HeyJ XLIV (2003), pp. 15–42
CRITICAL REMEMBRANCE AND ESCHATOLOGICAL HOPE IN EDWARD SCHILLEBEECKX’S THEOLOGY OF SUFFERING FOR OTHERS ELIZABETH K. TILLAR
St Anselm College, Manchester, NH
I. INTRODUCTION
The biblical prototypes of suffering for others – the eschatological prophet and messianic high priest – are correlated in the present article with Edward Schillebeeckx’s examination of two vital concepts to provide the basis for a critical praxis: anamnesis, or the critical remembrance of history, and eschatological hope. The dialectical opposites of anamnesis and hope, which Schillebeeckx deems crucial for solidarity with suffering and its alleviation, are embodied by the aforementioned scriptural figures. Indeed, critical remembrance and hope are intrinsic to the images of Jesus as the ‘suffering righteous one’ and the eschatological messianic high priest in Schillebeeckx’s theology of suffering for others. Both the images and the critical concepts prove essential in his historical reconstruction of the eschatological communities, religious figures, and symbols in Hebrews and 1 Peter, among other New Testament documents. Moreover, they attest to Schillebeeckx’s deep engagement with the Frankfurt School of social critical theory. In his later work (published during the 1970s and 1980s), such critical ideas serve to cultivate an eschatological sensibility and an ethical praxis, made possible by grace mediated through voluntary suffering.
II. ANAMNESIS, OR CRITICAL REMEMBRANCE OF HISTORY
Anamnesis, or the remembrance of Christ’s passion and the history of suffering humanity, is defined by Schillebeeckx in terms of its prophetic and critical function: ‘In the sense of biblical anamnesis (zikkaron) or © The Editor/Blackwell Publishing Ltd. Oxford, UK and Boston, USA.