Ascension Press: Catechism in a Year with Fr. Mike Schmitz (Week 21 - May 22, 2023 to May 28, 2023) CCC 1042-1098

       

You may sign up on your own with Ascension Press 

Day 142 (Monday May 22) New Heaven and New Earth 1042-1050

VI. THE HOPE OF THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH

1042 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. After the universal judgment, the righteous will reign for ever with Christ, glorified in body and soul. The universe itself will be renewed:

The Church . . . will receive her perfection only in the glory of heaven, when will come the time of the renewal of all things. At that time, together with the human race, the universe itself, which is so closely related to man and which attains its destiny through him, will be perfectly re-established in Christ.⁶³¹

1043 Sacred Scripture calls this mysterious renewal, which will transform humanity and the world, "new heavens and a new earth."⁶³² It will be the definitive realization of God's plan to bring under a single head "all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth."⁶³³

1044 In this new universe, the heavenly Jerusalem, God will have his dwelling among men.⁶³⁴ "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away."⁶³⁵

1045 For man, this consummation will be the final realization of the unity of the human race, which God willed from creation and of which the pilgrim Church has been "in the nature of sacrament."⁶³⁶ Those who are united with Christ will form the community of the redeemed, "the holy city" of God, "the Bride, the wife of the Lamb."⁶³⁷ She will not be wounded any longer by sin, stains, self-love, that destroy or wound the earthly community.⁶³⁸ The beatific vision, in which God opens himself in an inexhaustible way to the elect, will be the ever-flowing well-spring of happiness, peace, and mutual communion.

1046 For the cosmos, Revelation affirms the profound common destiny of the material world and man:

For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God . . . in hope because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.⁶³⁹

1047 The visible universe, then, is itself destined to be transformed, "so that the world itself, restored to its original state, facing no further obstacles, should be at the service of the just," sharing their glorification in the risen Jesus Christ.⁶⁴⁰

1048 "We know neither the moment of the consummation of the earth and of man, nor the way in which the universe will be transformed. The form of this world, distorted by sin, is passing away, and we are taught that God is preparing a new dwelling and a new earth in which righteousness dwells, in which happiness will fill and surpass all the desires of peace arising in the hearts of men."⁶⁴¹

1049 "Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth, the expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come. That is why, although we must be careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the kingdom of Christ, such progress is of vital concern to the kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human society."⁶⁴²

1050 "When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise . . . according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom."⁶⁴³ God will then be "all in all" in eternal life:⁶⁴⁴

True and subsistent life consists in this: the Father, through the Son and in the Holy Spirit, pouring out his heavenly gifts on all things without exception. Thanks to his mercy, we too, men that we are, have received the inalienable promise of eternal life.⁶⁴⁵

Day 143 (Tuesday May 23) Amen 1051-1065

1051 Every man receives his eternal recompense in his immortal soul from the moment of his death in a particular judgment by Christ, the judge of the living and the dead.

1052 "We believe that the souls of all who die in Christ's grace . . . are the People of God beyond death. On the day of resurrection, death will be definitively conquered, when these souls will be reunited with their bodies" (Paul VI, CPG § 28).

1053 "We believe that the multitude of those gathered around Jesus and Mary in Paradise forms the Church of heaven, where in eternal blessedness they see God as he is and where they are also, to various degrees, associated with the holy angels in the divine governance exercised by Christ in glory, by interceding for us and helping our weakness by their fraternal concern" (Paul VI, CPG § 29).

1054 Those who die in God's grace and friendship imperfectly purified, although they are assured of their eternal salvation, undergo a purification after death, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of God.

1055 By virtue of the "communion of saints," the Church commends the dead to God's mercy and offers her prayers, especially the holy sacrifice of the Eucharist, on their behalf.

1056 Following the example of Christ, the Church warns the faithful of the "sad and lamentable reality of eternal death" (GCD 69), also called "hell."

1057 Hell's principal punishment consists of eternal separation from God in whom alone man can have the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.

1058 The Church prays that no one should be lost: "Lord, let me never be parted from you." If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4), and that for him "all things are possible" (Mt 19:26).

1059 "The holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses that on the Day of Judgment all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ's tribunal to render an account of their own deeds" (Council of Lyons II [1274]:DS 859; cf. DS 1549).

1060 At the end of time, the Kingdom of God will come in its fullness. Then the just will reign with Christ for ever, glorified in body and soul, and the material universe itself will be transformed. God will then be "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), in eternal life.

"AMEN"

1061 The Creed, like the last book of the Bible,⁶⁴⁴ ends with the Hebrew word amen. This word frequently concludes prayers in the New Testament. The Church likewise ends her prayers with "Amen."

