Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study
Northern Virginia Catholic Bible Study house rules/notes…
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
Questions encouraged. If you have questions about anything, you can email the group via Meetup, or me directly at ron@hallagan.net.
The unedited recaps from our meetings will be posted on Meetup immediately after our meeting, and a final edited version will be posted on our Catholic Catacombs Light website https://catholiccatacombs.wixsite.com/website/blog, a week later. You will be notified via Meetup of both.
See The Chosen. Knowing Jesus Christ means being able to better relate to God. Check it out: The Chosen at https://thechosen.link/1Y1R7.
Respectfulness. We will be discussing 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, and personally I owe part of my return to the faith to them.
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 and help members develop a closer relationship with Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
Catholic Prayer, Fellowship, and Spirituality Meetup led by fellow member Jason Goldberg: https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/
Bible Study Format: 5 min prayer, 15 min Catholic Ron topic, 40 min main topic from the weeks listed below
Week 1: April 5 – Gospel Week: The Woman Caught in Adultery – The Jesus Trap
Week 2: April 12 – Bible Genesis-to-Revelations: Gen19-22 – Ishmael and the Sacrifice of Isaac
Week 3: April 19 – Topic of Choice: Purgatory
Topics Survey Results
√ 1) Jesus’ Great Parables
Week 4: April 26: Open Mic
2) Hell, Purgatory, Heaven
3) Christian Comparisons
4) Great Women in the Bible
5) Why is there suffering?
6) World Religions
7) Book of Revelation
Upcoming Catholic Holy Days
We are in Lent: Ash Wednesday, March 2 to Holy Saturday, April 16. 40 days (46 days minus 6 Sundays)
Paschal Triduum – April 14-16: Holy Thursday to the Easter Vigil (April 14-16). Triduum means “three days” and refers to the three days of prayer preceding Easter. No bells can be rung, no organs can play, and no weddings can be performed during this time.
Easter Sunday – April 17 – the most important event in Christianity
Opening Prayer
Blessed are You O Lord, our God, King of the Universe.
You bring light out of darkness and ordain the order of all creation –
Not only in the beginning but now
And not only in the material world but in every spiritual way, every day of our lives.
“And behold, I will be with you until the end of time.”
Our Father who Art in Heaven, Holy be Thy Name
They Kingdom Come, Thy Will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our Daily Bread
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us
And lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Forgiveness
Last week, a couple of members expressed a concern about how far forgiveness goes, and I believe I may have misunderstood the question. Of course, Jesus says forgiveness is unlimited, but the question I think was instead: Does forgiveness mean there are no repercussions?
Does forgiveness mean that bad behavior is not to be punished? Not at all.
Even in the court of law (which is drawn from Biblical justice), the judge – if he senses that the guilty person is not contrite – will throw the book at them and increase the sentence!
Consider when someone apologizes for bad behavior and we forgive them; does this mean no further action or amends are needed? Of course, not.
In confession, we will be forgiven if we are sincere, but that doesn’t mean we don’t have an obligation to change our behavior or make another person whole if we hurt them, or stole from them, or whatever. As Jesus said to adulterous woman, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin anymore.”
The only time the Church says you don’t have to directly repair the damage is if there’s a greater risk you might cause more harm; in that case, there are other things you can do to make up for it.
In all these cases, the punishment/amends is not waived by the forgiveness. In fact, one of the reasons we have Purgatory is to finish the job for those times we fall short of rectification.
Forgiveness is a heart issue; it’s about not holding onto grudges inside of you (~hate). It’s about keeping open to, and praying for, the other person’s change/ improvement. It does not mean that you don’t have to address the behavior or damage you’ve done.
Fear of God
“Fear of God” will be mentioned near the end of Abraham’s almost sacrifice of Isaac, so let’s discuss this. God is love, so how is fear a component of love?
Q: Strangely, “fear of the Lord” is a gift of the Holy Spirit. Given our understanding of fear and the Holy Spirit, this needs some serious explanation. What is “Fear of the Lord”?
Thomas Aquinas talks about this confusion, which must mean it isn’t a new issue since he lived in the 13th century. He talks about three different kinds of fear:
Worldly Fear is simple emotional fear – the fear of having some good thing taken away from us.
