What is the relationship between Christian identity, spirituality, religious plurality and Christian self understanding? 

WCC/ALC

Rome, Thursday, February 2, 2012 (ALC) - Rev. Dr. Carlos Emilio Ham, Cuban Presbyterian-Reformed pastor and the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) programme executive for Diakonia and Latin America and the Caribbean.

UISG Rome Constellation 2012

“Who do you say that I am?” (Lk. 9:20):

Our identity in relation to the other.

Lecture offered by Carlos Emilio Ham*

at the annual gathering of the International Union

of Superiors General (UISG), Rome, January 12, 2012.

(*The Rev. Dr. Carlos Emilio Ham is a Cuban Presbyterian-Reformed pastor and the World Council of Churches’ (WCC) programme executive for Diakonia and Latin America and the

Caribbean.)

Dear sisters in our common Lord Jesus Christ. “May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord” (2 Peter 1:2). 

First of all, I am indeed very grateful to God for this great blessing to share with you some thoughts in this special occasion when you are gathering in your annual meeting. As I expressed to your executive secretary, Josune Arregui, when she graciously extended the invitation for me to come, this opportunity to be with you is a great honor, both for me and for the World Council of Churches in general.

Introduction 

When I was reflecting on the topic suggested by our sister Josune, namely to look at the important theme of “identity in relation to the other”, the Biblical text of “Peter’s Confession about Jesus” 

(Lk. 9:18-20), came to my mind. I will read this passage for you: “Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, ‘Who do the crowds say that I am?’ They answered, ‘John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Peter answered, ‘The Messiah of God’”. 

In my presentation, after reflecting on the exegesis of this biblical text, I would like to highlight the following sub-themes: Our identity in relation to the other; How do we define our Christian Identity today; Christian Identity through Confession and Discipleship; Christian Identity and Spirituality; and finally, Religious plurality and Christian Self-Understanding. I will then finish proposing some Conclusions.

1. Exegesis of the Biblical text 

According to R. Alan Culpepper, who wrote in The New Interpreter’s Bible, the Commentary of “The Gospel of Luke”, this section consists of a conversation between Jesus and the disciples. This first part contains two questions regarding Jesus' identity (vv. 18-20). The first question elicits three answers regarding who the crowds say Jesus is. The second question leads to Peter's confession that Jesus is "the Messiah of God" … After an extended section in Luke that developed the theme of "who then is this" and offered indirect answers by developing Jesus' fulfillment of the prophetic traditions on drawn primarily Isaiahic themes, the Elijah-Elisha cycles, and exodus motifs, the disciples offer the first confession of Jesus as the Messiah (Culpepper 1995:198). 

Here, as in other parts, Luke depends on Mark, although he has moved directly from the feeding of the five thousand, which in Mark occurs in 6:30-44, to the context of Peter's confession (Mark 8:27-30) (Culpepper 1995:199). 

Luke omits some sections of Mark. The effect of this omission is to bring the feeding of the five thousand and Peter's confession into direct relation to each other—a fact that may prove significant for defining the meaning of the confession "the Messiah of God" (Culpepper 1995:199).

Three other Lucan modifications of the confession scene give to it a distinctive meaning in this context: (1) Luke has omitted Mark's designation of thegeographical location (Caesarea of Philippi) and substitutes instead a designation of the spiritual context of the confession; (2) Luke changes Mark's allusion to "people" in Mark 8:27 to "the crowds." The crowds have been a recurring fixture of Luke's account of Jesus' ministry and are also mentioned three times in the feeding of the five thousand (9:11,12,16), so under Luke's editing of the material Jesus' question "Who do the crowds say that I am?" must be understood in direct relation to the previous scene, and (3) the third Lukan modification that serves an important function in the narrative is the change of "one of the prophets" (Mark 8:28) to "one of the ancient prophets has arisen" (Luke 9:19). The difference between the two phrases is not great, but in Luke the phrase is a verbatim repetition of Luke's earlier summary of Herod's words (9:8). By means of this repetition, the confession scene is tied directly to Herod's question. Peter will give the answer that Herod never finds (Culpepper 1995:199). 

The answers that the disciples give to Jesus' question about the level of the crowd's understanding underscore Jesus' identification with the prophetic tradition: John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the ancient prophets. The crowds have understood that Jesus' mighty works are of the same cloth as those performed and predicted by the prophets: announcing good news for the poor, challenging the rich, giving sight to the blind, healing lepers, and raising the dead. Luke 7 and 8 especially have defined Jesus as one greater than the prophets and greater than John the Baptist. The time has now come to articulate the nature of that "greater than." By means of the succession of two questions regarding Jesus' identity and the emphatic opening of the second question, literally, "But you, who do you say that I am?", Luke telegraphs the fact that the answers the crowds have proposed are inadequate. The disciples, through Peter, now show that they have moved to a higher level of understanding (Culpepper 1995:199).    

