Charism of a Theologian in the Local Church

Paper presented in the XV Colloquium of the Bishops and Theologians organized by the Doctrinal Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India at NBCLC from 8th to 10th July 2010 on the theme Office and Charism within the Understanding of the Church as Participatory Communion THE CHARISM OF A THEOLOGIAN IN THE LOCAL CHURCH Introduction Let us assemble, O GOD THINKERS, Let us celebrate with spiritual praise the chief of hierarchs and the pride of patriarchs The interpreter of the dogmas and thoughts of Christ; Let us honour him, whom God exalted with a heavenly mind, saying: Rejoice, O fountain of theology and river of wisdom, the well of divine contemplation, Rejoice, O brilliant star, since you enlightened the entire world with your dogmas, Rejoice, O great and valiant battler of impiety and persecution, O most wise Gregory the Theologian; Do not cease to pray to Christ God for the faithful who forever desire to celebrate your divinely virtuous and venerable memory.1 The above quoted prayer from the Greek Orthodox Liturgy gives an array of honorary titles attached to the legacy of St. Gregory the Theologian. Most of the titles exalt him as a theologian: the interpreter of dogmas and the thoughts of Christ, fountain of theology, river of wisdom, the well of divine contemplation, great and valiant battler of impiety and persecution, etc. Do not these titles point to the charisms of a theologian? Further, the first two qualifications given in the hymn are also noteworthy in our context: the chief of hierarchs and the pride of patriarchs. St. Gregory was not only a theologian; he was also a bishop, head of a local Church. This brings in two aspects to explore. First, are not the bishops called to become theologians? Secondly, are not theologians called to become the ‘pride of the bishops’? In what way should they be the pride of the bishops? The very nature and goal of this Colloquium and the special context of the forthcoming visit of the officials of the Vatican Congregation to this Colloquium invite such reflections. Our historical and cultural distance from Gregory also raises further questions on who a theologian is and what his/her role in the local church is. Yes. The ‘his/her’ suggests our distance form St. Gregory and other important questions today: Unlike the period of St. Gregory, the term ‘theologian’ includes not only priests and the religions but also the laity, women including, - among theologians. In the context of India, one should also ask whether theologians include only those who have academic degrees in theology. At the outset, I would like to include my father and mother among ‘theologians’ – father for his studies in theology 1 Hymn of Vespers from the Menaion, the Greek Orthodox liturgical texts of the feast days in honour of Gregory the Theologian, located under January 25th and 30th and quoted in Daniel M. Rogich, "The Development of a Theologian According to Saint Gregory the Theologian," The Greek Orthodox Theological Review 39, no. 14 (1994), p. 63. in the first-ever systematic theology course for the laity in India, organized in 1957 but not in pursuit of any academic degree and my mother for practising theology in her family! To push this question further, one can rightly argue that even the opponents of the Church can also teach us lessons in theology! Should I not also represent these ‘theologians’ in this paper? The task is too heavy to a rather inexperienced theologian like me, especially in front of eminent theologians and bishop-theologians! Therefore, I would like to base my reflections mainly on two eminent theologians of the Church – one from the earlier times and the other from relatively recent times. We will reflect on St. Gregory, the Theologian (+390) and Karl Rahner (+1984). The rest I leave to the experienced theologians in the audience. 1 Some Preliminary Reflections We have already begun some preliminary reflections on the theme of the paper. Nevertheless, it is important to reflect briefly on the relationship between charism and institution in the church. 1.1 Institution and Charism in the Church - Friends or Foes? The Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture were handed down from the apostles to the institution of the Church. However, “the Tradition that comes from the apostles makes progress in the Church, with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on” (DV 8). The Spirit works in the Church through constituting the Church with charisms, along with the institutional dimensions of the Church coming from Christ. The new awareness in Pneumatology and, especially, Spirit Christology further convinces us that these Christic and pneumatic dimensions together realize the Church of the Trinitarian God today. Charisms are at work in every member of the Church, including the members of the hierarchy2. The charisms, however, differ according to one’s task in the Church. The presence of the charisms in the Church “no way contradicts the Church’s divine institution nor the fullness of God’s Revelation in Jesus Christ which has been entrusted to her”3. In stead, the fullness of God’s revelation is actualized and made present in the daily life of the Church. Along with other members of the Church in their own way, a theologian has to live his/her own charism to make the Church ‘here and now’ alive and vibrant. 2 The teachings of the bishops are important because they have received ‘the sure charism of truth’. Cf. Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, "Dialogue and Proclamation. Reflection and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ," (Vatican.va, 19 May 1991), no. 37. 3 Ibid., no. 37. A theologian is able to safeguard and enrich Christian theology and life only by maintaining a healthy tension between the institutional and charismatic dimensions of the Church. While trying to live one’s charism, a theologian is faced with the temptations of presenting the Church as either an inanimate fossil of the past or a mere sect of the present. If the sole task of a theologian is merely repeating or reproducing the same data of the Scripture and Tradition as given centuries back, he/she promotes a fossilized version of the Church, which has neither relevance to the people today, nor life to respond to the vexing problems of the people. On the other hand, in pursuit of relevance, a theologian might end up in reducing the Church into a mere sect or cult. A cult depends on the intensity of the foundational experience and teachings (of the original charismatic founder) only as far as it continues to attract more numbers (and more prestige, money, etc.!). The value of these teachings is counted based on its ‘rating’ in the cult community4. In order not to miss the prophetic, ‘given’ character of the Word of God, a theologian needs to adhere to Scripture and Tradition as a corrective principle in front of the ever-changing values and trends in the everyday life of the people. 1.2 Church as the People of God: Magisterium and Sensus Fidelium Vatican II witnessed a revolutionary shift from the pre-Vatican ‘isolationist’ understanding of the Church to relational view of the Church5. Sensus Fidelium has to be understood within the relational understanding of the Church as communion of the people of God, the revolutionary teaching of Lumen Gentium (LG) and at the same time, a thoroughly biblical and profoundly historical notion. Taking inspiration from this notion, Paul Lakeland argues that the Church is primarily communitarian though one cannot exclude the institutional element of the Church6. The church is composed of people “who share equally in their inheritance of scripture and tradition, and who in principle share equally in the role of interpretation of and reflection upon that inheritance”7 . In line with this self-identity of the Church LG explains Sensus Fidelium as follows: The body of the faithful as a whole, anointed as they are by the Holy One (cf. I Jn 2, 20. 27) cannot err in matters of belief. Thanks to a supernatural sense of the faith [sensus fidei] which characterizes the people as a whole, it manifests this unerring quality when, “from the bishops to the last of the laity” it shows universal agreement in matters of faith and morals [LG 12, Abbott]. 4 Cf. Rodney Stark, and Roberts, Lynne, "The Arithmetic of Social Movements: Theoretical Implications," Sociological Analysis 43 (1982). 5 Dominic Veliath, "The Pastoral Challenges Posed by the Context and the Response of the Post-Conciliar Church in India to the Same," Encounter. A Journal of Interdisciplinary Reflections of Faith and Life 2, no. 1 (2009), p. 61. 6 Paul Lakeland, Theology and Critical Theory: The Discourse of the Church (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1990), p. 119. 7 Ibid., p. 138. Since Lakeland’s appeal to “equal share” needs further explanations, we take up the same in the coming paragraphs. Accordingly, the Church is the ‘locus’ in which a fruitful praxis of consensus formation can be carried out. In this sense, Lakeland calls the Church a “communication community”8, in which the authority is to be exercised through a process of forming ‘consensus’. Sensus fidelium is not a mere consensus agreement arrived at any cost. The Pauline understanding of the Church as body of Christ further illumines the notion of Sensus Fidelium. As Rahner explains, every member of the body of Christ has a gift special to himself/herself, which is bestowed on him/her for the service of the whole body and its growth9. Lakeland cautions that “equal share is ‘in principle’ only because in practice not all have equal gifts or expertise, and consequently not all will make the same contribution.” He adds: “[E]quality in the church is an equality before God, not an equality within the historical church”10. In line with Rahner, we can agree with Lakeland’s ‘equal share in principle’ if we understand it as a proportionate share in effect. Thus, each member of the Church, according to the nature of the gifts received and in view of the good of the entire community, partakes in the authority in the Church. If so, what is the specific nature of the charism of a theologian? Before we take up this question, it is worth noting Lakeland’s comments on the oftenhighlighted tension between theologians and the Magisterium. He affirms that authority is needed in order to prevent the discourse community–the Church in this case–from loosing its substance. However, there is the possible danger of the leader – whether it be the institutional head or the charismatic leader – succeeds in bringing their “flock” to a consensus, which expresses simply an acceptance of the leader’s prestige and influence. This motive breaks the surface in the ecclesial context when the Magisterium begins to regard itself as “a third location of divine communication,” besides Scripture and Tradition11. According to Lakeland, Tradition becomes reified at that moment, ready to be ‘used’ for the set goals of the authority. If an authority becomes authoritarian, there is no space for a discursive consensus in the community life. According to Vatican II, the Magisterium is “not above the Word of God, but serves it, teaching only what has been handed on, listening to it devoutly, guarding it scrupulously and explaining it faithfully in accord with a divine commission and with the help of the Holy Spirit…” (DV 10, Abbott). The Church is the locus of the Word of God - a living communication of God through the Scripture and Tradition - in today’s world. Magisterium is not called to become a triumphalist holder of the Word, but a humble listener of the Word. 8 Ibid., p. 159. 