19. Do dogmas limit intelligence?

Those who take issue with the Catholic Church for having dogmas, do not know what they are talking about, while traditionalists who claim to find in them their refuge, are not much wiser. Contrary to current opinion, the Councils' statements in no way intended to close the discussion, but to encourage reflection. The great Councils did not offer ready- made answers, but rather, asked pertinent questions. In affirming what is unthinkable from a human viewpoint, they call for meditation and reflection, and this until the end of time.

Let's take an example: when we ride a bicycle, we hold our balance as long as we keep going, but it is an unstable balance, for we wobble to the right and to the left. A perfect balance would mean a tumble with no movement at all. With all due proportions, it is the same for our knowledge of the faith. We are constantly between two stable balances, that is between two opposing heresies. We say "heresies" from the Greek word "to choose": when we opt for one side only, we have simplified matters, in other words, rationalised. It has become simple, but chiefly it has become simplistic, rationalistic and fixed.

So then, dogmas keep beliefs open to questioning. They impose that unstable balance and the necessity to move forward in spiritual intuition and in its expression. People who imagine that dogmas stifle reflection, are like those who repeat opinions they have heard without ever taking the trouble to verify them. An example: let us reflect for a moment on all the implications of Jesus' famous question to His disciples: "And who do you say I am?"

Behind this question, there lies another: does Jesus know the answer, or is He Himself posing the question from a personal point of view? In trying to find an answer, I'm thinking back to the debates which shook the Church in the first centuries: Is Jesus God? Is he human? Is he one or the other or both simultaneously? The Council of Chalcedon in 45I affirms that He is "one and the same Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, perfect in His divinity, perfect in His unity, true God and true Man, having a rational soul and body, consubstantial with the Father in His divinity, consubstantial with us in His humanity, like us in all things, except sin." To my way of thinking, this declaration is not an answer, but makes the question more precise. It explains nothing; on the contrary, it raises all sorts of questions and makes one think. In order to go along with these affirmations, without getting into a left or a right camp, and without avoiding the difficulty by undue simplification, I must progress towards a point of flight, or rather towards a point of loving aspiration, knowing that truth is above and beyond its every formulation.

Thus, just as Jesus suffered, and knew the meaning of hunger and thirst and tiredness and finally died; just as His condition as Son of God did not prevent His feeling fear and crying out: "Why have you abandoned Me?" so too Jesus lived intensely the questions which are those of every human being: who am I? What is the meaning of my life? Jesus didn't know everything. He had to learn. He was born of a woman. He grew up "in wisdom and grace", the Gospel tells us so. Day after day He progressively discovered and manifested who He was.

Paradoxically, Jesus' question says far more than many of the answers. It gives the cue experimentally to who He is, not in formulae but in actions. He is the One who never imposes. He is the One who asks the question. The Revealer presents himself in the form of a question! He "questions". He is the question itself!

It is surprising that on a very first meeting, there are so few important members of the hierarchies who - instead of making known their titles and functions - allow these to be guessed at! On this point, rare are the followers of Christ who imitate their Master's discretion! If there is someone whose identity has to be indicated, so as not to leave Him out, it surely is He! Yet He chooses anonymity, carries no cross - at least not on his lapel-, claims none of His legitimate titles, and even forbids His disciples to carry them either. He never makes it clear how He is to be addressed. He does not identify Himself, but allows people to guess. "Who am I?" He asks the question, and once He receives the answer, He forbids the disciples to speak of it to anyone.

This can be explained by the fact that His question is not a riddle. He is not pretending. It is a question that He really feels, just as I might ask myself sometimes, "Who am I?" There is no other answer possible but the lived experience, including that of prayer, the memory of one's own life history and the study of its possibilities. He unravels all this, thanks to the cultural richness of His people, that wide human and spiritual experience distilled in His Scriptures. Just like us, He may also need to feel appreciated by others, to be acknowledged in his objective identity, and to find a place subjectively in their affection. "Who am I for you?" that can also mean: "Do I matter to you? How do I stand in your esteem?"

However important it may be, Jesus does not impose His Person. He lives, speaks and acts, and allows you to tell Him how much He counts for you whether as an individual or as community. He leaves you to guess and to frame your answer according to your own culture, and in the words that come easiest to you. He inspires you with a growing confidence or a blinding flash of faith, through the Spirit murmuring to your spirit the secrets of your being: that mysterious and vital link to the Source of all that is, to that Other of Whom He never tires of speaking, Whom He calls "Abba", but Whom He also addresses as "My God" Happy are you, for it is not flesh and blood that has revealed this to you (not the words of the catechism learned off by heart), but My Father who is in heaven! Happy are you to have shared my secret, and to have been admitted into my intimate friendship. You have tasted of the Spirit that gives Me life and consumes Me. I recognise myself in what you say.