Servile Fear is the fear that a servant has toward his master. This is the fear most people imagine when we say “fear of the Lord.” It’s mainly the fear of being punished. This is not the kind of fear that God ultimately wants for us, although that is not to say that this kind of fear can’t play a role in our salvation. Think of a childhood fear of punishment if he plays with fire or crosses a busy street without an adult. Yes, this fear will save them, just like adult Christians who don’t sin because they fear hell. But when the child gets older, they don’t fear punishment for these things; rather, they learn to appreciate the love of the parent who was saving them. And although fear of punishment can get you to heaven ultimately, you will have to pass through Purgatory because perfect contrition is based on love. Imperfect contrition is based on fear, and so needs to be purified.
Filial Fear is the fear that we have of losing the most important good – our relationships. This kind of fear is primarily the kind of fear that the Holy Spirit moves us towards. Some analogies for filial fear are: the fear a bride and groom often have at the time of their wedding when they look at the one they love and think to themselves, “I hope I don’t screw this up.” It is the fear new parents have while holding their first baby in their arms and think, “I hope I can do this.”
The proper meaning of ‘fear of the Lord’ is filial fear, which is the recognition of our precious relationship with God and the fear of losing it. Especially for eternity!
What do you make of this quote?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” - Proverbs 9:10
Q: Why is “fear of the Lord” the beginning of wisdom?
Think of the child who begins to learn that his parent’s warnings that are about deep love, not control and threats. This opens up a door to a new kind of relationship. As our relationship with God grows closer, we can’t help but “get humility.” It’s pure awe.
When our relationship with God grows so close that it reaches this awareness, then perhaps it’s similar to Peter’s shocked confession at the boat when he suddenly realizes who Jesus is. He falls to his knees and says, “Depart from me, for I am a sinner!”
Yet God’s response is like Jesus’ response: Get up Peter, we have work to do.
Bible Timeline Week
Timeline for Genesis…
Gen 1 – Creation #1 – 7 days
Gen 2 – Creation #2 – focus on Man
Gen 3 – Fall of Man
Gen 4 – Cain & Able; Enoch
Gen 5 – Generations/geneology
Gen 6 – Wickedness spreads
Gen 7-8 – Noah and the Flood
Gen 9 – Conclusion of Noah
Gen 10 – Decendents of Noah
Gen 11 – The Tower of Babel
Gen 12 – The Call of Abraham; Abraham-Sarah in Egypt
Gen 13 – Abraham and Lot part ways
Gen 14 – Lot’s captivity; The four kings; Melchizedek
Gen 15 – Covenant: heifer cut in two
Gen 16 – son by Hagar: Ishmael
Genesis 17 – Covenant Circumcision
Gen 18 – Abraham’s visitors/intercedes for Sodom (Lot)
Gen 19 – Sodom and Gemorrah, Lot/daughters
Gen 20-21 – Hagar and Ishmael
Gen 22 – Testing of Abraham – binding of Isaac
Gen 23-24 – Sarah dies, Rebekah comes
Gen 27 – Isaac deceives Ishmael
Gen 29 - Jacob in Haran, Leah and Rachel
Gen 33 - Jacob returns, meets Esau
Gen 37 – Joseph sold into Egypt
Gen 39 – Joseph tempted by master’s wife, goes to prison
Gen 40-41 – Joseph Dreams Again, becomes P.Minister
Gen 42-44 – Joseph’s Brothers come to Egypt
Gen 45 – The Truth Revealed
Gen 46-50 – Israel Migrates to Egypt
Gen 50 – Jacob dies
The Pentateuch is the first 5 books of the bible given to Moses Genesis: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The most important for understanding the framework of Christianity is Genesis, followed by Exodus. The books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy are extensions and further expositions of the Exodus. So, getting through Genesis – which we are now roughly 60% through – is huge.
Chapter 21: Ishmael
Sarah became pregnant and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time that God had stated. Abraham gave the name Isaac to this son of his whom Sarah bore him. The child grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great feast.
But Sarah saw Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian servant, laughing at her son, Isaac, and she said to Abraham, “Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac!”
Now this matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son Ishmael. But God said to Abraham, “Let it not be grievous to you because of the boy and your bondwoman. Do whatever Sarah has said to you, for through Isaac your seed shall be called. I will also make a nation of the son of the bondwoman, because he is your seed.”
Early in the morning, Abraham got up, took bread and a skin of water, put them on Hagar’s shoulders, and sent her away with the boy. She departed and wandered about in the Wilderness of Beersheba.
When the water in the skin was gone, she left the boy under one of the bushes. She went off and sat down about a bowshot away and said, “I cannot bear to watch the boy die!” And as she sat nearby, she lifted up her voice and wept aloud.