9 Karl Rahner, "Christians: Action in the Church," in Theology of Pastoral Action, ed. Karl Rahner, Studies in Pastoral Theology (New York: Herder and Herder, 1968), p. 66. 10 Lakeland, p. 138. 11 Ibid., p. 144. See also Edward Farley, Ecclesial Reflection: An Anatomy of Theological Method (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982), p. 35. The authority of the Magisterium is inevitable together with the Scripture and Tradition. However, the Church is authorized to ‘serve’ the Word by authentically interpreting the sruti, ‘what is heard’ for the service of the entire people of God. This also takes us to the representative character of the apostolic office. Catholic Church teaches that the apostolic office represents Christ. However, Edward Kilmartin reminds us in one of his articles, that the Catholic Church also teaches that the apostolic office cannot represent outside the ecclesial context12. In discussing the question of the sacramental validity, the then Joseph Ratzinger, the present pope, also emphasizes the representative dimension of the apostolic office. Apostolic office “expresses the binding of office to the faith of the whole Church and the binding of the whole Church to the faith going beyond its own authority”13. The theological implication of the representative character of the apostolic office in relation to an understanding of the Church as people of God is that the apostolic office is not beyond the Sensus Fidelium, but represents the whole people of God. The task of the theologian, therefore, has to be situated between two possible dangers. One, the possibility of a reified, fossilised understanding of the Word and two, the danger of ‘mistaking’ a democratic consensus of the people as the Word. Accordingly, theologian’s task can be identified as twofold: first, to supply expertise to the Church to enliven the Word through authentic interpretation in the given context, in the local church and second, to trigger critical discourse in the Church’s consensus forming process. As clear from above these two tasks taken together, make us caution from a West European cliché that often creeps also in Indian scenario, namely, a theologian is merely ‘born to criticise’ anything and everything the Magisterium says or does. The theologian should also remember that a charism is not “an intuitive power of identifying true propositions, but a rational ability to judge which theological pronouncements respect and further the discourse of the church, an ability exercised infallibly when it is in full conformity with the same canons of critical discourse at work in the tradition”14. Taking inspiration from Habermas’ Theory of Communicative Action15, Lakeland brings in critical theories as means of theological mediation. Theologians engage in open discourses in collaboration with critical theories that can either provide well-founded reasons for the teachings of the Church or pose questions that trigger further reflections on them. Thus the teaching of the Church seeps in the people of God while, at the same time, also informing and 12 Edward J. Kilmartin, "Apostolic Office: Sacrament of Christ," Theological Studies 36, no. 2 (1975), p. 260. 13 Joseph Ratzinger, "Bemerkungen Zur Frage Der Apostolischen Sukzession," in Amt Im Widerstreit, ed. K. Schuh (Berlin: 1973), p. 43, quoted in Kilmartin, p. 261. 14 Lakeland, p. 173. 15 Cf. Jürgen Habermas, The Theory of Communicative Action, trans. Thomas McCarthy (Boston: Beacon, 1981). Herbert Vorgrimler, Karl Rahner. His Life, Thought and Works (London: Burns and Oates, 1965). p. 35. 16 updating the teachings of the Church given in general in certain particular contexts. The role of the International Theological Commission and, in India, the role of this BishopsTheologians’ Colloquium should be viewed in this direction. In the local churches, theologians can help formulating certain pastoral projects, which stimulate reflections and concrete actions on relevant pastoral challenges in the world. The theologians can assist the liturgical animation committees to prepare action plans and worships, which help the entire faithful prayerfully reflect on the present challenges to faith. Our Archdiocese has set up professional forums such as doctors’ forum, engineers’ forum, and teachers’ forum, which regularly gather for discussions related to praxis in their respective profession. Theologians can fruitfully engage in these discussions. 