Peter's confession, "the Messiah (christos) of God," has been interpreted in various ways, as has the issue of whether it accurately reproduces a pre-Easter confession. The issue of whether the title is to be understood in a prophetic context or a royal, Davidic context is relevant to both of these questions. The reader already knows that Jesus is the Christ from references in Luke 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41. Luke has cited the connection between the title "Christ," or the anointed one, and the prophetic tradition by placing Jesus' recitation of Is. 61:1 at the beginning of his ministry, in Nazareth (4:18). It is clear from Luke's repeated description of Jesus as one greater than the prophets that this title cannot signal merely that Jesus was a prophet. He was the eschatological prophet who fulfilled Is. 61:1. The feeding of the five thousand, with its allusions to the exodus, the Moses traditions, and Elisha prepares us to understand this title in context as an indication that Jesus is the fulfillment of these traditions, including the expectation of the coming prophet like Moses (Deut 18:15, 18). Peter's confession also resonates with the predictions of Jesus' fulfillment of the Davidic tradition (Luke 1:32-33) (Culpepper 1995:199-200). 

The angelic prediction at Jesus' birth foreshadows for the reader God's intention for Jesus. He will fulfill God's promises for David and his descendants (2 Sam 7:9-14). The Lukan narrative, therefore, will not allow an easy choice between prophetic and royal contexts for understanding the little "the Messiah of God." Luke has prepared the reader to understand the importance of both traditions. The two are joined and fulfilled in Jesus(Culpepper 1995:200).

2. Our identity in relation to the other 

The term identity comes from the Latin identitas, also coming from idem and means “sameness”. It conceptualizes all affinities and affiliations, all forms of belonging, all experiences of commonality, connectedness, and cohesion, all self-understandings and self-identifications. It involves the perennial philosophical problems of permanence amidst manifest change over time, and of unity amidst diversity. 

At the same time, a very important notion related to the whole question of identity is the one of “otherness”, namely, the quality or condition of being other; the quality of being different, not alike or distinct in appearance or character. An interesting way to illustrate this is in reference to 

our Spanish language where the pronoun “we” (first person plural) is “nosotros”, which is a compound word, namely, “nos-otros”, “nosotros y los otros”, i.e. “we and the others”. 

C. Díaz in his article “Alteridad”, from the Dictionary of Contemporary Thought, refers on the one hand, to a twisted or distorted understanding of the Othernessconcept. He says that Otherness can be understood as alteration or disturbance, when the other is seen as alienation, this, he says, produces xenophobia. It is the affirmation of myself, negating the other (Díaz 1997:61). 

This point of view reminds me the quote of Eugene Gogol, dealing with the concept of the other in the Latin American liberation process. He said: “From the time of Columbus and the conquest, what became known as Latin America, has been seen as the other, first by Europe and then by the United States - the other to be subjugated, exploited, and dominated. But it became an other of resistance and rebellion so permanent and enduring as the conquest was” (Gogol 2004:17). 

The other distorted understanding mentioned by C. Díaz is to live our difference in relation to the other as indifference. Summarizing, he says, the result of bothdistorted mechanisms is that they cause a “violent indifferentiation”. This can cause an arbitrary perpetuation of violence, just to mention a very recent example, like the killing of the two Senegalese men by the right-wing extremist Gianluca Casseri in Florence, last December 13. This distorted understanding of the other leads to a foundational crime, which produces an endless spiral of violence, concludes C. Díaz (Díaz 1997:62). 

On the other hand, C. Díaz, after acknowledging in his article the difficulties and tensions produced by the relational reality, by the relationship or the dialogue with the other, he highlights that the other pole discovers his or hers own identity in relation to a pole, other than his or hers. In other words, he states that we can’t find our humanity in the egocentrism, in isolation, rather the identity through the otherness. In this dialectic relationship, the uni-verse becomes multi-verse, a cosmic coexistence, and a relationship that generates encounter.  

He also underscores the importance of the responsibility towards the other, which means to correspond in solidarity, in a true relationship of altruism, namely, a practice of disinterested and selfless concern for the well-being of others. By the way, altruism comes from alter, the other, taking others seriously. Both “to respond” and “spouse” come from spondeo, meaning to respond and correspond, to be responsible and co-responsible. C. Díaz ends his article in reference to love. “Love is what matters”, he says, in allusion to St. Francis of Assisi (Díaz 1997:66-67).

3. How do we define our Christian Identity today? 

In a very revealing article called Christian Identity, the author, Helen Rhee, starts with a critical question: “What makes one a Christian and what does it mean to be a Christian? Answers to these questions of Christian identity are not as simple as they might first appear to be. The concept of identity is a twentieth- century notion typically associated with modern individualism, and scholars tend to qualify its usage when speaking of the ‘emergence of Christian identity’ in the first two centuries.  

