Have you ever experienced being threatened? Just like Peter
we should not give in but persevere to follow God rather than succumb to our
fear. For as long as we've got God on our side and leaning on the promises of
God our Savior then we're standing on solid immovable ground. Day in and day
out we are confronted with choices, big or small, all they ever amount to and
what it is about is just one important thing. Nothing should ever stop us from
following their example of faith. It should inspire us to know that it was God
who chose us first even before we ever came to be. His choice comes first even
before we make a choice. He chose to love us first. If we believe that God
loves us then we are confident in the fact that we must obey God above all. We
must follow the example of obedience that Jesus showed us. It was one born out
of inspiration rather than obligation. St. Thomas Aquinas said God the Father
did it by inspiring the Son with so much love that Jesus did it. The obedience
of Jesus to the point of death on the cross should not be seen as a rejection
but the giving up of His Son for this great love of God for us who chose us
first. Jesus deserves our total obedience. We should stop living in sin, live
faithfully and be not afraid to embrace the light. What we see Jesus is doing
is what the Father is doing. Having come into the world, some believe and some
disobey. During the Easter vigil we have witnessed the entire kingdom of God St. Paul
says, all things were created for Him. He has the primacy in everything. Our
relationship with Him is primary before all other relationships. Whatever
relationship we have, that of Jesus is above all.
In the light of the readings today I was inspired to share
the things we’ve studied under Atty. Jess Moya in our Catholicism study which
is about the bible.
I. The Bible is a unique book
-most popular book ever; in fact it has made a lot of people
very rich due to the several movies and books shown and written based on the
bible.
-It greatly influenced civilization, a source of Western
culture. A treasure chest of wisdom and inspiration, contains some of the most
profound insights on life and has changed many lives.
-All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for
teaching, for refutation, for correction and for training in righteousness so
that one who belongs to God may be competent, equipped for every good work- 2
Tim 3:16-17
-Indeed the Word of God is living and effective, sharper
than any 2 edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and
marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart - Heb.
4:12
-A library/ collection of OT and NT books mysteriously woven
into a single theme and written in
thousands of years with various authors of different background.
II. Original and manuscripts (copies) of the bible
- original writings were either destroyed or perished
through wear and tear since it was in papyrus material.
-Manuscripts or copies of the bible are authenticated
through “Textual Criticism” The object
of textual criticism is to restore as nearly as possible the original text of a
work the autograph of which has been lost. The manuscripts date way back 100
BC.
III. Classes of Sacred Writings:
1. Protocanonical (universally accepted) – There are 46
books in the OT and 27 in the NT. It is not true that the OT is obsolete and is
not important. The writings in the OT foreshadows the scriptures in the NT. An example cited
was the Passover in Egypt
found in the OT where the angel of death spared the Israelites who have placed
the blood of the lamb on their doors. In the NT , it was the blood of Jesus
shed on the cross that spared us all from the angel of death which is sin.
2. Deuterocanonical (disputed writing such as the so-called
“7 added books of the OT” and the books of James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2nd and 3rd
letters of John, Hebrews and Revelation of the NT)
3. Apocryphal (writings which are not considered inspired
such as the gospel of Peter, the gospel of Thomas, the letters of Barnabas and
Clement, etc.) It was through these apocryphal writings that Dan Brown came up with the heretical source that
brought about “The Da Vinci Code.”
IV. Origin of the
Bible
- Putting together in writing the experiences of God’s
people, the warning of their prophets and the beliefs they developed.
-The authors were divinely inspired (Theopneustos or
God-breathed) The bible is an inspired interpretation of God’s deeds and self
revelation, the Word of God in the words of humans.”
-Writings were canonized by the Catholic Church (Councils of
Rome, Hippo, Carthage
and Trent) The Church authority was universally recognized. The bible was put
together as early as the 4th century (397AD) and Ptotestantism only started in
1517 so it was the Catholic Church who canonized these writings.
