a)  Christ as Prophet

The historical Christ was the central figure in the long list of God's prophets who have assumed such a vital role throughout the course of salvation history. As Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah and the rest of the Old Testament prophets were the spokesmen for Yahweh, so most perfectly is Christ the spokesman for His Father. A prophet, then, in terms of salvation history is a specially commissioned teacher sent by God to His People. What is the task of the prophet? His role is in some way to reveal God and God's plan for man's salvation and sanctification.

    Christ accomplished the task of the prophet in an eminently perfect manner. Through His unique words of wisdom He made a deep impression upon His hearers: "Jesus had now finished what he wanted to say, and his teaching made a deep impression on the people because he taught them with authority, and not like their own scribes." (Mt 7:28-29). Through this teaching Christ gradually revealed the nature of God. He revealed this nature, not only as It is in Itself, but also as It is in Its relationship to men. Above all, He taught men the love and mercy which their Heavenly Father has for them. He did this in a manner which was radically adapted to their understanding, using the language and mode of speech which was familiar to them. Through the use of the most simple story Christ would often bring out the most sublime truths concerning God. His story of the Prodigal Son as given in St. Luke is an exquisite, graphic presentation of the loving and merciful attitude of God toward the repentant sinner.

    Yet Christ did not reveal the Father and the Father's plan only through word. He also did so through His actions. At times the events of His life were a more eloquent revelation than His words. The crucified Christ, as He hangs in silence upon the cross, speaks volumes to the world concerning the love and mercy of God, the justice of God, and the heinousness of sin. In short, it is the total person of Christ in all His words, actions, gestures – in everything – who reveals the Father to men.¹ This revelation of the Father includes within itself God's desire for man's response. For God does not reveal Himself in Christ to man for any empty purpose. God tells us He loves us, that He gives Himself to us in Christ, and that He wants us to respond with a love of our own as we live the way Our Father wants us to live: in Christ, Who is the way, the truth and the life.

    The Church, the People of God, is destined to continue Christ's prophetic, revelatory office.² The most obvious way she does this is through her official teaching mission. Primarily through the pope and the bishops, the Church has the responsibility of continually presenting the message of Christ in a manner which is relevant to the men of various ages. Yet it is not only the pope and the other bishops who accomplish this teaching mission. The theologian, the priest in the pulpit, the teacher of religion and theology, the mother and father educating their children according to the principles of Christ – all such people offer examples of the various ways in which the members of the People of God contribute to the continuation of Christ's prophetic or teaching office.

    There is another manner in which the entire People of God contribute to the Church's teaching mission. The official teachers in the Church, namely the pope and bishops, depend to a considerable extent upon how the Holy Spirit is operating within the entire People of God. The People of God in their universal grasp of matters relating to faith and morals assist the official teachers of the Church in their duty of correctly projecting the truth of Christ to the Church and world. An example of this is contained in the procedure which preceded the definition of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pope Pius XII speaks about this procedure: ". . . We considered it opportune to ask all Our venerable brethren in the episcopate directly and authoritatively, that each of them should make known to Us his mind in a formal statement. Hence, We gave them Our letter 'Deiparae Virginis Mariae', a letter in which these words are contained: 'Do you, Venerable Brethren, in your outstanding wisdom and prudence, judge that the bodily Assumption of the Blessed Virgin can be proposed and defined as a dogma of faith? Do you, with your clergy and people, desire it? ' "³

    Consequently, we see the soundness of the newly discovered dialogue within the Church. The more open are the lines of communication between the pope and the bishops of the world, between bishops and their priests, between priests and their people, between religious superiors and subjects, the better is the possibility that the truth of Christ the teacher will more perfectly permeate the entire life of the People of God, and ultimately the life of the world.

     Through His Incarnation, Christ as man became king over creation. In assuming a human nature, He united to Himself man and also the material creation below man. In the words of Teilhard de Chardin, Christ is the physical center of the Universe.⁶ Through His redemptive sacrifice, which is the culminating act of His Incarnation, Christ strengthened His title as king.

     Christ has redeemed man, and as a consequence of man's redemption, the whole physical universe has been redeemed.⁷ The appropriateness of nonrational creation being redeemed together with man himself is evident. In God's original act of creation He gave man dominion over material creation. This part of creation was meant to serve man in his quest for happiness here and hereafter. With the intrusion of sin into God's creation, man and nonrational creation were both affected. Through his misuse of God's creation by sin, man not only puts disorder into himself, but also into the creation which he misuses.