Nevertheless, it is still possible to speak of ‘Christian identity’ in constructing a sense of Christian continuity and common boundaries in relation to (or in terms of) otherness and differentiation; boundaries of Christian identity ‘involve selection out of both similarity and difference, and promote interchange as well as distancing’ (Lieu 2002:311). This identity is constructed in constant social interactions with the surrounding societies and cultures, ‘others,’ and defines and redefines those ‘others,’ such as Jews, pagans, heretics, etc. Therefore, as any other identities, Christian identity is “contextualized and contingent” (Lieu 2004:18) in history, yet it also presents and projects Christian ideals and universal claims through the selective process of self-definition (Rhee 2005:7). Christians in the last two millennia have wrestled to define and live out their Christian identities in the changing contexts of culture, time and space. In this age of globalization and post-modern world, this question of Christian identity is all the more poignant and complex” (Rhee 2010:1). 

She goes on to say that “From a religious perspective, Christians have affirmed, with an uncompromising rejection of polytheistic worship, the exclusive worship of the one true God as the creator and redeemer (monotheism) like the adherents of Judaism and (later) Islam and unlike most of the people in antiquity; but unlike the believers of Judaism and Islam, Christians have also affirmed Jesus as divine as revealed in the Bible (New Testament in particular). Christians of varying convictions in history and today more or less agree that the Bible holds a certain special (revelatory) status and authority, which distinguishes itself as somethingmore than a depository of human religious projection or wisdom. And Jesus revealed in the Bible is more than a great moral teacher; he is a unique figure, the Son of God, Messiah, and Savior of the world, however his self-claim is interpreted…” (Rhee 2010:1). 

After analyzing the “exponential growth” of Christianity in the non-Western/North American “Southern” hemisphere (Asia, Africa and Latin America) and the serious decline in the traditional Western world, except the US, and the impact that it has in redefining the issues of Christian identity today, she argues how “this appreciation leads to Christian pluralism and diversity that acknowledges the role of particular culture and society in shaping Christian identities while upholding the unifying “core” of Christian faith across every culture…” (Rhee 2010:6). 

“However, --she concludes—each particular experience of the core or center (Bible/Jesus) would not be the normative experience on par with the biblical revelation. In other words, African experience of Jesus is just as valid as European experience of Jesus; Asian experience of Jesus is just as authentic as American experience of Jesus. Therefore, ‘cultural particularities are ‘situations’ in which Christian people receive and give theological shape to the gospel. No such situation constitutes a privileged cultural context as such’ (Mouw & Griffioen 1993:156–157). What is rather normative for all of those diverse experiences would be their accountability to the center or the core – how they interpret, experience and relate to Jesus revealed in Scripture in their own local contexts. In this sense, the particular cultural appropriation of the Christian center – the Bible and Jesus in the Bible – is essential to global experiences and expressions of Christianity; in turn, it is the “universal” center that preserves the value and necessity of contextual pluralism. In fact, only in light of such “center,” those diverse expressions 

of Christianity can make legitimate claim of validity and authenticity” (cf. Mouw & Griffioen 1993:147) (Rhee 2010:7). 

Another interesting article, in the same Dictionary of Contemporary Thought, mentioned above, is called Other, written by P. Laín Entralgo and M. Moreno Villa, which will help us to further reflect more specifically on our Christian identity. 

The authors say that only with Christianity influenced by the worldview and anthropology of Israel will emerge the question of its existence, although it was not understood primarily as an intellectual problem, but basically ethical and relational (Laín & Moreno 1997:860). For Levinas, the meaning of being can only beachieved in relation to the other. Yahweh challenged Abraham making a covenant with him and talked to Moses "face to face" (panim el panim). Or "Where is Abel your brother?" (Gen. 4:9) "Here the dyadic relationship gives way to a third party, me and you, opens to the other of the two" (Laín & Moreno 1997:861).The two basic positions arising in relation to the Other is its recognition or acknowledgement and our relationship to him or her in multiple ways, which is not accidental, but constitutive of the being as a person. 

“For the Christian thinkers –they write—the other human being is a corporealspiritual being, a person created by God out of nothing, within which beat the first fruits of the Spirit (Rom. 8:23), which allows him or her to realize that God is their Father, their brother (Christ) and their life-giving Love (the Spirit), and that invites for friendship and to share their own life, since the personal God (in the Old Testament), revealed as tri-personal (in the New Testament, by the work of Christ), call the human beings as the other” (Laín & Moreno 1997:861). 

The Other is mis-treated (or mistakenly treated) as an object, the person is understood as "it" and not as "you", with whom I can have an encounter (Buber). The authors then mention several wrong understandings in relationships, namely, to consider the other as: a) an obstacle, b) an instrument, c) nothing. It is better to see the other as a beloved person, in constant love. 

The Jewish author Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) has written many books on this topic, and Professor Adolfo Ham summarizes his thoughts through the following points:

a. The relation with the Other is realized because I desire it. In the midst of my joys I find a face, which limits my freedom and questions my being, it challenges me.

b. The other one will always be the Other. He/she will always send me to the Other and to a Third one.

c. This relation is painful because it questions my ipsitas (my selfhood). This moment of the encounter is the pain of the pangs of birth, which we have to suffer in order to receive freedom in an original way.

d. Often times the Other is the orphan, the widow, the foreigner. We have to live the experience of Abraham, to open our doors to receive the strangers, the beggars who knock at my door. In this 

way the other is my neighbor, specially that one who needs the most. We can note that this other person takes us to the Other (God) (Ham 2010:4). 