- The Palestinian/Hebrew Canon rejected “seven books” in the
Council of Jamnia. One of these books is Maccabees which mentions about praying
for the dead or souls in purgatory.
-Protestant Canon adopted the Palestinian/Hebrew Canon. It
is very ironical that Martin Luther who used to be Catholic but became a
protestant even once said that, “We are obliged to the Catholic Church for the
bible which we received from them.” Meaning he recognizes it as the one who put
together the bible.
V. Translations of the Bible
- The OT was originally written in the Hebrew language and
then translated into Greek (Septuagint) by about 70 translators around 285-246
BC.
Legend says that these scholars who translated the bible
were separated from each other but amazingly came up with the same translation.
During the time of Alexander the Great some scriptures were translated from
Hebrew to Greek.
-The NT was originally written in the Greek language and
later translated to Latin (Vulgate) It has 350 quotations coming from the
Deuterocanonical books. St. Jerome
translated the scriptures to Latin. Martin Luther translated the bible from
Latin and Greek to German and the controversial verse from Rom 3:28 which he
allegedly added the word “alone” in the text which says “Man is saved by faith
alone”. From then on Pope Pius XIII decreed that all translations be from the
original language (Greek or Hebrew) to English to avoid distorting the real
meaning of the word of God and must have the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur marks
.
-Catholic English translations were the Douay-Rheims (1st
translation to English), NAB, etc. )
-Protestant English translations: Tyndale, King James, RSV,
etc. The King James version was rejected by the Church due to so many
typographical errors made such as The Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew
written as Vinegar and the ”Thou shall not commit adultery” in Deuteronomy
wherein the “not” has been omitted.
VI. Interpretation of the Bible
-There are so many science theories or the so called
evolution theory that questions the accuracy of the data in the bible
especially that of creation in 7 days. Even the Book of Revelation has become
so controversial. Bear in mind that the bible is not a science treatise nor
just a series of predictions nor
intended to be a history book. Some are not literally true, but are vehicles to
convey the truth. A very good example of this is a glass of water, when we
drink water it has to be placed in a container but you only drink the water and
not the glass.
-Be attentive to what the human authors wanted to affirm and
to what God wanted to reveal to us by their words (CCC109) Consider the
literary genre and forms of literary expression
-Take into account the conditions of the authors’ time and
culture and the various forms of expressions used (CCC110). The writers during
the OT, the Israelites were very primitive and picture God as some kind of
warrior. It is a product of their imagination. The heresy of Marcion says that
the God of the OT is evil while the God of the NT is good. The bible should be
studied always with reference to Jesus in the NT to better understand who God
really is and learn about Jesus.
-Read and interpret it in the light of the same Spirit who
inspired it (CCC111). God is a respecter of free will. God always speak to us
with love.
-Be especially attentive to the content and unity of the
whole scripture and the coherence of the truths of faith among themselves (CCC
112 and 114)
-Read it within the “living tradition of the whole Church”
(CCC113); Accept the core teachings of the Church like a child- example is the
dogma on the Immaculate Conception, it has been questioned long before for
years already and had been resolved.
-Interpreting Scripture is ultimately subject to the
judgment of the Church (CCC 119) Jesus left us the Church to guard and
interpret it. It should be guided by the core teachings of the Church enclosed
in the Apostle’s Creed, etc.
The bible is made available to all regardless of race and
religion. In fact there are stories about conversions of a lot of people just
by reading the bible. Nothing should ever stop us from spreading the Word of God
and dispelling all the heretical information being perpetrated in the whole
world no matter what the cost. We should come after the example of the apostles
who bravely displayed their faith and belief in Jesus as evidenced in the 1st
reading. Amen. Hallelujah!
Acts of the Apostles 5,27-33.
..."We gave you strict orders (did we not?) to stop
teaching in that name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and want to
bring this man's blood upon us."
But Peter and the apostles said in reply, "We must obey
God rather than men...