2 The Orientations of a Theologian in the Local Church So far, we have situated the charism of the theologian in the Church. Now, I would like to identify three orientations necessary for a theologian, while he/she acts according to his/her respective charisms in a local church. I do not claim that these distinctions are clear-cut, one totally different from others. However, I hope these ‘orientations’ will help us to organize our thoughts on the charism of a theologian in the local Church. I consider it not as ‘models’ among which one can choose one or other; they are inevitable orientations to any catholic theologian. However, they are not reified realities; they are ever seeking, orientations, the emphases in each can be different to different theologians. 2.1 The ‘Catholic’ Orientation of a Theologian On the one hand, we see openness towards different spheres of life in today’s society. In the past, the horizon of persons was limited to family, or, at the most, the local parish church. Church was not only the centre of worship; it was also the only place available for education, settlement of disputes, sports and arts, entertainment and other means dimensions of socialization. Today, however, persons are aware of the multiple spaces available for them fulfilling one or other need - school, workplace, home, neighbourhood, sport, club, church, cinema, etc. – which allows persons to ‘specialize’ in one or other field. This tendency is also reflected in the field of knowledge. We live in an age of specialisation today. The compartmentalization of knowledge has resulted in a fragmentation of life. There is a tendency to see, experience and act each sphere as a whole world in itself. This calls for autonomy, leading to alienation, rootlessness and lack of community consciousness. Being a child of their culture, we see the same tendency towards specialization also among theologians, to see each sphere of theology as a whole in itself, unrelated to other areas, which, in turn leads to fragmentation and lack of relationality and true integration. When one or other concern in theology engulfs the theologian as the only concern, then s/he is narrowing down the scope of theology. It is against the very ‘Catholic’ nature of theology itself. What then should be the ‘Catholic’ orientation of a theologian? Theology is a broad subject, which includes everything that pertains to life and fullness. A theologian, therefore, needs to be open to everything - every concern in life - and respond to them from a fundamental Christian perspective. Theology, thus, becomes a darsana – a vision of life. It is the way one looks at the world and realities to find meaning in life. Even when a theologian deals with a very specific aspect of theology, pertaining to a segment of the faithful, his/her theology must maintain this ‘catholic’, - meaning all embracing, - dimension of theology. Rahner is a theologian who has kept alive this ‘catholic’ dimension of theology. According to him, a Catholic theologian is Catholic but not narrow-minded. He is also, at times able to distance himself/herself from his Catholic commitment to embrace the whole world and thus bringing the Catholic faith to a universal acceptance. It is often considered as ‘safe’ to promote and encourage those theologians who are engaged in maintaining the status quo, as was the case of the intellectuals in the darbars of the ancient kings in India. Should we be unsettled when theologians show innovation and development in certain aspects of Christian life and theology, drawing inspiration from and responding to the concerns beyond the Catholic Church? Commenting on Rahner’s life and approaches, Herbert Vorgrimler, his biographer and colleague, says: “It is only when there is an honest attempt at finding new ways and means that the will to maintain tradition is likely to be effective also in the future”16. Geffrey B. Kelly is more blunt in his comment when he states that Rahner ‘retrieved coherence and meaning for Catholic doctrine when faced with ecclesiastical narrow-mindedness, which weakens the credibility of the church leadership’17. The comment of Kelly is all the more relevant in today’s ecclesial context, global as well as local. Theology and Church life has become public. We need to be accountable not only intraecclesially, but also in public, in the ‘outside world’. Therefore, the Church can no longer be satisfied with the prosaic repetitions of scholastic or neo-scholastic manuals. Whenever the Church life in the local church becomes parochial, closed within the locality, theologian has the task to critically look at the underlying interests and take the church to look at what is beyond. Theologian thus becomes the conscience and the intellectual stimulus in the local church to guard itself from falling into a fundamentalistic and communal identity in the society. 16 Herbert Vorgrimler, Karl Rahner. His Life, Thought and Works (London: Burns and Oates, 1965). p. 35. 17 Geffrey B. Kelly, ed., Karl Rahner. Theologian of the Graced Search for Meaning, ed. John W. de Gruchy, The Making of Modern Theology. Nineteenth -a and Twentieth - Century Texts (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993), p. viii 2.2 The Spiritual Orientation of a Theologian Rahner begins his article on The Scholar. Notes on Devotion in the Academic Life, saying: “There are stupid laymen who think that a person who lives a life of study cannot be devout, and stupid clergy (they do exist) who think that the only way for anybody to be devout is that practised by pious old women”18. Often, people look at theologians as foes of their spirituality and devotions. Theologians often imbibe this popular image and try not to show off spiritual side of their lives. Or, some of us do not want to be devout for fear of falling into the same ‘untheological’ mindset of the simple believers. Whatever be the reasons, spiritual orientation is inescapable in theology. St. Gregory says: Not every one, my friends, does it belong to philosophize about God; not to every one; the Subject is not so cheap and low; and I will add, not before every audience, nor at all times, nor on all points; but on certain occasions, and before certain persons, and within certain limits. Not to all men, because it is permitted only to those who have been examined, and are passed masters in meditation, and who have been previously purified in soul and body, or at the very least are being purified19. A theologian needs to be a ‘master/mistress of meditation’. He needs to be a sanyasi, engaged in purifying his soul and body. The Eastern churches understands theology within the spiritual ambience of the liturgy, though sometimes it was taken as a refuge not to have critical reflection on what one is engaged in. Anyone who has studied Rahner would immediately recognize the Ignatian Spirituality behind all his theological thinking. Similarly, our theology should draw inspiration from our spirituality, both of the particular church as well as from the Indian traditions. Being spiritual, a theologian is called to realize a unique charism in the local Church. While engaging in the spiritual life of the local church, he needs to become an ascetic. According to St. Gregory, the goal of the ascetic life is qewriva, the contemplation of things divine. Asceticism prepares one “to be a spectator of things invisible, a hearer of things unspeakable, one who hast ascended after [like] Elias, and who after [like] Moses hast been deemed worthy of the vision of God, and after [like] Paul hast been taken up into heaven; why dost thou mould the rest of thy fellows in one day into Saints and ordain them Theologians, …” (Oratio 27, 9). 18 Karl Rahner, Mission and Grace. Essays in Pastoral Theology, trans. Cicily Hastings and Richard Strachan, 3 vols., vol. 2 (London-New York: Sheed and Ward, 1964). p. 105. 19 Gregory Nazianzen, Oratio 27, 3, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, ed., S. Cyril of Jerusalem. S. Gregory Nazianzen, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers - Second Series, vol. VII (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1996), p. 284 Thus, we can say that, being ascetic, a theologian becomes more ‘catholic’ and is able to uplift the spiritual life and pious practices of our local churches to more ‘catholic’ realms. Becoming a ‘spectator of the invisible’ and ‘hearer of the unspeakable’, a theologian can remind the local church that the spiritual experiences so far and spiritual fruits one enjoys are not ends in themselves; they lead one to higher and greater experiences of the Divine. The apophatic theology of St. Gregory in his Oratio 28 emphasizes the rational incomprehensibility of God ‘to define him in words’20. It is impossible to conceive either the being or the nature of God through ‘approximations of reason’ (Oratio 28.7). The incomprehensibility of God does not lead to denial of God’s existence, “for it is one thing to be persuaded of the existence of a thing, and quite another to know what it is” (Oratio 28.5). However, a theologian should not be satisfied with merely establishing what God is not. It is an easy temptation for theologians ‘to go on disowning point after point to endless detail’21. A theologian can discover the nature and essence of God, not through a rational comprehension but through a mystical union of what is divine in us, the mind and reason, with its Image, the Archetype, of which it longs for now but realizes in the deification after this life. Reflecting on Enosh who “hoped to call upon the Name of the lord” (Gen. 4, 26), Gregory argues that any theological assertion should further ‘call upon’ or appeal to the ‘hope’ that is still to arrive at the end of things. It is the same as the faith, which was pleasing to God and saved the world; it is the faith in which Abraham relied on. A theologian should have this ultimate horizon of relying on a God who is approaching him (Cf. Oratio 28.27-28). The ascetic or contemplative dimension of theology reminds the theologian that his/her enterprise is not merely speculative and rational in nature. However, with his/her mystical union with God, a theologian must be able to experience the “joy of finding God in all things”22, which s/he encounters, reflects on, writes and teaches. Theologian must respond to the experience of and absence of the immanence of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit at various levels and contexts (Eph. 3, 16-19; Gal. 4, 4-7; Rom 8, 8-17). His/her theology must base itself on spiritual experience, both personal and communitarian. A focus on experiential rationality, an approach very dear to Indian mind, should be our approach as Indian theologians. Any experience is particular and contextual and therefore, experiential rationality equips one to respond theologically in the local Church. 20 Gregory Nazianzen, Oratio 28.4, Ibid., p. 289. In no. 5, he gives scriptural arguments quoting “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor mind conceived.” Is 64, 4; I Cor. 2, 9 and from Psalms, “I will consider the heavens the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars” Ps. 8, 3. 