Blessed is the Kingdom

Seeking The Kingdom In All Things

Lumen Gentium

I would like to continue in the series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council by turning to the second of its four central documents, the Constitution on the Church, entitled Lumen Gentium. Lumen Gentium begins by stating,

Christ is the light of humanity; and it is, accordingly, the heart-felt desire of this sacred Council, being gathered together in the Holy Spirit, that, by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature, it may bring to all men that light of Christ which shines out visibly from the Church. Since the Church, in Christ, is in the nature of sacrament–a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of unity among all men–she here proposes, for the benefit of the faithful and of the whole world, to set forth, as clearly as possible, and in the tradition laid down by earlier Councils, her own nature and universal mission. The condition of the modern world lends greater urgency to this duty of the Church; for, while men of the present day are drawn ever more closely together by social, technical and cultural bonds, it still remains for them to achieve full unity in Christ.

Christ is the light of humanity. The light of Christ shines forth in the darkness of our world and has the power to transform our fallen nature to what it was originally intended to be by God. This image of light is a brilliant way to describe the Church, one that has often been obscured by those who see the Church simply as a hierarchy. We need look no further than the New Testament to see the image of light as a description of the faithful people of the Church.

Now this is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we say, “We have fellowship with him,” while we continue to walk in darkness, we lie and do not act in truth. But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of his Son Jesus cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7)

Both the council fathers and the Scriptures remind us that it is through communion with God that we have communion with one another and that the work of the Church is to allow Christ’s light to shine forth so as to gather the nations together into the one human family that God has created.

The fathers also reference the fact that the Church is sacramental in nature, meaning that it is connected to God through tangible signs and things of this world. We see this clearly in the sacraments of initiation celebrated each year at Easter. The Easter liturgy begins in darkness outside the church with the lighting of the new fire, a blessing of the new Paschal candle from which all light their own candles which breaks the darkness of night and symbolizes the light of Christ in each one of us.

The last sentiments of this introduction to the document on the Church draws our attention once more to the great task of unity that lies before us. The task of the Church is the deeper unity that takes place when we are unified not simply by technology or a common culture or language, but the unity that comes from being members of the Body of Christ. One of the things that strikes me again and again about the Second Vatican Council is the call to unity among people of the world. The council fathers were not speaking of a superficial unity, but one that requires a depth that is difficult to achieve. The Church has been challenged from its beginnings to preserve communion among all Christians and it has never been an easy task. My own observation is that we often remain on the surface level of conversation by sticking with the comfortable areas of agreement like “we all believe in God” and never get around to discussing how our definitions of who God is are many time extremely different. True unity certainly is not about complete uniformity, but my own sense is that communion involves prayer and intimacy that can be risky and many time uncomfortable.

May we have the courage as Christians to allowing God’s light to shine upon us in a way that illumines our hearts to others so that we may find the unity God has created us for.

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About The Author

Fr. Christian is the pastor of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Lenoir City, TN.

Comments

  • http://www.fromthepulpitofmylife.blogspot.com/ Ruth Ann

    Fr. Mathis, I have been thinking about unity within the Church community and in the world community since I recently came across The Magnificat “Meditation of the Day” which is an excerpt from the writing of Elisabeth Leseur. What she has to say is profound. This is what she wrote:

    Christians believe that a mysterious, spiritual solidarity exists among themselves and all other Children of the same God. We call this solidarity the communion of saints; the efforts, merits, and sufferings of each individual benefit the rest. A similar law exists in the natural order, and if we think about it a little, we shall be convinced that our words and actions have a deeper and more far-reaching effect than we often imagine. Therefore, it is an absolute duty of everyone who understands what “absolute” and “duty” mean, to say and do nothing that is evil or even indifferent, since there is no neutrality in matters of morality. From that arises the obligation to make a sustained effort on a daily basis to work at interior perfection, because, whether we intend it or not, the effect we have on others will be the reflection and expression of what we are within. Let us create an interior treasure of noble thoughts, energy, and strong, intense affection, and then we may be sure that sooner or later, perhaps without our being aware of it, the overflow will affect the hearts of others.

    I am not hiding the fact that this is a difficult task for one who relies on reason alone, which is itself to some extent only a tool, and many circumstances may falsify it or impede its action. I have, however, total confidence in God’s ways of working with each person, even with those who never address God personally, and yet offer genuine homage by their love of the good, the just, and the beautiful.

  • Fr. Christian Mathis

    It does all start with oneself, doesn’t it?

  • Patty

    In a way, I think it is safe to say that, however it happened in history, there is a tremendous basis for associating the mysteries of the Life of Christ with the Second Vatican Council. After all, why did Pope John XXII call a council in the first place? Just because there was a Church? Just because our big “T” tradition seems to reflect every aspect of human life and feeling? Or because, in every mystery of his life, Jesus is the source of the Church, and so we can access the heart of Christ through the Church and its councils, or–as St. Paul said, “put on the mind of Christ” by taking up the council documents.

  • http://happyentanglements.blogspot.com Mark G.

    For the Church to bring the Light of Christ to the world, the light it shows must be distinguishable from the lesser lights of the world, which hasn’t always been the case since the Council closed. I see things turning around now, Deo gratias. The light only strengthens as serious Christians seek the unity Christ intended & for which he prayed.

    But a warning. While the Church seemed to lose her identity & her voice bit in the wake of the Council, the world was happy to ignore or ridicule her as a tottering old hag, hopelessly out of touch with the real, modern world. But as the Church recollects her strength, shines the Light on the world’s evils & calls them by name, the world will lash out against her with tremendous violence. Are we prepared for that?

  • http://www.fromthepulpitofmylife.blogspot.com/ Ruth Ann

    “But as the Church recollects her strength, shines the Light on the world’s evils & calls them by name, the world will lash out against her with tremendous violence. Are we prepared for that?”

    Excellent question, Mark. I do see both clergy and laity, including myself, speaking out about and naming what is evil in our society. I am not the most courageous person in the world, but that is the virtue one needs and will need if and when there is a reaction from the forces of evil. I’m not sure how prepared I am.

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