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 topic, 40 min main topic from the weeks listed below
Week 1: May 3 – Gospel Week: Epiphany in Upper Room, Jesus interrogates Peter, 4 Creatures of the Apocalypse
Week 2: May 10 – Bible Gen-2-Rev: Gen23-29 – Sarah and Abraham die; Isaac and Rebekah; Jacob and Esau, Jacob and Rachel
Week 3: May 17 – Topic of Choice: Purgatory
Topics Survey Results
√ 1) Jesus’ Great Parables 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
Week 4: May 24 – Open
Week 5: May 31 – Open Mic
Upcoming Catholic Holy Days
Easter Sunday – was April 17 – the most important day in Christianity for, as Paul said, if Jesus had not resurrected from the dead, then all of this was for nothing.
Ascension – Thursday, May 26 – 40 days after Easter
Pentecost – Sunday, June 5 – 50 days after Easter
Quote of the Week
“The person who is trustworthy in very small matters is also trustworthy in great ones;
and the person who is dishonest in very small matters is also dishonest in great ones.” – Luke 16:12
Opening Prayer
At the beginning of Mass, you may notice a short prayer in your missals under the heading "Collect."
Q: What is a 'collect'?
It comes from the Latin word collēcta which meant the gathering of the people together (colligō = "to gather"), and in earlier days was thought to apply to the prayer said just before the procession into the church in which Mass was celebrated.
So, in essence, the collect is a short prayer intended to gather the people’s attention at the beginning of Mass with a focus towards gathering for and in Christ. It also sometimes points to a theme in the readings.
Let’s take a look at one. For our opening prayer, we will use this coming Sunday's Collect.
Collect
Almighty ever-living God,
lead us to a share in the joys of heaven,
so that the humble flock may reach
where the brave Shepherd has gone before.
Who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God,
for ever and ever. Amen
Our Father…
Q: What might the theme be for the Mass?
It’s about us following Jesus, the Divine Shepherd, so that we can share in the joys of heaven.
Q: What is Sunday’s Gospel?
Jesus said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can take them out of the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” John 10:27-30
Last week, we ended with Jesus rehabilitating Peter on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. However, Jesus was also establishing Peter’s role in the office of Shepherd. To understand this, we have to return to the Old Testament when God promised to come and shepherd his people himself, because the “shepherds” of Israel had abandoned his people, particularly widows and orphans. Jesus coming is the fulfillment of that promise. He is the Divine Shepherd. He is asking Peter is to be his representative – his earthly shepherd – here on earth.
Q: Where in the Old Testament does God say he will do this?
The Lord GOD says, “I myself will be their Shepherd. I will search for my sheep and take care of them. If a shepherd is with his sheep when they begin to wander away, he will go searching for them. In the same way I will search for my sheep. I will save them and bring them back from all the places where they were scattered… ”
This is what the Lord GOD says: “You eat the grass growing on the good land. So why do you also crush the grass that my other sheep want to eat? You can drink plenty of clear water. So why do you also stir the water that my other sheep want to drink? My flock must eat the grass you crushed with your feet, and they must drink the water you stir with your feet!”
So the Lord GOD said to them: “You push with your side and shoulder. You knock down all the weak sheep with your horns. You push until you have forced them away, so I will save my flock.”.
This is what the Lord GOD said! “You are my sheep, the sheep of my grassland. You are only human beings, and I am your God.” This is what the Lord GOD said. – taken from Ezekiel 34:11-31
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” - Psalm 23:1
“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” declares the Lord. - Jeremiah 23:1
“And He will arise and shepherd His flock, in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God.” - Micah 5:4
“For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.” - Zechariah 11:16
“What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
- Matthew 18:12-14
Is there any wonder that Jesus spoke often of the sheep and shepherd, and said, “Amen I say to you, I am the good Shepherd”? - Jn.10:14
Jesus establishes the Church order going forward
Q: Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” These what?