Then God heard the voice of the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, “What ails you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heard the voice of the boy where he lies. Arise, lift up the lad and hold him by the hand, for I will make him a great nation.”
Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with water and gave the boy a drink.
And God was with the boy, and he lived in the wilderness and became an expert with the bow. And while he was dwelling in the Wilderness of Paran, his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.
An angel directs Hagar to a nearby well
Review geography…
Q: What did Ishmael do to trigger Sarah’s response?
Ishmael – who would have been a teenager/young man at this point – was laughing at Isaac, who was probably 3. It could have been innocent teasing or it could have been mockery. Opinions exist on both sides but there is no way to know.
Q: Why is Sarah worried?
Hagar apparently flaunted her place and child in the family. She had a certain pride of place. Moreover, even though Hagar was a slave/servant, a son by her and Abraham enabled the son to have inheritance rights. In fact, the oldest son was entitled to a double portion of the inheritance.
When you add the treatment she had been getting from Hagar and the double-inheritance, perhaps you can see how the laughing was being interpreted.
Q: How does Sarah sending her away change things?
Abraham was giving Hagar her freedom. She would no longer be a slave woman. However, this freedom also canceled any inheritance rights Ishmael had.
Q: What do you think of Abraham’s treatment of Hagar and Ishmael?
Not the best… some bread and a skin of water? Some have said that he knew God would take care of her, but with that line of thinking, why would anyone help anyone ever?
Q: How did God honor his commitment to Hagar?
He provided everything Hagar needed to save her son, starting with the nearby well.
Q: What else do we know about Ishmael?
He became the father of the Arab nation
He made his home in the desert of Paran (land between Israel and Egypt).
He became a great archer
He married a foreign woman (and Egyptian, like Hagar)
He returned to help Isaac bury Abraham
Q: Abraham is called the Father of the Jews. He is also called the Father in Faith by Christians. Was Abraham perfect in any way?
No. He made many mistakes, but he grew from those mistakes because he kept turning back to God and growing their relationship.
Q: What does this tell us?
Our faith/trust in God isn’t perfect, either; but what’s important is not the mistakes so much as being willing to get up again, be willing to learn from them, and continue turning to God and make him part of our path.
Gen 22: The Testing of Abraham
Abraham and Isaac
Context: This story has long been recognized as a literary masterpiece, depicting in a few lines God as the absolute Lord, inscrutable yet ultimately gracious, and Abraham, acting in moral grandeur as the great ancestor of Israel.
That being said, this remains a difficult chapter for many people because God calls on Abraham to sacrifice his own son – the very same son he had waited for till he was 100 years old. Why would God ask Abraham to do such a thing? Yes, we know that it has to do with faith, but it still causes many of us difficulty.
We must recall that ‘context’ is one of the most important considerations to understanding scripture. Often, that context is found in the previous passages or the passages that follow. In our case, the chapter before points us to information that may help explain God’s dramatic request, and the passages following the sacrifice point to something else, something much bigger.
The previous chapter is about Hagar and Ishmael.
Q: What do we know about Hagar and Ishmael that could be attributed to Abraham’s poor judgment?
Abraham and Sarah were up in their years and, in the end, did not trust God to provide a son; so they took it upon themselves to have a child through their maidservant, Hagar. This is a serious miscalculation.
Hagar and Ishmael are sent away by Abraham with few provisions and no protection. As far as Abraham knows, he sent them to their death.
Let’s do some further comparisons between Hagar and Ishmael’s story and Abraham and Isaac:
Hagar Abraham
Parent-son Parent-son
Imminent fear of death of one’s child (Ishmael) in the desert Imminent fear of death one’s child (Isaac) 50 miles to Mt. Moriah
Unfair that she has to lose her son Unfair that he has to lose his son
Angel intervenes Angel intervenes
Looks up and sees a nearby well Looks up and sees a nearby ram
Lots of meaningful comparisons, right? Probably not a coincidence, but let’s check out one more thing…
Q: What kind of a sacrifice is God asking Abraham to make? (How many types of sacrifices are there in the OT?)
There were FIVE types of sacrificial offerings: A burnt offering, grain offering, peace offering, sin offering, and a trespass offering. The required offerings might be an animal or fruit of the field, but each had a specific purpose and involved a long list of ritual requirements.
What kind of offering is God asking Abraham to make? See Gen 22:2 on the page below.
God asks Abraham to make a “burnt offering.” A burnt offering is a sacrifice of atonement; which is an offering for a wrong or injury.
