House rules/notes…
1. Our meeting/classes are In-Person at St. John Neumann Catholic Church 11900 Lawyers Road, Reston, VA 20191 https://saintjn.org/ (usually held downstairs in Room 5), or ONLINE via Zoom (see #2).
2. To sign up for Zoom notifications and to receive the Meeting Recaps, go to www.meetup.com/catholicbiblestudy and join us! The Zoom Logon is the same every week: Zoom ID: 861 1782 2081 Password: 406952.
3. After each meeting, I send out Meeting Recaps of what we discussed. Please remember these recaps are unedited and without the pictures. The edited version with pictures will be posted before the next class on the Website – www.CatholicCatacombs.org. Taylor will notify everyone at that time and provide a link.
4. Questions encouraged. If you have questions, we ask that you keep them on topic and brief. You can ask in the chat box during the class, or email through Meetup.com, or email me at ron@hallagan.net afterwards.
5. Respectfulness. We will be discussing differences between religions and between Christian denominations, and we agree to be respectful at all times. Protestants especially are our friends and brothers-in-Christ; in fact, I personally owe part of my return to the faith to them!
6. No politics. It would be easy for us to self-destruct, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to learn/understand/apply the Bible and our Catholic faith.
7. Catholic Prayer & Fellowship. Are you interested in praying the rosary, etc. with other Catholics during the week? Follow fellow member Jason Goldberg at https://www.meetup.com/online-catholic-prayer-fellowship-and-spirituality/. Daily/weekly prayer is saintly!
8. “The Chosen” TV series. All of us seek a relationship with Jesus Christ, which is not always easy. It can help if we have seen and heard Him. The Chosen captures Jesus better than any show I have ever seen. Highly recommended.
9. RSVP Reminder: Please RSVP whether you are attending the meeting or just reading the Recaps afterwards. The more RSVPs, the more Meetup will give exposure to “Catholic Bible Study” – a good thing!
Bible Study Format: Each week of the month has a repeating topic, as noted below.
Each meeting: 5 min greet/prayer, 10 min Catholic exegesis, 15 min Gospel, 30 min main topic.
Week 1: Gospel Week
Week 2: Bible Week (Gen to Rev): We are in the book of 1st Book of Kings.
Week 3: Survey Topics Voted on by Members:
x 1) Great Women in the Bible 2) Book of Revelation 3) Fathers, Heresies, Church Councils 4) Martin Luther (heresies bring greater precision into the faith by its responses – Ratz)
Week 4: Apologetics (=Defense of the Faith)… includes member questions:
1. How do I live my Christian faith at work when my faith is not accepted there?
2. What should our response be to those who ask us about priestly sex abuse?
3. What about the atheist who leads a good life? Can I be a person be good apart from God?
4. Miracles since the NT
5. Was Emperor Constantine good or bad? Was he a Christian? How was the Church affected?
6. Why does God allow suffering?
7. What is Tradition? Is Tradition equal to Scripture in importance? (2Thes2:15)
8. Can you explain Mother Teresa’s “Dark Night of the Soul”?
Reader Opening Prayer:
O LORD, we ask you to bless everyone who has come here tonight as we immerse ourselves in the study of your Word.
Give us the light of your wisdom and we celebrate and study the life of your servant, King Solomon.
May your blessings extend beyond this hour into our lives and to our families and friends.
And as you taught us to pray together:
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. Amen.
Upcoming major holy days in the Liturgy of the Church
August 15 – Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The Chosen Season 4 is out. Recommended over Sun dinner.
Today
1. Exegesis of The Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our trespasses (sins)…”
2. Reading for Sunday (7/14), Mark 6:7-13 – The Mission of the Twelve
3. Bible Timeline: 1st Kings – The Reign of King Solomon
Quote of the Week:
“Reading the holy Scriptures confers two benefits. It trains the mind to understand them; and it turns man’s attention from the follies of the world and leads him to the love of God.” – St. Isidore of Seville
Apologetics word of the week: Metanoia (Greek for repentance). To change one’s mind. To turn one’s life towards God
Exegesis of the Week: The Lord’s Prayer
“Forgive us our sins…” What are sins?
Self-centeredness – the natural tendency of our lower animal nature – is at the root of sin; it is the desire to put ourselves first. It is worth noting that self-centeredness takes little intelligence or hard work. Notice it’s opposite – love – is “other-centered” and “God-centered” and, like all virtues/spiritual habits, they take intelligence and work/practice. Learning spiritual skills is like learning any worldly skill, such as piano, carpentry, cooking, or mechanics. Once you grow this skill into a habit, it’s called a virtue. Conversely, when we allow ourselves to continue in our bad habits, they are called vices; such as these…
Seven Deadly Sins: Self-centered?
