Christ Our Light: Redemption Unfolds

Christ Our Light:Redemption Unfolds Unit 5

Jesus is the Revelation of God • Everything about Jesus is a revelation of God. • Jesus’ name is Yeshua which means literally “YHWH saves.” • Jesus was raised by Mary and Joseph to be an educated, practicing Jewish man. • When Jesus speaks to the Jewish community, he is able to make connections between Hebrew history and his purpose. • Jesus was raised in a low-economic household. • This allows Jesus to understand the plight of the poor. • Jesus was trained to be a carpenter like Joseph.

The Baptism of Jesus • Baptism comes from the Greek word (baptizein) for “washing” • The Hebrews had a number of washing rituals which included washing vessels used for food, hands before eating, and of women at the end of their monthly cycle and after childbirth. • One ritual washing (mikvah) was used for those who wished to convert to Judaism to wash away their gentile status. Those born to a Jewish mother did not need washing because they were considered Jews by birth (Judaism is matrilinear), and if male this was completed in circumcision.

The Baptism of Jesus • Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. John tried to prevent him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and yet you are coming to me?’ Jesus said to him in reply, ‘Allow it now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.’ (Mt 3:13-15) • Jesus' public life begins with his baptism by John in the Jordan. • After Jesus was baptized, he came up from the water and behold, the heavens were opened (for him), and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove coming upon him. And a voice came from the heavens, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.’ (Mt 3: 16-17)

The Baptism of Jesus • Jesus submits to baptism to identify himself with humanity, as an act of solidarity with men and women who are sinful - even if he was not. • Jesus' submission to baptism was a prophetic act foreshadowing his acceptance of death, to make his baptism and death a means of transition to life for the many who accept baptism.

The Baptism of Jesus • There are three symbols that we take from the account of Jesus’ baptism: • Dove: God the Holy Spirit. • Heavens Opening: Divine Presence in the world. • Voice: God the Father identifying Jesus as Christ. • It is certain after Jesus’ baptism that: • Jesus knows that he is chosen by God the Father. • The Holy Spirit will give Jesus the strength to fulfill the Father’s will.

The Temptation of Jesus • The Gospels speak of a time of solitude for Jesus in the desert immediately after his baptism by John. Driven by the Spirit into the desert, Jesus remains there for forty days without eating… among wild beasts, and angels minister to him. At the end of this time Satan tempts him three times, seeking to compromise his filial attitude toward God. Jesus rebuffs these attacks, which recapitulate the temptations of Adam in Paradise and of Israel in the desert, and the devil leaves him ‘until an opportune time’. (CCC 538)

The Temptation of Jesus • The number “40” signifies a period of probation or testing that results in a permanent change of either victory or judgment. (Think of Lent.) • Ultimately, a person/group that endures for a period of 40 (days/nights/years) has reached perfection. • The Flood lasted 40 days and nights. • The Israelites wander for 40 years before they reach the Promised Land. • Jesus is tempted for 40 days and nights in the desert.

The Temptation of Jesus • Luke 4: 3-13 • “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” • “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” • “I shall give to you all this power and their glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I may give it to whomever I wish. All this will be yours, if you worship me.” • “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord, your God, and him alone shall you serve.’” • “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and: ‘With their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” • “It also says, ‘You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.’”

The Temptation of Jesus • The Salvific meaning of this mysterious event: • Jesus is the new Adam who remained faithful just where the first Adam had given in to temptation. • Jesus fulfills Israel's vocation perfectly: in contrast to those who had once provoked God during forty years in the desert, Christ reveals himself as God's Servant, totally obedient to the divine will. • Jesus is the devil's conqueror: he ‘binds the strong man’ to take back his plunder. • Jesus' victory over the tempter in the desert anticipates victory at the Passion, the supreme act of obedience of his filial love for the Father. (CCC 539)

Temptation of Jesus • Jesus' temptation reveals the way in which the Son of God is Messiah, contrary to the way Satan proposes to him and the way men wish to attribute to him. This is why Christ vanquished the Tempter for us: ‘For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning.’By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert. (CCC 540)

The Temptation of Jesus • Jesus is tempted three times. • He never falls for the temptations, he responds with quotes from the Book of Deuteronomy which is known for containing The Law. • We learn: • Jesus mission is not about materialism, the focus is on spiritual needs. • Jesus will not work miracles to impress people, they are intended to help those who are in need. • Jesus’ mission is not political in nature, it is a conversion • Conversion- change of heart

The Wedding Feast at Cana • While Jesus was attending a wedding in Cana with his disciples the hosts ran out of wine. Jesus' mother told Jesus, “They have no more wine,” and Jesus replied, “Dear woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come.” Jesus' mother then said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” John 2:1-5 • Jesus ordered the servants to fill the empty containers with water and to draw out some and take it to the chief waiter. After tasting the water that had become wine, and not knowing what Jesus had done, he remarked to the bridegroom that he had departed from the custom of serving the best wine first by serving it last. John 2:6-10

The Wedding Feast at Cana • The Wedding Feast at Cana is one of the miracles of Jesus in the Gospels and the first miracle in the Gospel of John. • John concludes his account by saying: “This was the first miracle of Jesus and it was performed to reveal his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him.” John 2:11 • Mary acts as an intercessor of faith on behalf of all those present at the feast.

The Wedding Feast at Cana • The incident occurs immediately after Jesus has told Nathanael that he would “see greater things”. • It is the first of the seven miraculous signs by which John attests Jesus' divine status, around which he structures his Gospel. • The word used by John is the Greek semeion meaning “sign”, or ergon meaning “work”.