1062 In Hebrew, amen comes from the same root as the word "believe." This root expresses solidity, trustworthiness, faithfulness. And so we can understand why "Amen" may express both God's faithfulness towards us and our trust in him.

1063 In the book of the prophet Isaiah, we find the expression "God of truth" (literally "God of the Amen"), that is, the God who is faithful to his promises: "He who blesses himself in the land shall bless himself by the God of truth [amen]."⁶⁴⁵ Our Lord often used the word "Amen," sometimes repeated,⁶⁴⁶ to emphasize the trustworthiness of his teaching, his authority founded on God's truth.

1064 Thus the Creed's final "Amen" repeats and confirms its first words: "I believe." To believe is to say "Amen" to God's words, promises and commandments; to entrust oneself completely to him who is the "Amen" of infinite love and perfect faithfulness. The Christian's everyday life will then be the "Amen" to the "I believe" of our baptismal profession of faith:

May your Creed be for you as a mirror. Look at yourself in it, to see if you believe everything you say you believe. And rejoice in your faith each day.⁶⁴⁷

1065 Jesus Christ himself is the "Amen."⁶⁴⁸ He is the definitive "Amen" of the Father's love for us. He takes up and completes our "Amen" to the Father: "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why we utter the Amen through him, to the glory of God":⁶⁴⁹

Through him, with him, in him,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
all glory and honor is yours,
almighty Father,
God, for ever and ever.
AMEN.

Day 144 (Wednesday May 24) Video on How We Worship

Day 145 (Thursday May 25) Introduction to the Liturgy 1066-1075

Why the liturgy?

1066 In the Symbol of the faith the Church confesses the mystery of the Holy Trinity and of the plan of God's "good pleasure" for all creation: the Father accomplishes the "mystery of his will" by giving his beloved Son and his Holy Spirit for the salvation of the world and for the glory of his name.¹

Such is the mystery of Christ, revealed and fulfilled in history according to the wisely ordered plan that St. Paul calls the "plan of the mystery"² and the patristic tradition will call the "economy of the Word incarnate" or the "economy of salvation."

1067 "The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby 'dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.' For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church."'³ For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation.

1068 It is this mystery of Christ that the Church proclaims and celebrates in her liturgy so that the faithful may live from it and bear witness to it in the world:

For it is in the liturgy, especially in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, that "the work of our redemption is accomplished," and it is through the liturgy especially that the faithful are enabled to express in their lives and manifest to others the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.⁴

What does the word liturgy mean?

1069 The word "liturgy" originally meant a "public work" or a "service in the name of/on behalf of the people." In Christian tradition it means the participation of the People of God in "the work of God."⁵ Through the liturgy Christ, our redeemer and high priest, continues the work of our redemption in, with, and through his Church.

1070 In the New Testament the word "liturgy" refers not only to the celebration of divine worship but also to the proclamation of the Gospel and to active charity.⁶ In all of these situations it is a question of the service of God and neighbor. In a liturgical celebration the Church is servant in the image of her Lord, the one "leitourgos";⁷ she shares in Christ's priesthood (worship), which is both prophetic (proclamation) and kingly (service of charity):

The liturgy then is rightly seen as an exercise of the priestly office of Jesus Christ. It involves the presentation of man's sanctification under the guise of signs perceptible by the senses and its accomplishment in ways appropriate to each of these signs. In it full public worship is performed by the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, that is, by the Head and his members. From this it follows that every liturgical celebration, because it is an action of Christ the priest and of his Body which is the Church, is a sacred action surpassing all others. No other action of the Church can equal its efficacy by the same title and to the same degree.⁸

Liturgy as source of life

1071 As the work of Christ liturgy is also an action of his Church. It makes the Church present and manifests her as the visible sign of the communion in Christ between God and men. It engages the faithful in the new life of the community and involves the "conscious, active, and fruitful participation" of everyone.⁹

1072 "The sacred liturgy does not exhaust the entire activity of the Church":¹⁰ it must be preceded by evangelization, faith, and conversion. It can then produce its fruits in the lives of the faithful: new life in the Spirit, involvement in the mission of the Church, and service to her unity.