1. Pride (arrogance/vanity/self-sufficiency) Y
2. Envy (insatiable desire to have what others have) Y
3. Greed (love/desire for money/earthly possessions) Y
4. Gluttony (includes drunkenness, excessive consumption) Y
5. Lust (inordinate or illicit craving for sexual/physical pleasure) Y
6. Wrath/anger (hatred/resentment with desire for vengeance) Y
7. Sloth (physical laziness and/or spiritual indifference; even busyness) Y
“Forgive us.” Of course, Jesus is telling us to ask for forgiveness. Since this was given to us as a “daily prayer” (for Christians, it replaced the Jewish Shema 3x/day), means that God wants to us to be reflecting on our mistakes and talking to Him about how we can improve every day of our lives.
BTW, who said, “An unexamined life is not worth living?” … and which of the 7 deadly sins would this fall under?
Socrates #7 Sloth
What is Jesus’ goal in asking us to seek God’s forgiveness daily?
Improvement, to be sure – the more we become like Christ the wiser, stronger, and more charitable we become. But giving forgiveness is not the hard part for God, just like it’s not hard for a parent to forgive their kids. Who remembers this quote from Jesus:
"Not everyone who says to me 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21)
The will of the Father is not just forgiveness but what comes from our going to Him – relationship, grace, and growth. Those of us who do not seek God’s forgiveness may not be recognized by the Lord. However, if we keep going to Him, watch our relationship grow. After this life here when we say, “Lord, Lord,” He will know us very well!
“Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share your master’s happiness!” – Matthew 25:21
“Our” sins. Jesus is not only telling us to ask for forgiveness for ourselves – which of course has to be the starting point for becoming Christlike; but then God immediately moves towards love. In this case, that means praying for others, which is also the meaning of forgive us “our” sins. Ask forgiveness for your family members, your neighbors, your coworkers, the bad guys on TV, and for the rest of the humanity, for this is God’s will: for all humans to unite in love. It won’t be fully accomplished on Earth, but each starfish is progress, and we have an idea how much progress we can initiate in one request, compared to ignoring them or, worse, condemning them, which has consequences, too.
Some Protestants say that continually seeking forgiveness and the Sacrament of Confession are unnecessary. They’ll say, “Didn’t Jesus already die on the cross for our sins? Wasn’t that enough?” What is our response?
Of course what Jesus did was enough to forgive all of humanity from Adam to Hitler times a billion. It’s not about whether Jesus did enough. It’s about our response. We have free will and, BTW, we still sin after the cross. If the cross was all we needed, does that mean we can go on sinning without consequence? That illogical. (Jesus is Logos – perfect logic/reason.)
Also, if Protestants were right and we didn’t need to do anything further, then 1) why did Jesus put this petition in the prayer, and 2) why was Jesus’ very first act when he entered the Upper Room after his resurrection was to breathe the Holy Spirit into his Apostles and instruct them, “Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, whose sins you retain are retained”? (Jn 20:23) Jesus was plainly commissioning them to go forth and forgive sins.
Finally, remember that it isn’t the Apostles (or the bishops and priests afterwards) who forgive sins; it is Holy Spirit given to them. They are acting in and through Christ, which is how all the Sacraments work.
Gospel Reading, Mark 6:7-13 – The Mission of the Twelve 7:25
Context:
We are entering chapter 6 of Mark, which puts us into Jesus’ second year of his earthly ministry. We will now see Jesus sending his disciples out by themselves for the first time to teach repentance to a world dominated by Satan and rejection. Note, they are the Church on training wheels. When do the training wheels come off? Pentecost, which is approximately a year-and-a-half away.
Gospel Reading: Mark 6:7-13
Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear sandals but not a second tunic.
He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.
What could they take and what couldn’t they?
Yes – a walking stick, sandals, anointing oil.
No – food, money, change of clothes. They were to depend on God leading them.
There is value to retaining a measure of simplicity in our lives, which comes from trusting God. God will provide.
Why did Jesus send them out by twos?
1) Two is the smallest number of a “community of believers.” 2) They are not alone but have each other to
support each other and pray together. 3) Jewish law requires two witnesses to give testimony in the court of law, which would also support witnessing the Gospel and Jesus’ miracles to others.
