Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study
Christian Fellowship Announcement: Long-term member, Jason, has started an online Catholic fellowship group for those who are interested in praying and sharing together. It is called “Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality” and everyone is invited to join/connect on Meetup at https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/.
Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study house rules/notes…
1. Meetup is https://meetu.ps/c/4mYPW/F6KR3/a, Zoom Meeting Logon information is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952
2. The notes/recaps from our meetings are posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog, usually within a day.
3. See The Chosen. Knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check it out: The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
4. Respectfulness. Of course we will discuss differences between religions and even between Christian denominations, but we agree to use respectful words and tones in doing so. Specifically, Protestants are our friends and brothers in Christ (I myself owe part of my return to the faith to them).
5. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct; however, that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn the Bible, explain the Catholic faith – what it means and especially its origins in Scripture and Jesus Christ – and helping people develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can email the group via Meetup, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net.
Gospel Week Jesus is Baptized by John – Matthew 3:13-17 The Wedding at Cana – John 2:1-11 Jesus goes to Nazareth – Luke 4:16-30 Opening Prayer Tonight, Lord, are studying your Word, the Gospels, the Good News that Heaven is open for business, and that You are the Way to Heaven, the Truth about Heaven, and the Life in Heaven. Guide us on our journey through your Baptism with John, Your first miracle at Cana with a little push from your mother, and your sad but necessary visit to Nazareth. Hear us, O Lord, and give us the wisdom to understand what it means, and what it means for us today. We ask you to bless everyone here tonight, hear their deepest needs, and grant their requests according to Your Will ––– silent prayer/special requests ––– Increase our faith and love for You, may Your will be done. 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. Upcoming Catholic Holy Days Ordinary Time: Jan 10 to March 2. Lent: Wed, March 2 to Holy Thursday, April 14. Upcoming Jewish Holy Days: Purim (March 16-17) 14th of Adar.
Hebrew months:
1-Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah)-Sept 2-Marcheshvan - Oct 3-Kislev (Hanukkah) – Nov/Dec 4-Tevet - Jan 5-Shevat (5 ½ AA*) 6-Adar – March (+leapx3) 7-Nisan (Passover/Easter) 8-Iyar – May 9-Sivan (Shavuot/Pentecost) 10-Tammuz – June/July 11-Av – July/Aug 12-Elul – Aug/Sep
No Mass-talk today as we have 3 big Gospels to cover. Instead, we have two easy questions.
Q: Aim at Heaven and you will get Earth thrown in. Aim at Earth and you will get neither. What does he mean?
Make God a forethought to your daily life rather than an afterthought. Proactive rather than reactive. It changes everything.
Q: When we pray for blessings/grace for ourselves, what do we expect?
What we ask for should always involve love, because that’s the relationship portal we have to God and the key to spiritual growth. In other words, if we receive grace, it’s not just for us. It’s for others, or how we think about them, how we treat them, speak to them, etc. How do we get more love? By expecting more? By holding onto it? By rationing it out? Or by giving it away? When you give love away, the supply becomes endless. Grace follows suit.
The Baptism of Jesus
Context of Jesus’ Baptism – 2000 years ago, John the Baptist – the last prophet of the OT – was baptizing followers at the Jordan River.The Jews did believe in ritual baths for ritual cleanliness, which their baptisms would have been, although John was ratcheting it up a notch with the people’s need to “repent” before the arrival of the Messiah.John was very popular and had a large following and many questioned whether he was the Messiah. However, John said he wasn’t worthy to tie the sandals of the Messiah. Moreover, he was baptizing with just water and the Messiah would baptize with water and the Holy Spirit.
All four Gospels have Jesus first adult appearance with John the Baptist at the Jordan River.
Jesus is Baptized by John – Matthew 3:13-17
Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John.
But John tried to prevent him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and yet you come to me?”
“Let it be so now,” Jesus replied, “for it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
As soon as Jesus was baptized, he came up out of the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
And a voice came from the heavens, saying, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Q: When Jesus walked up to him to be baptized by John, John knew Jesus did not to be baptized. Why?
He was the Son of God and without sin.
Q: Why did Jesus tell him to go through with it?
Jesus came not for himself but for everyone else. He mission was to take on the sins of humanity, offer forgiveness to us, send the Holy Spirit, and invite us into Heaven. This entire “saving process” began at his Baptism and was completed at his death and resurrection. As Pope Benedict XVI says in his book, Jesus of Nazareth, “Jesus loaded the burden of all mankind’s guilt upon his shoulders; he bore it down into the depths of the Jordan. He inaugurated his public activity by stepping into the place of sinners.” In our own Baptism, we are sharing in the same waters as Jesus, and the sins being washed off of us are taken up by Him, as he has does with everyone since that first time.
Q: Who were the most prominent guests at this Baptism?
The whole Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Not a bad introduction to the beginning of his ministry, the person who changed history more than anyone ever before and since.
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Q: What Jesus brought to humans was both evolutionary and revolutionary. Why?