Prayer and liturgy

1073 The liturgy is also a participation in Christ's own prayer addressed to the Father in the Holy Spirit. In the liturgy, all Christian prayer finds its source and goal. Through the liturgy the inner man is rooted and grounded in "the great love with which [the Father] loved us" in his beloved Son.¹¹ It is the same "marvelous work of God" that is lived and internalized by all prayer, "at all times in the Spirit."¹²

Catechesis and liturgy

1074 "The liturgy is the summit toward which the activity of the Church is directed; it is also the font from which all her power flows."¹³ It is therefore the privileged place for catechizing the People of God. "Catechesis is intrinsically linked with the whole of liturgical and sacramental activity, for it is in the sacraments, especially in the Eucharist, that Christ Jesus works in fullness for the transformation of men."¹⁴

1075 Liturgical catechesis aims to initiate people into the mystery of Christ ( It is "mystagogy." ) by proceeding from the visible to the invisible, from the sign to the thing signified, from the "sacraments" to the "mysteries." Such catechesis is to be presented by local and regional catechisms. This Catechism, which aims to serve the whole Church in all the diversity of her rites and cultures,¹⁵ will present what is fundamental and common to the whole Church in the liturgy as mystery and as celebration (Section One), and then the seven sacraments and the sacramentals (Section Two).

Day 146 (Friday May 26) 1076-1083

SECTION ONE
THE SACRAMENTAL ECONOMY

1076 The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.¹ The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the "dispensation of the mystery" the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, "until he comes."² In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age. He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and the West calls "the sacramental economy"; this is the communication (or "dispensation") of the fruits of Christ's Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church's "sacramental" liturgy.

It is therefore important first to explain this "sacramental dispensation" (chapter one). The nature and essential features of liturgical celebration will then appear more clearly (chapter two).

I. THE FATHER-SOURCE AND GOAL OF THE LITURGY

1077 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. He destined us before him in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved."³

1078 Blessing is a divine and life-giving action, the source of which is the Father; his blessing is both word and gift.⁴ When applied to man, the word "blessing" means adoration and surrender to his Creator in thanksgiving.

1079 From the beginning until the end of time the whole of God's work is a blessing. From the liturgical poem of the first creation to the canticles of the heavenly Jerusalem, the inspired authors proclaim the plan of salvation as one vast divine blessing.

1080 From the very beginning God blessed all living beings, especially man and woman. The covenant with Noah and with all living things renewed this blessing of fruitfulness despite man's sin which had brought a curse on the ground. But with Abraham, the divine blessing entered into human history which was moving toward death, to redirect it toward life, toward its source. By the faith of "the father of all believers," who embraced the blessing, the history of salvation is inaugurated.

1081 The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a "small remnant." The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings and at the same time respond to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving.

1082 In the Church's liturgy the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated. The Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation. In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings. Through his Word, he pours into our hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.

1083 The dual dimension of the Christian liturgy as a response of faith and love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us is thus evident. On the one hand, the Church, united with her Lord and "in the Holy Spirit,"⁵ blesses the Father "for his inexpressible gift⁶ in her adoration, praise, and thanksgiving. On the other hand, until the consummation of God's plan, the Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life "to the praise of his glorious grace."⁷

Day 147 (Saturday May 27) Christ's Work in the Liturgy 1084-1090

II. CHRIST'S WORK IN THE LITURGY

Christ glorified . . .

1084 "Seated at the right hand of the Father" and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace. The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify.

1085 In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present. During his earthly life Jesus announced his Paschal mystery by his teaching and anticipated it by his actions. When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father "once for all."⁸ His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past. The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is - all that he did and suffered for all men - participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all. The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.

. . . from the time of the Church of the Apostles . . .

1086 "Accordingly, just as Christ was sent by the Father so also he sent the apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit. This he did so that they might preach the Gospel to every creature and proclaim that the Son of God by his death and resurrection had freed us from the power of Satan and from death and brought us into the Kingdom of his Father. But he also willed that the work of salvation which they preached should be set in train through the sacrifice and sacraments, around which the entire liturgical life revolves."⁹

1087 Thus the risen Christ, by giving the Holy Spirit to the apostles, entrusted to them his power of sanctifying:¹⁰ they became sacramental signs of Christ. By the power of the same Holy Spirit they entrusted this power to their successors. This "apostolic succession" structures the whole liturgical life of the Church and is itself sacramental, handed on by the sacrament of Holy Orders.

. . . is present in the earthly liturgy . . .