Jesus’ reference is to the other apostles, but he is using Peter's own confident comparison of himself to them, which he stated could never fail. Earlier in the Upper Room when Jesus warned them to pray for strength at the trials that were coming, Peter responded boldly, “Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will!” This was just a few hours before Peter denied knowing who Christ was.
However, that is only the first half of the answer. Jesus is also calling Peter to love him more, because what Jesus is asking him to do is going to need a level of love and commitment that will surpass the rest. And let us not forget, love is not something to be grasped or compared. Jesus showed what kind of love was needed: sacrificial love, washing feet love, and love of serving others.
Q: But if Jesus is the Shepherd, then how could he ask Peter to be the Shepherd?
Jesus is the Divine Shepherd. Peter is to be his representative here on earth – his earthly shepherd.
Q: “Feed my sheep”?
The other word the translation gives us is the verb shepherd. “Shepherd my sheep,” which means lead and protect my flock.
The Catholic Church was the One Church started by Jesus Christ and remained so for the first thousand years after Christ.
Q: Is this true?
Some people these days question, or reject, this statement. This passage with Jesus and Peter touches on this point, so let’s review.
For the first thousand years after Christ, there was only one Church that became known as the Catholic Church by the end of the 1st century, because “catholic” is Greek for universal – referring to the fact that Jesus Christ came for all people, all nations.
In 1054 AD, the Patriarch of Constantinople was excommunicated by the Pope. Around that time, about 10% of the Catholics in the east separated from Rome to follow their patriarch. They became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church. This is referred to as the “Great Schism of 1054.”
One doesn’t have to do much research to show that Rome/the Pope was recognized by everyone as the leader of the Church. Probably the greatest theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church – also recognized as a Doctor in the Roman Catholic Church – was St. John Chrysostom, the famous 4th century Archbishop of Constantinople. He was famous for his oratory skills, among other things. Some say he was the greatest speaker ever.
Following is taken from a one of his homilies on the same passage we are covering – Jesus speaking to Peter at the Sea of Galillee:
Some also say that since James was the Apostle in charge of Jerusalem, then perhaps he was also the leader of the Apostles. John Chrystostom comments on this as well, in speaking further on the same passage:
“Chair” was a traditional Jewish term referring to Temple authority – for which we now use Archbishop.
Q: Why was the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius, excommunicated by Pope Leo IX?
Michael Cerularius was the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Constantinople from March 1043 to November 1058, which was during the time of the break with Rome.
Cerularius was educated for the civil service, not for an ecclesiastical career. The reason he became patriarch was that Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX appointed him to that position in 1043.
Cerularius not only had ambitions for political power but he had an inflexible belief in the autonomy of the Eastern Church. Consequently, he thwarted every effort by Constantine to ally the Byzantine and Roman empires in defense against the Normans.
In 1052, partly in response to concessions that Constantine made to Pope Leo IX, Cerularius decided to force the Latin churches in his diocese to use the Greek language and liturgical practices. When they refused to do so, he ordered their churches closed.
In 1054, Pope Leo sent three legates to Constantinople to negotiate an alliance with the Byzantine Empire. Cerularius again obstructed Constantine’s and Leo’s efforts by refusing to meet with the legates. In the midst of these negotiations, Pope Leo died and one of his legates, the French cardinal Humbert of Silva Candida, took advantage of the papal vacancy to retaliate against Cerularius. On July 16, 1054, Humbert entered Constantinople’s cathedral, Hagia Sophia, and excommunicated Cerularius and his clergy on the spot.
In response, Cerularius convened a Holy Synod and excommunicated all the legates that had been sent by Pope Leo. Constantine’s efforts to effect a reconciliation failed, and the schism between Rome and Constantinople was final.
Bible Timeline Week
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
We left off in Chapter 22 after the famous event of Abraham taking Isaac to Mt. Moriah (where Jerusalem will be one day) to sacrifice him, but God intervenes.
In chapter 23, Sarah dies.
The length of Sarah's life was a hundred and twenty-seven years. She died at what later was known as Hebron, in the land of Canaan, and Abraham proceeded to mourn and bewail her. Isaac was 37 at this time.
