Identity and Mission

What St. Thomas can teach us

I am passionate about evangelization and formation. And I tend to have a starting point when generically sharing the kerygmatic message of the Gospel. It begins with Identity and Mission. In the philosophical language of St. Thomas Aquinas, we might say it begins with form (or our nature) and final cause (or purpose). To St. Thomas Aquinas, these two dimensions are intimately related to one another. A contemporary Thomist reasserted this intrinsic connection - that springing from the very essence of things comes its mission or purpose.

Typically it’s at this point, in explaining the philosophical language, that people glaze over and say, “Fr. Chris, just stick to the contemporary language.” Fair. But I want to assert something that contemporary language forgets - stressing Identity and Mission as the cornerstone to discipleship is nothing new. Furthermore, the very philosophical premise of St. Thomas Aquinas is asserted in this vein. Informed by the principles of Aristotle and the infallibility of Divine Tradition and Sacred Scripture we discover the same emphasis.

Why is Identity Important?

To St. Thomas Aquinas, one would do well not to confuse their moral character with their nature. Our moral character can be described as a second-nature, and is thus important to discern. However, the moral character as a voluntary dimension to man only finds meaning in the very starting point of our given first-nature. Today, with a warped existential approach to the human person, we are all considered “self-made men.” This skirts over any examination of our ontological-identity (that is, what we are), and displaces this emphasis with a preoccupation with one’s ethics, behavior and moral/spiritual state. That isn’t to say the moral character is unimportant to St. Thomas Aquinas, or the Church for that matter. However, it cannot be understood appropriately without first considering the identity of the human person, the Christian, the Church, and most importantly: Christ. We are tempted today to focus on doing before considering why and what we are. These questions need to come first, otherwise our doing might not match up to the purpose of our existence or the very nature of who we are. As Aristotle put it, action flows from being.

Typically what springs from such a disassociated notion of identity from our ontological configuration is a type of dissonant approach to morality and ethics with regard to our relationship with Christ. We end up with sheer sentimentality or the deontological (duty-bound) moral ethos of Immanuel Kant. So what does it mean to be Christ, to be the Church, and to be human? These are important questions, and it’s from them that we get a moral ethos, a mission, and something that directs our missional approach.

Who is Christ?

This is a central theme both within the Old Testament and the New Testament since both speak of Him. Jesus Himself asks and receives an answer from St. Peter about His identity. Jesus is concerned with how our minds assess His identity because such concepts that give substance to our faith shape the manner in which we approach Him in Prayer. If He is merely a guru of wisdom, we will study Him like the prophets of old - and yet never seek salvation from Him. In this way we echo Judas who said, “Surely not I, teacher” instead of “Surely not I, Lord” as the disciples themselves exclaimed. I have no intention of offering here a treatise on Christology, but simply to name the basics of our faith: Jesus is the Son of the Father, in a unity of the Holy Spirit; being both fully human and divine; a divine person, and the savior of the world. How we consent (with the totality of our being) to these truths will unlock a worthy disposition in prayer that gives way to God being approached in a fruitful manner.

Why is that the case? If I were to consider approaching someone for a favor who I believed would likely say no, I might never actually ask for that favor. When we approach God, but only in a half-hearted manner, it’s as if we communicated to God a conflictual message: “You are good, and evil. I believe you will give me the grace of holiness, but I also believe you are not good and will leave me in sin.” That is, the interior conflict within our own soul rises to God. Jesus teaches us that even with a little faith, we can accomplish a lot. Faith, as Pope Benedict XVI describes, is the ascent of the whole person to God. That is, faith is not merely a concept, but it’s a concept internalized at every level (which is the meaning of any virtue established in man). It’s for this reason that St. Augustine explained when he asked the Lord for chastity, “but not yet,” he later understood why he never received that gift.

A component of fruitful prayer is genuine faith. Jesus could not preform various miracles because people approached Him with an unworthy disposition. This is not to be conflated with the notion of an unworthy nature. Man was created to be in relationship with God - we do not speak of having an unworthy nature. God who is gracious, bestows his gifts liberally, and all that is required is a worthy disposition. Such a disposition is one that approaches God with a child-like faith. It’s that simple. The whole of our person flings itself toward God in trust and deference. For such deference - and in regard to the object of our requests (salvation) it is essential that we know the identity of Christ.

Who is the Church

The Church is the body of Christ. Therefore, God forbid the Church ever consider herself apart from Christ. If she gets Christ wrong, she gets herself wrong. In order to internalize this identity we must look to the scriptures and see how Jesus teaches His disciples. Jesus is trying to train them to perform the same works He performs (and in fact greater ones). This includes the exorcism of demons, the supernatural healings of others, the forgiveness of sins, and the prophetic signs that generate faith in the lives of others. Jesus sleeps on a cushion as a storm brews - yet they turn to Him, being unable to recognize that His authority has (by grace) been given to them. It was their lack of faith that awoke Christ to save them. So while they certainly approach Christ with faith as a savior (at least of their natural bodies in this regard), they failed to internalize His own commission and authority. Consider the multiplication of loaves and fish. Jesus gets His disciples to perform the miracle itself by sending them out into the crowds to engage the group in the sharing. To be clear, I am not reducing that miracle some vague generosity of the people gathering, in sharing their food. Rather, sharing in the very supernatural action duplication of the loaves and fishes. The supernatural miracle ends up occurring by their hands. Consider St. Peter healing the beggar at gate of the temple, performing a miracle in the very Spirit of Christ - by His name. The Church’s mission is not to be obsessed with such signs, but to perform them with the same mindset of Christ - which is to join us to the Father. Yet those apostles on the boat didn’t carry within them that mindset yet. They still lacked faith to realize that Christ was calling them to enter into His mystical ministry by becoming His mystical body. Thus, if the Church is to become Christ, it ought to act like Him. It shares in His suffering, it shares in the redemptive office of teaching, priesthood and prophesy; and the Church directs by the sacraments, holiness, and evangelical zeal the presence of Christ today.

Who is the Human Person?

Scripture doesn’t skip a beat on this point - the individual person, as well as the human family, is created in the image of God. Our likeness, obscured by sin, is nonetheless representative of our moral and spiritual character. Nonetheless, from God, remaining present, man bears the image of God. In this dimension, man finds his orientation toward God in all things, and a type of participation in the very goodness of God to a height unlike anything else in the visible world. The very gift of human life is something to mystically examine, being that every child is worth more than the entire cosmos themselves. In this manner of thinking, man as a unique sharer in the Divine Nature, by way of his intellect and free-will, is called to love, serve and worship God and neighbor.

As baptized Christians we are configured (ontologically) to conform ourselves to the image of Christ, making up the Church. This incredible dimension causes us to reflect on our identity not merely as an ontological reality but a personal one, whereby we consider ourselves beloved children of our Heavenly Father.

Mission

What we are, according to Aquinas, determines what we ought to do. The very intrinsic nature that we have generates the purpose/mission. If we do not not know who we are, we will not know what we are to do. Might I suggest that if the Church has lost its sense of mission, it has lost its identity, and if the Church has lost its identity, which is Christ, we lack faith? If the object of our faith is Christ, then we must as a Church renew our knowledge of who, and what Christ is. From there, and with some direction, we will come to better internalize our own mission and identity.