1088 "To accomplish so great a work" - the dispensation or communication of his work of salvation - "Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister, 'the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,' but especially in the Eucharistic species. By his power he is present in the sacraments so that when anybody baptizes, it is really Christ himself who baptizes. He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised 'where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them."'¹¹

1089 "Christ, indeed, always associates the Church with himself in this great work in which God is perfectly glorified and men are sanctified. The Church is his beloved Bride who calls to her Lord and through him offers worship to the eternal Father."¹²

. . . which participates in the liturgy of heaven

1090 "In the earthly liturgy we share in a foretaste of that heavenly liturgy which is celebrated in the Holy City of Jerusalem toward which we journey as pilgrims, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God, Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle. With all the warriors of the heavenly army we sing a hymn of glory to the Lord; venerating the memory of the saints, we hope for some part and fellowship with them; we eagerly await the Savior, our Lord Jesus Christ, until he, our life, shall appear and we too will appear with him in glory."¹³

Day 148 (Sunday May 28) The Holy Spirit's Work in the Liturgy 1091-1098

III. THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE CHURCH IN THE LITURGY

1091 In the liturgy the Holy Spirit is teacher of the faith of the People of God and artisan of "God's masterpieces," the sacraments of the New Covenant. The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ. When the Spirit encounters in us the response of faith which he has aroused in us, he brings about genuine cooperation. Through it, the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church.

1092 In this sacramental dispensation of Christ's mystery the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation: he prepares the Church to encounter her Lord; he recalls and makes Christ manifest to the faith of the assembly. By his transforming power, he makes the mystery of Christ present here and now. Finally the Spirit of communion unites the Church to the life and mission of Christ.

The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ

1093 In the sacramental economy the Holy Spirit fulfills what was prefigured in the Old Covenant. Since Christ's Church was "prepared in marvelous fashion in the history of the people of Israel and in the Old Covenant,"¹⁴ the Church's liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of the Old Covenant as integral and irreplaceable, adopting them as her own:

-notably, reading the Old Testament;

-praying the Psalms;

-above all, recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ (promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return).

1094 It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built,¹⁵ and then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church. This catechesis unveils what lay hidden under the letter of the Old Testament: the mystery of Christ. It is called "typological" because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the "figures" (types) which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant. By this re-reading in the Spirit of Truth, starting from Christ, the figures are unveiled.¹⁶ Thus the flood and Noah's ark prefigured salvation by Baptism,¹⁷ as did the cloud and the crossing of the Red Sea. Water from the rock was the figure of the spiritual gifts of Christ, and manna in the desert prefigured the Eucharist, "the true bread from heaven."¹⁸

1095 For this reason the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the "today" of her liturgy. But this also demands that catechesis help the faithful to open themselves to this spiritual understanding of the economy of salvation as the Church's liturgy reveals it and enables us to live it.

1096 Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy. A better knowledge of the Jewish people's faith and religious life as professed and lived even now can help our better understanding of certain aspects of Christian liturgy. For both Jews and Christians Sacred Scripture is an essential part of their respective liturgies: in the proclamation of the Word of God, the response to this word, prayer of praise and intercession for the living and the dead, invocation of God's mercy. In its characteristic structure the Liturgy of the Word originates in Jewish prayer. The Liturgy of the Hours and other liturgical texts and formularies, as well as those of our most venerable prayers, including the Lord's Prayer, have parallels in Jewish prayer. The Eucharistic Prayers also draw their inspiration from the Jewish tradition. The relationship between Jewish liturgy and Christian liturgy, but also their differences in content, are particularly evident in the great feasts of the liturgical year, such as Passover. Christians and Jews both celebrate the Passover. For Jews, it is the Passover of history, tending toward the future; for Christians, it is the Passover fulfilled in the death and Resurrection of Christ, though always in expectation of its definitive consummation.

1097 In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action, especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments, is an encounter between Christ and the Church. The liturgical assembly derives its unity from the "communion of the Holy Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body of Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social - indeed, all human affinities.

1098 The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become "a people well disposed." The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers. The grace of the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken faith, conversion of heart, and adherence to the Father's will. These dispositions are the precondition both for the reception of other graces conferred in the celebration itself and the fruits of new life which the celebration is intended to produce afterward.

Bible In One Year Day 322 (Acts 1, Romans 1, Proverbs 26: 24-26)

   You may subscribe yourself at the Ascension site here and receive notifications in your email, or just follow along on my blog.  Bible in One Year Readings Index 

Day 322: The Ascension 

 

Agape Bible Study 
Acts 1 

Introduction

Jesus' marching orders for the ministers of His Church that are quoted in the Scripture passages above have come to be known as "the Great Commission." The book of Praxeis Apostolicon in Greek and Acta [Actus] Apostolorum in Latin, literally ACTS [OF] APOSTLES, is the story of some (not all) of the courageous Apostles and disciples of Jesus who accepted that holy mission and began to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem to the most remote corners of the Roman world.