The Wedding Feast at Cana • This miracle of Jesus is not mentioned by any of the Synoptic Gospels, but does parallel their parable of New Wine into Old Wineskins, which may have formed its origin. • It may also be based on supposed prophecies in the Old Testament, such as Amos 9:13-14 and Genesis 49:10-11 about the abundance of wine that there will be in the time of the messiah, and especially on the messianic wedding festivals mentioned in Isaiah 62:4-5.

The Parables of Jesus • The purpose of the parables is to proclaim the kingdom of God. • “Everyone is called to enter the kingdom. First announced to the children of Israel, this messianic kingdom is intended to accept men of all nations.To enter it, one must first accept Jesus' word: The word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear it with faith and are numbered among the little flock of Christ have truly received the kingdom. Then, by its own power, the seed sprouts and grows until the harvest.” (CCC 543)

The Parables of Jesus • Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching. (CCC 546) • Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything.Words are not enough, deeds are required. • Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to "know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven". For those who stay "outside", everything remains mysterious

The Parables of Jesus • The word “parable” comes from the Greek word meaning “comparison”. • Parables seem to defy common sense but were intended to force a person to look at societal norms. • Parables should lead to questioning the status quo. • Jesus references ideas that related to everyday experience (e.g. farming, sheep). • The evangelists used the parables differently depending on who their audiences were.

The Miracles of Jesus • Magic- attempting to control natural events or forces by controlling the supernatural. • Miracle- an event that appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and is held to be an act of God. • “Jesus accompanies his words with many ‘mighty works and wonders and signs’, which manifest that the kingdom is present in him and attest that he was the promised Messiah.” CCC 547.

The Miracles of Jesus • Some ways to interpret miracles: • Some say they are literally true, fact, and history. But God no longer grants us miracles due to our sinfulness. • Some say no way- these are fables, myths blown out of proportion. • Some look at the accounts separately and see Religious Truth- that is, each can teach us something about God’s presence in the world today as we continue to see God’s goodness and transformative power in our world.

The Miracles of Jesus • Catholic teachings about miracles: • The Church is very cautious about approving miracles. • Investigators from the Vatican will only say there is no natural explanation for the occurrence. • A miracle does not have to be approved by the Church to truly be a miracle. • The Church will not investigate every claim of a miracle. • We are not required to believe in any particular miracle. • Examine the miracles one by one.

The Miracles of Jesus • Miracles are seen as Religious Truth • “By freeing some individuals from the earthly evils of hunger, injustice, illness and death,Jesus performed messianic signs. Nevertheless he did not come to abolish all evils here below,but to free men from the gravest slavery, sin, which thwarts them in their vocation as God's sons and causes all forms of human bondage.” CCC 549

The Miracles of Jesus • “The coming of God's kingdom means the defeat of Satan's: ‘If it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.’ Jesus' exorcisms free some individuals from the domination of demons. They anticipate Jesus' great victory over ‘the ruler of this world’. The kingdom of God will be definitively established through Christ's cross: ‘God reigned from the wood.’” CCC 550

The Transfiguration of Jesus • The Transfiguration marks the event that begins Jesus’ Passion • We believe, that we will experience our own resurrection in a glorified body. • “Jesus’ Transfiguration takes place on a high mountain,before three witnesses chosen by himself: Peter, James and John. Jesus’ face and clothes become dazzling with light, and Moses and Elijah appear, speaking ‘of his departure, which he was to accomplish at Jerusalem’.A cloud covers him and a voice from heaven says: ‘This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!’” CCC 554.

The Transfiguration of Jesus • “You were transfigured on the mountain, and your disciples, as much as they were capable of it, beheld your glory, O Christ our God, so that when they should see you crucified they would understand that your Passion was voluntary, and proclaim to the world that you truly are the splendor of the Father.” CCC 555

The Transfiguration of Jesus • “On the threshold of the public life: the baptism; on the threshold of the Passover: the Transfiguration…the Transfiguration ‘is the sacrament of the second regeneration’: our own Resurrection. From now on we share in the Lord's Resurrection through the Spirit who acts in the sacraments of the Body of Christ. The Transfiguration gives us a foretaste of Christ's glorious coming, when he ‘will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body.’ But it also recalls that ‘it is through many persecutions that we must enter the kingdom of God’” CCC 556

The Institution of the Eucharist • “The Eucharist that Christ institutes at that moment will be the memorial of his sacrifice. Jesus includes the apostles in his own offering and bids them perpetuate it. By doing so, the Lord institutes his apostles as priests of the New Covenant: ‘For their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.’” CCC 611

The Institution of the Eucharist • “Knowing that the hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father, in the course of a meal he washed their feet and gave them the commandment of love. In order to leave them a pledge of this love, in order never to depart from his own and to make them sharers in his Passover, he instituted the Eucharist as the memorial of his death and Resurrection, and commanded his apostles to celebrate it until his return; ‘thereby he constituted them priests of the New Testament.’” CCC 1337

The Institution of the Eucharist • The liturgy of the Eucharist unfolds according to a fundamental structure which has been preserved throughout the centuries down to our own day. • It displays two great parts that form a fundamental unity: - the gathering, the liturgy of the Word, with readings, homily and general intercessions; - the liturgy of the Eucharist, with the presentation of the bread and wine, the consecratory thanksgiving, and communion. CCC 1346

The Institution of the Eucharist • “The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form ‘one single act of worship’, the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord.” CCC 1346

Christ Our Light: Redemption Unfolds