We have to admit –and I deliberately mention this here, acknowledging your efforts on this regard-- that the feminist theology has a lot to teach us on this issue of relating to others. In reference to this, one of our outstanding theologians in Latin America, our Brazilian friend Ivone Gebara says: “What we women want is the valuation of our humanity. It is not an abstract and universal statement, but something we have to live and renew every day of our lives. And for that we must be able to turn first to the materiality of our world, i.e. to or our physical reality which includes embracing the differences between genders, ethnicities, cultures, ages and the interconnection and interdependence of all things. It is not a superficial recognition but something which is expressed in the capacity to approach the other, similar and different from me. For this we need to mutually educate each other to listen without prejudice, without wanting to assimilate the experience of others into our own, without reducing the other to our idea about himself or herself. In general patriarchal religions are dogmatic and fundamentalists, and exclude those who do not speak the same language or do not have the same history, which is a way of affirming and defending their own truth” (Gebara 2011:76). 

“In a world where one of the most used words is diversity, --concludes Ivone—we feel that in many churches and theologies, it is a simply a rhetoric word, without any real impact on our behavior and relationships. We continue with an individualistic androcentrism and anthropocentrism to the extent of forgetting the message of the Gospel of Jesus which is to "love one another as ourselves” … This situation invites us again and again to want to learn from each other, to listen and to live tenderness and compassion among us. To abandon theological sexism is an attempt to get out of the many imperialisms that dominate us. It is about taking small steps to build relationships that allow us to feel today, and particularly today, our call for freedom. It is not much, but it's something along the lines of our common responsibility to build each day a world where all can be included” (Gebara 2011:76).  

At this point, I would like to offer three examples or expressions of Christian Identityin order to better illustrate these concepts: 

1. The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches which confess the Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior according to the scriptures and therefore seek to fulfill together their common calling to the glory of the one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. The Global Christian Forum creates an open space wherein representatives from a broad range of Christian churches and interchurch organizations, which confess the triune God and Jesus Christ as perfect in His divinity and humanity, can gather to foster mutual respect, to explore and address together common challenges.

3. The International Union of Superiors General provides an international forum where superiors general of institutes of religious Catholic women can share experiences, exchange information and mentor one another in their role as leaders. Its mission is to build bridges that span distances, 

borders and boundaries in order to create ways for members to be in communication, in community and in communion. 

4. Christian Identity through Confession and Discipleship 

Having shared all these rich insights, let’s come back to the two questions regarding Jesus' identity in our text according to Saint Luke. Further reflecting on this passage, R. Alan Culpepper notes the following: “At this point in the Gospel, partial answers and proleptic references are giving way to definitive statements ofJesus' identity as the Son of God. Jesus' question to the disciples is an existential query that every reader of the Gospel must answer sooner or later: "who do you say that I am?" Repeatedly the disciples and others around Jesus had asked one another who Jesus was. Jesus now turns the question back on the disciples. He did not ask who he was but who they believed him to be. Beyond the question of identity is the issue of confession (Culpepper 1995:203).

Peter gave the best answer he knew, the highest confession he could imagine, but it wasn't enough. On the one hand, it failed to see the struggle and sacrifice that lay before Jesus; on the other hand, it wasn't enough because it failed to recognize the sacrifice and demand that would be required of any who confessed Jesus to be the Christ (Culpepper 1995:203). 

The questions that mean most in life may be the questions of identity and relationship. “Who are you?" "Who is God?" "What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?" What do our answers to these questions mean for our values, priorities, and commitments? The answers to these questions, however, are not strictly cognitive, rational, or intellectual. They usually emerge from experience and require a commitment of life. We answer these questions by the way we live. Peter may have been partially right about who Jesus was, but he was completely wrong about what following Jesus would mean for him. Jesus was on his way to a cross, not a throne, and those who followed him must be ready to follow him on this road of obedience to God's redemptive will and sacrifice for the salvation of others (Culpepper 1995:203). 

Those who preach a cheap grace or a gospel of ‘health and wealth’ not only offer false promises, but also they preach a false gospel. Discipleship and lordship are always interrelated. When we offer false assurances, and teach a cross-less discipleship, we proclaim a distorted Christology. On the other hand, when we preach a crucified Christ, the only authentic response is for one to give up all other pursuits that might compromise one's commitment and devote oneself completely to the fulfillment of the Kingdom tasks for which Jesus gave his own life. The nature of our discipleship always reflects our understanding of Jesus' lordship (Culpepper 1995:203).

Discipleship is also a continuing process. That means first that however lofty our understanding or obedient be our discipleship, most of us are probably not far from Peter—confessing but failing to grasp the implication of our confession; understanding, but only in part; following Jesus, but maintaining our own aspirations and ambitions also. The present tense verbs of the sayings on discipleship should, therefore, not be overlooked. We might paraphrase: "lf you want to continue following me, deny yourself now and take up the cross every day, and keep

on following me." What net profit is there if having gained everything you lose your own life? (Culpepper 1995: 203). 

