-- Z –
1.
Jesus solemnly said: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been
given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.
And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Mt
28:18-20)
Therefore, individually and collectively, the whole Process of
Salvation of the whole human family is a process of learning and
developing a God-pleasing zeal of evangelization, i.e., to bringing
Gospel of Christ to all of God’s beloved people everywhere, until its
perfection in Heaven.
2.
“Jesus answered: ‘The first is, the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is
this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other
commandment greater than these.” (Mk 12:28-31)
Therefore, the whole Salvation Process of all human individuals
and communities is a process of learning to practice zero tolerance
increasingly of any sin against the two Greatest Commandments of
God, until its perfection in Heaven.
3.
St. Paul witnessed: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who
lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. “ (Gal 2:20) He
also said: “For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil 1:21)
Therefore, the whole Process of Salvation for each human being or
community, directly and indirectly, is a process to learn again and
again to zero in on Jesus, i.e., to direct all of one’s attention to Jesus,
for Jesus, in Jesus, with Jesus, by Jesus, until its perfection in Heaven.
4.
“David took the stronghold of Zion, which is now the city of David.”
(2Sam 5:7) At the same time, the Holy Bible reads: “It is like the dew
of Hermon, which falls on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord
ordained his blessing, life forevermore.” (Ps 133:3) Thus, in general,
there can be two approaches to the meaning of ‘Zion’: (1) the
non-heavenly approach which is taking Zion as a place in this world;
(2) the heavenly approach which is taking Zion as the Kingdom of
Heaven or the Heavenly Jerusalem (cf. Oxford Dictionary of English,
second edition, revised, 2006, p. 2015).
According to the heavenly meaning of Zion, the whole Process of
Salvation is, therefore, a process of heavenly Zionization of the whole
humanity in and through Jesus Christ, the only Saviour of the World
(cf. Col 1:19-20; etc.), until its perfection in Heaven.
[Note: “For in him [Christ] all the fullness of God was pleased to
dwell, and through him [Christ] God was pleased to reconcile to
himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace
through the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20)]