04.04.23 Recap: Gospel Night!

Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study & Apologetics Online via Meetup/Zoom or In Person at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ House rules/notes… 1. Meetup is www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy Zoom Meeting Logon info is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952 2. I will send out Meeting Recaps the same night as our sessions – these are unedited versions without pictures. An edited version with pictures will be posted on our website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps before the next meeting. Taylor will notify everyone at that time. 3. Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can ask in the chat box, email the Meetup group, or me at ron@hallagan.net. 4. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and Christian denominations, and we agree to be respectful at all times. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them! 5. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith. 6. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying with other Catholics during the week? Fellow member Jason Goldberg has started “Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup.” Sign up at: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. 7. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen captures the real Jesus as close as any show I have ever seen. Just watch the first two with Mary Magdalene and you will see what I mean. 8. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing! Consider it your way of evangelizing! Please RSVP when you get the Meetup invite weekly. Our Bible Study Format: 5 min greeting/prayers, 10-15 min Catholic topic, 40-45 min on the main topic from weekly List below: Week 1: April 4 - Gospel Week: Sermon on the Mount, cont’d Week 2: April 11 – Bible Week (Gen àRev): We are in EXODUS, the 2nd book of Moses. Week 3: April 18 – Survey Topics Voted on by Members: We are currently beginning Christian Comparisons/World Religions.

Ö 1) Jesus’ Greatest Parables Ö 2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven 3) Christian Comparisons/World Religions 4) Great Women in the Bible 5) World Religions 6) Book of Revelation 7) Major Heresies and Church Councils Week 4: Mar 21 – Member Questions: 1. Does the path get harder the closer we get to God? Things that were bad before now look bad. Acedia. Monks/nuns 2. The History of the Mass going back to Cain & Abel, all leading to the sublime meaning of the Eucharist. 3. Can you review origin and meaning of the 12 statements of belief in the Creed? 4. “Who am I?” It seems we all ask this question at some point in our lives. Some ask it all the time. How do we answer this? 5. Are Charity and Love synonymous? How are they different? What are the 4 highest forms of Charity? 6. How many Gospels have the story of Jesus’ calming the storm? Are they the same story? 7. Why was God full of vengeance and violence in the OT? Or was that simply an interpretation by those of that time? 8. Prayer and Meditation – how are they different? (FYI, I taught Christian meditation for several years, so if everyone is interested in “meditating with God” for 20 minutes at some future class, let me know.) 9. Can you give us a brief overview/introduction to all the OT books? Catholic Catacombs Website: https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/recaps Next major upcoming events in the Church Lent – Wed, Feb 22 – Thurs April 6 Triduum – Friday, Apr 7–Sun Apr 9 Easter – April 9 Opening Prayer As the prophet Micah wrote, “O people! The LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Our prayer is that we, too, learn to be open and walk humbly with You. May the Holy Spirit guide us as we learn from your famous sermon tonight. And as You taught us to pray: Our Father Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily Bread; And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all. Amen. “When faith enlightens the mind worldly things begin to lose their hold on us.”