There are many impulses in life. One is the impulse to acquire, take, hoard, own, and protect. Another is the impulse to give and to serve'. One assumes that each of us can be the Lord of our own lives and that our security and fulfillment depend on our ability to provide for ourselves. The other confesses the sovereignty of God and devotes life to the fulfillment of God's redemptive will in delivering and empowering others, establishing justice and peace, tearing down barriers, reconciling persons, and creating communities. Those who devote themselves to these tasks confess that the true fulfillment of life is to be found in the service of Christ and that our only security is in him (Culpepper 1995:203-204). 

There is a further truth hidden in the contrast between the present and the future in the coming Son of Man sayings. In the context of teachings on discipleship, the emphasis is not on the coming Son of Man but on the truth that the way we live in the present determines our relationship to the Lord in the future. We are becoming who we shall be. Who we say Jesus is now determines what he will say of us in the future. How we answer the question “Who do you say I am?” through our day-to-day discipleship is the only answer that matters—but everything depends on that answer (Culpepper 1995:204).  

Jesus accepts his Messianic mission to the community. God chose Jesus as the Messiah of Israel, but the choice did not mean Jesus was to remain on the sideline with the people he was to serve. Similarly in the Church and the Christian community, vocation is a true call from God to serve the people. All vocation, charisma and service, must be intended for the community, particularly those in need. As a matter of fact, a concrete example and expression of a discipleship which serves the community, affirming an authentic lordship of our Master, is what you carryout in your different ministries, according to your UISG Directions, namely to:

• Address at every level the abuse and sexual exploitation of women and children, with particular attention to the trafficking of women.

• Promote the education and formation of women by committing personnel and financial resources to ensure the holistic development of women at every stage of life.

• Work for the cancellation of the International debt.

• The creation of a culture of peace.

• End the destructive behavior that causes global warming and climate change and threatens all forms of life on our planet.

5. Christian Identity and Spirituality

Another critical aspect of our Christian identity is our Spirituality. According to the text of St. Luke that we have been studying, just before Jesus raises the question on his identity, the author 

says that he “was praying alone”. Many other passages of the Gospels refer to this practice, particularly in critical moments like this one, when Jesus is preparing himself for his way to the cross. Earlier in our paper we mentioned how important it was for St. Luke to state the spiritual context of the confession, rather than mentioning the geographical location, as a way of highlighting the fact that Jesus does not work alone, but rather in communion with his heavenly Father.

In today’s secular and consumerist world, as we confess Jesus as “The Messiah of God”, we are urged to deepen our spirituality, rooted in our Christian faith, which is “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Heb. 11:1). This enables us to see beyond the “natural” world, in order to “hope against hope” (Rom. 4:18). It equips us with a vision for a discipleship, which empowers us to work for and to see “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), providing a certainty that even when we don’t know what the future holds, we know for sure Who holds the future. This indeed providesdynamos, a unique inspiration to work for a better and more just world that other initiatives do not have. 

In our mainline “historical churches” in general we need to further acknowledge the importance of Pneumatology, i.e. to explore more on the role of the Spirit who empowers. In the Bible, the Hebrew term for the Spirit is ruah. Its first meaning, and that of its Latin translation spiritus, is "breath”. It refers to the breath of God as the power that gives life to the creatures (cf. Ps 104:29-30). It appears as a manifestation of God's dynamism that is communicated to creatures. The word is also known in the New Testament as the paraclete (Jn. 14:16.26; 15:26; 16:7), where it may be translated into English as counsellor, helper, encourager, facilitator, inspirer, advocate, or comforter and the early church identified it as the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5.8; 2:4.38). Saint Paul says in Romans 8:26: “The Spirit helps us in our weakness”. 

There is an important relationship between spirituality and ecumenism as well. This has been underscored by Cardinal Walter Kasper, former head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, in his Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism, published in 2007, which has provided fresh insights on this important topic. In an effort to summarize his main points, regarding Spiritual Ecumenism, I would like to share the following: (1) It is significant that when Jesus expressed his desire for unity, he did not do so in a teaching or in a commandment to his disciples, but rather in a prayer to his Father (Jn. 17:21). Unity is a gift from above, stemming from and growing toward loving communion with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; (2) Prayer for unity is the royal door of ecumenism: it leads Christians to look at the Kingdom of God and the unity of the Church in a fresh way; it deepens their bonds of communion; and it enables them to courageously face painful memories, social burdens and human weakness; (3) Spiritual ecumenism also requires a “change of heart and holiness of life”, arising from Jesus’ call to conversion. The way toward reconciliation and communion unfolds when Christians feel the painful wound of division in their hearts, in their minds and in their prayers. Only in the context of conversion and renewal of mind can the wounded bonds of communion be healed. 

