Ten Points for Fruitful Scripture Reading

No. 10: Reading isn't enough.

"If Scripture remains just words on a page, our work is not done. We need to meditate on the message and put it into action in our lives. Only then can the word be 'living and effective.' (Hebrews 4:12)."


From "Understanding the Bible" by Mary Elizabeth Sperry,
USCCB Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible
 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/understanding-the-bible/index.cfm)

A Good Question

A graduate of the Catholic Biblical School recently asked me, "Was Jesus born in the Old Testament or the New Testament?"

I've never heard anyone classify Jesus' birth as either Old Testament (OT) or  New Testament (NT). If anything, he was born in the Intertestamental Period, which basically is just what it sounds like--the time between the two testaments.

Because the terms "Old Testament" and "New Testament" refer to a set of Sacred books, rather than a distinct time period, it may not make a lot of sense to talk about Jesus being born in either the OT or the NT. The account of Jesus' birth in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are, of course, in the New Testament. But those accounts were not written during Jesus' lifetime and probably not in the lifetime of many who were eyewitnesses to Jesus' earthly life and ministry.

If we refer to the OT Period and the NT Period, however, scholars think that Jesus was born sometime in the last decade before the "Common Era" (Anno Domini, Year of our Lord). He is said, in the gospels, to have been born during the reign of Herod the Great, and that particular Herod seems to have died in 4 BC.

But what's more important is to think in terms of Jesus' experience and intentions. He was Jewish for his whole lifetime and, by all reasonable accounts, never intended to be anything but Jewish. The New Testament was written about him, but he himself did not write the NT.

Christianity and the New Testament was formed during the 80 years or so after Jesus' death and resurrection. The Acts of the Apostles makes it clear that Jesus' first followers thought of themselves as Jewish. And throughout Paul's lifetime (he died in the mid-sixties) it was a controversial question whether Gentile converts would consider themselves Jewish or not.

Both Christians and Jews today think of themselves as heirs to the People of Israel described in the Christian OT and the Hebrew Bible (much of which overlaps). It is the hope of many people of good will that our common heritage might become a source of greater dialogue and increased understanding between the faithful of these two great religions.

And while we don't really know the precise date of Jesus' birth, we celebrate 2000 years of the Incarnation of God-with-us, Emmanuel, every December 25. Merry Christmas my friends, and may God's holiness fill your house whatever holy days you celebrate at this time of year.

Ten Points for Fruitful Bible Reading

No. 9: What is God saying to me? 

"The Bible is not addressed only to long-dead people in a faraway land. It is addressed to each of us in our own unique situations. When we read, we need to understand what the text says and how the faithful have understood its meaning in the past. In light of this understanding, we then ask: What is God saying to me?"


From "Understanding the Bible" by Mary Elizabeth Sperry,
USCCB Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible
 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/understanding-the-bible/index.cfm)

Archaeologist's Report: Nazareth, Israel

Excavating with Dr. Richard Freund

Editor's Note: Dr. Freund, internationally recognized archeologist, has sent the first installment of promised updates of his winter excavations in Israel. We will post Dr. Freund's notes in short batches, verbatim, as they come to us directly from the Holy Land.

"The Jesus Boat" courtesy walkingmaryswell.com

17 December 2012
2:00 a.m.

It is now day 10 of our archaeological projects in Israel and I wanted to report on what the progress has been...

Professor Maha Darawsha of the University of Connecticut  and I have worked together on many archaeological projects but none have been more personal then the excavations in Nazareth. This year we began on Saturday night, after the end of Shabbat, on Dec 15th in the midst of one of the biggest public celebrations in recent memory in Nazareth. Because we are working in a store open for the tourist trade we begin after the festivities and all of the stores are closing.

The project (also with the University of Haifa) is a religious trifecta with Muslims, Christians and Jews working to unearth a missing chapter from Nazareth's ancient history. Maha is from a prominent Muslim family in the suburbs of Nazareth and she is married to one of the leading scholars writing on Nazareth, UHart Professor Hazza Abu Rabia, who teaches in the Greenberg Center. The work brings science, history, art, culture, politics, religion and anthropology together in a way that simply does not happen in a campus in Connecticut. As I write, staff member Nick Jaeger is creating a website that is already live of his daily site,  Walkingmaryswell.com and our scientific site for "Diggingmary'swell.com" that will go live before Christmas to show the world what "a private university with a public purpose"  can do all over the world.