Lenten reflection #1: Practicing holiness During Lent, we practice virtues and unpractice vices. One vice we can try to give up is constantly judging others. Why do we do that? Because we have a part of God in us and, like all rebellious children, we think we can judge like Him. The “no-judgment” practice is this: Can you go one whole day without judging anyone negatively? One day. Whether it’s something dumb that occurs in your presence in the morning, or other dumb people driving around you, or someone looks at you wrong at the store, or people being jerks at work, or on the way home, or at home – all the way to bed, no judging. If you catch yourself failing at any time, you have to say, “Lord, please forgive me and take the log out of my eye!” Or you can say the Hail Mary. Next week we’ll ask for volunteers for sharing your experiences. I’ll tell you that when I started this, I couldn’t make it to work without condemning half the world to hell (I've gotten better). Lenten reflection #2 We are not human beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a human experience. - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, French priest Q: What does this mean? The Church teaches that at the moment of conception we are spiritual beings who are given temporary physical bodies. God infuses our physical being with a supernatural, immortal soul. Once our bodies die and experience corruption (recall the words of the priest on Ash Wednesday: “Remember Man that you are dust and to dust you shall return”), our supernatural souls will live forever, either in the joyful presence of God or in hopeless separation from Him. Now if our souls are going to exist longer than a billion times a trillion years, while our bodies are going to live for 60, 80, or maybe 100 years, then which is more important, our spirits or our flesh? It’s not even close. With that in mind, how do most people, including many professing Christians, live their lives nowadays? It’s not difficult to see that most of us live as if our natural, physical existence is all there is and will ever be. Why? As our science teachers taught us years ago, nature always seeks the path of least resistance. It’s part of our animal survival instinct. That works fine when we’re applying it to making a business plan or cutting the lawn, but it’s not the beset path for being a good person or developing our spiritual lives. Today, the path of least resistance is made all the more addictive by a slew of electronic distractions that dominate our waking hours. We don’t have time to ponder, we don’t have time to pray, we don’t have time to listen to God, we don’t have time to “be.” We have become human “doings.” We may officially still be “spiritual beings having a human experience” but we have locked our spirits in a closet and some of us have thrown away the key. We need to stop drifting along the path of least resistance. We need to do the difficult thing and turn off the electronics once in a while and learn how to ponder, pray, and contemplate. After all, if we really are spiritual beings dwelling temporarily inside earthly bodies, our spirits need to grow and mature. Who wants to arrive at the gates of Heaven with a spirit that flunked out of kindergarten? Recall that Jesus said that once we are members of his Body of Christ, we are “in this world but not of this world.” That’s what Pierre’s quote is referring to. We belong to Heaven. It may also help to remember C.S. Lewis’ comment: “Aim for heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you will get neither.” Lenten Reflection#3: This one is more for fun. What’s the most incredible day of the year historically for Christians? March 25, the day Jesus died on the cross and saved mankind. This was also the day the angel Gabriel announced to Mary she would bear a son – the Annunciation; just a mere 9 months before Christmas Day. Interestingly, Jewish tradition holds that March 25 was Adam’s first day of creation and, not only that, but also the day that he and Eve fell. It was also the day Cain slew his brother, Abel; and it was the day that Melchisedek made an offering of bread and wine in the presence of Abraham. And it was the day Abraham offered up his son, Isaac. Finally, and I will only mention this because JRR Tolkien was a purebred Catholic, in the Lord of the Rings March 25 was the day Frodo destroyed Sauron’s ring of power in the fires of Mordor. The first week of the month is Gospel Week – April 4 Q: If someone asked you what the Gospel (“Good News”) message was, how would you answer them? The Good News is that God, the Creator of the Universe, came here in the person of Jesus Christ not only so that He could share in our humanity, but that we could share in His divinity. Sure, there’s more to it, like 1) having to believe, 2) doing good works, and 3) spreading the news to others, but these are just directions on the roadmap.

Matthew 5-7: The Sermon on the Mount The first 11 verses of the Sermon on the Mount are the 8 Beatitudes, which we covered last month. Now we will continue with the most famous sermon delivered by Jesus while on earth. Mountains in Scripture are the site of Theophanies. What is a theophany? (Greek: theo = God + phany = appear). In Exodus, Moses went up Mt. Sinai to meet God, and then came down the mountain to deliver the 10 Commandments to the people.

Recall this time that Jesus has taken the people up the mountain with him to deliver his sermon. The imagery here was not lost on the apostles or early fathers of the Church.

Q: What is meant by Jesus saying not one iota will go unfulfilled? It also translates as accomplished or perfected.

He was asked if he was overruling Moses and the Prophets, and he responds quite strongly that he is not only not overruling them, but he is completing them. Everything that happened in the OT concerning him would be perfected – taken to a higher truth. This is what it means when we say something in the OT “foreshadows” or “prefigures” something in the NT – like the first Passover meal prefigures the Last Supper, or Adam and Eve prefigure Jesus and Mary. In addition to foreshadowing, we will use the term “prefigurement.” Abraham offering up his son, Isaac, foreshadowed God offering up his son, Jesus.

Jesus didn’t waste any time connecting the dots for his apostles. Recall that after he rose on Easter he joined two disciples on the road to Emmaus:

And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures (OT) concerning himself. – Luke 24:27

Much of what Jesus taught them for the 40 days before his Ascension was just this.

We later get this phrase from St. Augustine:

“What is concealed in the OT is revealed in the New, and what is revealed in the New is hidden in the Old.”