And (4) Spiritual ecumenism, concludes cardinal Kasper, is called “the soul of the whole ecumenical movement”. According to the Second Vatican Council, the ecumenical movement has been brought about “under the inspiring grace of the Holy Spirit”. It is a spiritual process, carried out in faithful obedience to the Father, following the will of Christ, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The work of ecumenism, therefore, is rooted in the foundations of Christian spirituality, requiring more than ecclesial diplomacy, academic dialogue, social involvement and pastoral cooperation. It presupposes a real appreciation of the many elements of sanctification and truth wrought by the Holy Spirit both within and beyond the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church (Kasper 2007). 

On this pertinent theme, our beloved brother, the Dominican friar from Brazil, Frei Betto, said in an interview: “My spirituality is centred on the example of Jesus. I am impassioned by his testimony and example. But I also feel spiritually enriched with other contributions, especially that of Buddhism. I think that the Catholic Church is very poor in respect to meditation for reasons that I am still studying. It has severely persecuted its mystics throughout history. For me, spirituality is the language of the future. I give a lot of time to this, because I don't believe that humanity will find a new path without diving deeply in spirituality. In other words, what people are searching for is very close to them, but they don't know it” (Betto 1998:1). 

And Betto expressed later in the interview: “Spirituality is not for the satisfaction of my ego. Spirituality gives one the capacity to love others more, especially those who are most needy. Jesus identified himself with the poorest people, so I believe that it is fundamental for spiritualists to see in the poor, in the oppressed, the true presence of God. For my spiritual liberation, for my realization, it is necessary that I love those around me. Subjectively I cannot judge anyone, but objectively I find no value in a spirituality that does not rise to the liberation of the oppressed. I believe in a spirituality that returns to make the entire world a place of harmony and fraternity. And this means a fight against injustice” (Betto 1998:2). 

I believe that Spirituality is not limited to our participation in specific spiritual practices (prayer, Bible reading, praise), it is, rather to receive through them and through other means, the necessary discernment of the Spirit in order to read accurately the signs of the times, to exercise a liberating witness as a result of our relationship of dialogue with the God of life, the God of the poor and of those excluded and who suffer. Paraphrasing the Swiss Reformed theologian Karl Bath, who suggested that to be faithful witnesses to the Gospel, we ought to hold the Bible in one hand and newspaper in the other;spirituality is the bridge that inspires us to carry out an authentic discipleship that is connected both withthe Biblical text and the context where we serve. 

Spirituality, from a Christian perspective is an endeavour to live in obedience to the gospel of Jesus Christ, in other words, it means discipleship. "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked his first disciples. The response to that question is the disciple's spirituality in living a life consistent with the Gospels. 

Here, at the end of this segment, I would like to share a final concern, expressed through some questions: ¿How is it possible to live an authentic spirituality when we, Jesus’ disciples, exclude each other from the Lord’s Table? How is it possible for us to proclaim, work and struggle towards a more inclusive world, where women, children, disabled people, persons surviving in the margins of society are excluded, when in many cases we prevent each other from participating in the sacrament of the “Holy Comm-union”? How is it possible that our confessional (and other) differences interfere in our sharing at the Table?

6. Religious plurality and Christian Self Understanding

Another very important and relevant reality of how our Christian identity is shaped vis-à vis the other is through interreligious relations and dialogue. In fact the main focus of the WCC’s work in this area is to reflect and act upon the Christian Self-Understanding in a world of religious plurality, in other words, to further understand how our own Christian identity is re-shaped or re-imagined as we relate to brothers and sisters of other faith. Many ecumenical consultations and initiatives have been organized with helpful and powerful inputs from the Roman Catholic and other traditions. 

A document, published in February 2006, under the title Religious Plurality and Christian Self-Understanding was the result of a study process in response tosuggestions made in 2002 at the WCC central committee to the three staff teams on Faith and Order, Inter-religious Relations, and Mission and Evangelism, and their respective commissions or advisory bodies. Relevant to our theme are paragraphs 42 and 43 where we read: “… Hospitality requires Christians to accept others as created in the image of God, knowing that God may talk to us though others to teach and transform us, even as God may use us to transform others” … “The biblical narrative and experiences in the ecumenical ministry show that such mutual transformation is at the heart of authentic Christian witness. Openness to the “other” can change the “other”, even as it can change us. It may give others new perspectives on Christianity and on the gospel; it may also enable them to understand their own faith from new perspectives. Such openness, and the transformation that comes from it, can in turn enrich our lives in surprising ways” (WCC 2006:16). 

The document goes on to say in paragraph 45 that: “Extending such hospitality is dependent on a theology that is hospitable to the “other”. Our reflections on the nature of the biblical witness to God, what we believe God to have done in Christ, and the work of the Spirit shows that at the heart of the Christian faith lies an attitude of hospitality that embraces the “other” in their otherness. It is this spirit that needs to inspire the theology of religions in a world that needs healing and reconciliation. And it is this spirit that may also bring about our solidarity with all who, irrespective of their religious beliefs, have been pushed to the margins of society” (WCC 2006:17). 