What authority does Jesus give them? What are they to preach?
The power to cast our demons, heal the sick, and call people to repentance in preparation for the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, which will be inaugurated on Resurrection/Easter Sunday.
These are powerful gifts. Note that casting out demons is casting out fallen angels. That is powerful. It also speaks to who Jesus is. He is obviously over the angels.
Why stay at a house for the duration of their visit?
To avoid causing jealousy within a community by having villagers compete in offering them hospitality.
What does shaking the dust off their feet mean?
This was a) to honor the people’s decision/free will; b) a warning to them since to reject them was also to reject Jesus and the Kingdom; c) Jesus intending to get the word out to as many people as possible. If they stopped and argued for hours or days on end with people who are rejecting the message, how many would they never get to?
“… and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.” This is the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick.
Jesus is giving them incredible powers to start the Church, but what power is missing?
To forgive sins in His name. That will be the last gift he gives to them on Easter.
What is the meaning of the word, Apostle?
To send out.
What is the meaning of the word, Mass?
Missa à Mission
“Ite, missa est.” à Go, you are sent.
Bible Timeline
Where are we so far in our Biblical Timeline?
Bible Timeline
Genesis – Ch 1-11: (15,000?-2100 BC) Adam to Noah to Nimrod and the Tower of Babel (called pre-“history”)
Ch 11-50: (2,100-1,800 BC) Abraham, Issac, and Jacob, 12 sons/tribes, Joseph into Egypt à slavery
Exodus – (1,450-1350 BC) Moses – out of Egypt/slavery to Mt. Sinai to the promised land/40 years in the wilderness.
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy - all take place during the 40 years in the wilderness.)
Joshua – (1350-1250 BC) Conquest of Israel and the division of land among Israel’s twelve tribes.
Judges – (1250-1050 BC) “Israel” ruled by 12 Judges from Joshua to King Saul
1st Samuel (1050BC- 980 BC) King Saul and King David
2nd Samuel (1010BC- 970 BC) King David
1 Kings (970BC – 930BC) begins with the 40-year reign of King Solomon
2 Kings – Divided Kingdom
Book of 1st Kings
Introduction to 1 Kings
You may recall that at the end of the 2nd Samuel, King David dies and his son, Solomon, becomes King. So begins the Book of Kings. There are two books of Kings – Kings 1 & II. They were originally one book, a sequel to the Books of Samuel, detailing some 400 years if Israelite history, from the death of David in 960 BC to the fall of his kingdom to the Babylonian Empire in 587 BC.
There is also a liturgical view of is era: 1 Kings begins with the building of Solomon’s Temple, and 2 Kings ends with the Babylonian destruction of Solomon’s Temple.
The reason for breaking Kings into two books was to make it more manageable. In fact, some Bibles have the following:
Book of Kings I Samuel I Kings
II Samuel II Kings
I Kings III Kings
II Kings IV Kings
1 Kings 1-11: The Reign of King Solomon
Solomon, the son of King David, succeeded his father as the king of a united Israel. At the beginning of Solomon’s reign (about 20 years old), God appeared to him in a dream and offered him any gift he desired. Solomon asked for wisdom to govern the people justly. God was so pleased with his request that he granted him wisdom, riches, and great honor.
Solomon's reign (40 years) was marked by a period of peace and prosperity. He built the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem, which became the central place of worship for the Israelites. He also expanded Israel's trade and commerce, forging alliances with neighboring kingdoms like Egypt and Tyre. Under his rule, the kingdom of Israel reached the height of its power and influence.
Purple – King Solomon Red – King Saul Light beige – modern Israel
Solomon builds the Temple in Jerusalem
King David made Jerusalem the capital of the kingdom, but God did not allow him to build a temple because David had fought many battles and shed much blood. This was necessary, but God wanted his Temple built in peacetime. He told David that his son, Solomon, could build the temple, and Solomon’s time was indeed a time of peace.
What did the Israelites do for worship before they had the Temple?
They continued with the Tabernacle that God had Moses set up in the desert, which they took with them for 40 years. This tabernacle layout would also be mirrored in the architecture of the Temple.
The Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant in the Desert
David went ahead during his life and drew up plans for the Temple and purchased materials as well, which he then turned over to Solomon as God instructed. When David died, Solomon became king and undertook the building of a permanent temple in Jerusalem. Considered God’s dwelling place on earth, the Temple was a spectacular structure during its time and was the focus of Jewish worship for the next 400 years.
