Examining the infancy narratives

As a seminarian, each year we formulate a formation plan through certain formation goals. There are four formation pillars: human, pastoral, intellectual and spiritual. One of my goals in the spiritual pillar is to develop a deeper sense of who Christ is, to better emulate Him. Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) wrote a trilogy on Christ’s life. In this Advent and Christmas season, I chose to focus on his last book, The Infancy Narratives: Jesus of Nazareth, to start my quest to better understand the life of Christ; I would like to share a summary and my reflection with you.

In the first chapter, Ratzinger focuses on the genealogies of Christ in the Gospels. It focuses on the theological and symbolic meaning: by placing Jesus in history and His true ordering as a new beginning of our salvation history. He focuses on John’s Gospel heavily, as he deems this to have the deepest meaning, he states: “So John has recapitulated the deepest meaning of the genealogies and moreover he has taught us to understand them as an interpretation of our origin—our true genealogy.”

Chapter two focuses on the annunciation of the birth of John the Baptist and Jesus. He examines the dialogue between Mary and the Archangel Gabriel in Luke’s Gospel. Cardinal Ratzinger explains that through Mary, God seeks to renew the world; to free man from sin, God needed free obedience to His will. His power is tied to the “yes” of a human-Mary. It is because of Mary’s, “yes,” the history of salvation can begin. Ratzinger utilizes scripture throughout the chapter, albeit the whole book to highlight his points. My favorite passage of this chapter, as it teaches the importance of scripture, “There is a reciprocal relationship between the interpretation of the word of God and the interpretation of history: The word of God teaches that salvation history, universal in scope, is present within the events. For their part, the events themselves unlock the word of God and manifest the true reality hidden within the texts.”

Ratzinger highlights the mysteries and historical aspects of the event that took place in Bethlehem; the birth of Christ, in chapter three. He additionally reviews Jesus’ early life with a focus on his baptism and circumcision. He concentrates on the historical conditions surrounding Christ’s life under the rule of the Roman emperor Augustus. He illuminated that the peace of Augustus is nowhere comparable to the peace Jesus was to bring, however, Pax Christi is not necessarily opposed to Pax Augusti. How true does this pertain to the United States with all our freedoms and relative peace, yet it still pales in comparison to the freedom found in Christ. 

Ratzinger summarizes, “God is love. But love can also be hated when it challenges us to transcend ourselves. It is not a romantic good feeling. Redemption is not wellness, it is not about basking in self-indulgence; on the contrary, it is liberation from imprisonment in self-absorption. This liberation comes at a price: the anguish of the Cross. The prophecy of light and that of the Cross belong together.”

The wise men from the east take center stage in chapter four. They gazed upon the star of the king of the Jews, to take flight to adore Christ. Pope Benedict paradoxically used the figures of the wise men through the lenses of historical, linguistic, and even science, to highlight the inner unrest of man’s constant search for the truth. Ratzinger points out that, “If these wise men, led by the star to search for the king of the Jews, represents the movement of the gentiles toward Christ, this implies that the cosmos speaks of Christ, even though its language is not yet fully intelligible to man in his present state.

Joseph Ratzinger expertly, through historical and biblical resources, defines the narratives of Jesus’ infancy and boyhood, and highlights that they are relevant even in today’s world. I came to understand that Christ did not live in some abstract omniscience, but He was rooted in a concrete place and time. He thought and learned just like you and me. He became man to fully understand and to redeem man. What a great sign of Love!

Johns is studying for the Diocese of Bismarck at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis in the second year of Theology.