Acts of Apostles is Part II of St. Luke's two volume work on the mission of the Messiah. In Part I of his Gospel, St. Luke presented Jesus' mission to establish the Kingdom of God in bringing salvation to the "lost sheep of Israel" and to humanity in general. In Part II, St. Luke presents a historical account of the Church's development from the Ascension of Christ to St. Paul's journey to Rome and his house arrest in Rome, awaiting his hearing before Caesar. St. Luke places his story in the context of world history. In his Gospel, he provided the names of the civil and religious leaders (Lk 3:1-2), just as he does in Acts, where St. Luke also identifies well known political leaders from secular sources. But most importantly, St. Luke presents the compelling story of how Jesus's Apostles and disciples carried forward the mission of the universal Kingdom under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the book that comes between the Gospels and the Epistles and is the hinge upon which the New Testament turns from the Old Covenant fulfilled in Christ and the New Testament Church, which is sacramentally the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth.

The Author: According to a tradition that has never been seriously challenged, St. Luke is the author of the two volumes of the Gospel According to Luke and Acts of Apostles. The extrabiblical evidence that these two books are by the same author dates to as early as the last third of the second century. Both the Muratorian Canon (the earliest known list of writings pronounced canonical by the Church c. 155) and the early Church Father Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons (AD 130-202), identified Luke as the author of both the Third Gospel and the Book of Acts. Irenaeus was a disciple of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna (AD 60-155), who was a disciple of the Apostle, St. John Zebedee.

Chapter 1: The Preparation for the Church's Mission

Acts 1:1-5 ~ The Prologue

In the introductory prologue, St. Luke connects Acts of Apostles with his Gospel account of Jesus' life and ministry until the day he was taken up, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the "Apostles whom he had chosen (Lk 24:44-53).

Question: Who is Theophilus to whom Luke's second volume is dedicated? See Lk 1:1-4.
Answer: He is the same man to whom he dedicated his Gospel.

Theophilus, a name meaning "God-lover/ lover of God," is an unknown early Christian who may have provided the funds for the handwritten copies of this work, as he may have done for Luke's Gospel (Lk 1:3). In St. Luke's Gospel dedication, we learned that the contents of the work were meant to support the catechesis that Theophilus had received Just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginning and ministers of the word have handed them down to us (Lk 1:2), so Theophilus may realize the certainty of the teachings you have received (Lk 1:4).

The Ascension, by Dosso Dossi

Acts 1:6-12 ~ The Ascension of Jesus

Acts 1:6-7 When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" 7 He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.
The Apostles and disciples may be expecting the Messianic Kingdom to be a political fulfillment like the Davidic Kingdom and liberation from their Roman oppressors. But what the disciples are asking might also concern what He prophesied concerning the completion of His mission in the "coming of the Son of Man." His mission will not be completed until He returns in judgment. His discourse about His Second Advent and the Last Judgment is recorded in the Gospels (Mt 24:29-44; 25:31-46; Mk 13:24-37; Lk 21:25-28). Notice that Jesus does not rebuke them for their question which He has always done in the past when they are in error, and He gives them the same answer He gave in those Gospel discourses (see for example, Mt 24:3, 36, 42-44; Mk 13:32). That part of His mission is under the Father's authority. St. Paul spoke of this unknown "hour" in 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2 ~ Concerning times and seasons, brothers, you have no need for anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.

Question: How is the description of the return of the LORD similar what the angels told the disciples in Acts 1:11 and the description of the new heaven and new earth at the end of time in Revelation 21:1-22:5?
Answer: The angels told the disciples that God the Son will return to the Mt. of Olives in His Second Advent. It is a return that is prophesied in Zechariah 14:4. In St. John's vision of the end of the Age of Man and the return of Christ, the prophecy in Zechariah chapter 14:4-9 will be fulfilled in Revelation 21:1-22:5:

The Return of the Divine King That day his feet shall rest on the Mount of Olives, which is opposite Jerusalem to the east. Zechariah 14:4 They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven." Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem ... Acts 1:11-12
Zechariah 14:4-9	Revelation 21:1-22:5
14:6-7 On that day there shall no longer be cold or frost. 7 There shall be one continuous day, known to the LORD [YHWH], not day and night, for in the evening time there shall be light.	21:22 The city [Jerusalem] had no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gave it light, and its lamp was the Lamb. 22:5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.
14:8 On that day, living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, half to the eastern sea, and half to the western sea, and it shall be so in summer and in winter.	22:1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb down the middle of its street.
14:9 The LORD [YHWH] shall become king over the whole earth; on that day the LORD [YHWH] shall be the only one, and his name the only one.	22:3b The throne of God and the lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Acts 1:13-14 ~ Prayer within the Jerusalem Community

The Apostles and the men and women disciples, in the presence of the Virgin Mary, will remain in prayer as the first Christian community. Notice that Jesus' "brothers," meaning His kinsmen, have also taken their place within the community of believers.

