Matthew 1; Luke 1

The Gospels tell us that Jesus comes to fulfill the words of the prophets that preceded him, though not in a way we might originally imagine. As Scribes in the Kingdom states, “The Scriptures present the abiding form of God’s providence, and if Jesus is their fulfillment, he is so because he realizes in himself the whole of God’s work in Israel.” However, In Hosea 11:1-2, God is speaking about Israel by looking backwards instead of forwards, which begs the question of what must be fulfilled. In Scripture, fulfillment is found by looking back and understanding the Old Testament in the lens of the New Testament. Hosea tells us that we are saved by “the Holy one present among you” (Hos 11:9), refering to Emmanuel, or “God with us”. In the Gospel of Matthew, he identifies Jesus as “Emmanuel”, which he gathers from the Book of Isaiah: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel” (Mt 1:23). This gives evidence to the ideas we discussed last class, as the New Testament can only be understood through the lens of the Old Testament. In Luke we see more connections to the Old testament. Miraculous pregnancies are a theme throughout Scripture. One example is obviously seen in Mary’s miraculous conception, though Elizabeth and Zechariah’s pregnancy is another key example. The birth of John the Baptist parallels the birth of Isaac, as both Elizabeth and Sarah miraculously conceived in their old age through God’s will.

The wilderness generation is condemned because they do not have faith in God, even after everything he has shown them. God performed many miracles in Egypt and in their exodus to the wilderness; however, as soon as they grow frustrated with their food, they begin to complain and doubt in God again. The Israelites were given several attempts with God, but they consistently doubted him, leading to their eventual condemnation. Moses warns them not to go up and fight the Amorites, as they no longer have the Lord’s guidance, yet once again they do not listen and are killed. God commanded Moses to spread his laws to the Israelites and to instill His faith in them. Though Moses obeyed God by relaying His word to the Israelite people, the Israelites ultimately failed to trust in God. Through their failures, Moses failed and was not able to enter the promised land either.

The death of Moses at the end of the Pentateuch symbolizes a new era. Moses passes down God’s laws and the commandments to the next generation of Israelites, and his work is completed. After a long life on this Earth, there is nothing more Moses can do to bring the Israelites to the promised land. They must accomplish the final leg of the journey on their own. I think Moses’s death closes out the Pentateuch to show that the next chapter is beginning– one of the Israelites finally reaching the promised land and creating their own identity.

Deuteronomy 34 shows us that Joshua will be taking over for Moses in guiding the Israelites. However, we learn that Joshua will never be able to fully fill Moses’s shoes, “Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face” (34:10). This implies that Joshua’s generation will have its share of trials and tribulations. 

Leviticus 1-11; 19

Purity is cleanliness and being without sin while impurity is being unclean and marked by sin. As Mary Douglas puts it in Purity and Danger, “Dirt offends against order. Eliminating it is not a negative movement, but a positive effort to organise the environment”. From the Genesis account, we learned that God commanded human beings to maintain order on Earth. If dirt and uncleanliness is disorder, then humans should avoid uncleanliness. Not to maintain purity is to disobey God’s command and therefore is to sin. In Leviticus, we are given many laws related to purity, and detailed laws about what animals we are and are not permitted to eat. At first glance, some of the rules outlining which animals might seem peculiar. However, there is more logic behind them than it seems. The animals that we are permitted to eat, such as livestock, were blessed by God and deemed slaves of mankind in His covenant. Conversely, other animals that were not protected by covenant with God are considered impure for human consumption. Another thing that God outlaws is, “Do not mate different kinds of animals. Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. Do not wear clothing of two kinds of material.” (Leviticus 19:19). This is consistent with his command to preserve the order of creation. Without rules intended to maintain this order, mankind would descend into chaos. This is why it is necessary to dictate even seemingly irrelevant standards such as what we can / cannot eat.

