Mass they hear readings from the Old Testament. Today,
Bible study groups (Bibliarasal) are quite popular, and Bible preachers
of all kinds are heard constantly throughout the land. PCP II boasts of
“Lay Ministers of the Word” in many Basic Ecclesial Communities, particularly
those who have been commissioned after appropriate training in Regional Bible
Centers (cf. PCP II 605).
416. But how well prepared are most Filipino
Catholics to respond to the aggressive proselytizing of many “Born Again” and
biblical fundamentalists? These active evangelists often disturb the typical
Filipino Catholic with a flood of biblical texts quoted from memory, often
taken out of context and interpreted according to a pre-set anti-Catholic bias.
Thus they charge Catholics with not observing the Sabbath as the day of
worship, or with violating the Biblical prohibition against making images of
God and any other creature, or of eating blood (cf. PCP II 218-19).
417. Many Catholic Filipinos find difficulty in
responding to these challenges since their familiarity with the Old Testament
is often dominated by literal acceptance of “what the Bible says.” The biblical
dramas are taken as simple stories, without discerning the underlying deeper
meaning. Thus, distorted ideas arise about God as being a fearful Judge
exacting dire punishment for every sin. Or about Old Testament morality
erroneously conceived in terms of “an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth” (Ex
21: 24).
418. Some
react by rejecting the validity of the whole Old Testament for us today. Others
want to know which parts remain binding on us. For many, the Old
Testament is simply obsolete since we already have the fulfillment of
God’s Promise of a Redeemer in Jesus Christ. Besides, they see little relevance
for themselves in the ancient history of a far off people who have little in
common with Filipinos of the 20th century, fast approaching the 21st!
PCP II,
in recognizing the problem, spoke of “the challenge to read and study, pray
over and live the written Word of God.” It expressed the strong desire that
“the Bible, read in the Church, occupy the place of honor it deserves in every
Catholic heart, home and parish” (PCP II 224:1).
EXPOSITION
I.
VALUE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
419. The truth is that the Old Testament is the
living Word of God, “sharper than any two-edged sword. It penetrates and
divides soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the reflections and
thoughts of the heart” (Heb 4:12). The “Promise” of salvation is as
important for us today as it was for the Israelites because salvation is not a
thing, a material gift, but the living, transforming presence of God within us.
We are pilgrims, journeying in the light and by the strength of God’s abiding
promise: “I will be with you” (Ex 3:12).
420. Thus God’s Old Testament Word is necessary
for us today, and throughout our lives to understand Christ our Savior more
fully. PCP II insisted that
nothing and no one speaks better of the Incarnate Word
of God than the Scripture as Word of God. When the Bible is read in the Church,
it is Christ himself who speaks to us (cf. SC 7). The Bible must once
again become the primary catechetical book. Familiarity with the Bible through
prayerful use and study of it should characterize the Catholic faithful, for
“ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ” (DV 5; PCP II 159).
421. Jesus himself thus taught the Emmaus
disciples, “beginning with Moses and all the prophets, interpreting every
passage of Scripture that referred to him” (Lk 24:27). The basic reason
for this insistence on the Scriptures is not the Fundamentalists’ attack, but
the fact that “the plan of salvation is
found as the true Word of God in the Old Testament books which, written
under divine inspiration, remain permanently valuable” (DV 14).
II. Canon of the Old Testament
422. The biblical Promise of Salvation in the
Old Testament is not primarily a question of an individual text or even a
series of texts. Rather, the whole Old Testament is a three-part presentation
of the saving acts of God. First, there is the Torah, the
historical books revealing God in the history of His Covenant Promises to Israel. Second,
the prophets’ “Word of the Lord” promises deliverance from
slavery and exile. Third, the writings of the sages, the
poets and the visionaries offer inspired means for discerning God’s saving
presence in daily life (cf. CCC 702).
This Old Testament “canon” is summarized
in Jeremiah:
“It will not mean the loss
of
instruction [Torah] from the priests,
nor of
messages [word] from the prophets,
nor of
counsel from the wise” (Jer 18:18).