Jerusalem – time of Jesus. Circled area = time of Solomon.
Solomon’s Temple 953 BC to 597 BC
Who was the prophet of Solomon’s time, and who was the high priest? What is the significance of the high priest?
Prophet: Nathan, the same as David. High Priest: Azariah, son of Zadok.
Zadok was the high priest over the Tabernacle during David’s reign, chosen because he was a descendent Moses’ brother, Aaron, the head of the Levite tribe. All the future priests of the Temple had to be Levites, but the High Priest had to be from the direct line of Aaron. This line was broken around 150BC after the Maccabean Revolt because the ruling Hasmoneans eliminated the Zadok requirement, causing a number of the Levite priests to leave Jerusalem in rebellion and set up their own community in Qumran on the Dead Sea. They called themselves the sons of Zadok, but later the Essenes. They were responsible for writing the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were not discovered again until 1945.
Who recalls one of the great stories where the young “wise” Solomon was judge?
It was the story of Solomon judging two women who claimed the same son (1 Kings 3:16-28). Two women who lived together gave birth to sons, but one of the infants died. Both claimed the living child as their own. It was finally brought before Solomon. To determine the true mother, Solomon proposed cutting the child in half. The one woman agreed, the other did not, which revealed the woman willing to give up her son to save his life as the rightful mother.
Queen of Sheba
Queen of Sheba travels to Israel Sheba (Ethiopia-Yemen) to see if Solomon is as wise as everyone says…
The Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10) was captivated by the fame of Solomon's wisdom. She traveled to Jerusalem with great riches and an entourage to test him with hard questions. Upon her arrival, she was amazed by Solomon's profound knowledge, the splendor of his palace and temple, and the order in his kingdom. Overwhelmed by what she witnessed, the queen declared that the reports she had heard did not do justice to the true extent of Solomon's wisdom and prosperity. She blessed Solomon’s Lord for appointing Solomon as king, recognizing that his wisdom and justice were gifts from God. The Queen's visit demonstrated Solomon's unparalleled wisdom, which surpassed even the lofty reports that had reached her distant land.
Solomon’s Later Years
In his later years (Ch 11…), Solomon begins to turn away from the Lord, and his greatness becomes marred by his own moral failings. He accumulated many foreign wives, who led him to worship their pagan gods and turn away from the Lord. This sowed the seeds of discontent among the people, which would eventually lead to the division of the kingdom after his death.
The LORD became angry with Solomon, because his heart turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice and commanded him not to do this very thing, not to follow other gods. But he did not observe what the LORD commanded. So the LORD said to Solomon: Since this is what you want, and you have not kept my covenant and the statutes which I enjoined on you, I will tear the kingdom away from you and give it to your servant. – 1 Kings 11:9-13
Indeed, the kingdom splits in two, and Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, retains Judah in the south and Solomon’s servant, Jeroboam, becomes king of the 10 tribes in the north, calling themselves Israel. Judah and Israel will remain divided until each one of the falls – Israel to the Assyrians in 722 BC and Judah to the Babylonians in 586 BC.
The Bible attributes an extremely large number of wives and concubines to Solomon. Catholic sources suggest this figure is likely exaggerated, but the lower estimates still come in around 70 wives and 300 concubines. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Church recognizes that polygamy was practiced by some Old Testament figures, though it was not in keeping with God's original plan for marriage as the union of one man and one woman, something Jesus corrected once and for all.
As bad as this was, the worse infraction was Solomon’s violation of the 1st Commandment not to worship idols. One can only wonder how this is possible when God appeared twice to Solomon in earlier years.
Was Solomon saved?
Solomon dies with no mention of repentance, so many have wondered over the years if Solomon was saved once Christ reopened the gates of Heaven.
Like David with Psalms, Solomon was a writer (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs). It appears in these writings that Solomon came to his senses after God judged him in 1 Kings 11:9-13. The Church believes that he was saved. Here is the beginning and end of Ecclesiastes:
Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. – Ecclesiastes 1:2
“Now all has been heard, here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of mankind. For God will bring every deed into judgment, even every hidden thing, whether it be good or evil.” – Ecclesiastes 12:13–14
Closing Prayer
Proverbs 3:5-6 (Solomon)
"God, help our feet to make haste to run from evil today, we pray.
Help us to flee sin, immorality, idolatry in every way. Help us to run from it.
God, we pray that you would help us to keep from being a false witness who breathes out lies"
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.
Blessed are thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
Comments