Vigils Reading – St John Paul II

THE ONE SAVIOR OF ALL

From the Encyclical “Redemptoris Missio” by Pope St John Paul II

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The redemption event brings salvation to all, “for each one is included in

the mystery of the redemption and with each one Christ has united himself

forever through this mystery.” It is only in faith that the Church’s mission can be

understood and only in faith that it finds its basis.

If we go back to the beginnings of the Church, we find a clear affirmation

that Christ is the one Savior of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to

God. In reply to the Jewish religious authorities who question the apostles

about the healing of the lame man, Peter says: “There is no other name under

heaven given men by which we must be saved”. This statement, which was made

to the Sanhedrin, has a universal value, since for all people – Jews and Gentiles

alike – salvation can only come from Jesus Christ.

The universality of this salvation in Christ is asserted throughout the New

Testament. St Paul acknowledges the risen Christ as the Lord. He writes:

“Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth – as indeed there

are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’ – yet for us there is only one God, the Father,

from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ,

through whom are all things and through whom we exist”. One God and one

Lord are asserted by way of contrast to the multitude of “gods” and “lords”

commonly accepted. Paul reacts against the polytheism of the religious

environment of his time and emphasizes what is characteristic of the Christian

faith: belief in one God and one Lord sent by God.

In the Gospel of St John, this salvific universality of Christ embraces all

the aspects of his mission of grace, truth and revelation: the Word is “the true

light that enlightens every person”. And again: “no one has ever seen God; the

only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known”. God’s

revelation becomes definitive and complete through his only-begotten Son: “In

many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in

these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all

things, through whom he created the world”.

In this definitive Word of his revelation, God has made himself known in

the fullest possible way. He revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-

revelation of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by

her very nature. She cannot do otherwise than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the

fullness of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself…

No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through

Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s one, universal mediation, far

from being an obstacle on the journey toward God, is the way established by

God himself… It is precisely this uniqueness of Christ which gives him an

absolute and universal significance, whereby, while belonging to history, he

remains history’s center and goal: “…the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the

last, the beginning and the end.”