21 Gregory Nazianzen, Oratio 28.9, Ibid., p. 291. He further explains this point in the second paragraph: Someone who is interested only in saying who God is not is like someone “who when asked how many twice five make, should answer, “Not two, nor three, nor four, nor five, nor twenty, nor thirty, nor in short any number below ten, nor any multiple of ten;” but would not answer “ten”, nor settle the mind of his questioner upon the firm ground of the answer”. 22 Kelly, ed., p. xi. A theologian, if he/she is sincere in her ascetic pursuit, inevitably faces the tension between contemplation and active life, between spiritual retrieval in silence and an engagement with the community in ecclesial life. Gregory, the theologian had to face this tension in the past. He retrieved himself to contemplative life but he was called to active ecclesial life as bishop. His active life was always backed by his contemplative life. Rahner spent his war years in pastoral ministry in Vienna and Bavaria. This tension between contemplative and active life keeps the theologian an integral minister of the Church. As Rogich says, “Every theologian must be an “integrated person”, one who is active in the Church and in the world and at the same time who “uses” this activity – ascesis – as a preparatory means for contemplation. In this sense, there is no dichotomy between the active and contemplative life, between calling to be either a theologian or an ecclesiastical leader”23. A theologian of this sort engages in a holistic, experiential and participatory enterprise, ‘a never-ending process of communion and union in the mystery of the Holy Trinity in the Church’24 . Thus, theologian becomes a mystic whose life becomes an ongoing perichoretic engagement in communion with God and his people. 2.3 Hermeneutical Orientation of a Theologian A theologian needs to keep in mind people’s hunger for new ways of articulating their faith in the changing situations of the world. The ‘catholic’ dimension of a theologian invites him to reflect on the role of Christians in the modern world. Cardinal Suenens calls this Christian reflection on what is going on in the world and its interpretation as “a theology of the actual”25. For that, a theologian must be sensitive to the questions of human/eco existence and critical to the changing trends and ideologies that govern the world today. Unlike the previous two orientations in theology, a hermeneutical orientation takes ‘distance’ and ‘diversity’ seriously. The diversity is at the heart of Christianity, evident already from its very beginning, when Jesus chose not one but twelve apostles to continue his mission, when four gospels were written and not one, when the Church was constituted as many churches in different contexts and cultures and when different theological schools such as Alexandrian and Antiochian schools emerged, etc. Therefore, theologians at all ages have taken up the question of diverse ways of theologizing in diverse contexts and cultures. There have been different approaches to the context in relation to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Kerygmatic theologians are inclined to deny any common ground between theology and situation. Some of them would argue that the early Christians’ acceptance of Greek Logos, 23 Rogich., p. 74. 24 Ibid., p. 76. 25 Quoted in Webster T. Patterson, "Nuclear War, the Bishops and the Sensus Fidelium: A New Process for Consensus?," Chicago Studies 22, no. 2 (1983), p. 154. Alexandrian school’s acceptance of Platonism, etc. and, recent times, the inculturation attempts in theology and especially in liturgy in India and elsewhere have led to a surrender of Kerygma to the mundane concepts. Paul Tillich summarises the position of the kerygmatic theologians as follows: “The “situation” cannot be entered; no answer to the questions implied in it can be given, at least not in terms which are felt to be an answer. The message must be thrown at those in the situation - thrown like a stone.”26 Liberal theologians, on the other hand, consider ‘situation’ as the ground on which one theologizes. Those extreme in the group such as the pluralist theologians and some of the proponents of contextualisation would eulogize situation to such an extent that situation determines the kerygma. They are dissatisfied with a mere diversity in theologizing but calls for difference in kerygma to different situations. What we need is a dialogue between kerygma and situation. This dialogical character of theology is the ground for any hermeneutical theological appropriation. Following Tillich, Roger Haight considers the hermeneutical task of theology as apologetic where the task is “to explain the principles of faith and revelation and to “justify” their place in the reasonable discourse of human beings with each other”27 . The question, how to articulate the elements of faith in the present situation, thus, becomes central. Though a comprehensive treatise on hermeneutical method in theology is beyond the scope of this paper, it is important to point out the need for maintaining the tension between ‘Jerusalem and Athens’ in theologizing. If not, one ends up in, what orthodox theology call as “the danger of the “Origenistic complex”, an uncritical reduction of Christian thought to a given context or age into Christian thought, with an overemphasis on “relevance”. Rogich says, “It is one thing to depend upon the world and another to be related to it”28 . Hence, there is the need for methods in theology “in which the integration and perichoresis of Christianity and contemporary culture would become one of the primacy [sic primary] tasks in the development of a theologian”29 . It is also important that theologian takes up the local culture seriously. Any authentically theological task should engage in interplay between Christian tradition and contemporary culture. Rogich says, “…theology cannot operate in a cultural vacuum. The theologian cannot develop when hermetically sealed off from the world”30. There is a growing need today to respond to the day-to-day affairs theologically. A theologian must be able to discern the 26 Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, vol. 1 (Chicago: 1951), p. 6. 