There are some books that just have your number. They have the ability to set your imagination on fire. Sometimes it is also a case of timing and a place in your life where you are just more ripe and ready for certain truths. Of course, this does not exclude our asking and seeking and especially not the promise that doors will be opened to those who are knocking, but it is simply wonderful when a word in its time is like good news from a far country. Something in this line struck me again when I looked at old notes of Bryan Hollon's work: Everything is Sacred: Spiritual Exegesis in the Political Theology of Henri de Lubac.
Hollon is actually a first order exponent of De Lubac and shows the astounding relevance of Henri de Lubac's thinking for today. His book brings to light the realization that certain gold ores had not been sufficiently shared. This can especially be a contribution in the field of Hermes where postmodernists are always willing to hear another lecture on the endless postponement of meaning. Not that this book is in this line of thinking. On the contrary. But Hollon does show how De Lubac can close the gap in wonderful ways.
Hollon shows how De Lubac offers the possibility of meaningful answers beyond movements that made the scale swing in a post-secular direction. He gives points for the post-liberal and Radical Orthodox (RO) movements in theology, but he also shows how De Lubac and the Nouvelle Theologie move beyond these notable projects. This discussion will be left for the book itself and only some thoughts will be conveyed that may serve as appetizer and perhaps water for weary bodies that have to face theological deserts.
De Lubac has a particular conception of Christian mysticism. Christian mysticism can only mean one thing and it is union with the Triune God of Christian revelation realized in Christ through His grace (loc. 4205 of 6183). Christian mysticism is therefore always Trinitarian. For De Lubac Christian mysticism is essentially the understanding of the Holy Scriptures. Mystery is the meaning and mysticism is to know the meaning (loc. 4258). Scripture is furthermore the prism through which the Christological unity of the universe is understood. The spiritual exegesis of the Christian scriptures, practiced by the patristic and medieval theologians, serves to illuminate the whole of reality in the light of Christ. For De Lubac, this spiritual exegesis also plays a constitutive role in the Church's participation in the life of the Trinity. Moreover, if this participation in Christ is overlooked, Christian mysticism will fall into natural mysticism. (loc. 4265).
According to De Lubac, the virtually absent exegetical element is the reason why RO cannot really move beyond the speculative deconstruction of secular social life. And Christian mysticism is the understanding of Scripture that proceeds from history to allegory (in Christ), to tropology (morality) in pursuit of the eschatological vision of God (anagogy) (loc. 4429). Allegory, however, is now easily understood as arbitrary spiritualization, but was something quite different in the best dealings of the church fathers. It was the means by which the historical Jesus was seen as the omnipresent Christ and tropology was the way in which the Church could participate in Christ (loc. 4486).
As far as allegory is concerned, spiritual significance is believed to be embedded in history and prophetically inscribed into the facts, and therefore the omnipresence of Christ is assumed. This means that the assumptions of allegorical interpretation were grand. That is, there is an ontological connection between the Old Testament and the Messiah and not merely an extrinsic (outward) agreement. Du Lubac regarded typology as more extrinsic in nature and that it remains on the surface and does not yet fully assume ontological connection. Allegorical meaning unites not only salvation history, but also the Church's presence and future in an ontological bond (loc. 4501). Thus allegorical interpretation of Christ is found throughout the Old Testament, enabling the Church to see Christ everywhere in the present as well (loc. 4534).
A brief look at tropology - the moral implications: After struggling with the text to understand it in its context and then to interpret it in Christ, tropology indicated a way in which Christians could engage in the Divine drama at the moral level (loc. 4624). The anagogy (eschatological dimension) further made sure that the Church would always strive and look forward to the fullness of Christ that will once be there in completion (loc. 4681). And here is a blast:
“For De Lubac the ultimate end of theological science, which is inseparable from biblical exegesis, is a many faceted wisdom, rooted in the virtues through which the church participates in the mission of Jesus. Theological science is for De Lubac a participation in the mind of Christ. Lubac's theological program is intended to show that theology is intrinsically an engagement with secular culture. Theology necessarily entails a confrontation, a struggle with contemporary secularity though, since its ultimate goal is the illumination of all reality in the light of Christ (loc. 4700) ... De Lubac believed that the Church's response to secularization was inadequate because its theological vision was too narrow to speak effectively to the social ills of European civilization. (loc. 5049)."
From all this, it is clear that hermeneutics for De Lubac and Hollon is exceptionally participatory in Christ. To speak in understatement: With this I cannot find much fault. It enables theologians to truly broaden their theological vision in such a way that one feels empowered to enter into the whole of reality with new zest.
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