Category: Bible History

9 things you need to know about Palm (Passion) Sunday

Why is Jesus' entry into Jerusalem so important? What is going on here?

Palm Sunday–or is it Passion Sunday?–marks the beginning of Holy Week.

This day commemorates not one but two very significant events in the life of Christ.

Here are 9 things you need to know.

 

1. What is this day called?

The day is called both “Palm Sunday” and “Passion Sunday.”

The first name comes from the fact that it commemorates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, when the crowd had palm branches (John 12:13).

The second name comes from the fact that the narrative of the Passion is read on this Sunday (it otherwise wouldn’t be read on a Sunday, since the next Sunday is about the Resurrection).

According to the main document on the celebration of the feasts connected with Easter, Paschales Solemnitatis:

Holy Week begins on “Passion (or Palm) Sunday” which joins the foretelling of Christ’s regal triumph and the proclamation of the passion. The connection between both aspects of the Paschal Mystery should be shown and explained in the celebration and catechesis of this day.

2. One of the notable features of this day is a procession before Mass. What do we do this?

According to Paschales Solemnitatis:

The commemoration of the entrance of the Lord into Jerusalem has, according to ancient custom, been celebrated with a solemn procession, in which the faithful in song and gesture imitate the Hebrew children who went to meet the Lord singing “Hosanna.”

The procession may take place only once, before the Mass which has the largest attendance, even if this should be in the evening either of Saturday or Sunday. The congregation should assemble in a secondary church or chapel or in some other suitable place distinct from the church to which the procession will move. . . .

The palms or branches are blessed so that they can be carried in the procession. The palms should be taken home where they will serve as a reminder of the victory of Christ be given which they celebrated in the procession.

3. Are we only supposed to use palms? What if you don’t have palms where you live?

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What’s happening at the Presentation of the Lord?

40 days after his birth, Christ was presented at the temple. Why?

Later this week the Church celebrates the Presentation of the Lord.

It’s a feast that happens every year on February 2nd.

We read about the presentation of the Lord in Luke 2, but the text can be a little mysterious.

What is actually happening there?

Some claim that Luke himself didn’t know . . .

 

What Luke Says

Here is what Luke actually says about the event . . .

[22] And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord
[23] (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”)
[24] and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.”

He then records the encounters with Simeon and Anna the prophetess, but at the moment our focus is what Luke refers to as “their purification.”

What is he talking about?
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8 Things You Need to Know About St. Paul and His Conversion

Paul was converted when Christ appeared to him. What should you know about St. Paul and his conversion?

This Friday, the Church celebrates the conversion of St. Paul.

Here are eight things you need to know about him–and his conversion.

 
1. Where was St. Paul from?

In Acts 21:39, St. Paul states:

“I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city.”

Tarsus was the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia. This is on the southeast coast of modern Turkey, so St. Paul was not from the holy land. He was actually a Jew born in what is now Turkey.

It was a port city and a noted commercial center. For these reasons, and because it was the capital, he can describe it as “no mean city” (that is, no common, ordinary city). It was famous.

One of the things it was famous for was being the place where Mark Anthony first met Cleopatra, after which they embarked on their doomed alliance.

Tarsus survives today as the city of Mersin, Turkey.

More info on Tarsus here.

 

2. Where was Paul raised and educated?

In Jerusalem. In Acts 22:3, Paul gives a bit more information about his background:

“I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city [Jerusalem] at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are this day.”

Gamaliel was a famous Jewish teacher. So famous, in fact, that we know about him today from Jewish sources.

Gamaliel is also mentioned in Acts, where he takes an open-minded view of Christianity, urging that it not be persecuted (Acts 5:34-42). Paul did not agree with him at this time, because this was before Paul’s great persecution of the Church, as well as before his conversion.

More info on Gamaliel here.

 

3. If he was born in Tarsus and brought up in Jerusalem, what was Paul’s citizenship?

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The Biblical Hero Who . . . Killed His Daughter???

Jephthah made a tragic vow, and to fulfill it, he would have to kill his daughter. What are we to make of this?

The book of Hebrews has a whole chapter about Old Testament men (and women) who achieved great things by faith.

One of them had his daughter killed–as a human sacrifice.

What are we to make of this?

 

Hebrews on Jephthah

Hebrews 11 celebrates various Old Testament figures who had faith in God and did amazing things. Toward the end of the chapter, we read:

And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets–who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, received promises, stopped the mouths of lions . . . [Heb. 11:32-33].

It continues in the same vein.

The point is: These men, together with some notable women the chapter also mentions, did amazing things as a result of their faith.

One of the people mentioned in this passage is Jephthah.

Who was he?

 

The Stage Is Set

The stage for Jephthah’s first appearance is set in Judges 10, where we read about how the Israelites have been worshipping foreign gods and, as a result, they have become oppressed by a group of foreigners: the Ammonites.

The Israelites repent, and God is moved to have mercy on them.

So God will make sure that they are delivered from the persecution, but what historical form will this deliverance take?

The leaders of Gilead (part of the territory of Israel) start consulting about how they can free themselves from the Ammonite oppression.