Exodus 1-18

The question “Who is God?” is one of the most impossible questions to answer, as almost every person has a unique response. Even in Scripture, various portraits of God are painted, and sometimes seem contradictory. Exodus 1-18 seems to paint God as an all-powerful, all-knowing, and carefully calculated being. He is powerful for the miracles he performs, such as the 10 Plagues and the parting of the Red Sea. He is all-knowing because everytime he sends Moses and Aaron to deliver a message to the Pharaoh, he knows that the Pharaoh still won’t let the Israelites leave. Finally, he is calculated because he intentionally hardens the heart of the Pharaoh after each plague, so that he can truly prove his power and instill in the Egyptians a Fear of God. Those that fear God tend to be rewarded in Exodus 1-18, as the Israelites’ fear of God exempts them from the plagues. Additionally, Moses’s mother’s fear of God enables her baby to be saved, as Moses is rescued from the Nile. 

In Exodus 3, God reveals himself to Moses, naming himself “Yahweh” or “I am who I am”. He is everything and He is everywhere; He is all. In Exodus, God is presented as the “God of our Fathers”. In this way of thinking about Him, “God is presented in the plane of You and I, not on the plane of the spatial” (Ratzinger 123). He is a God of mankind, and thus He is manifested in every human being. As Ratzinger puts it, “He is not anywhere in particular; He is to be found at any place where man is and where man lets himself be found by him” (123). This version of God is seen through the burning bush, as He reveals Himself to Moses and to the Israelites to save his people. He comes down when He is needed and enters into a personal relationship with His people in order to save them from the Egyptians.

Genesis 37-50

The theme of death and resurrection that permeates Genesis is also present in Joseph’s story. Joseph
“dies” when his brothers sell him and fake his death to their father, and he is “reborn” with his new elite status in Egypt. 

As Anderson writes, “the figure of Joseph, beloved, though the youngest of eleven, and later with the choice of Ephraim the firstborn Manasseh, birth order does not determine divine presence”. Joseph is a surprising choice for Israel’s beloved son as he is the youngest. Further, even after being betrayed by his jealous siblings, he still chooses to provide for them amidst the famine. Joseph chooses the plant the silver cup in order to test his siblings, to see if they are still the envious brothers that sold him years ago. As Anderson discusses, the cup is discovered in Benjamin’s bag, giving the brothers two options: to leave their brother behind or to save him and their father. When Judah offers himself in place of Benjamin, he makes the ultimate sacrifice, proving to Joseph that the brothers have changed their ways. Joseph now knows that he can reveal himself to his brothers and provide his whole family with land and food in Egypt. This relates to his status of beloved son as he is able to provide for his entire family and please his father. Instead of being angry and resentful towards his siblings after all of these years, he comes to understand that his brothers’ selling him into slavery saved so many lives. If he had never been sold and sent to Egypt, then he would have never interpreted the Pharaoh’s dream and predicted the famine. In this way he was the redeemer of Egyptians and also his family.

Genesis 24:36

In Jacob’s struggle with God, Jacob is ultimately declared the winner, and consequently is given a new name of “Israel”. This name signifies his rebirth as he overcame his battles with humans and with God. Though Jacob is deemed the winner of the struggle, God wins something to by giving his blessing to Jacob. With God’s blessing, Jacob seeks out peace with his brother, who is a reflection of God himself. When Jacob is reunited with Easu in Genesis 33:10, he exclaims “For to see your face is to see the face of God”. This shows that God is manifested in his creation, and Jacob’s seeking peace with his estranged brother is also a way for Jacob to find peace with God. In this way, God, Jacob, Easu, and arguably all of their descendants are winners of the struggle between Jacob and God. 

The theme of “giving” versus “taking” permeates the story of Jacob and Easu. However, it reaches a climax when Jacob decides to deceive his father and take Easu’s blessing for himself. After Jacob and God’s struggle, Jacob immediately bows down to his brother and realizes how taking from Easu was a sin. After learning this lesson, God blesses both Easu and Jacob with bountiful descendants and land.

What is Religion?

