{"id":325,"date":"2014-05-18T05:00:39","date_gmt":"2014-05-18T05:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=325"},"modified":"2014-05-18T05:00:39","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T05:00:39","slug":"the-kenosis-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/the-kenosis-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"The Kenosis Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gustave<\/a>

Gustave Dor\u00e9 \u2013 The Temptation of Jesus<\/p><\/div>\n

At the university which boasts the motto Veritas<\/em>, there were some interesting developments recently. On May 9th,<\/sup> it was announced that the NY-based Satanic Temple, under the auspices of the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club, would be holding a \u201cBlack Mass\u201d on the university campus for the purpose of \u201cexploring other cultures.\u201d The club which proposed to sponsor this event is student-led, and once the news of its happening was made public, the university and its administration were quick to separate themselves from this debacle. They were equally as rapid, however, in their defense of the organization\u2019s right to exercise freedom of expression. The Harvard Extension School, for example, issued the following statement on May 9th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

Students at the Harvard Extension School, like students at colleges across the nation, organize and operate a number of independent student organizations, representing a wide range of student interests. The Harvard Extension School does not endorse the views or activities of any independent student organization. But we do support the rights of our students and faculty to speak and assemble freely. (The entire statement can be found here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Similarly, President Drew Faust \u2013 insert Goethean pun here \u2013 issued the following statement on May 12th<\/sup>.<\/p>\n

The reenactment of a ‘black mass’ planned by a student group affiliated with the Harvard Extension School challenges us to reconcile the dedication to free expression at the heart of a university with our commitment to foster a community based on civility and mutual understanding. (The entire statement can be found here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Much to her credit, President Faust refers to this proposed gathering as unequivocally \u201cabhorrent,\u201d \u201cdisrespectful and inflammatory.\u201d She also stated that she planned on attending a Eucharistic Holy Hour at nearby St. Paul\u2019s Parish as a sign of \u201crespect for the Catholic faith\u201d, which she did, in fact, do. That the very nature of a \u201cBlack Mass\u201d is to parody the Catholic Mass, and is therefore highly offensive to Catholics, was stated, inter alias<\/em>, by the pastor of St. Paul\u2019s Parish, Fr. Michael Drea<\/a>: \u201cThere is no way to misunderstand a Satanic act that degrades the Catholic liturgy. There is no misunderstanding; it is just a fact.\u201d<\/p>\n

After much protestation, including statements from Cardinal Se\u00e1n O\u2019Malley and a Eucharistic procession from MIT to St. Paul\u2019s Parish, the event was canceled and reportedly<\/a> moved to an undisclosed private location off-campus.<\/p>\n

It is an easy task to note the duplicity of a university at once condemning an act and yet providing a space for its occurrence. Though it was later refuted by Robert Neugeboren, the dean of students and alumni affairs at Harvard Extension School, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple initially stated<\/a> that the organization had obtained a consecrated host for the event.<\/p>\n

While reflecting upon these sad events as they unfolded, I could not help but recall the great Kenotic Hymn contained in St. Paul\u2019s Letter to the Philippians.<\/p>\n

Christ Jesus,<\/em>
\nwho, though he was in the form of God,<\/em>
\ndid not regard equality with God something to be grasped.<\/em>
\nRather, he emptied himself,<\/em>
\ntaking the form of a slave,<\/em>
\ncoming in human likeness;<\/em>
\nand found human in appearance,<\/em>
\nhe humbled himself,<\/em>
\nbecoming obedient to death,<\/em>
\neven unto death on a cross. (Phil 2:6-8)<\/em><\/p>\n

This hymn, which NT scholars agree pre-dates the composition of the epistle, affirms that Christ\u2019s essence (\u03bc\u03bf\u03c1\u03c6\u1fc7) is with the Father. But rather than selfishly cling to his divine existence, the Son emptied himself (\u1f10\u03ba\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03c3\u03b5\u03bd) in order to adopt a human nature. The Son submitted to the will of the Father completely and entirely; accepting this unnatural condensation \u201ceven unto death on a cross.\u201d<\/p>\n

While it may be the reflective reaction of the Christian to be repulsed by the recent events at Harvard, \u2013 and rightly so! \u2013 let us remember that this is yet another instance of Christ submitting himself to the human condition. Surely we need to be witnesses against the offensive and sacrilegious nature of such events, as many members of the local Church in Boston recently were. But it should also deepen our own humility. It should remind us that Christ has made himself vulnerable to the world every day and everywhere since the moment of his conception. He has held nothing back from his embrace of the human person. In short, the recent events at Harvard are simply another instance of Jesus\u2019 kenosis. And if we are to be his disciples, we too need to make ourselves vulnerable to those whom we love and serve. \u201cNo servant is greater than his master\u201d (Jn 15:20).<\/p>\n

Anthony Coleman<\/strong> teaches theology for Saint Joseph\u2019s College Online.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At the university which boasts the motto Veritas, there were some interesting developments recently. On May 9th, it was announced that the NY-based Satanic Temple, under the auspices of the Harvard Extension Cultural Studies Club, would be holding a \u201cBlack … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[42,148,154],"class_list":["post-325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality","category-uncategorized","tag-black-mass","tag-jesus","tag-kenosis"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/325\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}