The Upper Room where they were staying was probably the same Upper Room where they celebrated the Last Supper (Mk 14:15; Lk 22:12). It will become the regular meeting place for the Jerusalem church (Acts 1:13; 12:12) and was probably in the home of Jesus' disciple, Mary of Jerusalem, the kinswoman of His disciple Barnabas and the mother of John Mark, the writer of the Gospel of Mark (Acts 12:12; Col 4:10).

Acts 1:15-26 ~ Action within the Jerusalem Community: Choosing Judas' Successor

It is clear that Peter is leading the community and making the decisions. It cannot be supported that any other Apostle was Jesus' designated successor as the leader of the Church:

• Peter is named first in every list of the Apostles (Mt 10:2-4; Mk 3:16-19; Lk 6:13-14; Acts 1:13).
• He is the only Apostle given a title = Kepha, meaning "Rock," which is translated into Greek as "Petros" and into English as "Peter."
• He is given the "keys of the kingdom" and the power to "bind and loose" by Jesus (Mt 16:18-19).
• Jesus tells Peter it is his responsibility to "strengthen your brothers" (the other Apostles and disciples) after they are all tested during Jesus' Passion (Lk 22:32).
• Jesus commands Peter to feed the "lambs" and to both tend and feed the "sheep," meaning to guide and teach the community of believers and to lead and teach the other ministers of the Church (Jn 21:15-17).
• Peter is shown as the leader of the Apostles: in the selection of Judas' replacement (Acts 1:15-25); in speaking to the crowds after the miracle at Pentecost (Acts 2:14-40); in leading the witness for Christ at the Jerusalem Temple (Acts 3:1-7, 12-26); in addressing the Sanhedrin when the Apostles were arrested (Acts 4:8-12); in judging sin within the community (Acts 5:3-11); in miraculous healings like Jesus (Acts 5:15-16); in the decision to extend the Gospel to the Gentiles (Acts 10:34-48); in opening the Council of Jerusalem (15:6-12); and in many other acts including the deference by the other Apostles (see for example Jn 20:4-7).
• Peter is most frequently named Apostle: he is named by his title "Kepha/Petros" 94 times in the Gospels and 160 times total in the Gospels and Epistles. The next most frequently named Apostle is John who is named 30 times in the Gospels and Epistles.

Agape Bible Study 
Romans 1 

 Romans 1:8-15

 

Question: For what is Paul thankful?

Answer: For the Christian community in Rome.  Paul begins by complimenting the Christians of Rome for their faith which serves as a good Christian example as the geographical center of the New Covenant Church. 

 

 

 Romans 1:16-23

 

The words "saving justice" and "upright" can be translated as "righteousness" or "righteous" or "justice"'it is the same word in the Greek = dikaios [dik-ah-yos] / dikaiosune [dik-ah-yos-oo'-nay] but this word is only used twice in this passage.  This is a word Paul will use frequently in this letter which means "the character or act of righteousness or justification" [Strong's Concordance #1342]. The New American translation renders verse 17 as: "For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, 'The one who is righteous by faith will live.'"  The Catholic dictionary defines "justice" as a virtue as "..the constant and permanent determination to give everyone his or her rightful due" ; and defines "the theology of justification of the believer" as, "The process of a sinner becoming justified or made right with God."

 

This passage is Paul's announcement of the theme of his letter: the saving power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  He makes 4 affirmations in his announced theme:

1. God's gift of salvation is a universal gift offered for all who are willing to accept it.
2. That all men and women have equality in God's plan of salvation [although the Jews first because of God's previous covenant obligations to them].
3. This universal gift of salvation is powered by the gospel revealed in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ'a power unleashed by God through His righteousness and promised by Him throughout human history
4. Mankind shares in this gift of salvation empowered by the gospel through righteous faith.

 

Paul's declaration that he is not "ashamed of the gospel" can be understood in light of what he wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:18, 20b-21: "The message of the cross is folly for those who are on the way to ruin, but for those of us who are on the road to salvation it is the power of God. [...] Do you not see how God has shown up human wisdom as folly:  Since in the wisdom of God the world was unable to recognize God through wisdom, it was God's own pleasure to save believers through the folly of the gospel."  The gospel is a paradox and a contradiction to the society of the pagan and modern world'that God would use an instrument of torture and execution to bring about the salvation of the world. 

