“God who
infinitely loves every man and woman and has revealed this love fully in Jesus
Christ, crucified for us and risen in our lives” (n. 64).
This is the
papal kerygma. It is a message of love manifested in Jesus Christ
who died and rose and lives in us. This is all biblically right, though
selective at best, flawed at worst. There is no reference to sin, the need for
repentance and faith, salvation in Christ alone, God’s holiness and
righteousness in salvation and judgement, and the biblical framework of the
Christian faith. Francis’ gospel is a proclamation of a divine love that falls
on all and is already in all. While it contains elements of the gospel, it is
not the biblical gospel. Jesus’s kerygma was “The kingdom of
God is at hand: repent and believe in the gospel” (e.g. Mark 1:15). Here God’s
action (i.e. his Kingdom) and man’s lostness (i.e. our need to repent) are
explicitly stated and interwoven. The need to believe in the gospel is also
essential and that implies a transition, a conversion on our part. Without it
we are lost and continue to be lost. Unlike the Pope’s truncated message, this
is the biblical kerygma.
From VaticanFiles.
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