Look at this beautiful Bible my daughter got from her Atrium meditation. She is preparing for her first confession. Each student was presented with their very own Bible and they all gasped with excitement when the teacher unveiled the Bibles fashioned with Gold ribbons and a personalized book mark. She explained to them how the Bible is God's letter to us and instructed them to never put anything on top of the Bible because it is the living word of God.For the past two weeks, they have been meditating on the passage from John Chapter 15 and how God is the vine grower, Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. Last week she gently asked the children what this all meant and they discussed how the sap is the Holy Spirit and how we receive this sap or Holy Spirit in baptism. She also mentioned how many times Jesus says "remain" and how if Jesus mentions something often then it's especially important.
This past week she talked about what the vine grower does if one of the leaves doesn't get enough sap and how the vine grower will do things to support the branch. This lead to talking about the sacrament of reconcilliation to restore the sap or grace in us.
I thought how it all beautifully tied together and how each of these sacraments that we as Catholics receive are vehicles of grace from God. But would I have understood all this without the Catholic Church explaining this to me? The Bible is both simple and infinitely complex. There are passages in the Bible that I read and I think, Yep, that makes sense, and there are passages that I come across and I scratch my head and I'm not afraid to admit, I need help understanding it. So the question remains, who do I turn to answer on the more difficult passages?
Weeks ago, I was invited to follow some other Christian blogs that are not Catholic. They'll take different verses on the Bible and basically pose their opinion on what they think it means. For example, on the Eucharist or Last Supper and whether or not Jesus was speaking literally or figuratively. Two different blogs discussed this question. Both non-Catholic and one took a figurative view and one took a literal view of it. Now as a Catholic, of course, we believe it's the Body and Blood of our Lord. Honestly, if I were to go by my own personal interpretation and read the parallel passage by themselves, I could very easily see that to me, Jesus seems to be talking literally. But others could take the passages and say that when he says "This is my Body ect..." he is only speaking "figuratively." And both non-Catholic Christians will find different verses to support their differing opinions. So who's right? How do they decide? They both believe the Bible has all they need to follow Jesus and yet they have completely different views on the Last Supper.
As a Catholic, I know to just go to the Church. And why should I trust the Church? I trust the Church because the Bible came out of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church decided which books were inspired and which books were not. Only the books that they decided to be inspired by God made it in. This is a historical fact. If you read the history of the Bible and how it came to be you will see a Pope had to ratify the list of books that are in today's Bible. Non-catholics have to basically trust that the Catholic Church was right in deciding which books made it into the New Testament. This took centuries to decide and the canon of the Bible didn't get ratified until almost 400 years after Jesus walked this earth. The early Church had debated and had a lot of disagreements on which books should be in the Bible. But eventually they agreed and they submitted the list to the Pope to ratify. So, I have no choice but to submit to the Catholic Church on the Bible. The reason why the Bible came to be was because for centuries in the early Church, letters and gospels would be read at Mass and they were not all in agreement on what should be read at Mass. Some Churches read letters from Polycarp, some read from Paul, some read from Ignatius. Are the letters of Polycarp and Ignatius in the Bible? No. Who decided that? The Catholic Church. For the sake of unity they had to agree on what to read at all the Churches around the world. So when you go to a Catholic Church any day of the week, no matter where you are, or what parish you go to, the readings are the SAME! The Church also had to decide which readings went together. They used typology to help them. This means there are types in the Old Testament that become fulfilled in the New Testament. For example, Moses is a type of Jesus. The story of Jesus has elements that mimic the story of Moses but when Jesus comes, all types from the Old Testament are fulfilled by Him. You can find many stories in the Old Testament and without mentioning the names of the characters, it will be almost identical to events in the Gospels. For as St Augustine said, "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old is unveiled in the New"
Reading 1
Look at what Moses says and what Jesus says. Both say to listen to their words and to act on them. If they listen to their words and don't act on them they will be bringing trouble onto themselves. They will be cursed. We must take what they say into our hearts and soul. So we don't just pay lip service. We must be sincere. Jesus is warning us against hypocrisy.
In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul says we are saved by the Grace of God and not the works of the law. This does not mean we are only saved by our faith. This does not contradict what Moses or Jesus said. Our faith must be sincere and any works we did before being called to follow God had nothing to do with Him calling us. Our salvation is a free gift. It was through God's grace that we are saved. We must respond to that Grace. Our response is faith and works. Faith working through love. Again we must be sincere. Jesus says we must listen to Him and act on what He says. He is God. So we ultimately must obey God. It is through grace that we can hear God and respond. We must do what God wants us to do. Jesus came to fulfill the law so St. Paul was telling the Romans that Mosaic Law wasn't what was saving them. They were saved by Grace through faith and not because of following Mosaic Law.