Courtesy of The Greenburg Center

Today, as I write this we are excavating the basement of a store in Nazareth at one of the holiest locations for Greek Orthodox Christianity, the Church of the Annunciation by Mary's Well. The shop, aptly called "Byzantion" after the center of the Greek Orthodox church, is a small shop  hung with icons and religious illustrations. The Christmas tourists and shoppers are all in their homes and we are in a bathhouse structure which may indeed date back thousands of years. Core-samples from the floor are being sampled for Carbon 14 dating and the excavation of the section will continue every night until Dec 19th.

On Monday morning at 11 am (after getting a few hours of sleep), Dec 17th we will start a new Nazareth project at the Church of the Annunciation with the Greek Orthodox Church and the Municipality of Nazareth.

These collaborations are important because they provide international connections, but we are also continuing work on a television documentary on our work here with public television producer, Gary Hochman. Gary, a science editor at Nebraska ETV made the NOVA special, "Ancient Refuge in the Holy Land" on our Cave of Letters excavations and is making a documentary "Hidden Holocaust" on our work and the excavations of Ben Gurion University at the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland.

This is installment one of our work. Much More to follow.

Richard Freund, Director
Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies
University of Hartford

How Can We Rejoice Today?

On Gaudete Sunday, the parish where I worshiped announced the funeral of one of the staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School. I live close to Newtown, CT. I happened to be in Sandy Hook last Friday when my daughter texted me that her school was in lockdown.

So how can we rejoice? On one level, it feels heartless, insensitive, to continue in joyful expectation of Christmas.

And yet, the song tells us that, for Christians, "How can we keep from singing?" If we truly believe that God is with us, then how can we ever fail to rejoice?

It's very confusing. Of course we CAN'T and DON'T rejoice in the face of this tragedy. But does the kind of senseless brutality experienced in Newtown last week destroy the faith Christians celebrate at Christmas, that God is with us? Of course not.

If Christmas were only a memorial of the past, then maybe we should cancel Christmas this year. But more even than remembering our Lord's birth in the past (one of the greatest mysteries of our faith), Christmas is also about the present and the future: giving birth to Christ in our lives, today, and anticipating Christ's coming in fullness.

So Christians, in the face of tragedy of monstrous proportions, find small ways to embrace the life of our God among us. For many, this will surely be a sorrowful Christmas. But Christmas it will be, nonetheless.

As Christmas nears, let us pray that each of us will find our own unique way to bring into our corners of the world the fullness of joy that Jesus promises. (John 15:11) May we become signs of God's presence (Emmanuel) for our friends and neighbors, signs of Christ living among us--especially to our children, our school teachers, and our neighbors in Newtown.

To echo Barbara Gawle's Weekly Bible Study: "Powers feared are nothing in the face of the coming of our Lord. And so... Isaiah urges: 'Cry out with joy and gladness: for among us is the great and holy One of Israel!'”

A Weekly Bible Study by Barbara A. Gawle

No. 6  Third Sunday of Advent

Zephaniah 3:14-18, Philippians 4:4-7
Isaiah 12:2-6, Luke 3:10-18
 

In today's readings for “Gaudete” (Rejoice) Sunday, both the prophet Zephaniah and St. Paul are offering reassurance to communities facing fear and anxiety. The people of sixth century BC in Judah, under threat of a brutal invasion by the cruel Assyrians, are urged to find security by returning to the Lord and reforming their lives. Likewise, Paul’s Christians at Philippi are instructed to dismiss their anxieties,  anxious division between two different church leaders in their community. Paul urges these Christians to approach the Lord in confidence, prayerful thanksgiving, and to strive for unity.

In the Gospel of Luke, John the Baptist’s audience is also filled with fearful expectation as John describes, rather dramatically, the everlasting consequences of living a sinful life. "What should we do?" they ask John.

For each of these groups of people living in fear, the biblical writers extend the promise of the peace and security that comes when the Lord is with us. And so they (and we) are moved from reassurance to rejoicing because the powers feared are nothing in the face of the coming of our Lord. And so, the reading response by the prophet Isaiah urges: “Cry out with joy and gladness: for among us is the great and holy One of Israel!”