A. Torah/Historical
Books
423. The first five books of the OT, called the Pentateuch,
constitute the core of the Torah, or Law. But unlike our laws today, the
Old Testament Torah was formed gradually as a narrative memory of God’s
covenant with His people. It is the authoritative response to questioning:
“Later on, when your son asks you what these ordinances, statutes and decrees
mean which the Lord has enjoined on you, you shall say to your son:
We were once slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the Lord brought us out of Egypt with his
strong hand, and wrought before our eyes signs and wonders . . . to lead us
into the land He promised on oath to our fathers. Therefore the Lord commanded
us to observe all these statutes in fear of the Lord, our God, that we may
always have as prosperous and happy a life as we have today. . . (Dt
6:20-24).
424. Vocation.
Torah or “Law” here signifies a “moral binding” that is at once a vocation,
a gift and a way of life. The Old Testament Torah is an
open-ended, imaginative narrative of Israel’s historical public
experience of their Covenant God. To anyone today who thinks life is made up
only of one’s own immediate private experiences, the Torah insists on the
essential place of the community’s heritage and the “handing down” of a
living tradition.
425. At the center of Israel’s memory is the Covenant
Maker, God who is with His people and for His people.
“Hear, O Israel! . . . Be not weakhearted or
afraid; be neither alarmed nor frightened . . . For it is the Lord, your God
who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies” (Dt
20:3-4).
The
decisive event in Israel’s
history was the Exodus from Egypt and the Sinai Covenant.
The Israelites were commanded by God to relive this great covenant moment of
liberation each year by celebrating the Feast of the Passover.
“You shall observe this as a
perpetual ordinance for yourselves and your descendants. . . .When your
children ask you, ‘What does this rite of yours mean?’ you shall reply: ‘This
is the Passover sacrifice of the Lord, who passed over the houses of the
Israelites in Egypt’
” (Ex 12:24-27).
426. Commandments.
For their part of the Covenant, the Israelites were called to keep the “Ten
Words” given to Moses at Mount Sinai (cf.
Ex 20; Dt 5:6-21). These Commandments were to liberate them, as
their preface declares: “I, the Lord, am your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery” (Ex
20:2). But they also demanded of the people a fateful decision: a
persevering commitment to the liberating Covenant God:
“Here, then, I have today set before you life and
prosperity, death and doom. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God .
. . you will live. If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen .
. . you will certainly perish” (Dt 30:15-18).
427. In brief, the God of the Covenant brought
salvation to His people by His active presence. When infidelities weakened this
presence, God promised a New Presence in a New Covenant,
fashioned by a Promised Savior. As Christians we enter this New Paschal
Covenant made in Christ through our Baptism. But unfortunately, like the
Israelites of old, the Covenant God’s Promise of life is often forgotten or
taken for granted, and our Covenant response in our Baptismal Promises
only rarely recalled.
B. The
Word of the Prophets
428. We often
confuse “prophet” with a fortune teller (manghuhula) who predicts what
the future holds in store for us. But the Old Testament prophets were not like
that. They were men called by God to speak His word to the people, interpreting
their present situation in the sight of God and telling them what He would do
with them. Most of all, the prophets called the people back to the
Covenant. For despite God’s constant fidelity, Israel’s
history is a series of infidelities. After the first stage of God’s
saving acts in liberating His people from their slavery in Egypt, a second stage concerns their
deliverance proclaimed by the prophets, both
before and after the Exile, if only they would turn back to the Lord.
429. Conversion. This prophetic “word” comes as a surprise; it is a
word of passion, bringing new hope at the very time when things were completely
hopeless. It is the “word of the Lord,” free and unaccommodating, breaking all
conventional expectations. It is a word of conversion: turn back to God.
Amos admonishes:
“Seek the
Lord, that you may live . . .
Seek good
and not evil;
Then truly
will the Lord, the God of hosts,
be
with you as you claim!” (Am 5:6, 14)
Isaiah
echoes the same call to conversion:
“Wash
yourselves clean!
Put away
your misdeeds from before my eyes;
Cease doing
evil; learn to do good.
Make justice
your aim: redress the wronged,
Hear the
orphan’s plea, defend the widow” (Is 1:16-17).
430. The people’s “conversion” is not
just self-made. Rather, it is also the work of their saving God: “Fear not, for
I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine” (Is 43:1).
Within this grace of conversion is the promise of forgiveness. Isaiah
gives God’s side:
“Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord.
Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; though they be
crimson red, they may become white as wool” (Is 1:18).
The prophet Joel highlights the need for
genuine interior repentance to gain God’s mercy:
“Return to me with your whole heart, with fasting,
and weeping,
and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return
to the Lord your God.