Abraham buys land from the Hittites to bury his wife.
Q: Who were the Hittites?
Like Abraham, they were immigrants from the north.
Noah 🡪 Ham 🡪 Canaan 🡪 Heth 🡪 Hittites
Chapter 24 is about Abraham finding a wife for Isaac.
He was therefore determined to find a bride for Isaac from among his own people, the descendants of Shem. The elderly and frail Abraham sent as his emissary his senior servant, his steward who was the chief administrator of his household, back to Mesopotamia.
Before sending this unnamed servant on his mission, Abraham makes him swear an oath of fidelity to bring back a bride who is acceptable to God. The holy seed was not to be mixed with the seed of the Canaanites, nor were his offspring to return to the land of Abraham's father.
The "Unnamed Servant" of Abraham makes the journey back to Abraham's homeland where he meets Rebekah.
From Hebron to Ur is 2500+miles, which would probably take 4 months to travel each way.
He arrives in the evening at the time when women come out to draw water. He made the camels kneel outside the town near the well and says a prayer…
“Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, give me success today and show faithful love to my master Abraham. While I stand by the spring as the young women from the town come out to draw water, I shall say to one of the girls, 'Please lower your pitcher and let me drink." And if she answers, 'Drink, and I will water your camels too," let her be the one you have decreed for your servant Isaac; by this I shall know you have shown faithful love to my master.”
He had not finished speaking when out came Rebekah, who was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Abraham's brother Nahor - with a pitcher on her shoulder. The girl was very beautiful, and no man had touched her. She went down to the spring, filled her pitcher and came up again. Running towards her, the servant said, “Please give me a sip of water from your pitcher.'” She replied, “Drink, my lord,” and quickly lowered her pitcher on her arm and gave him a drink. When she had finished letting him drink, she said, “I will draw water for your camels, too, until they have had enough.” She quickly emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran to the well again to draw, and drew for all the camels.
He asked, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me. Is there room at your father's house for us to spend the night?” She replied, “I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of whom Milcah bore to Nahor.” And she went on, 'We have plenty of straw and fodder, and room to spend the night.”
Then the man bowed down and worshipped Yahweh saying, “Blessed be Yahweh, God of my master Abraham, for not withholding his faithful love from my master. Yahweh had led me straight to the house of my master's brother.” Btw, Rebekah’s brother’s name is Laban – I mention this to you because his name will come up later.
Laban and Bethuel acknowledged that Abraham's god was directing the events, but this did not mean that they acknowledged Abraham's god as their god. Abraham's family worshipped pagan gods.
Then Rebekah and her attendants started out; they mounted the camels and followed Abraham’s servant and his men.
Meanwhile Isaac had gone from Beersheeba and was living in the region of the Negeb.
One day toward evening he went out to walk in the field, and caught sight of camels approaching.
Rebekah, too, caught sight of Isaac, and got down from her camel.
She asked the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking through the fields toward us?” “That is my master,” replied the servant. Then she took her veil and covered herself.
The servant recounted to Isaac all the things he had done.
Then Isaac brought Rebekah into the tent of his mother Sarah. He took Rebekah as his wife. Isaac loved her and found solace after the death of his mother.
Isaac was 40 when he married Rebekah.
Chapter 25
Most people don’t know this but after a while Abraham took another wife, Keturah. One would maybe think this was simpy to care for him in his old age, but he had six more sons. Then he died at the age of 175.
Q: How many years did Abraham spend in the “promised land”?
100 exactly. He left his father’s country at 75.
Then he breathed his last, dying at a ripe old age, grown old after a full life; and he was gathered to his people.
His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron, son of Zohar the Hittite, which faces Mamre, the field that Abraham had bought from the Hittites; there he was buried next to his wife Sarah. – Gen 25:-10
The Sons of Isaac and Rebekah
It appears that Rebekah was sterile after all and at 60 years old Isaac was still childless. So he prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife. The Lord heard his request, and Rebekah became pregnant.
