Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Jordan - Matthew 3
And just like that, Jesus is an adult. I have always been so frustrated with the fact that there is so little mentioned in the Bible about Jesus as a young adult. We miss a huge part of his life where he embraces his vocation and becomes determined to blaze the path he was called to walk. Were those times of his life difficult for him or was he a model child? I think there is a correlation to these missing years and the missing youth in our pews. If we talk about being "little Christs" it might mean stick around while children, then disappear until you are an adult and come back!
Anyway, on to chapter 3. I always picture John as a crazy guy in the desert. Missing a sandal, a torn robe, an unkempt beard with a bit of locust still stuck in it... But the best part is that the Pharisees themselves are drawn to this phanatic because baptism is "the cool thing to do" and John turns them away! The Pharisees see baptism as another checkbox on their way to heaven and John calls them out. How awkward that must have been!
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The Catholic Bible
ReplyDeleteAs Catholics were responsible for writing the New Testament (under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit), the Catholic Church doesn't "interpret" the Bible. We explain it.
Protestants can only "interpret", because they are not the author (guided by the Holy Spirit), and therefore, can only guess at the possible meaning of a chapter, passage or phrase, just as anyone can only guess at any author's intentions in any other book.
As the author, the Catholic Church is the only proper authority to consult in matters pertaining to the Bible.
I appreciate the comment, Michael! Thanks for taking a look at the blog. I completely disagree that "the Catholic Church is the only proper authority" as I believe even the Catholic Church reports to God. There are numerous authors of the books in the Bible and all were inspired by the Holy Spirit so that they could be a witness to all of us.
ReplyDeleteWas Paul, who wrote most of the New Testament, Catholic? It seems to me that the point is he was the one who God inspired to reach out to those who were outside the Jewish-Christian establishment, just like Luther was inspired to reach out to those who were outside the Christian-Catholic establishment. The truth is we don't interpret the Bible, the Bible interprets us.
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