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I
could never perform a somersault in my life, it made me afraid. When
I couldn't sneak away, without being noticed (I think), in Physical
Education classes, I refused to do the dreaded acrobatics. Well, I
managed it now, after getting old... But it was only mentally... 😄 It's my brother, Mário Domiciano, who has showed me this incredible
acrobatic leap of thought and, after I was able to do so, the
solution seemed to an "egg of Columbus" [1].
No
one seems to have performed this somersault. The fact is that I did
not find the solution given by my brother, to the theme that I will
address next, in any of the extensive treatises of St. Augustine, St.
Gregory of Nyssa, St. Thomas Aquinas. I must clarify that I have not
read these treatises, but some studies on them (theses published in
Universities, abstracts, lessons, etc.), which I found on the
Internet. It is a very interesting subject.
It
is about understanding the meaning of man being created in the image
and likeness of God
(Genesis 1: 26:
Then God said, Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our
likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the
birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.)
In
addition to all the considerations about the meaning of image and
likeness, about the fact that God speaks in the first person plural,
the dominion over other beings on earth, about the fact that God is
incorporeal and man has a body, etc. , etc., scholars similarly
conclude, with some variations, that man
would have been made similar to God by his ability of reasoning
(intelligence, reason), by having a soul, by being capable of free
choice (free will, freedom), by the ability to relate to others
(interaction for good).
Some make an analogy with the Holy Trinity, like St. Augustine, who
speaks at length about it. Some say that Jesus is the man in the
image and likeness of God.
If
anyone wants to read some of the works I read, check the related
links at the end of this text (or go to Portuguese version because I found more texts in Portuguese). Regarding the considerations
of the Jews on the subject, I read some texts that seemed to be
similar to those I cited above, others that consider man an "image"
not because he is endowed with reason or soul, but in the sense of
being God's representatives in creation, as administrators/kings
of creation. As what I found are more comments than properly
treatises, I didn't list them in the links. But they were enough to
give an idea. When I find more profound work that genuinely
corresponds to the Jewish tradition, I will add the appropriate
references.
But
the "somersault" changed everything.
For having forged themselves in mathematics to design, build, in
different circumstances, engineers have a precise, objective and
sensible reasoning, which travels through space and time as well as
through their absence. The Divine Grace of knowledge walks through
these "mental platforms" in a special way, it seems. That's
how my brother has performed this acrobatics, like someone drinking a
glass of water, connecting who-knows which points, lines and angles.
And he made me understand with sudden clarity!
How
fruitful our conversations were in "Rio Doce", our parents'
house. We still exchange ideas. A little of everything stays forever
("De tudo fica um pouco")... and it happens still a
lot, thanks God! Long live the Internet that allows our
communication.
Continuing
the somersault, here we go... Attachez
vos tuques !
The
"time" parameter for God is not ours,
that is, God is not subject to our time, because God is absolute,
-omni-, because He does not change, He always is (Exodus 3 :14: "I
am who I am. You shall say to the children of Israel: I AM has sent
me to you"). While, for us, everything is relative.
It
is very difficult to understand, but I'll try, although
in a very rudimentary way, because we only have a very vague idea,
nobody really knows what it's like. Do you remember the old film
tapes, with those little squares showing each movement, frame by
frame? Looking against the light, we could see several sequences, go
through the tape, following with the gaze and see the whole film.
God
sees, or rather, knows the tape of the entire universe, of all times,
past, present and future, as if looking at everything at once,
always. As if, for Him, this whole movement was static, in a tiny
instant. His "look" encompasses everything at once. There
is no before and after, as for us, who perceive everything in a
confused way.
What
God says, or rather, what the writer of Genesis manages to convey as
-"in our image, according to our
likeness"-, is focused by the
cited authors (Saint Augustine, Saint Thomas Aquinas, etc.) on a time of Creation, a "time" before everything.
In
the "somersault", the focus is on Jesus - He, the 2nd
Person of the Holy Trinity, having two natures (human and divine) is
the MOULD. We were created in His image and likeness, although He was
born in this world a long time after Creation, for our weak temporal
perception. He is the Word of God that has always existed. He himself said
to Philip: "Don’t
you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long
time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say,
‘Show us the Father’?" (John
14: 9). And He said to the Jews: "Very
truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!"
(John 8: 58).
Jesus
is not the man made in the image and likeness of God, as some authors
say. He is not a creature, He was begotten, not created. He is God
the Son, the firstborn, and we are made in His image and likeness, we
are the other children of God, even those who were born "before"
the Baby Jesus... "For
those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters."
(Romans
8: 29).
Update:
In
my searches for this idea that man was made in the image and likeness
of Jesus, I found confirmation in the work of St. Irenaeus of Lyons,
who lived between the years 135 and 203 AD, and who was recently
acclaimed a Doctor of the Church by Pope Francis. According to the
document of Pope Benedict XVI, "in
Irenaeus' teaching, the dignity of man, body and soul, is firmly
anchored in divine creation, in the image of Christ and in the
Spirit's permanent work of sanctification."
Hence it seems that God created man already thinking about Jesus (see
links at the end).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Note:
since Jesus is God and God is one and triune, the interpretation that
considers reason, soul and interaction is also valid, remembering that it focuses on the Person of Jesus Christ.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Jesus,
Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul."
Thank
you so much, Our Lady, for leading me to Jesus with such a sweetness,
my Heavenly Mother. Saint Joseph, merci pour tout.
My
Guardian Angel, protect me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Related
links:
[1]
Egg of Columbus
[2]
The Imago Dei
[3]
Anthropology of St. Gregory of Nyssa
[4]
John 14: 6-9
[5]
Romans 8: 29
[6]
John 8: 58
[7]
Benedict XVI General Audience
[8]
Saint Irenaeus, the new doctor of the Church
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