27 Roger Haight, Dynamics of Theology (New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1990), p. 3. 28 Rogich, 69. 29 Ibid., p. 68. 30 Ibid., p. 69. genuine needs of the community and culture using his/her perceptive soteriologically motivated engagement. How many of us are engaged in writing theologically in popular journals and newspapers? Rahner, in one of his articles, Dialogue on Sleep, Prayer and Other Things between a doctor and pastor, has placed in the mouth of the former (doctor) the following comment: “I have always thought that theologians do most for sleep through their lectures and writings”31. The hermeneutical orientation of theologian also reminds us that he/she is a bridge between the Church, universal and local. The reception of the teachings of the universal Church disseminate in the local Church with the help of the theologians. The universal language of the documents, usually not taking up the individual situation of the multitudes of contexts to which they are addressed, demands a hermeneutical appropriation of them. Theologian functions here as a bridge between the universal and the local. Theologians can also function as catalysts among the particular individual churches for better understanding of the other traditions. 2.4 Pastoral Orientation of a Theologian St. Gregory was a successful orator, who attracted big crowds to the Cathedral. It is quite amazing to read his theological orations! How many of us would dare to talk about the dogmas on the Trinity and Christology in the local Churches? The hermeneutical orientation is a pre-requisite for the pastoral success of Gregory, the bishop and theologian. He could integrate theology and preaching only because he could successfully establish a link between Christian Tradition and real life of the people. The Orthodox liturgy attributes the title ‘Theologian’ to him precisely for his pastoral orientation of his theology. In the Liturgical prayers of the Orthodox Church, we read: “The pastoral power of your theology vanquished the vanity of the orators. You have sounded the depths of the Spirit of God, and were given the gift of eloquence as well.…” (Menaion, January 25th, Troparion, Tone I ). Only recently, in preparation for this paper, I read some of Rahner’s works in pastoral theology. Unlike his more theological treatises, his Mission and Grace, reflects a theologian who constantly interacts with the current trends and developments in the outside world, and reflects theologically on them. There we see a different language of Rahner, a hermeneutical one, which is understandable, not only to the high academics, but also to the ordinary people. According to Schmemann, pastoral orientation of theology does not mean a creation of a theological “digest” for quick consumption by the faithful, or a descent of theology to a 31 Cited in Robert Kress, A Rahner Handbook (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982). p. 6-7. “popular level”, but rather “the uplifting of the Church into theological consciousness”32. Rogich argues that it was not only his consecration as bishop but also the sufferings and deaths of his close friends and relatives that led him to a ‘sensitivity to human experience and its end’, which eventually instilled in his theology ‘a profound sense of compassion for the situation of his fellow Christians’33. Therefore, it is important to interact with the concrete lives of the people, especially of the lost, the least and the last in the society, in order to become a profoundly pastoral theologian. A pastorally oriented theology will not be satisfied with satisfying the intellectual Christians or any one group of Christians. They should be tangible to all, including the poor and the weak in the society. The task of a theologian is not to deal with ‘abstract human being or a speculative, classical notion of culture; but rather, to deal with concrete human beings in concrete situations to which also specific living cultures belong. Only through a pastoral revitalization of theology can the theologians be a critique of the status of a given culture and function as relevant guides in the daily life of the people. For example, a theologian in India today needs to be critical towards the commericialisation of sacraments, liturgical ceremonies and pious practices that have become a menace to the life of the faithful today. It demands from him a prior in-depth study on the consumeristic tendencies in the Indian societies today. Indian theologians need not carry the burden of the European theologians, who are placed in a delicate position between the Church and the university. Due to today’s standardisation of academic institutes under European Union, the academic ambience of the theological faculties in Europe has tremendously changed in the last ten years, creating ‘technicians’ and ‘specialists’, not ‘leaders of the communities’. The position of the Indian theologians is not in the university. Thank God, we have very rare secular Universities where Christian theology is a faculty. Our position is or should be among the concrete lives of the people. The sensus fidelium is the given ambience of our theological enterprise. People and their lives are the reference books and determining norms of our theology. “The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted…” (GS, 1, Abbot) are also the joys and sorrows of a theologian. Indian theologians in their respective local churches need to take these concrete human experiences as their resources for theologizing. A truly pastoral theology should “be dictated by one’s renewed understanding of the Church and the most pressing existential needs woven into the historical situation”34. 