The children jostled each other in the womb so much that Rebekah exclaimed,
“If it is like this,* why go on living!” She went to consult the LORD, and the LORD answered her:
Two nations are in your womb, two peoples are separating while still within you; But one will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
When the time of her delivery came, there were twins in her womb.
The first to emerge was hairy and reddish, so they named him Esau.
Next his brother came out, gripping Esau’s heel, so he was named Jacob.
When the boys grew up, Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country; whereas Jacob was a simple man, who stayed among the tents.
Isaac preferred Esau, because he was fond of hunting; but Rebekah preferred Jacob.
Once, when Jacob was cooking a stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.
He said to Jacob, “Let me gulp down some of that red stuff, I’m famished.” That is why he was called Edom.
But Jacob replied, “First sell me your right as firstborn.”
“Look,” said Esau, “I am on the point of dying. What good is the right as firstborn to me?”
But Jacob said, “Swear to me first!” So he sold Jacob his right as firstborn under oath.
Jacob then gave him some bread and the lentil stew; and Esau ate, drank, got up, and went his way.
So Esau treated his right as firstborn with disdain.
Q: What is a birthright? What did Esau sell to Isaac?
Since Esau is the firstborn son, the birthright is his inheritance, which would grant him the majority of his father’s property. Esau trades it in for food. On the other hand, Jacob knows his brother is hungry for food and takes advantage of the situation. Not exactly a holy man!
Q: It is understandable why Esau is not the chosen one – he doesn’t care about Yahweh – he is a man of the world, not God. Yet, while Jacob may well be the line of Noah to David to Jesus, he is shown here to be deceptive and dishonest. What does this tell us?
In the end, it is our spiritual growth that God is interested in. He doesn’t get stuck on our sins if we are ready to learn from them, seek forgiveness, and move forward with Him. In fact, Jacob does grow wise – eventually. But for now, his deceptions aren’t over with.
Perhaps some of us can see some of Jacob in ourselves at times in our lives. Or Esau. Or both.
Years later, Isaac is old and in his final days. He still needs to give his “blessing” to his eldest. Such a blessing confers fertility and dominion for all his days. It was highly treasured in those days.
When Isaac was so old that his eyesight had failed him, he called his older son Esau and said to him, “My son!”
“Here I am!” Esau replied.
Isaac then said, “Now I have grown old. I do not know when I might die. So now take your hunting gear—your quiver and bow—and go out into the open country to hunt some game for me. Then prepare for me a dish in the way I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you* before I die.”
However, Rebekah overhears this. She is upset because Esau plans to marry a Cannanite woman whom she despises. When Esau is gone, she has Jacob dress up in Esau’s clothes, which makes him seem hairyh and smells like him. Then she makes a game stew and tells Isaac to take it to his father and to talk lower, like Esau!
Isaac must be pretty old because he falls for the ploy, and gives his blessing to Jacob.
“Ah, the fragrance of my son is like the fragrance of a field that the LORD has blessed!
May God give to you of the dew of the heavens
And of the fertility of the earth abundance of grain and wine.
May peoples serve you, and nations bow down to you;
Be master of your brothers, and may your mother’s sons bow down to you.
Cursed be those who curse you, and blessed be those who bless you.” - Gen 27:27-29
Jacob scarcely left Isaac’s tent when Esau came back from his hunt and prepared his dish. When he brought it to his father, Isaac said, “Who are you?”
You can imagine how downhill it goes from there. Esau is simultaneously grief-stricken and enraged.
As you might expect, Rebekah is in the next room and hears the entire exchange.
She quickly summons Jacob and says,
“Listen! Your brother Esau intends to get his revenge by killing you. So now, my son, obey me: flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, and stay with him a while until your brother’s fury subsides— until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back. Why should I lose both of you in a single day?” - Gen 27:42-45
So off Jacob goes to the land where Abraham and Rebekah came from, far away, where Jacob will meet up with Laban, Rebekah’s brother; another deceiver, just like himself.
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