 

"it is God's power for the salvation of everyone who has faith.."  The gospel isn't just a message from God it is a supernatural power that has been unleashed to bring mankind, through faith, to salvation. We have already defined "faith" as a supernatural virtue empowered by the Holy Spirit that is man's response to God as all truth and goodness [CCC # 153] and, as Paul adds here, the first step on the path of salvation.  In all Paul's letters he uses the word faith, in Greek pistis [pis'-tis], as a synecdoche [si-nek'-do-ki], a single word that sums up a process.  Faith is not only intellectual ascent'it is also trust and obedience to the life-giving truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is faith that unites a person to Christ through the work of God the Holy Spirit.  Salvation is in fact the reliance on the truth of God's promises and on God's faithfulness to keep those promises and to put them into effect through the gospel of Jesus Christ, "Let us keep firm in the hope we profess, because the one who made the promise is trustworthy Hebrews 10:23.

 

 

Romans 1:17 continued: "based on faith and addressed to faith" The Greek translation is "through faith (and) for faith".  Bible scholars tell us that this kind of phrase in sacred Scripture seems to indicate an on-going condition or growth in something that is living and active.  Paul is writing about the growing progression of the perfection of the gospel of salvation in the life of the believer.  This "saving justice" or "righteousness/ justification" which is revealed through the gospel of Jesus Christ and which as a gift of grace is made manifest, is nourished and continues to grow through the faith of the believer until at the end of the journey of faith when the believer who has persevered in faith and is victorious attains the ultimate goal'the gift of eternal salvation [see Revelation 2:7; 11; 17; 26; 3:5; 12; 21].  Paul's point in this passage is that the entire process of salvation is founded on and maintained in faith. Faith is the first step on the journey to eternal life. 

 

"As it says in Scripture: Anyone who is upright through faith will live." Paul is quoting the Prophet Habakkuk in Habakkuk 2:4, "You see, anyone whose heart is not upright will succumb, but the upright will live through faithfulness."  This is a key passage in the book of the Prophet Habakkuk that sums up the importance of the faith of God's Covenant people Israel in observing the Law of Moses.  The prophet is making the point that it isn't just the observance of the Law that promises salvation but their faith and trust in God expressed in their obedience.  Paul wrote in Galatians 3:8 that "Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles through faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, 'In you shall all the nations be blessed.'" In quoting the passage from Habakkuk Paul is making the link to what he wrote in 1:1-2 that God promised the gospel long ago through his prophets and it is the same message of salvation through faith in God's righteous promises.  The Jewish Christians would have appreciated and understood this connection to the teaching in Habakkuk Gentile converts may not have been as educated in the Old Covenant Scriptures to make the connection.

 

 

For St. Paul the reverse of the positive revelation of God's love is the righteous wrath or judgment of God visited on those who persist in rebellious unbelief.  To us it seem a bit shocking that Paul should move so quickly from a discussion of God's righteousness to God's wrath, but this perspective is perfectly in keeping with the Jewish sense of the whole world in the Last Age of man moving toward a final and imminent judgment where God's wrath will pour forth in all its divine retribution against all human wickedness.  His Jewish audience would have been nodding their heads in agreement.  The books of the Old Testament Prophets reveal the cycle of failed fellowship with God resulting in judgment and retribution followed by the promise of restoration [see "How to Study the Books of the Old Testament Prophets" in the Bible Study section or the Chart section see "The Symbolic Images of the Old Testament Prophets" ].  The two revelations of righteousness and retribution are related in that it is precisely God's righteousness and justice that does not excuse sin.  God has promised us eternal blessings and eternal punishment in the New Covenant  the righteous will find everlasting life while the wicked go to everlasting destruction.

 

Question: How is God's "wrath" or "retribution" defined by Paul?

Answer: Retribution is defined by Paul as divine judgment and separation from God. 

Question: How has God made "perfectly plain" (verse 19) to mankind His existence?

Answer: Through the miracle of creation and the wonders of the natural world.

Question: How did man abuse and reject the truth of this revelation?  Give examples?

Answer: Man preferred to worship the creation instead of the Creator by setting up as gods animals [Egyptian gods], or human beings [Greeks, i.e. deifying humans like Hercules], or natural wonders [worship of the sun or moon, meteorites, etc.].

 

Romans 1:24-32

 

Has it every occurred to you that the more the times and people change the more they remain the same?  The 1^st century Christians of Rome were living in a city that had perfected every debauchery. It was a city, which in the time of the Emperor Nero, had a population of approximately one million people.  The Roman senator Seneca wrote of Rome at this time that "...every sort of person flocks to the city which offers, at a high price, virtues and vices."[Consolatio ad Helviam, 6, 2-4].  The Christians of the Empire's capital had to be vigilant against the corroding effect of being exposed to such sins as those listed by Paul.

Question: In this litany of human rebellion against God in favor of sin in the first century AD that Paul listed do you recognize any signs of the same sin and degradation in 21^st century society today?   Give some examples.  When do we contribute to the growth and influence of sin by "applauding the sins of others"?