Specifically, they decide that if they can find a man to lead the fight against the Ammonites, they’re willing to let him be the leader of Gilead.

 

Meet Jephthah

Turning the corner into chapter 11, we meet Jephthah:

[1] Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a harlot. Gilead was the father of Jephthah.
[2] And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they thrust Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.”
[3] Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelt in the land of Tob; and worthless fellows collected round Jephthah, and went raiding with him.

So already, Jephthah has had a hard life. Think about his family situation!

He’s the son of a prostitute, but his father took him (as a boy) to dwell in his own house anyway, with the sons of his wife.

Ouch! Think about how painful that must have been for everyone involved!

Then when his half-brothers are grown up, the legitimate sons drive Jephthah out so that he can’t inherit anything (meaning: he leaves penniless or close to it).

Jephthah then descends into a life of banditry.

So: Hard life. Social and familial outcast. Enters a life of crime.

But he does have one thing that people need . . .

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A Word to the Wise (Men)

The magi protected Baby Jesus by returning to their country by a different road. Who else were they protecting?

This Sunday’s readings include St. Matthew’s account of the visit of the magi, which I’ve blogged about here.

When I was at Mass, I was struck by the ending of the gospel reading:

And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way [Mt. 2:12].

This reminded me of something that I think is worth mentioning.

We often think of the warning as being one to protect the Baby Jesus–to keep Herod from finding out precisely who and where he was–and it certainly was this.

But there is another dimension that is easier to overlook: It was also a warning to the magi themselves.

What would have happened if they had returned to Herod?

He would have immediately asked who the child was and where he was located.

They would then have the choice of either telling him or refusing to do so.

If the former, they would be complicit in the murder of the very Child they had come to honor, so they would not want to do that.

But if they don’t tell him, what would Herod do?

Threats.

Torture.

Death.

In that order.

So while the magi definitely cooperated with God’s will by going back to their own country by another road, they weren’t only protecting the Baby Jesus.

They were also protecting themselves.

9 Things You Need to Know About Epiphany

The magi followed the star and found Baby Jesus. What are we to make of this mysterious event, and does it mean astrology is okay?

On January 6 the Church celebrates the feast of “Epiphany.”

This feast commemorates the mysterious visit of the magi to the Baby Jesus.

Who were the magi? What led them to visit Jesus? And what lessons should we–and shouldn’t we!–learn from this incident?

Here are nine things you should know . . .

 

1. What does the word “Epiphany” mean?

“Epiphany” means “manifestation.”

It comes from Greek roots that mean “to show, to display” (phainein) and “on, to” (epi-).

An epiphany is thus a time when something is shown, displayed, or manifested to an audience.

 

2. What is the feast of the Epiphany about?

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

The Epiphany is the manifestation of Jesus as Messiah of Israel, Son of God and Saviour of the world. the great feast of Epiphany celebrates the adoration of Jesus by the wise men (magi) from the East, together with his baptism in the Jordan and the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee.

In the magi, representatives of the neighbouring pagan religions, the Gospel sees the first-fruits of the nations, who welcome the good news of salvation through the Incarnation.

The magi’s coming to Jerusalem in order to pay homage to the king of the Jews shows that they seek in Israel, in the messianic light of the star of David, the one who will be king of the nations.

Their coming means that pagans can discover Jesus and worship him as Son of God and Saviour of the world only by turning towards the Jews and receiving from them the messianic promise as contained in the Old Testament.

The Epiphany shows that “the full number of the nations” now takes its “place in the family of the patriarchs”, and acquires Israelitica dignitas (is made “worthy of the heritage of Israel”) [CCC 528].

 

3. When is Epiphany celebrated?

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Was It Okay for Jacob to Lie to His Father?

Jacob deceived his father to keep God's promises on track. Was this right?

The book of Genesis records an instance in which Jacob deceives his father, Isaac, by pretending to be his brother.

He does this so that he can inherit his father’s blessing.

All of this seems to happen in fulfillment of God’s plan for Israel.

Does that make it right?

Here’s the story . . .

 

Jacob and Esau

NOTE: This post is part of a series on the “dark passages” in the Bible. Click here to see all of the posts in the series.

Here is how the book of Genesis describes the birth and early life of Jacob and his twin brother, Esau:

Genesis 25

[22] The children struggled together within [Rebekah]; and she said, “If it is thus, why do I live?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.

[23] And the LORD said to her, “Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples, born of you, shall be divided;
the one shall be stronger than the other,
the elder shall serve the younger.”

[27] When the boys grew up, Esau was a skillful hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents.

[28] Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his game; but Rebekah loved Jacob.

The Prophecy

Note the prophecy about the two children: “the elder [Esau] shall serve the younger [Jacob].”

This will ultimately be fulfilled by God using the line of Jacob to give rise to the people of Israel (in fact, “Israel” is an alternate name that Jacob will later acquire), but how will this take place?

At the moment, there seem to be two obstacles:

  • First, as the older child, Esau has the birthright.
  • Second, as Isaac favors Esau, he is likely to give him his dying, prophetic blessing.

