the teaching and ministry of Jesus (one of the characteristics Lohfink’s calls: the “Abraham Principle”), I am very interested in hearing about three characteristics that you found interesting in Lohfink and why you think they are important and provocative.

In responding to these questions, I would ask for you remember that you are writing for an intelligent age-peer who has not had REL 78 (and that your grammar and the clarity of your response are important and being graded). Your responses to these essay prompts should address all aspects of each question in a clear and concise manner, so you need not write a “book.” A well-written three to four page essay is much better than a five-page essay that is filled with citations, meanders all over the place, and doesn’t really saying anything.