Remaining in Christ: A Paradox at the Heart of Hans Urs von Balthasar's Theology

Introduction

The Johannine image of the vine and the branches aptly articulates the following paradoxes of Christianity: apart from Christ we can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5); we are free only when we become his; joy and fruitfulness come through his death and the taking up of the Cross.¹ It has been promised that "streams of living water shall flow out from within" those who are thus united to Christ, the vine (Jn 7:38). Consider this article a small exegesis of how Christ appears as the vine and we the branches in the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar.²

First, I shall look at a few salient points in von Balthasar's life that shed light upon his own experience of "remaining in Christ." What shall prove decisive here is how St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. John the Evangelist, and Adrienne von Speyr led von Balthasar to the one thing necessary: complete abandonment to Christ. A few comments on von Balthasar's Mariology will round off this first section.

Second, I shall turn to von Balthasar's meditation on "The Father's Vineyard," which makes up the fourth chapter of his lyrical The Heart of the World. Like the first part of the article, the emphasis here shall be upon the fruitfulness that only comes through remaining in Christ. Let us remain mindful, however, that the vine and the branches are in the Father's vineyard. Our "remaining in Christ" only makes sense in light of the way that Christ and the Father remain one precisely in the distance manifested by the Son's mission. Von Balthasar's theology has been called "Christocentric," but he was always careful never to neglect the Father and the Spirit in his Trinitarian theology. It is within a Trinitarian framework that our remaining in Christ is given its true meaning, for Christ in his life, death, and Resurrection did not come to proclaim himself, but the will of the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, I shall examine von Balthasar's comments on the Gospel according to St. John. In particular, I shall look at the image of the vine and the vinedresser. Here the theme of growth in grace through the sacraments will prove central to von Balthasar's Catholic vision for the mystery of remaining in Christ. For von Balthasar, the Christian message makes little sense apart from fruitfulness and the radiation of Christ's resurrected life into the world.

I. Ignatius, John, Adrienne von Speyr, and Mary: The Spirit of Indifference

Just after the onset of the Second World War, Hans Urs von Balthasar took up a position as a student chaplain in Basel, Switzerland, instead of accepting an offer to become professor at the Gregorian University in Rome. In Basel he became friends with Karl Barth, who was to remain one of the most influential dialogue partners for von Balthasar's theology, but upon whom I shall not comment here. More importantly for my theme of remaining in Christ, and for the notion of indifference, which shall be examined momentarily, he came into contact with a doctor by the name of Adrienne von Speyr.³ Under von Bathlasar's influence, von Speyr converted from Protestantism to Catholicism; von Balthasar subsequently became her confessor, recorded her mystical visions, and published her writings. In fact, he considered his work to be little more than a translation of her insights into technical theological discourse.

Von Speyr's insights into the Gospel of St. John especially influenced von Balthasar, and it was through her Johannine sensibilities that he gained such admiration for St. John the Evangelist, later naming his publishing imprint Johannesverlag and his Secular Institute the Johannesgemeinschaft. "It really took Basel," von Balthasar reflected, "especially the all-soothing goodness of [Adrienne von Speyr's] commentary on St. John, to lead my aggressive will into true indifference."⁴ The context of the comment is his reflection on entering the Society of Jesus with what he called his "unbounded indignation" at being...