It isn't by accident that the readings above are put together the way they are. The Catholic Church did that for us. The Bible came out of the Catholic Church. With the Holy Spirit guiding them, Catholics wrote it, translated it, decided which books should go into it and how it should be read together. The Catholic Church decided how the Old testament should be read in light of the New Testament and vice versa. So I will trust that the Catholic Church knows how to interpret the Bible. When you read the Bible in light of the Catholic Church it is so much more fascinating and it all fits together perfectly. I don't have to get stuck and figure it out on my own hoping the Holy Spirit is really guiding me. This doesn't mean I can't privately read the Bible. But I'm not going to read it without the guidance of the Church. Lets be honest. Individual Christians aren't supposed to be islands unto themselves. The body of Christ is not supposed to be in pieces. A hand can't do anything if it is separated from the body. So no one really interprets the Bible on their own. Somewhere along the lines they're agreeing to someone else's theology. They are adding their own extra-biblical teachings such as Sola Scriptura or Sola Fide. So for me, I go to the Church that gave me the Bible. The same Church that presented my daughter her very own Bible in Atrium last week. Thanks be to God!
Moses told the people,
“Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign,
“Take these words of mine into your heart and soul.
Bind them at your wrist as a sign,
“I set before you here, this day, a blessing and a curse:
a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today;
a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today,
to follow other gods, whom you have not known.”
a blessing for obeying the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today;
a curse if you do not obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
but turn aside from the way I ordain for you today,
to follow other gods, whom you have not known.”
R. (3b) Lord, be my rock of safety.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
incline your ear to me,
make haste to deliver me!
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me,
incline your ear to me,
make haste to deliver me!
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety.
You are my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake you will lead and guide me.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your kindness.
Take courage and be stouthearted,
all you who hope in the LORD.
R. Lord, be my rock of safety.
Brothers and sisters,
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his blood.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets,
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all who believe.
For there is no distinction;
all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.
They are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption in Christ Jesus,
whom God set forth as an expiation,
through faith, by his blood.
For we consider that a person is justified by faith
apart from works of the law.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’
will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name?
Did we not drive out demons in your name?
Did we not do mighty deeds in your name?’
Then I will declare to them solemnly,
‘I never knew you. Depart from me, you evildoers.’
“Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.
And everyone who listens to these words of mine
but does not act on them
will be like a fool who built his house on sand.
The rain fell, the floods came,
and the winds blew and buffeted the house.
And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”
Look at what Moses says and what Jesus says. Both say to listen to their words and to act on them. If they listen to their words and don't act on them they will be bringing trouble onto themselves. They will be cursed. We must take what they say into our hearts and soul. So we don't just pay lip service. We must be sincere. Jesus is warning us against hypocrisy.
In the letter to the Romans, St. Paul says we are saved by the Grace of God and not the works of the law. This does not mean we are only saved by our faith. This does not contradict what Moses or Jesus said. Our faith must be sincere and any works we did before being called to follow God had nothing to do with Him calling us. Our salvation is a free gift. It was through God's grace that we are saved. We must respond to that Grace. Our response is faith and works. Faith working through love. Again we must be sincere. Jesus says we must listen to Him and act on what He says. He is God. So we ultimately must obey God. It is through grace that we can hear God and respond. We must do what God wants us to do. Jesus came to fulfill the law so St. Paul was telling the Romans that Mosaic Law wasn't what was saving them. They were saved by Grace through faith and not because of following Mosaic Law.
It isn't by accident that the readings above are put together the way they are. The Catholic Church did that for us. The Bible came out of the Catholic Church. With the Holy Spirit guiding them, Catholics wrote it, translated it, decided which books should go into it and how it should be read together. The Catholic Church decided how the Old testament should be read in light of the New Testament and vice versa. So I will trust that the Catholic Church knows how to interpret the Bible. When you read the Bible in light of the Catholic Church it is so much more fascinating and it all fits together perfectly. I don't have to get stuck and figure it out on my own hoping the Holy Spirit is really guiding me. This doesn't mean I can't privately read the Bible. But I'm not going to read it without the guidance of the Church. Lets be honest. Individual Christians aren't supposed to be islands unto themselves. The body of Christ is not supposed to be in pieces. A hand can't do anything if it is separated from the body. So no one really interprets the Bible on their own. Somewhere along the lines they're agreeing to someone else's theology. They are adding their own extra-biblical teachings such as Sola Scriptura or Sola Fide. So for me, I go to the Church that gave me the Bible. The same Church that presented my daughter her very own Bible in Atrium last week. Thanks be to God!
1 comment:
Very true
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