As a cradle Catholic, it is easy to fall into the mode of thinking that there is not more to learn, that all wisdom has been imparted, and that all that is left is daily application. But there is always more we can learn about our faith, and there are always more ways our Catholic faith can help us to grow. Never was there a more influential, different and altogether essential figure in history than Jesus.
Christ’s life was from every other person who ever lived. Fulton Sheen says that “History is full of men who have claimed they came from God.” It is obvious, if for nothing else because of their contradictory messages, that not all of these man are making a true claim. Fulton Sheen says that we are given means (“reason and history”) to test the validity of these godly claims. That is to say, our reason should help us test the validity and honesty of the claimant. History too: if someone claiming to be God and that He has come to save the world, his coming should be foretold. Just as an ambassador who goes to a foreign country has his arrival preannounced, so should someone claiming to be God. In every case but one, the person in question seems to be making a false claim. The lone claimant whose claims are valid is Jesus of Nazarath. Fulton Sheen points out that the Old Testament prophecies the coming of a savior. He is the only person who claimed divinity whose coming was foretold. The Testament also goes into vivid detail describing the events of the savior’s life: “Scripture describes Him as “the Lamb slain as it were, from the beginning of the world.” He was slain in intention by the first sin and rebellion against God. Jesus’ sacrifice—His death—became necessary when man first abandoned God and needed to atone for His sin. Because only Jesus could make this sacrifice, he must live, just so that he might die. “The story of every human life begins with birth and ends with death. In the Person of Christ, however, it was His death that was first and His life that was last.” Christ lived that He might suffer and die, all so that we might finally be free of suffering and of death.