Jesus not only replies sternly to their question about whether he is abolishing the laws of Moses, but then he says this to the crowds:

“For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall never enter the kingdom of Heaven.” Mt 5:20

This would have shocked Jesus’ audience. The scribes and Pharisees were famous for ritual strictness following the 625 Mosaic commandments. Did Jesus really mean what he said?

Too often the righteousness of the Pharisees and scribes consisted in the observance of external rules. Jesus keeps telling them there is a higher principle in the Law and a higher righteousness, but it has to start within a person. If we only concern ourselves with checking the external boxes in our religious lives, we are far from God. But when our actions start from the heart, then the HS joins in, and our behavior is capable of so much more.

Sermon on the Mount

Jesus doesn’t just stop there. He provides examples of this difference in the next “Six Antitheses” … “You have heard… but I say…” Some have called these “Transformative Initiatives.”

1. Murder vs anger vs forgiveness

“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’… but I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.”

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”

Q: Can you see the teaching of the Moses being brought from the outside to the inside? Where does unrighteous anger and violence come from?

Jesus the divine therapist is telling us that nothing on the outside matters much if the inside is a problem. Murder and violence are symptoms of anger inside of us, so we must resolve the problem there, first.

Q: What is he referring to regarding the leaving the gift at the altar?

This refers to the Jewish custom of dropping coins in the temple treasury, but it refers to our addressing God for anything. We have requests of God all the time. Jesus is saying, “Go do your part first.” If you have hatred, anger, or resentments, go fix those first. Which part of the Our Father does this remind us of?

Q: What does the last part infer when he says, “you will not get out of prison until you have paid the last penny”?

He is referring to after this life. Clearly, not everyone goes straight to heaven or hell. Jesus’ example speaks of a temporary prison to pay off moral debts (Purgatory). Thus, he exhorts us to:

“Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court.”

Remember, we cannot force reconciliation or forgiveness on someone else. We can only do our part. We are judged by God for our intent and effort.

Q: Speaking of reconciling, is forgiveness more an external or internal thing? Why?

One of the most difficult things a person can endure is to experience betrayal or rejection by someone close to us. I use this example to help explain why it can be so hard to forgive sometimes. Not infrequently, this inability to forgive can do more harm than the act that initially hurt us... for both parties. And if left alone, which is often the case, wounds like these tend to fester like an infection and grow larger and larger. This is why Jesus commands us to forgive. He knows how much damage unforgiveness can cause.

Q: Is forgiveness more about us or the other person?

Most people assume it’s just about the other person – and the other person is obviously the reason you are confessing your sins. But forgiveness actually involves three entities – the other person, the Church, and ourselves.

We are part of the Christ’s Church, also called the Body of Christ, with Jesus as its head. We pray for each other which sends grace and strength to others in the Church but we also cause harm to the whole Body of Christ when we sin, including God. Therefore, when we get forgiveness, we are not only seeking healing for ourselves and the person we hurt, but for the whole Body of Christ.

We’ve discussed others and the BoC, but what about us? Forgiveness is very much about us, whether we are doing the forgiving or being forgiven. It's about us changing inside so that we can truly let go and be changed. We may say we forgive, but if in our hearts we still hold resentments, then forgiveness is not complete. The same is true when we are asking God for forgiveness. If we still hold onto it afterwards and can’t let it go, then we have not accepted His forgiveness. Receiving forgiveness means letting go; then we change. That doesn’t mean forgetting about it, for there are always lessons worth remembering. But lessons can become wisdom once we let go of shame and guilt.

Sometimes, we don’t feel we possess enough love to overcome resentment but then we've forgotten that we aren't alone in this – unless you decided to be alone. It’s not just our love – it’s mostly God’s love at work here. Christ has storehouses of it to make up for our lack of it. He is expecting to help us, especially when our hearts are hard or bitter.

Finally, forgiveness doesn’t always happen instantly but sometimes over time, in gradual layers. Jesus knows that – he’s walked in our shoes. He is not expecting perfection in this life, just progress... but progress that includes him.

We will continue Matthew 5 next Gospel Week. Because it is Holy Week, we are going to spend some time on Holy Week Gospels… and Judas Iscariot.

John 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.

Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said,

“Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”

He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.