For gracious and merciful is He, slow to anger,
rich in
kindness, and relenting in punishment” (Jl 2:12-13).
431. God’s call through the prophets to
repentance ends with an incredible promise. Ezekiel describes Yahweh’s
promise thus:
“I will give you a new
heart
and place a new spirit within you,
taking from your bodies your stony hearts
and giving you natural hearts.
I will put my spirit within you
and make you live by my statutes” (Ez 36:26-27).
Moreover,
this deep interior renewal activated by God’s grace is worked not just within
the individual alone, but especially among the whole people. “The days are
coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel”
(Jer 31:31).
432. The messianic prophecies foretell in
greater detail the Savior who will bring about the promised new Covenant. This
Savior will show a special love for the poor and justice will be
his concern. “He shall judge the poor with justice, and decide aright for the
land’s afflicted” (Is 11:4). “This is the name they give him: ‘The Lord
our justice’ ” (Jer 23:6). “See, your king shall come to you; a just
Savior is he, meek, and riding on an ass” (Zech 9:9).
433. Servant Songs. Isaiah presents four “Servant songs” which
provide a startling new image of how God will realize His promise of salvation.
The mission of this suffering Servant is to establish
justice:
“Here is my
servant whom I uphold,
My chosen
one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I
have put my spirit;
He shall
bring forth justice to the nations” (Is 42:1).
The scope
of his saving work is universal:
“I will make
you a light to the nations,
that my
salvation may reach to the ends of the earth” (Is 49:6).
434. Most striking of all is the characteristic life-style
of this Servant: his willingness to suffer.
“I gave my
back to those who beat me,
my
cheeks to those who plucked my beard.
My face I
did not shield from buffets and spitting” (Is 50:6) .
The Servant’s suffering was not for his personal sin, but for
the sins of others.
He was
pierced for our offenses,
crushed
for our sins;
Upon him was
the chastisement that makes us whole,
by
his stripes we were healed.
We had all
gone astray like sheep,
each
following his own way;
But the Lord
laid upon him the guilt of us all (Is 53:5f).
435. But the prophets did more than prophesy a
Messiah King and Suffering Servant.” Their call to conversion was a radical
upheaval. The Lord touched Jeremiah’s mouth and told him: “This day I set
you over nations and kingdoms, to root up and to tear down, to destroy and to
demolish, to build and to plant” (Jer 1:10). The old world is coming to
an end: rooted up and torn down, destroyed and demolished. God is bringing a
new world into existence: building and planting it. “This is the plan
proposed for the whole earth. . . The Lord of hosts has planned, who can thwart
him?” (Is 14:26-27)
436. Prophetic Hope. There are always those who, overcome by the tragedies
of life, claim such a new world is impossible even for God. To them the Lord
replied through the prophet: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind! Is
anything impossible to Me?” (Jer 32:26-27). Thus God makes Himself the
firm foundation for the hope held out to the people by the prophets.
437. This prophetic hope is, first
of all, grounded on the memory of God’s great saving acts in the
past. “Look to the rock from which you were hewn, to the pit from which you
were quarried. Look to Abraham, your father, and to Sarah, who gave you birth” (Is
51:1-2). Thus grounded, hope works against the rootlessness with
which modern secularism plagues us all. Second, prophetic hope looks
essentially also to the future and to posterity. It thus helps us
to overcome our excessive individualism. “My salvation shall remain forever,
and my justice shall never be dismayed” (Is 51:6). Third, in
freeing us from the guilt of sin, the prophets’ promise of God’s forgiveness
brings comfort. “Comfort, give comfort to my people, says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem
. . . her guilt is expiated” (Is 40: 1-2).
438. Fourth,
the prophetic hope sketches a new life that drives out resignation and
despair.
“They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength,
they will
soar as with eagles’ wings;
They will run and not grow weary,
walk and not grow faint” (Is 40:31).
439. Lastly,
the prophetic hope bursts out of all narrow pragmatic, utilitarian views by
offering a vision of the future that only God can create.
“Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth;
The things of the past shall not be remembered or come
to mind.
Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness
in what I create” (Is 65:17-18).
440. God is speaking to us today through the
Old Testament prophets as much as in the days of old. The prophetic message
is inspiring an extraordinarily active
ministry of the Catholic Church in the Philippines in its thrust for
justice through a preferential option for the poor. The prophetic
message of conversion, of hope in the Lord, of fidelity to the
Covenant with God our Savior, remains ever new and ever relevant.
