Hello again các em, I can't believe the second month of the new year has already started so I hope you're all doing well with your school and your life. My schedule is still crazy and unstable at its best but I do hope that you all could get back to school safely and hang out with your friends soon, and/or see your crushes. ;)
Anywho, if anyone could remember at the end of the last chapter, I was kind of fast-forwarding on how "God made a covenant with Abram and changed his name to Abraham, then God made a second covenant with Israel and made them his chosen people, and finally God made the last covenant with David who from his dynasty comes Jesus," that's because when Jesus comes into the play, he begins a whole new chapter in our relationship with God and we call this chapter the New Testament (or new covenant).
Chapter 4 or New Testament therefore is an explanation of how all the prophecies/covenants/promises from Chapter 3 or Old Testament are fulfilled in Jesus. Through his life, miracles and resurrection, Jesus shows us the clear signs that he is the long-awaited Messiah, and that we should always be prepared for the coming of the Kingdom of God.
The Old Testament is like the radio; you hear God's Word. The New Testament is like television; you not only hear God's Word but also see it come alive in Jesus. The centuries before Jesus's birth were dark times for Jews. Powerful nations took turns occupying their land. The Christmas story shows the Jews waiting and praying for rescue by the promised Messiah.
The birth of Jesus takes place in Bethlehem. Immanuel (one of the titles given to Jesus) means God is with us. Ancient Jews married very early. Rabbis (religious leaders) held 13 to be a suitable age for women and 18 for men. Mary and Joseph were probably within this age range, even though classical paintings portray them as being much older.
Jewish marriages began with a “betrothal” (similar to an engagement). It probably stemmed from the ancient custom of having parents pick marriage partners. Sometimes the partners barely knew one another so the betrothal gave them a chance to get acquainted. In his book Beyond East and West, John Wu, a Chinese Christian, says that he didn't meet his wife until their wedding. When a Western friend was amazed at this, Wu said: I was amazed at his amazement and said to him, “Did you choose your parents, your brothers and your sisters? You love them all the same.”
What could be more interesting? Jesus was not born on December 25. Early Christians picked this day to celebrate Jesus' birthday because it was the pagan Roman feast of the “Unconquerable Sun.” The feast fell on the “winter solstice” (when nights grew shorter and days longer). Christians saw Jesus as the one and only “unconquerable sun” and true “light of the world.”
Then it comes to the part when the Magi (3 kings) go on to Bethlehem. When they see Jesus, they kneel down and present him with gifts of gold (kingship), frankincense or incense (divinity), and myrrh (humanity). Meanwhile, Herod (vua Hêrôđê) is plotting to kill Jesus. This previews how people will react to Jesus in the days ahead, or our current days. Many Jews will reject him; many Gentiles will accept him.
The New Testament writers provide their readers with four views of Jesus. CCC 514-15 Three (Mark, Matthew, Luke) are quite similar, while John's view is quite different. One reason for the difference is that John writes at a later date for a more mature Christian audience. Because each evangelist wrote for a different audience, each stresses a different facet of Jesus.
Ancient Jews viewed the universe as being made up of three worlds stacked one upon the other, like pancakes.
Top = World of God
Middle = World of the Living
Bottom = World of the Dead
After Adam sinned, a tidal wave of sin flooded the world of the living. People prayed to God to come down and set things right. It is within this context that we must interpret the image of the sky opening above Jesus. God has heard the prayer of the people and is coming down, in the person of Jesus, to set things right.
A speaker on a Miami radio station startles a lot of listeners. He said that if he had the power to work miracles, he would use it far differently than Jesus did: I would not cure one person of blindness; I would make blindness impossible. I would not cure one person of leprosy; I would abolish leprosy. The speaker's remarks raise an important question. What was the purpose of Jesus' miracles? Did he heal the blind and the lepers because he pitied them? Did he heal them because they asked him to? Mark 1:40-41 Or was there another reason?
First of all, the Miami speaker misses the point of Jesus' miracles-just as many people did in Jesus' day. We need to remind the speaker that 1) Jesus fed the people John 6:26, but they got hungry again, and 2) Jesus raised Lazarus John 11:44, but he died again, or (3) Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law Mark 1:31, but she got ill again. The first step in this recreation process is the coming of the Messiah and the Kingdom of God. This is where the miracles of Jesus enter the picture. They are signs announcing the arrival of these two great events.
Signs of the Kingdom > Before Adam and Eve turned their backs on God, there was no sin, sickness, or death in the world. All of this changed with their sin. It ushered in the “Kingdom of Satan” and from that moment on, those three evils held the human race in slavery. It is against this background that we must read the Gospel accounts of Jesus' power over each of these three evils. Jesus forgives sin, heals the sick, raises the dead.