Evolutionary because He was elevating man to his next level by moving exterior rules to the interior, saying it is what is in our minds and hearts that matters most, since our exterior behavior originates there. Of course stealing was wrong, but wanting to steal was the deeper problem. Of course murder is wrong, but more often it is the anger and vengeance inside a person that leads to murder. Jesus wants us to take ownership of the whole person. The next step in our human evolution isn’t so much physical as it is spiritual. See Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and Beatitudes to dive deeper into this.
Revolutionary by telling us that all the laws and teachings of Moses and the Prophets (of all humanity, for that matter) could be summed up by understanding one word: Love. Love of God, love of neighbor, love of self, and love even the people we don’t like. Of this is no small task, and so he sends us the Holy Spirit and sanctifying grace in Baptism, which is super-food for the soul.
Q: What did Jesus tell his disciples before his Ascension into Heaven?
“Jesus came to his disciples and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to observe all that I have instructed you. And behold, I am with you until the end of the world.’” (Matt 28:18-20)
Q: What prophecy spoke of this event?
Isaiah 41:1 Here is my servant whom I uphold,
My chosen one with whom I am pleased.
Upon him I have put my spirit;
He shall bring forth justice to the nations.
The Wedding at Cana
Context: After his baptism in the Gospel of John, Jesus begins choosing his disciples and next we see him at Cana for a wedding.
The Wedding at Cana – John 2:1-11
On the third day there was a wedding in Cana in Galilee and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons. Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” So they filled them to the brim.
Then he said to them, “Draw some out now and take it to the master of the banquet.” So they took it.
The banquet master tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), he called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves good wine first, and then when people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you have saved the good wine until now.”
Jesus performed this, the first of his signs, at Cana in Galilee. He thus revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him.
Q: The first person mentioned in events or stories in Scripture is intentional and given prominence in the story. Who is the first person mentioned in this story?
Mary
Q: “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not come.” This sounds like a reproach, doesn’t it? Do you think it is possible Jesus would break the 4th Commandment (“Honor your father and mother”), at a public wedding, no less?
Of course not. Jesus did not sin. If she had been shut down by Jesus, would the mother of the Lord have turned to the waiters and told them to do whatever he says? No.
Q: So what, then, could it mean, if anything?
“What does your concern to do with me” comes from a Hebrew idiom which is difficult to translate literally precisely because it is an idiom, which means you can only define it by its context. Literally, it translates as: “What to me and to you?” which actually means “What has this to do with me and you?” In this passage, Jesus’ questioning only regards that his hour has not come.
St. Irenaeus in addressing this passage points out that it could not be a reproach but is instead, as Jesus indicated by the mention that "his hour had not yet come" that Jesus is telling Mary, "this is not the plan but leave it to me."
This would seem to be the case because Mary immediately tells the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” And then Jesus does it.
For the fun of it, here are a number of other versions from other Bible translations:
Aramaic Bible in Plain English Yeshua said to her, “What do we have in common, woman? My hour has not quite yet come.”
Berean Study Bible “Woman, why does this concern us?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
Berean Literal Bible And Jesus says to her, "What to Me and to you, woman? My hour is not yet come."
Contemporary English Version Jesus replied, "Mother, my time hasn't yet come! You must not tell me what to do."
Douay-Rheims Bible And Jesus saith to her: Woman, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come.
King James Bible Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come.
New American Standard Bible And Jesus said to her, “What business do you have with Me, woman? My hour has not yet come.”
NASB 1995 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come.”
New International Version “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
New Living Translation “Dear woman, that’s not our problem,” Jesus replied. “My time has not yet come.”
New Revised Standard Version Bible And Jesus said to her: Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour is not yet come.
Catholic Bibles: English Standard Version CE (Catholic Edition), Good News Translation CE, Revised New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible Revised Edition, New Revised Standard Version Bible, Revised Standard Version 2nd CE, St. Joseph New Catholic Bible.
Q: Another item to resolve: What’s the deal with Jesus calling his mother “woman”? Why did he call her that?
The Greek translation says “A woman, wife, my lady.” It was an endearing term. When was another time Jesus used this term in an endearing way? His last words to his mother from the cross, “Woman, behold your son.”
Q: When else is “woman” used that might shed light on this?
God says to the serpent, “I shall put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and hers. He will crush your head while you strike at his heel.” (Gen 3:15)
This is called the Protoevangelium – the first Gospel, the first messianic prophecy. Mary is the woman, and Jesus is the seed who will crush the head of the serpent.
Do you think Jesus wants us to draw this connection? He would have known this was about to happen, so why else take us through it?
Q: What does “My hour has not come?” mean?
The time to act and be revealed (miracles).
Q: The reading starts out, “On the 3rd day.” Any idea what day this is?
If you count the days from the previous passages, the wedding is taking place on Sunday, the 7th day of the week.
John ties in Jesus with God and Creation throughout his Gospel. When are Adam and Eve married?
“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body. (Gen 2:24)
It is found in Chapter Two, in which starts with the 7th Day.
Q: Who is the Master of the Banquet?
Usually a friend of the groom, what we might now call “the best man.”
Closing Prayer
Prayer of Mother Teresa
People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the end, it was you and God. It was never between you and them, anyway.
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on us all.
Amen.
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