Recognizing
this, PCP II decreed that
a syllabus of biblical catechesis for social
involvement must be under-taken. This biblical catechesis should be promoted
and given prominence in evangelization work
and in the Church’s programs of formation and action for social
awareness” (PCP II Decrees, Art. 21, 3-4).
C. The
Counsel of the Wise
441. The third part of the Old Testament, called
the “Writings,” presents the discernment needed for ordinary
day-to-day living. The Psalms and the Wisdom literature present
how the faithful can discern the presence of God in their daily lives. “How are
things inter-connected?” the wise man asks. Can God, through His Covenant Torah
and His prophetic Word, bring salvation to
ordinary daily life? “Whence can wisdom be obtained, and where is the place of
understanding?” (Jb 28:12).
442. In the Wisdom Literature, Job
responds by looking not only back to the confident experience of God’s saving
presence in the past. He also looks forward to the divine inscrutability: “The
Lord gave and the Lord has taken away” (Jb 1:21). There is much to learn
from the counsels of the wise. “Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord and
turn away from evil” (Prv 3:7). On work and leisure: “He who tills his
own land has food in plenty, but he who follows idle pursuits is a fool” (Prv
12:11). On relating to people: “A mild answer calms wrath, but a harsh word
stirs up anger” (Prv 15:1).
443. Some advice “liberates” by exposing evils
that enslave. “There are six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an
abomination to Him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent
blood; a heart that plots wicked schemes, feet that run swiftly to evil, the
false witness who utters lies, and he who sows discord among brothers” (Prv
6:16-19). Others provide something like today’s “value clarification.” “It
is bet-ter to harken to the wise person’s rebuke than to harken to the song of
fools” (Eccl 7:5).
444. Job’s
question, then, is answered by the vital interaction of life-experience
and Lord-experience. Both come together in: “Behold, the fear of the Lord is wisdom, and avoiding evil is
understanding” (Jb 28:28). The best human knowledge of
salvation is discerning obedience to the Lord.
445. The Psalms present another
dimension of salvation. Characteristic of the Psalms is their direct
personal address to God, expressing deep faith and trust in the
Lord. In the Psalms all aspects of daily life are encountered:
• all places like houses,
fields, roads, workshops and sickbeds;
• all occupations like
eating, drinking, sleeping, getting up, working, recreating;
• all ages of life, from
childhood to old age, with all forms of personal relations: man and
woman, parents and children, brothers and friends.
The Psalms
repeat Israel’s
unique history, and even include the whole of creation: the stars of heaven and
earth, winds and clouds, trees and flowers.
446. Psalms of praise express
thanksgiving for the saving acts of God, with a plea for His continued care.
Psalms of lament speak of the deliverance God works for His people. Both
manifest the sharp conviction that we exist and live only as participating in a
community and in direct relationship with God. Salvation comes from God to us as
community members, not as self-made liberators. Filipinos are naturally drawn
to the psalms to express their “utang na loob” for God’s tremendous “kagandahang-loob”
with them.
447. Deep trust in God and His power
to save is the basic theme of these Psalms. On one hand there is bold,
unreserved oneness with God.
“Though my
flesh and my heart waste away,
God is the
rock of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps 73:26).
On the
other hand, a tough quality is present: the making of a decision, the choosing
of sides and standing firm against others.
“Help us, O God our Savior, because of the glory of
your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake;
Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let it be known among the nations in our sight
that you avenge the shedding of your servants’ blood” (Ps
79:9-10).
448. The final salvific message of the Psalms,
then, can be summed up by two notions: total commitment to the
mystery of God’s nearness, and concrete daily obedience to His
Torah, His Commandments. This repeats the distinctive marks of Israel in
Deuteronomy:
“For what great nation is there that has gods so
close to it as the Lord, our God, is to us whenever we call upon Him? Or
what great nation has statutes and decrees that are as just as
this whole law which I am setting before you today?” (Dt 4:7-8).
449. A God so near and a Torah
so righteous __ these are the grounds for the promised
salvation. “You, O Lord, are near, and all Your commandments are permanent” (Ps
119:151). The promise of salvation means this:
“Let Your kindness come to me, O Lord,
Your
salvation according to Your promise. . .
And I will keep Your law continually forever and ever.
And I will walk at liberty
because I seek Your precepts” (Ps 119:41-45).
No comments:
Post a Comment