Q: What wrong or injury did Abraham commit? In the case of Hagar and Ishmael, we have a wrong and an injury. What are they?
The wrong: Abraham and Sarah did not trust God that a son would be provided so they created their own solution by having a child with Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar.
The injury: They would have sent Hagar and Ishmael to their death had God not intervened. Yes, God told Abraham that Sarah was to be respected because Isaac was the promised seed (that will lead to Jesus Christ); but God did not instruct him to abandon them to the wilderness, where Hagar would watch her son nearly die.
In the very next chapter, we suddenly find God calling on Abraham to make a “sacrifice of atonement” – his own son.
Q: Why does the story of Hagar and Ishmael get the attention it does?
Hagar and Ishmael are a non-story by themselves. But they have become a story for one reason only: Abraham and Sarah had a lack of faith in God’s promise. In the end, Hagar and Ishmael are cruelly disposed of when the promised Isaac arrives. The fates of Hagar and Ishmael were simply the result of being in the wrong place at the wrong time and of doing what they were told.
Q: What are our take-aways from all this?
God keeps his promise to Hagar. God also keeps his promise to Abraham. God is both just and merciful to Hagar and Ishmael. God is just and merciful to Abraham and Isaac.
God makes Abraham experience what Hagar experienced. God will spare both sons, bringing home the point that although Abraham is chosen and Isaac is the promised son, God is the God of all people. He hears the cries of Ishmael in the desert just as he hears the cries of Sarah pleading for a child. God cares for the slave Hagar just as he does for the Patriarch Abraham.
In light of all of this, the story does not depict a cruel and unpredictable God, but rather a God of justice and mercy who cares for all and wants to shape us into the most holy version of ourselves.
As we move on to Chapter 22, the question before us is: How will God use Abraham’s attempted sacrifice for our benefit? In the next chapter, we will focus on the bigger meaning of what is taking place next.
The Testing of Abraham – Gen 22:1-19
Sometime afterward, God put Abraham to the test and said to him: “Abraham!” (Note: “sometimes afterward” in the bible means years.)
“Here I am!” he replied.
Then God said: Take your son, Isaac, your only beloved son, and go to the land of Moriah. There offer him up as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.
Early the next morning Abraham saddled his donkey, took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac, and after cutting the wood for the burnt offering, set out for the place of which God had told him.
On the third day Abraham caught sight of the place from a distance. Abraham said to his servants: “Stay here with the donkey, while the boy and I go on over there. We will worship and then come back to you.”
So Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and laid it on his son Isaac, while he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two walked on together, Isaac spoke to his father Abraham, “Father!” he said. “Here I am,” Abraham replied.
Isaac continued, “Here are the fire and wood, but where is the sheep for the burnt offering?”
“My son,” Abraham answered, “God will provide the sheep for the burnt offering.”
Then the two walked on together.
When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. Next he bound his son Isaac, and put him on top of the wood on the altar.
Then Abraham reached out and took the knife to slaughter his son.
But the angel of the LORD called to him from heaven, “Abraham, Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he answered.
“Do not lay your hand on the boy,” said the angel. “Do not do the least thing to him. For now I know that you fear God, since you have not refused me your own beloved son.”
Then, looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering in place of his son. Abraham named that place “Yahweh-provides,” hence people today say, “On the mountain the LORD will provide.”
The angel of God called Abraham a second time from heaven. “I swear by my very self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you did not withhold your son, your own beloved son, I will bless you and make your descendants as countless as the stars of the sky and the sands of the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the gates of their enemies, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your descendants, because you have done as I have asked.”
Abraham then returned to his servants, and they set out together for Beersheba, where Abraham lived.
Q: Did Abraham overpower Isaac and bind him for the sacrifice?
No. Many wrongly assume that Isaac was just a small child because he was just a 3 year old being teased by Ishmael in the last chapter. But that means nothing. This chapter started off with, “Sometime later,” which often can mean years!
Remember, Abraham puts the wood of the sacrifice on the back of Isaac to carry up the mountain.
Q: How old was Isaac?
Between the various hints in Scripture and Jewish tradition, he was most likely somewhere between 20 and 37 years old (37 would have to be the oldest because that’s how old he is when Sarah dies in the next chapter).
Therefore, Isaac was old enough that he could have easily overpowered his old father. But he doesn’t. He lets his father bind him and lies down on the altar willingly. Who does that? Who do you know who is this obedient when God asks him to do something?