The first obstacles is overcome when a famished Esau foolishly sells his birthright to Jacob (Gen 25:29-34).

That leaves us with the second problem . . .

 

Isaac Prepares to Bless Esau

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A Mysterious Incident from Jesus’ Childhood

Mary and Joseph knew the agony of having a missing child. What are we to make of this mysterious incident, and what does it tell us about Jesus' future?

This Sunday we celebrate the mystery of the Holy Family.

What was it like for Jesus, Mary, and Joseph to live together?

Each is a very remarkable person! Put all three together and . . . wow.

Today we have reality shows about interesting and extraordinary families, but they didn’t have reality shows back then.

Fortunately, we are given a glimpse into the domestic life of the Holy Family.

And it’s a glimpse provided by the Virgin Mary herself . . .

 

Missing Child!

This episode in the life of the Holy Family begins on a holiday: specifically, the feast of Passover.

Luke records that the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem each year for the feast of Passover, apparently in a company of “their kinsfolk and acquaintances,” and when Jesus was twelve, he stayed behind in Jerusalem.

Joseph and Mary did not realize this until they had already gone “a day’s journey” back to Nazareth, at which point they realized he was not with the company.

They thus began to experience the agony and anxiety of parents who discover their child is missing.

And note the foreshadowing: Was there ever another time in Jesus life, at Passover, in Jerusalem, when Mary would be deprived of Jesus?

 

“On the Third Day”

Joseph and Mary thus return to Jerusalem and “after three days” find him.

The three days, in this case, are apparently:

  • the first day spent journeying from Jerusalem,
  • a second day spend journeying back to Jerusalem,
  • and the third day (or part of a third day) searching for him in Jerusalem.

Again, note the foreshadowing: The three days echo the three days (or, more precisely, parts of three days) that Jesus spent in the tomb, during which Mary and the disciples were deprived of Jesus’ presence but then found him again “on the third day” (cf. Lk. 9:22).

 

Why Weren’t They Monitoring Jesus More Closely?

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Did the slaughter of the innocents really happen?

Matthew records that Herod the Great slaughtered the holy innocents in his efforts to kill Jesus. Did this even actually happen?

On December 28, the Church commemorates the slaughter of the holy innocents.

These are the baby boys in Bethlehem that Herod the Great had slaughtered in an attempt to kill the Baby Jesus.

But many people today challenge the idea that this ever took place.

“We have no record of it!” they say.

Actually, we do . . .

 

Who Was Herod the Great?

Herod the Great was the king of Judea at the time Jesus was born.

He had the title “king,” but he was not an independent ruler. Instead, he was a client king of the Roman empire who had been named “King of the Jews” by the Roman Senate.

This meant that he was a local ruler who ultimately answered to Rome and who owed his throne to the Roman Senate.

Religiously, Herod was a Jew, but ethnically, he was descended from a neighboring people, the Idumeans. They had been forcibly converted to Judaism in the time of the Maccabees (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 13:9:1).

As a ruler, he built a lot of things–fortresses, aqueducts, theaters, etc. Undertaking major public works projects was one of the ways that rulers in the ancient world built a legacy for themselves.

His most famous building projects was the Temple in Jerusalem, which he began dramatically expanding.

He also had another side . . .

 

Paranoid and Bloodthirsty

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9 Things You Need to Know About Pope Benedict’s New Book About Baby Jesus

Pope Benedict has a new book about the Baby Jesus. What should you know about it?

Pope Benedict has just released a new book about Jesus Christ.

It’s appropriate that he released it now–just before Christmas–because it deals with the birth of Jesus.

It’s called Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives.

Here are 9 things you should know about it . . .

 

1. Why did Pope Benedict write this book?

Originally, before he was elected pope, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wanted to retire and write a book about his own personal views on Jesus Christ, as he is presented in the gospels. He read many books like this when he was younger, and now he wanted to write his own to help people grow closer to Jesus.

He had even begun working on it in the summer holidays he had in 2003 and 2004, before John Paul II passed on in 2005.

But then he was elected pope and all his free time vanished. He still cared enough about the project, though, to make time for it.

Because he was elected pope at an elderly age, he wasn’t sure how long he would live and if he would have the time and energy to complete the project, so instead of writing one book covering all of the gospels, he wrote three, covering different parts.

Volume 1 of the series covered the first part of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Volume 2 covered Jesus’ passion and resurrection. And now in Volume 3 he is going back to finish the series by covering the “infancy narratives.”

 

2. What are the “infancy narratives”?

The infancy narratives are the parts of the gospels that deal with Jesus’ life before his adult ministry–that is, the parts when he was an “infant.”

That’s an approximate term, though, because they actually cover the period before he was born (in fact, before he was even conceived) and also an incident later in his childhood, when he was about twelve years old.

Only two of the four gospels–Matthew and Luke–cover this period, and they each devote the first two chapters of their gospels to it.

Properly speaking, the infancy narratives are Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.

 

3. Does Pope Benedict think that these parts of the gospels are historical?

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