Religion is a very complex word that is near impossible to describe.  You could ask 100 people to define religion and they would all have unqiue responses. As Cavanaugh describes, religion can lead to violence.  Looking back in time, so many major conflicts and wars have been fought over religion. When people separate into groups, tensions inevitably rise causing conflict. Though the reason why so many wars have been fought over religion is because of the deep value so many people place on it. So what makes religion so important to so many people? Cavanaugh highlights Marty’s five key features that outline religion. They are that it draws focus to our primary concerns, builds community, appeals to myths and symbols, involves rites and ceremonies, and requires rules and behaviors. These attributes can almost all be applied to politics as well, which may be a reason why politics are also a popular instigator of war. So how do we distinguish religion from political ideologies, such as nationalism? I think that the main difference is that religion requires strong faith and devotion to an unknown higher power. Religion is believing in things we cannot see and believing that there is something greater than all of us on Earth. Ultimately, we all must define religion for ourselves. I like to think of religion as a personal faith experience, as we all have our own beliefs and relationships with God (or some other higher power). More than that, religion is a community and can strengthen us through others with similar beliefs. 

Faith is unavoidable because, according to Aquinas, seeking the truth is natural to all human beings. If we did not have faith, then we would have no explanation for the things that we do not understand. Therefore, faith is beneficial because it keeps humankind from going insane looking for answers that we will never be able to find the answers to. As Wilker says, “The absence of authority in society not only severs the fragile bond of trust that binds people together, it makes learning impossible.” We must have trust in one another to form relationships and to learn from each other. Therefore, faith is also beneficial in creating close bonds between people and allowing humanity to run smoothly. A world without faith would be a world of trust. Though there is no way to prove if a God exists, having faith in Him and Scripture allows us to believe in something greater than us, and gives us a deeper meaning of life. 

Genesis 11-22

Abraham agrees to the request made by God because of his Fear of God and unconditional trust in Him. Though he has waited his whole life for a son, he has faith in God’s plan. So far, God has provided and protected Abraham from everything so he has no reason to disobey him now, no matter what is at stake. I think that Abraham is not lying in 22:5 and 22:8, for he knows deep down of God’s goodness. Abraham and Sarah patiently awaited a son for years, so it did not make sense for God to take Isaac right after his birth. Maybe Abraham knew this might be a test, and if he disobeyed, he would face the consequences. By telling his servants that “we will come back to you” Abraham believes that his son will be spared or resurrected in some way. God’s intention in putting Abraham through this ordeal is to prove his obedience to him. This allows God to reward Abraham with many descendants who would take control of their enemies’ cities. If taking this text literally, I would not say that Abraham’s actions are praiseworthy because I find it irrational and evil for anyone, even the most devoted Catholic, to kill their own son because God told them so. However, I interpret this text as a story that models how we should be faithful to God for he is good, no matter what. In this way, Abraham’s actions are praiseworthy because his faith is unconditional.

Genesis 4-11

Chapter 5 of Genesis, which details the descendants of Adam, is in a way its own creation story, though this time independent of God’s hand. This story tells how humans proliferate due to their own free will, which ultimately results in a world full of wickedness. This parallels the 3rd creation account as in both accounts humans’ independent choices lead to evil. Noah is the key factor in redeeming the human race. Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in Genesis 3, evil was inevitable in the world, as evidenced in the story of Cain and Abel. By Genesis 6, God has lost hope in the fallen mankind and wants to destroy all humans and animals, though he chooses to save one of each species in hopes to “reset” the human race. Noah, the only remaining righteous man is chosen to carry out the human race. Kaas notes that Noah was the first man born after the death of Adam, so immediately the relationship between their stories is established. Further, Noah was the first person with no direct connection to Adam and the Garden of Eden. This may indicate that Noah was a symbol of hope after the sin that Adam and Eve instigated. Like Adam, Noah was given a command; however, Noah utilized his free will to follow God’s command obediently, allowing the goodness of humanity to be restored.