Sunday, February 21, 2021
Chapter 6 - God the Son    Quiz    Song
Hi các em, I just learned that Phú's grandma passed away on Tuesday so please offer a prayer for linh hồn Têrêsa whenever you have a chance. Phú, I'm sorry for your family's loss. May your grandma's soul, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
This week we'll continue to dive deeper into the mystery of the Holy Trinity, specifically the second person of the mystery, who is Jesus. But, who is Jesus? This is a good definition from our text: Jesus is Son of God, both human and divine. He is also the Word of God. He reveals God to us; and he reveals what we can become, if we open ourselves to the Spirit, which he sent upon us.
Through the past chapters, we've been trying to find our God and have seen how God spoke to us via Creation and what's written in the Scripture, but now, Jesus is the most realistic and "human" answer that we could ask for. Of course, we've been taught that Jesus' mission in this earth is to save us, and it's true, but that is not all. The deep meaning behind Jesus' coming is to help us answer these two important questions: What is God like? and What did God make me to be like (or What is the purpose of our life)?
In answering the first question, we'll now take a look at all the different names and titles that Scripture has to say about Jesus.
In biblical times, names often did more than just identify a person. They also revealed something about the person. Jesus' name did that also. Jesus received his name from an angel, who said to Joseph, "You will name him Jesus­, because he will save his people from their sins." Matthew 1:21 As you can see, this is why we call the second person of the Holy Trinity our Savior because the name "Jesus" not only identifies him as a member of the human family, but also as having a saving mission from God.
A young man pulled into a parking lot. Above the rear bumper of his car were the letters ICHTHYS, shaped like a fish. Someone asked, "What's the meaning of the fish-shaped word?" The young man explained that they were the first letters of the Greek expression that is translated "Jesus, Christ, Son of God, Savior." In Greek the letters spell "fish." This explains why the image of a fish became the secret sign for Jesus during times of persecution (oppression) in early Christianity.
The most personal thing we own is our name. It identifies us as a member of the human family. It is the way our friends address us; and it is the way that people speak about us. The name Jesus did the same thing for the second person of the Trinity, who now has these four titles: Jesus, Christ, Son of God, and Savior.
Pop-up question, does anyone remember what the sign on the cross INRI stands for? Unlike ICHTHYS which is Greek, INRI is Latin for Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum, meaning Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.
In the Old Testament, kings, priests, and, in some cases, prophets were anointed (rubbing oil) to empower (authorize) them to cany out their mission from God. The Hebrew word for "the anointed" is Messiah. In Greek, Messiah is translated as Christos, from which we get our English "Christ". The title "Christ" thus (for that reason) identifies Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. All three words Messiah (Hebrew), Christos (Greek), and Christ (English) are simply different ways to refer to the same person: the descendent of David (kingship), promised by God through the prophets. In Vietnamese, the anointed means đấng (người) được xức dầu.
That is quite a lot of different titles given to Jesus, but does our God have a name? In the New Testament and in human likeness, yes, and that name is Jesus. But from the Old Testament, God identified himself to Moses as: I am the God of your ancestors. I am who I am. You must tell them: The one who is called I AM has sent me. This is my name forever; this is what all future generations are to call me. Exodus 3:5-6, 13-15
The expression "I am who I am" introduces us to the Hebrew proper name for God. It is designated by the four Hebrew letters YHWH. The original meaning of YHWH is uncertain, but scholars suggest the translation "I am who I am," that is, "I cannot be named or defined." CCC 206 Since New Testament times, YHWH has been translated into Greek as Kyrios, which means "Lord" in English. In Vietnamese hymns (religious songs), you may have heard the word "Giavê" which is equal to YHWH but now it's no longer allowed to be used in masses.
In the Gospel of John, we're introduced to just another title of Jesus which is the Word of God. You may remember this verse from a Christmas Day's mass: Ngôi Lời đã trở nên người phàm và cư ngụ giữa chúng ta. Ngôi Lời means the Word and the Word here implies Jesus, who speaks as God, and so his word is from God, therefore he is the Word (of God).
And that is everything I have to say about the first question: What is God like? I hope thầy Trung didn't confuse you too much. :)
Now, besides telling us about God the Father, Jesus also tells us about ourselves. As mentioned in the definition on top of this page, Jesus reveals to us what God intended for us to become when he created us. So, moving on the second and last question in this week's lesson, What did God make me to be like (or What is the purpose of our life)?
There's a story about a man who dove into a raging river to save a ten-year-old from drowning. A few days later, the ten-year-old and his mother went to see the man. The child said to the man, "How can I thank you for what you did for me?" The man put his arm around the ten­-year-old and said, "Son, the best thanks you can give me is to live your life in a way that will have made it word saving."
After the sin of Adam, the "Kingdom of Satan" doomed the human family to spiritual slavery. Satan and sin ruled over the human family. Jesus came into the world and saved us ''from" this doomed situation. Besides saving us ''from" spiritual slavery and death, Jesus saved us ''for" something. He saved us ''for" the task of bringing to completion the saving work he began: replacing the "Kingdom of Satan" with the "Kingdom of God."
One day a missionary (religious preacher) began her class on Jesus, saying to the children: Today I want to tell you about someone you must meet. He is a person who loves you and cares for you even more than your own family and friends. He is a person who is kinder than the kindest person you know. The missionary noticed that a little boy was getting more and more excited as she talked. Suddenly, the boy blurted (spoke) out, "I know that man! He lives on our street."
Another way Jesus is the Word of God is that he reveals or speaks to or tells us what every Christian can become, if we open ourselves to the Holy Spirit. Each of us can become a living image of the Word of God (like the man who lives on the boy's street above). Jesus says the way for us to live in order that we be worth saving is to imitate (copy or follow) him. In other words, we are called to (our life's purposes):
Jesus sums these up in this one sentence: "Love one another, just as I love you." John 15:12