Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.
Bl. John Duns Scotus (c. 1265-c. 1308), a
Franciscan theologian, taught on the primacy of Christ as the end and goal of
all creation. This is based on St.
Paul’s teaching that God willed and saw and “chose us in [Christ] before the
foundation of the world” (Eph. 1:4). That is, God’s plan and purpose was intended
and willed by God before anything was created, before even time existed. St.
Paul says that Christ is “the head of his body, the Church; He, who is the
beginning, the firstborn of the dead, that in all thing He may have first
place” or be pre-eminent (Col. 1:18).
Christ is pre-eminent to all other created reality.
Fr. Maximilian Mary Dean, FI, in his book,
A Primer on the Absolute Primacy of Christ, says that Bl. Scotus’ teaching is
that “Jesus Christ was absolutely predestined to grace and glory ... and the
elect (both men and angels) were chosen and predestined in Him by an eternal
decree before the universe had been created (cf., Eph. 1:3-6).” Fr. Dean gives the example of an artist who
wants to carve a statute of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The artist first forms
the intention to carve the statute, having an image, a purpose in his mind
first. Only secondly are activities such as obtaining the wood and carving it
performed in time. Scotus says this is the orderly thought processes of
rational persons, including God. God’s eternal thought and intention from His
eternity, “before the foundation of the world” as St. Paul says, was the union
of God the Son to created human flesh and soul. After the creation of time and
the universe, then did God’s plan begin to be implemented and unfold over time.
Thus St. Paul says that Christ came in the “fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4)
because at the time, the coming of God the Son made it the “fullness” of all
time.
So Bl. Scotus teaches that the Incarnation
is the greatest work of God. No other created nature is united to God in the
oneness of Person; all the fullness of God is in Christ (Col. 1:19). Thus,
Jesus Christ has absolute primacy, is most perfectly glorified by God, and
glorifies God. It is God’s intention and plan for intellectual beings – humanity
and angels (Eph 1:10; Heb. 5:9; Col. 1:16) – to be subject to the Lordship and
Kingship of Christ. And – amazing
thought! – those of humanity who are in Christ, because of being one flesh with
Him, are to share in His glory, His oneness with the Father (Jn. 17:22; Eph.4:13; Ro. 8:29).
On this most holy Solemnity we worship Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe!
Dibby Allan Green