So once again, the most important point about Jesus' miracles: They were signs announcing the arrival of the Messiah of God and Kingdom of God. Jesus himself referred to this. The day after feeding 5,000, many people came looking for him. Jesus said: “You are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles.” John 6:26
But, the miracles of Jesus do more than merely announce the coming of the Messiah and the Kingdom. They invite us to faith and action. CC 543-46 How so? The healing of the blind beggar invites us to open our eyes to what Jesus does. The healing of the deaf man invites us to open our ears to what Jesus says. The raising of the dead man invites us to open our hearts to Jesus and begin a new life in God's Kingdom.
Jesus compared the coming of God's Kingdom to the planting of a seed. It takes time to grow and bear fruit. Mark 4:26-29 Jesus's point is that the coming of God's Kingdom isn't going to be and instant occurrence, but a gradual and painful process. This is why there is still so much evil in the world. This is why we still pray in the Lord's Prayer, “Thy Kingdom come”. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of Satan continues to wreak havoc in the world. It has not yet been destroyed. It is only under the sentence of death, and it will not die without a fight.
People responded to Jesus's invitation in four ways. Jesus used this parable to illustrate each of these ways: A farmer sowed seed in his field. Some seed fell on a path by the field. Birds stole it and ate it instantly. Some fell on soil-covered rocks. It sprouted quickly but died when the sun baked the layer of soil. Some blew into thorn bushes that fenced in the field to keep out animals. It sprouted but was choked to death by the thick thorns. Finally, some seed fell on good soil and bore abundant fruit. Jesus compared the four fates of seed to the four ways that people respond to his invitation:
Fails to sprout > Reject
Sprouts but withers > Accept but falter
Sprouts but chokes > Accept but forget
Sprouts and grows > Accept and grow
We Catholics have always been devoted to Jesus in his Passion (suffering and death). One form of that devotion is via “The Way of the Cross.” It involves journeying with Jesus to Calvary and contains 14 stations below. Let's us now try to meditate through each station and see what is it that God wants us to do. :)
Jesus is condemned to death. Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Luke 6:27
Jesus takes up his cross. If you want to come with me, forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. Luke 9:23
Jesus falls the first time. “Do not be discouraged for I, the Lord your God, am with you.” Joshua 1:9
Jesus meets his mother. Jesus saw his mother and said to the disciple, “She is your mother.” John 19:26
Jesus is helped by Simon. “When you refused to help another, you refused to help me ...” Matthew 25:45
Jesus' face is wiped by Veronica. “When you did this for another, you did it for me ...” Matthew 25:40
Jesus falls a second time. Happy is the person who remains faithful under trials. James 1:12
Jesus comforts the women. “Don’t cry for me, but for yourselves and for your children ...” Luke 23:28
Jesus falls a third time. Those who trust in the Lord will be renewed in strength. Isaiah 42:16
Jesus is stripped of his clothes. “I was naked and you clothed me.” Matthew 25:36
Jesus is nailed to the cross. What we suffer now cannot be compared to the glory to come. Romans 8:18
Jesus dies on the cross. “If you lose your life for my sake, you will save it ...” Luke 9:24
Jesus is taken down from the cross. “I have set an example for you; do what I have done for you ...” John 13:15
Jesus is laid in the tomb. “... I will be put to death, but I will be raised to life ...” Matthew 16:21
The word resurrection does not mean resuscitation. It is not a restoration to one's previous life, such as what happened to Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus. Resurrection involves complete transformation, a quantum leap forward into a totally new life. It is something that no human being before Jesus had yet experienced. Paul compares the body before resurrection to a seed planted in the soil and then compares the body after resurrection to the plant that emerges from the dead seed plant.
He writes: Someone will ask, how can the dead be raised to life? What kind of body will they have? When you plant a seed in the ground, it does not sprout to life until it dies… When the body is buried, it is mortal; when raised, it will be immortal. When buried, it is ugly and weak; when raised, it will be beautiful and strong. When buried, it is a physical body; when raised, it will be a spiritual body. 1 Corinthians 15:42-44
The resurrection of Jesus is a promise that if we follow Jesus' teaching, we loo will be raised to life on the last day. Jesus himself promised this: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day.” John 6:54 The resurrection of Jesus invites us to open our hearts to his presence among us. It invites us to let Jesus do for us what he has done for so many.
It invites us to love again after our love has been rejected and we are tempted to hate; to hope again after our hopes have been dashed and we are tempted to despair; and to believe again after our belief has been shaken and we are tempted to doubt. The resurrection of Jesus is the good news that he has defeated death and wants to give us the power to do the same. The resurrection is the promise that nothing can destroy us: not pain, not rejection, not sin, not even death.
The coming of the Holy Spirit then formed the disciples of Jesus into the Church, the “body of Christ.” It empowered them to complete his work on earth which is to bring to completion God's Kingdom on earth, the re-creation of the world. 1 Corinthians 12:1-29 It is important because without the Spirit, God is far away. The cosmos (universe) is steeped in mystery; Jesus is only a teacher; Scripture is just a book; and the Church? Is only a club. :)