We await the coming of Christ this Advent, but already rejoice with the Lord who is in our midst!  The Lord is near indeed!

The Bible is a living Book opening us to the beating heart of God.

 

Ten Points for Fruitful Bible Reading

No. 8: You do not read alone.

"By reading and reflecting on Sacred Scripture, Catholics join those faithful men and women who have taken God's Word to heart and put it into practice in their lives. We read the Bible within the tradition of the Church to benefit from the holiness and wisdom of all the faithful."


From "Understanding the Bible" by Mary Elizabeth Sperry,  USCCB Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible
 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/understanding-the-bible/index.cfm)

A Weekly Bible Study by Barbara Gawle

No. 5  Second Sunday of Advent

Luke 3:1-6

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. (Luke 3:1-2)

Why all the names? (Honestly, isn't it hard not to "tune out" at the beginning of this week's gospel reading?)

Who are all these people? Emperors, governors, local rulers, high priests: these are the political power brokers of Jesus' day. Authority, domination and military might usher in the opening scene of this Sunday's gospel. Could this be a deliberate act on the part of Luke to provide a striking contrast to what will follow?

The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert. John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
(Luke 3:2-3)

In the starkness of the wilderness, a WORD will come forth to silence the raging powers.  Is this not the Word that will bring forth an even mightier kingdom? Is this not the “all-powerful Word that leaps down in the stillness of the night” as the author of the biblical Book of Wisdom tells us? Such a powerful contrast to Rome and its mighty earthly rulers!

Ponder this amazing scene: a humble, gentle Word (Jesus, the Incarnate Christ) will break through to bring forth a new age and a new kingdom.  It will be a kingdom not of domination and injustice, but one of salvation when all things will be made new.

Advent Prayer
May the Word who is Christ enter our hearts
        in quiet and gentle ways;
May the Holy Spirit help us to appreciate more fully
        the gift of salvation;
May we celebrate our own “baptism of repentance”
        by turning (or returning) to God during this season.
May all our thoughts, words and actions
        help to prepare the way of the Lord.

Every time we open the Bible our hearts should tremble.
 

Ten Points for Fruitful Bible Reading

No. 7: The Old relates to the New.

"The Old Testament and the New Testament shed light on each other. While we read the Old Testament in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus, it has its own value as well. Together, these testaments help us to understand God's plan for human beings."

From "Understanding the Bible" by Mary Elizabeth Sperry,
USCCB Associate Director for Utilization of the New American Bible
 (http://www.usccb.org/bible/understanding-the-bible/index.cfm)

A Weekly Bible Study by Barbara Gawle

No. 4 First Sunday of Advent

Jeremiah 33:14-16
Jeremiah, a prophet of the 7th century B.C., spoke to a nation in crisis.  Religious reform in the land of Judah (Israel), initiated by King Josiah, had given way to idolatry and  infidelity.  Babylon was about to crash through the gates of Jerusalem, taking Israel captive in a foreign land, and there was no help for it.

Today's brief reading is part of a longer passage that promises that, even though Israel is suffering for its sins, one day God will restore and heal Israel, bringing abundance and lasting peace. So even when the people is mired in faithlessness, God looks kindly upon his people.

Today's reading is kind of short, but it contains three very powerful messages. Through Jeremiah, God promises:

• "The days are coming…when I will fulfill the promise I made…." Not even Jeremiah could imagine such a savior who came to free us from the bondage of our infidelities and sinfulness. Oh, what a gift!
• "The one I raise up will do what is right and just in the land …." God's promised savior would bring about justice and righteousness and would become our teacher in the ways of righteousness. Oh, what a gift!
• "Jerusalem shall dwell safely.…" God's promised savior would restore peacefulness to the land, healing the people from the ravages of their oppressors. In God we learn to find a safety and security far beyond what earth could ever provide. Oh, what a gift!

In Advent we reflect on these three gifts given to us by God in the person of Jesus: (1) Our renewal and forgiveness of sins; (2) God's forming us in righteousness; (3) God's deeply needed gift of peace, for ourselves and our world.

Prayer
May the words of Jeremiah speak to your hearts today as we journey through the week. In this way we hope to be informed, formed and transformed by God's Holy Word this Advent.