In our WCC 9th Assembly, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, on February 2006, one of the plenary sessions was devoted precisely to the topic “Christian identity and religious plurality”. The keynote presenter was The Most Rev. Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most 

senior bishop in the established church in England and the leader of the Anglican Communion around the world. Among other thoughts, this is what he had to say: “…Our calling to faithfulness, remember, is an aspect of our own identity and integrity. To work patiently alongside people of other faiths is not an option invented by modern liberals who seek to relativize the radical singleness of Jesus Christ and what was made possible through him. It is a necessary part of being where he is; it is a dimension of ‘liturgy', staying before the presence of God and the presence of God's creation (human and non-human) in prayer and love. If we are truly learning how to be in that relation with God and the world in which Jesus of Nazareth stood, we shall not turn away from those who see from another place. And any claim or belief that we see more or more deeply is always rightly going to be tested in those encounters where we find ourselvesworking for a vision of human flourishing and justice in the company of those who do not start where we have started” (Williams 2006:5). 

And he concluded with these words: “The question of Christian identity in a world of plural perspectives and convictions cannot be answered in clichés about the tolerant co-existence of different opinions. It is rather that the nature of our conviction as Christians puts us irrevocably in a certain place, which is both promising and deeply risky, the place where we are called to show utter commitment to the God who is revealed in Jesus and to all those to whom his invitation is addressed. Our very identity obliges us to active faithfulness of this double kind. We are not called to win competitions or arguments in favour of our ‘product' in some religious marketplace” (Williams 2006:6). 

Important to mention here as well are the interfaith gatherings in Assisi, called by the Holly Fathers. In the most recent one, the “Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world” on 27 October 2011, hosted by Pope Benedict XVI, the general secretary WCC, Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit said: “We are here to let the conversion of Francis speak to us and to let the conversation between us become a source for justice and peace. There is more to win through the respect for the other. A sustainable peace requires that there is a space, a safe and secure space, not only for me but also for the other. Christians are reminded that the cross is not for crusades but a sign of how God’s love embraces everybody, also the other” (Tveit 2011).

Conclusions 

Already near the end of Jesus' ministry in Galilee, it is obvious that his fame has spread throughout the region, however, Jesus still raises some questions related to the perception or public opinion people have in relation to his identity: have the crowds who have seen and heard him, really understood who he is ultimately? All of those who have heard him, where are they and what are they doing? To what extent have his message and signs influenced them? What is the answer of the twelve? Peter responds on behalf of them, “Jesus is the Messiah of God”, the Anointed One. But the direct question is also questioning us today. Twenty one centuries of Jesus’ history and of Christianity, and yet, we, his believers and followers continue to confuse and mix-up his identity, his message and his work.  

This story from St. Luke testifies to the tension between the idea (hope) of human beings and the power of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Human beings may fall in the temptation to make the victorious Messiah features absolute, interpreting him as a Lord who wins the battle of life and destroys enemy powers (identified with our personal enemies). However, God manifests his presence through the journey of Jesus’ faithfulness to humanity and to creation, and only through this loyalty, by accepting suffering and death, hope acquires its full sense (i.e. the resurrection) (González 1976:1305-1306). 

I would like to end my presentation by summarizing and highlighting some criticalpoints: 

1. Our identity is always defined in relation to the other. As human beings we are not individual islands, rather our identity or “sameness”, relates to affinities and affiliations, to forms of belonging, to experiences of commonality, connectedness and cohesion. Our self understandings and self identifications are informed and transformed by our relationship to the “other”. Issues of permanence amidst manifest change over time, and ofunity amidst diversity are critical as well.

2. More specifically, Christians are those whose identity is shaped by the effort to faithfully depend on the Other (God) and to confess and follow His son, Jesus Christ, as a unique figure, the Son of God, Messiah, and Savior of the world, according the revelation in the Bible. Christian identity is“contextualized and contingent”.

3. Beyond the question of identity is the issue of confession. In the text of St. Luke, Peter gave the best answer he knew, the highest confession he could imagine, but it wasn't enough. He both failed to see the struggle and sacrifice that lay before Jesus and to recognize the sacrifice and demand that would be required of any who confessed Jesus to be the Christ. We are called not only to confess the Messiah, but also to be faithful disciples and the nature of our discipleship always reflects our understanding of Jesus' lordship. Discipleship is moved by the impulse to give and to serve, devoting life to the fulfillment of God's Kingdom and redemptive will in delivering and empowering others, establishing justice, peace and integrity of creation, tearing down barriers, embracing people, and creating reconciling and healing communities.

According to Saint Luke, just after Peter’s confession, Jesus sternly ordered and commanded his disciples not to tell anyone, saying, ‘The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised’ (vv. 21-22). Therefore, the title Messiah indicates that the history of humankind reaches its fullness in Jesus. But, at the same time, we need to complete it by the expression "Son of Man", which in this context, shows the same God who has descended, who has emptied himself, walks with human beings and takes their suffering, transfiguring it from within (González 1976:1305-1306).