 

Comparison between Romans chapter 1 and the Book of Wisdom concerning the rejection of God's truth which results in sin and judgment

Romans 1:18-31	Wisdom 11:15 – 14:30
Romans 1:20-21: Knowledge of God revealed to man through the wonders of creation.	Wisdom 13:1-5: Knowledge of God revealed to man through wonders of creation.
Romans 1:21d: Man obstinately refuses to recognize the truth of God	Wisdom 13:6-9: Man obstinately refuses to recognize the truth of God
Romans 1:24-31: Man's refusal to recognize the truth of God leads to idolatry and immoral behavior	Wisdom 14:12-14: Man's refusal to recognize the truth of God leads to idolatry and immoral behavior
Romans 1:26-27: Unnatural sexual prevision is a result of immorality	Wisdom 14:26: Unnatural sexual prevision is a result of immorality
Romans 1:29-30 Rebellion leads to a whole list of vices	Wisdom 14:23-27: Rebellion leads to a whole list of vices
Romans 1:18; 32: The result is sinners deserve judgment and the wrath of God	Wisdom 14:30: The result is sinners deserve judgment and the wrath of God
Romans 1:32: Condemnation of complacency toward sin	Wisdom 14:22: Condemnation of complacency toward sin
Romans 1:21: Sin results in the "darkening" of the human mind	Wisdom 11:15: Sin results in the "darkening" of the human mind

Michal Hunt, Copyright © 2006 Agape Bible Study. Permissions All Rights Reserved.

 

In his argument Paul is certainly presenting a traditional Jewish teaching that the Jewish members of the community would have recognized and appreciated and a teaching from which the Gentile Christians would have benefited.

 

 

The Basic Biblical Principles Regarding Sexual Orientation, Adultery, and Fornication:

Paul's teaching in Romans 1:21-32 reflects God's teaching in the Old and New Testaments that homosexual relations were contrary to God's plan for humanity, as were the sins of fornication (unmarried persons living together) and adultery, all of which the Bible classifies as mortal sins (CCC 1033, 1035, 1854-55, 1858-59, 1861). Pagan societies embraced or accepted homosexual/sodomite practices and fornication. Some pagan religions, like the Canaanites, even had male and female prostitution in their temples. Contrary to the practices of secular societies, in the Holiness Code of Leviticus, God pronounced homosexuality/sodomy, adultery, and fornication abominations, and any person who did not repent those sins was not worthy of salvation (i.e., Ex 20:14; Lev 18:22; 20:10, 13; Dt 5:18; Wis 14:26; Sir 23:23; Mt 5:27-28; 1 Cor 6:9, 18; Eph 5:5; 1 Tim 1:10; Heb 13:4). God's standards of right or wrong behavior are never altered according to what is regarded as acceptable according to the practices of secular society.

 

God blesses heterosexual intimacy within the bonds of the marital union, which He created to bring forth and nurture new generations in the human family (Gen 2:18-24; Mt 19:3-9; Eph 5:31; 1 Tim 3:12; CCC 1603-05). Through His Holy Spirit inspired writers, God condemned homosexual unions that reflect disordered passions and disordered expressions of love (i.e., Gen 19:4-5, 12-13; Lev 18:22; 20:13; Gal 5:19-21; 1 Cor 6:9; 1 Tim 1:9-10; Jude 7; Rev 22:15). It was a pronouncement that continued in the early Church (see Didache 2:2; Justin Martyr 27; Clement Exhortation to the Greeks 2), in other Church letters and documents, and continues today in the Universal Catechism: CCC 391-95, 1033-39, 2357-59.

 

God reveals His character through the intimate marital relationship in heterosexual unions: in man, He reveals Himself to woman, and in woman, He reveals Himself to man. In homosexual relationships, there is a distorted understanding of God the Divine Bridegroom and His Bride, the covenant people of His Church (Mt 9:15; Rev 19:6-9; CCC 772, 757, 1601-02, 1612).

 

The same God who labeled homosexual activity a violation of His plan for humanity also labeled pride, envy, lust, and greed equally repulsive. It is not an issue of "legalism versus love," as some term it. We all struggle with different inclinations toward sin with which we have become comfortable. However, this does not mean because we are inclined toward unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred, adultery, the sexual abuse of children, or deception in a seemingly uncontrollable urge to lie that we change our Scriptural interpretations to comfort ourselves in our sinful deceptions. The Holy Spirit inspired the Biblical writers to record God's laws and prohibitions to govern our lives so that we might live in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:27-28; 2:24; Mt 19:4-6), not that we would make Him into our own fallen image.