Abraham and Isaac are acting out the love, faith, and obedience that Jesus and his Father will do in 2000 years.
Q: Where is the location of Mt. Moriah?
The distance from Beersheba to Moriah is about 50 miles, a three days walk.
Moriah is not given an exact geographical location here, but it is identified in 2 Chronicles 3:1 as the mountain of Jerusalem where David had a vision of God, built an altar and made it his Capital; it is also where Solomon will build the first Temple and where Jesus will be crucified.
Q: Why did God call Isaac Abraham's "only beloved son"?
Three possible reasons (first two Jewish):
1) Isaac was Abraham’s only son of his lawful wife, Sarah. Ishmael was conceived outside the marriage because Abraham and Sarah did not trust God. Isaac was the son that God promised.
2) Once Abraham sent Ishmael away with Hagar, he was officially disinherited, which also legally means not his son.
3) The only sense the Christian Fathers interpreted these words was in the context of fulfillment of Abraham’s blessings in the sacrifice of God’s only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah. They saw it as a prefiguring of the Passion of Jesus, God’s only begotten and beloved Son, offered in sacrifice in the same location 2000 years later.
Q: This was Abraham’s final test. Now that Isaac is a young man, the torch is passing. Abraham’s first test was many, many years ago. Do you remember what was it?
God called him from the land of Ur and “go to” the land that I will show you. Abraham was part of a successful, relatively wealthy family. Abraham gathered all his servants and possessions and left. This time, God tells him to “go to” the land of Moriah.
Interestingly, the same Hebrew word is used in each of these for “go to” is “lek-leka,” (go to the land I will show you, and go to the land of Moriah) and it is the only two times this word is used in the Old Testament. These two great tests, 100 years apart, will be the bookends of Abraham’s life.
Q: Was Sarah punished for any of this?
Sarah dies in the next chapter. Some say Abraham informed Sarah about what God had instructed him to do with Isaac before he left for Mt. Moriah, and that the toll was too great on her. But nothing is written in Scripture so we don’t know.
Q: Why would God ask Abraham to do this, besides his own atonement?
This whole event is about trust and faith. Not just the trust Abraham shows in God, but also the trust we see between the father and the son. Their trust is kind of amazing – it is complete. That God chose someone who could demonstrate such trust is its own lesson for us.
As we mentioned, it also represents the same trust that will occur between God and Jesus. When Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane and says, “Father, let this cup pass from me,” and then in the next sentence, “yet not my will but yours be done,” that statement is a trust statement. He is saying, “Father, I trust you got this!” “Trusting” is the verb of faith.
Q: What are the parallels to, or prefigurements of, the promised Messiah – the seed of Eve who will crush the serpent?
Son
God said, “Take your son, your only beloved son, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah and offer him as sacrifice…” Repetition used in the Bible implies emphasis. The word “son” is used 10 times in this passage, and “only beloved son” appears three times.
The only other times God uses these words “only beloved son” are at Jesus’ baptism and at the Transfiguration.
Consider their ages. How old was Isaac? All we know for sure is between 20 and 37. Jesus was 33. What are the chances Isaac was 33? No idea, but I wouldn’t bet against it.
Wood
Abraham laid the wood for the sacrifice on the back of Isaac and made him carry it up the mountain to the place of sacrifice.
Jesus carries the wood of his cross on his back to the place of his crucifixion.
Both were willingly bound to the wood.
Both on Mt. Moriah.
The Offering
Isaac asks, “Father… where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham responds, “My son, God himself will provide the lamb for the sacrifice.”
God indeed provides the lamb for the sacrifice – his own son. Abraham is spared his son as God substitutes his son, just as God substitutes his son for all of us.
Both sacrifices were atonement offerings.
Both were granted life again on the 3rd day.
Faith and obedience
Abraham passed a very tough test trusting God. Because of his trust, God chose him to be became our Father in Faith that led to the promised Messiah. God chose Abraham for us to see how important trust and faith were.
Jesus was trusting, obedient, and loving to his death. “Your will not mine be done” and “Forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Because of this, God was able to undo the Fall of Man for us.
Q: After this, Abraham has two main tasks left in his life. What are they?
Find a burial site for Sarah and a wife for Isaac.
Closing Prayer
We talked about doubt a couple of weeks ago. We discussed doing the counterintuitive – give your doubts back to God. This is fighting doubt with faith rather than with more doubt!
Mother Teresa has a similar approach. When you don’t feel like it, do it anyway. Then watch your heart follow.
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.
Taylor’s baby picture
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