Christocentrism of Charism – Buggert - CarmelStream

through contemporary historical-critical methods. Nor does he
spell out the social and political consequences of this historical
Jesus. Hence his more speculative, anthropological Christology
needs to be complemented by a consideration of the historical
Jesus, his words and deeds and their socio-political consequences.
Because Rahner's theology often fails to take seriously
the concrete, specific details of history and to spell out the
socio-political consequences of the Gospel, it has been accused
of being somewhat privatized and spiritualized, that is, it is
concerned more with the individual and its authentic self-actualization
than with the historical, societal and communal aspects
of human existence and their transformation. The same criticisms
could be raised regarding the spirituality of Teresa and John.
This world, with its oppressive socio-economic structures, and
the liberation of history from all forms of oppression and
injustice were not central themes for them. Nor could we expect
them to be. It is only in our day, perhaps because of Karl Marx
himself, that there has been a rediscovery of biblical eschatology
and its significance for a "worldly" Christianity and hence a
"worldly" following of Christ. However, it is important to note
that even today we have much to learn from Teresa and John and
the inner liberation of which they speak, a liberation which is
essential for those who are committed to liberating those who are
in any way socially or economically oppressed, for the enemy, the
roaring lion, is not only "out there," as Marx and others have
shown. It is also "within" as Paul, Augustine, Albert of Jerusalem,
Freud, Paul Ricoeur and others have shown. Concerning the
importance of Teresa and John for a contemporary "liberation"
theology and spirituality, see Segundo Galilea, The Future of Our
Past (Notre Dame, IN: Ave Maria Press, 1985), pp. 25-43. On the
relation between liberating praxis and contemplation, see my own
article, "Liberation Theology: Praxis and Contemplation," Carmelus,
34 (1987): 3-58.
clv. Rediscovering the Teaching of Jesus (New York: Harper and
Row, 1967), p. 54. See also Joachim Jeremias, New Testament
Theology: The Proclamation of Jesus, trans. John Bowden (New
York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1971), p. 96 (Kingdom as the
central theme of the public proclamation of Jesus); Edward
Schillebeeckx, Jesus: An Experiment in Christology, trans. Hubert
Hoskins (New York: Seabury Press, 1979), p. 140 (Kingdom as basic
impulse behind the message and preaching of Jesus); Sobrino,
Jesus in Latin America, p. 84 (The ultimate for Jesus is the
Kingdom of God); Meier, "Jesus," p. 1320 (Kingdom as the basic
message of Jesus).
clvi. As Sobrino and other liberation theologians point out, not
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