So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial.

You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.

And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

Genuine Aromatic Nard – “Spikenard” is a fragrant oil derived from the root and spike of hair stems of the nard plant grown in the mountains of northern India. As Judas indicated, it was very costly – 300 days wages – and often used to anoint new kings or priests, or for burial purposes.

Q: The scent from the fragrant oil used for kings, priests, and important burials fills the house. Can anyone see any connections here to what’s going on?

Jesus is the kingly Messiah – the prophesied son of David. Jesus is the priestly Messiah, son of Mary who was of the priestly tribe of Levi, and he is about to enter Jerusalem for the last time where he will be buried. Everyone in the house was there when Jesus raised Lazarus, who seems to be doing fine; but it is likely Mary knew about the suffering Jesus was about to undergo in Jerusalem. She is applying oil to Jesus the King and Priest, and for his burial as well.

Q: Why did Judas’ protest about the wastefulness of the ointment?

Clearly, the meaning of the moment was completely lost on Judas.

What might Judas’ motives have been?

Judas was in charge of the Twelve’s treasury

Scripture points out that he was a thief.

In a few days, we will find him betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which would be far less than the value of the oil. Interesting.

Some think the zealots put Judas up to it, because Jesus wasn’t bringing the revolution they wanted. Or maybe they thought this could trigger a revolution.

Q: Jesus immediately defends Mary against Judas’ phony criticism. But then he says, “You will have the poor with you always.” Is Jesus saying he is more important than the poor?

Of course, not. This statement is often misinterpreted by people who then excuse themselves from providing alms for the poor, but that is not what’s happening.

First, Jesus is using words from Dt 15:11 that spoke of different kinds of financial obligations God was giving the Jews. In fact, many of the Jews believed that properly burying the dead came before almsgiving.

However, this is not a “poor vs God” contest. Remember Jesus said the most important commandment is to love God first, because only then can we love endlessly through all difficulties and without running out. The reason we give to the poor is because of Jesus, who himself came into a poor family and represents the poor of the world.

Mary must have been caught up in an ecstasy of worship when she was doing this, and she was doing the greatest thing at this moment anyone could do.

We now move into Jerusalem to the night of betrayal. At times you will hear this weeklong Passover celebration being called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Do you know why? (First Passover – no leaven, not time before escaping Egypt.)

It was also called the Feast of Deliverance. How appropriate is that?

Matthew 26:20-25

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve.

And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”

Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?”

He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me.

Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

Then in John 13:33, it says, “So he took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.”

Notice that Judas’ first chance to change his mind was when Jesus made his first statement about the betrayal. His second chance after he said to Jesus, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” and Jesus calls him out. He missed his third chance when Jesus gave him the morsel dipped in oil. Instead, Judas took it and left!

Judas still could have repented after he realized his plan (whatever it was) had failed and returned the money to the Pharisees. He didn’t; he betrayed Jesus, despaired of the outcome, and then took his own life.

God gives us forgiveness freely, but we have a responsibility to ask for it. It will not be forced on us. Judas rejected every opportunity.

Let’s discuss the two betrayals that night: Peter and Judas. Judas' treachery is coldly calculated. Peter’s is of the impulse variety, although three denials were bad. Peter was a pretty tough guy so we can only imagine how much shock or fear he was experiencing.

Psalm 41:10 reads, “Even my friend who had my trust, who shared my table, has scorned me.” My guess is that applied to Peter, not Judas. All creation from the beginning (the fall) – all salvation history – had awaited this dreadful moment when darkness held sway. Fortunately, we know light always overcomes the darkness.

We know that both Peter and Judas grieved their actions afterwards. Judas went and hung himself and Peter returned to his fellow disciples. However, their regrets were not the same. Peter’s was the pain of love he had damaged, and Judas' was because nothing worked out as planned.

We can turn to Jesus no matter how bad the thing is we have done, but we must turn to him.

Closing Prayer

Dear Lord

Tonight we studied your elevated commandments delivered at the Sermon on the Mount –

The Magna Carta of the entire Bible.

May we learn to incorporate your teachings into our daily lives

For we know that in doing so we are become children of God

And will inherit your Kingdom on the last day.

To assist us in this journey,

We are going to enlist the help and prayers of your very own mother!

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.