32 Alexander Schmemann, Church, World, Mission (Crestwood, NY: 1979), pp. 119-120. 33 Robert C. Gregg, Consolation Philosophy: Greek and Christian 'Paideia' in Basil and the Two Gregories (Philadelphia: 1975), summarised in Rogich, p. 78. 34 Kelly, ed., p. 14. In many a case, our theologizing need to base itself on the experiences and expertise of the ordinary laity because these are areas of their concrete living, in which a bishop or a professional theologian has less involvement. We need to consult the doctors and scientists, legal experts and social analysts, managers and workers before we start theologizing on themes from their respective areas. A pertinent question to be discussed in this regard is in the area of moral theology. Should not the moral theologians and canonists base their reflections on the sense of the married faithful before they take moral reflections and conclusions on family life? Pastoral orientation of theology as ‘an uplifting of the Church to theological consciousness’, also reminds us how it is related to one’s spiritual acumen. Gregory Nazianzen would call it the need “to ourselves, and polish our theological self to beauty like a statue” (Oratio 27). An attachment to the Church is an important requirement in this regard. Both St. Gregory and Rahner were theologians who identified themselves with the Church and her life, being attentive to the real and practical needs of the faithful in their life in the Church. Rahner once said: “There are things that can only be understood by someone who loves them. The Church is one of these.”35 The age-old dictum, sentire cum ecclesia, is quite relevant here. An authentic theology stems only from a theologian who is committed to the Church. A theologian today is a public person representing the Church, her teachings, doctrines, etc. It does not mean that the task of a theologian is to repeat them, but to actualize them concretely in the given context. The Church and her life form the ambience of our theologizing. An awareness of our indebtedness to the Church therefore, becomes an important prerequisite for our theologizing. Rahner says many of our criticisms of the Church are peripheral because of our lack of deeper knowledge of the Church36. If one loves the Church one knows, it will affect one’s attitude to the Church. Rahner says, “If anyone wants to have the Church changed, he must make himself the starting-point of renewal. For the critic himself is part of what the Church is suffering from. For usually his own life is not much of a recommendation for Christianity”37. Conclusion We have briefly reflected on the orientations of a theologian in the local church. His or her spirituality should lead him/her to be truly ‘catholic’ in thinking and life. The nature of one’s 35 Rahner, Mission and Grace. p. 106. 36 Rahner asks: “What would you think of a man who tried to pass judgement on the German people, its history, and its value, without even having heard of Walther von der Vogelweide, Goethe,…; a man who judged the character of a nation by the colour of its letter-boxes? Yet there are so-called intellectuals who have “settled the question of Christianity” in this sort of fashion”, Ibid. p. 108. 37 Ibid. p. 107. involvement in the concrete life of the people determines whether one’s theological hermeneutics is authentically pastoral. The concerns of a theologian are not only the concerns of the Magisterium, but also the concerns of the faithful as a whole, living their lives in their respective situations. The basic questions of a theologian are not merely on dogmatic statements, but also on church praxis. The charism of a theologian calls for not only a renewed understanding of the Church but also a true internal conversion of the theologian. Fr Tony Neelankavil Marymatha Major Seminary Trichur-680 651, Kerala, India E-mail: [email protected] Selected Bibliography Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. "Dialogue and Proclamation. Reflection and Orientations on Interreligious Dialogue and the Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Vatican.va, 19 May 1991. Farley, Edward. Ecclesial Reflection: An Anatomy of Theological Method. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1982. Gregg, Robert C. Consolation Philosophy: Greek and Christian 'Paideia' in Basil and the Two Gregories. Philadelphia, 1975. Habermas, Jürgen. The Theory of Communicative Action. Translated by Thomas McCarthy. Boston: Beacon, 1981. Haight, Roger. Dynamics of Theology. New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1990. Wace, Henry and Schaff, Philip, ed. S. Cyril of Jerusalem. S. Gregory Nazianzen. 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