We sometimes think that God does not answer our prayers but
He does. Let us not fall into this wrong notion, lose hope and turn into
different kinds of addictions which cause so much wasted pain and suffering.
This is a wicked age and our life should redeem. Only the Lord our God can
bring about this redemption in our lives. If the Son of God had His enormous
and most unbearable share of suffering for our sake don't we think that we
should also bear our own daily crosses? We should have the courage and the
strength to suffer for the gospel most especially at this time of the world
when there is great hostility to the gospel. To suffer always with the
confidence that God who sees and knows all would definitely see us through it
all. God is above all our troubles, fears and anxieties, whatever it may be,
our ills and even death itself. The "culture of death" and its
kingdom has been robbed of its power. Jesus has resurrected from the dead and
the kingdom of God
Psalms 30:2, 4, 5-6, 11-13
R: I will praise you, Lord, for you have rescued me.
1 [2] I will extol you, O LORD, for you drew me clear and did not let my
enemies rejoice over me. 3 [4] O LORD, you brought me up from the nether world;
you preserved me from among those going down into the pit... For his anger
lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in,
but with the dawn, rejoicing. (R) 10 [11] “Hear, O LORD, and have pity on me; O
LORD, be my helper.” 11 [12] You changed my mourning into dancing; 12 [13] O
LORD, my God, forever will I give you thanks.
God the Father sees all. We are His sons and daughters but
we sometimes go into the wrong direction. God sees us running away from the
faith because we have the free will to do as we want. We must not forget that
the Kingdom of death has been conquered and the Kingdom of God
Revelation 5:11-14
...“To the one who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be
blessing and honor, glory and might, forever and ever.” ...
Today's gospel is a picture of the apostles just after the
death of Jesus who were probably still confused and depressed. Sometimes it
takes time before we can fully realize the things that are already before and
around us. Just like the other disciples who failed to recognize Jesus right
away. The disciple whom Jesus loved was the first to recognize Him and we too
are challenged to become like this disciple whom Jesus loved and be more
sensitive when it comes to identifying in our lives who Jesus really is. When
you have Jesus in your heart then you will always feel secured. Peter jumped
into the sea not minding what he's wearing, ready to get wet and be soaked,
just to get near the resurrected Jesus. Aren't we afraid to jump into the sea?
Are we willing to take the plunge? For sure we will find ourselves in the
loving embrace of our God. It's always worth giving our all to the Lord. At a
time of our life when we are not in our best shape or could be discerning and
still unsure of what course of action to take, we should realize that Jesus is
always there for us though we may not realize it. It is our obedience during
these trying times that will see us through these difficult times. I believe
God in His awesome and almighty wisdom, intelligence and knowledge reveals
things in stages for the benefit of our limited capacities and understanding.
The series of events in our lives and the word of God serve as an eye opener
that could endow us with a better understanding of all the things that are
happening to us. May we all come to this point in our life when we obey God at
all times no matter what kind of situation we are in. I realized it is always
good to look back, recall and never forget those times in our lives when Jesus
was calling us for a certain task and decided to follow and obey. We can always
be confident and full of hope that whatever is the outcome of our decision for
as long as we know that we have consulted it to God in prayer and have acted with
our best ability then we are always safe and secure. Today's gospel also tells
us to be of service to the people. We all look forward to the world to come and
share eternal life and happiness with God. At the same time we also exercise
our citizenship to this world. We should engage ourselves in work that can
bring healing and build good things on earth. God multiplies our efforts. We do
not have the option of subtracting ourselves from this process and just go to
the sideline. We have to read the word of God, understand it and be active.
This is the meaning of encounter with God. When we engage ourselves with this
kind of work it may seem political but it's not. We are not pagans but
believers and God is the one who empowers us. We have to get the world back to
its proper balance. We are all called to do something for this world that we
live in. Amen. Hallelujah!
Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 21,1-14.
...So the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It
is the Lord." When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tucked in
his garment, for he was lightly clad, and jumped into the sea...
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