4. Christian Identity is closely linked to Spirituality. Authentic spirituality means, “to have God within” (Leonardo Boff); to acknowledge, as St. Paul proclaimed at the Areopagus, that in God “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28). It means to hear the voice of God who says: “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 49:10), it implies to realize God's presence in our lives and 

discover peace, the strength of the Holy Spirit who gives to those who ask, in open silence. Spirituality assures the conviction that all pain, violence and confusion we have ever known, through an encounter with Jesus Christ we are healed, uplifted and renewed to garner strength, in order to open hearts to truth, to justice, peace in God'screated whole. Our brothers and sisters in the Global South experience this in their daily lives, which is why they live and practice a joyful faith and praise God with all their hearts and minds. Not long ago I read a sign in San José, Costa Rica expressing this feeling: “Don’t tell God you have a great problem, tell the problem you have a great God!” Authentic spirituality, as well, prepares us to serve in the Lord’s Table, the banquet of the Kingdom, where no one is excluded.

5. In the modern ecumenical movement we deal with these issues of unity amidst diversity daily, seeking to foster “visible unity” and a “reconciled diversity” among the Christian traditions and communities, but also seeking unity beyond the churches, in a fragmented world. The relation should be mediated by mutual respect and love. Jesus calls us to “love our neighbours as ourselves” (Mat. 19:19). “Love is what matters” (St. Francis of Assisi).

6. Religious plurality and Christian-Self Understanding. Our reflections on the nature of the biblical witness to God, what we believe God to have done in Christ, and the work of the Spirit shows that at the heart of the Christian faith lays an attitude of hospitality that embraces the “other” in their otherness. It is this spirit that needs to inspire the theology of religions in a world that needs healing and reconciliation. Of course, we acknowledge that the issue is not easy. For example, how Peter’s confession: “The Messiah of God” would be interpreted today by brothers and sisters of the Jewish or by the Muslim, or by other religious traditions? 

In conclusion we can state: a) only when the prospects of the Messiah of hope and of the Son of Man, who assumes the suffering of history, are considered together, as an inseparable unit, a valid picture of Jesus is achieved. b) Therefore, accepting Jesus is not simply confessing him, together with Peter, as the Messiah; it is necessary to follow him in his journey of fidelity, in the midst of suffering and death (González 1976:1305-1306). As Jesus said, according to the recollection of St. Luke, just a couple of verses after the passage we have been analyzing: “…If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it” (Lk. 9:23-24). 

May the blessing of God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, be with you all, now and ever. Amen.

Bibliographical References

Betto, F. (1998). Spirituality and Social Justice: A Dialogue with the yoga monk Dada Maheshananda. Published in New Renaissance, Vol. 7, No. 3.http://www.ru.org/spirituality/spirituality-and-social-justice-a-dialogue.html 

Gogol, E. (2004). El concepto del otro en la liberación latinoamericana, Bogotá, Ediciones Desde Abajo. 

González, A. et. al (1976). Comentarios a la Biblia Litúrgica. Libros de la Comunidad. Nuevo Testamento. Ediciones Paulinas, Marova, Regina, Verbo Divino.Madrid. 

Keck, L.E. et. al (1995). The New Interpreter’s Bible, Abingdon Press, Nashville, 1995. Vol. IX. Culpepper, R.A. Luke Commentary. 

Ham, A. (2010). Enmanuel Levinas (1906-1995). El Reclamo del Otro. Summary of a course of philosophy. 

Kasper, W. (2007). A Handbook of Spiritual Ecumenism. New City Press, NY. 

Lieu, J.M. (2004). Christian identity in the Jewish and Greco-Roman world. Oxford University Press. 

Moreno, M. et al (1997). Diccionario del Pensamiento Contemporáneo, San Pablo. Articles: Díaz, C. Alteridad and Laín Entralgo, P. & Moreno Villa, M. Other. 

Mouw, R.J., & Griffioen, S. (1993). Pluralism and horizons. Grand Rapids, MI: Eedmans. 

Quintero, M. (2011). Mi vocación más fuerte ha sido la ecuménica. Artículos yensayos en honor a Adolfo Ham. CLAI, Quito, Ecuador. Gebara, I. Adolfo Ham y lateología feminista. 

Religious Plurality and Christian Self-Understanding (2006). WCC.  http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/porto-alegre-2006/3-preparatory-and-background-documents/religious-plurality-and-christian-selfunderstanding.html 

Rhee, H. (2005). Early Christian literature: Christ and culture in the second and third centuries. London and New York: Toutledge. 

Rhee, H. (2010). Christian Identity. Article in pdf. 

Tveit, O.V. (2011). WCC.http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/generalsecretary/speeches/interfaith-peace-meeting-in-assisi.html 

Williams, R. (2006). WCC.http://www.oikoumene.org/en/resources/documents/assembly/porto-alegre-2006/2-plenary-presentations/christian-identity-religious-plurality/rowan-williamspresentation.html