There is a risk involved in asking that question. I can answer whatever I wish, deceive myself and even wish to deceive myself, cover it up with a mask or a caricature, distort it. This is the Passion. Men spit in His Face, dress Him up in order to mock at Him; place a sceptre in His hands to deride Him. Their cruel game reveals their thinking. Jesus is handed over to men. It is true today as it was then. It is scandalous, and it is this very scandal which, with the best intentions in the world of defending "the" truth, or of "protecting" Jesus, that Peter and many of his successors do not accept.

From the very moment he is entrusted with his mission, Peter begins to slip up. His dream is of power and success. The question goes completely out of his head. He forgets the real Jesus, and instead puts himself in his place. His claim: he is the "vicar of Christ". His desire is to be the follower of a triumphant Messiah, thus placing an obstacle in the way of Jesus. Peter should keep quiet and leave aside his ideological viewpoints, in short, stand aside, so that others can experience the real, true, living Christ; the One for whom self-aggrandisement has no meaning.

Jesus is in effect, the One who loses Himself in order to find Himself, who burns without being consumed; who gives Himself and abandons Himself, the better to pardon beyond measure. He is Love and He is communion. He is the way of love and of communion. He is the One calling us to enter into divine life which is mutual giving, and this of necessity must pass through vulnerability and forgiveness. The price has to be paid. Peter will have to learn this, only to discover it at his own expense.

I do not think then that this question "Who am I?" is a simple classroom question. As it stands, it contains an element of Revelation. It is already an answer, a Revelation signpost. It is profound and very serious and not at all a game. Jesus asks a question and expects an honest and true answer. Happy are those who are lucky enough to have at the right moment, attentive friends to support them in their fumblings, and to whisper to them just what they need to hear, in order to encourage an interior intuition that is still somewhat immature. To arrive at a clear perception of his identity, Jesus needed to learn from the human and spiritual experience of his people. But He also needed a sort of springboard, a mirror, a friend, someone to confirm that what he was sensing was true.

"Who am I?" He revealed Himself to Moses in that enigmatic formula: "I am who am" (which can also be translated as "I will be the one I will be", for you, in actions, in my covenant with you). The Word of God has not alone visited His creation, but has confided Himself to it. At the heart of history, He has asked Himself that question, and He has also asked it of history, "Who am I?"

Until the end of time, Jesus continues to trust Himself to humanity: "Who am I for you?" With our own words, our personal experience, our culture, our particular individual history, whether as a people or as a community, we are called upon to understand a subject which is way beyond our grasp: "Who am I for you?"

The question underlined by the first Councils, is maintained. By rejecting the individual pride which always proceeds from simplistic exclusion, we welcome the Spirit which allowed Mary to conceive the living answer to that living question. We hear then at the heart of Jesus' question "Who am I for you?" that other question so intimately linked to it: "Do you love me?" What am I for you? What do I represent for you? There is no possibility of a verbal answer to such a question. We must answer with our body in the life we live. Peter got the answer right, theoretically speaking. We could award him twenty out of twenty on that score, but in practice, it amounts to nothing. "Get behind me, Satan!" This consummate insult is applied to no one in the Bible, except to the one whom the popes consider as their model! Jesus, sensitive to Peter's deep instincts, does not give up, and in spite of everything, gives him charge of his Church. "Whatever you bind on earth, will be bound in heaven" Why? Because Jesus always, and in spite of everything, shares everything. He takes every risk possible and no one can stop Him. We must understand Him: it's in His nature; it's His style, it is Who He is; He lives on mutual sharing. It is the secret of God that is being unveiled. Now God is the self-giver, the One who trusts: God is Love and reciprocity. In order to talk about Him, it is necessary to communicate his way of being and of entering into relationship, a way that leaves the other completely at ease with himself, in his ability to express himself and to exercise responsibility. As God has given everything, He has nothing to lose, and so nothing to keep hidden.

The Cross puts a question mark beside every institution. The Synagogue did not accept the Messiah. The Roman powers rejected the one and only King The Sanhedrin ignored the truth, and authority in the Church has from the very beginning, been relativised by Saint Peter's dishonest behaviour. Its permanent temptation and risk of high treason, has always been its refusal of the Paschal Event. In the exercise of his responsibilities, Peter will be initiated into the mysteries of his Master: "Another will put a cincture around you..."