Faith

Announcing not denouncing- Thursday, 22nd Week in ordinary time- St Paul’s letter to the Colossians  1:9-14

St Paul has come to the aid of his “fellow servant” Epaphras, to confirm his community in the faith that Epaphras had instructed them in. Epaphras was perhaps converted by Paul himself, during the apostle’s ministry in Ephesus. He seeks his spiritual mentor and co- worker’s help to answer a philosophical false teaching of human tradition, of which the intention was only to deceive the Christian community.

Central to this empty deceit were concerns regarding the elemental spirits of the universe. It held the belief in angels and demanded the observance of certain foods, festivals, new moons and Sabbath; most of all, it encouraged ascetical practices.

The letter to the Colossians makes it clear that such thoughts have now spread among Epaphras’ infantile community who have accepted Christ. An infantile community is always susceptible to a syncretic mix of ideas, influenced by their former religious practices of Judaism and Hellenism (Greek culture) into their new faith.

Colossae’s neighbouring cities of Laodicea and Hierapolis were also known to be centres of Phrygian mystery cults and these thoughts had now infected Colossae. The fascination surrounding these cults was the secrecy associated with the initiation and ritual practices which were not revealed to outsiders. I guess if you want to generate curiosity, hide it under a cloak; after all curiosity did kill the cat!

Paul now writes to confirm, not condemn the community. Paul does not feel the need to answer the many issues raised, but rather confirms the faith that has been handed down to them from Epaphras; a faith that in itself answers all doubts.

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Faith

What was proclaimed is now reclaimed.- Wednesday, 22nd week in ordinary time- St Paul’s letter to the Colossians 1:1-8

Most scholars agree that out of the fourteen letters attributed to St Paul, some of them were actually written by his disciples, one such being the letter to the Colossians. The letter was written between 65 and 75 AD. However we know from historical evidence that the town of Colossae, located in modern day western Turkey about 120 miles inland from the Aegean Sea, was destroyed in an earthquake around the year 61 CE and was not rebuilt. The ruins were discovered in 1835.

Quite obviously, the letter could not be written to the community after the city was flattened by a natural disaster. This leaves us with just one explanation; it was written after Paul’s death by one of his followers in an attempt to have Christ’s apostle speak from beyond the grave. We will never know the identities of both the author and the audience of this letter as they are pseudonymous.

So does this mean that the letter to the Colossians is a fake? Absolutely not! The Bible is God’s divinely revealed word and He may choose any instrument to reveal it; even if that is a mere disciple of Paul. The Catholic Catechsim teaches us that the Bible is not meant to convey precise historical information or scientific findings. Moreover, the authors were children of their time. They shared the cultural ideas of the world around them and often were also dominated by its errors (CCC 106,107, 109).

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Faith

Mixed signals? Tuesday, 22nd week in ordinary time – I Thessalonians  5: 1-6, 9-11

 Kim Jong-un’s testing of the hydrogen bomb, believed to be five times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb, might ironically be happy days for ‘dooms day cults’ who get as much mileage from news such as this as they do with their version of the  misinterpreted ‘good news’ they propagate

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians in 50 AD, he was abundantly clear that the core of his message was to explain eschatological (end times) hope and he did this by using apocalyptic language. Such language is symbolic; for it points to a greater reality. To give you an example, a stop sign is indicative of possible danger and hence the need to stop. There is no danger in the red light itself, it is merely a light which is red in colour; the danger lies in not keeping it. The red light only points to a greater reality. So stop analysing the red light for it has fulfilled its purpose and already turned green.

Similarly, Paul is not describing how the end times will take place but what the implications of the end times for those who are alive. These scripture lines are not to be read as ‘future revelations but divine revelation that our future is secure because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.’ This is what Paul sets out to make clear in this pericope.

Paul has already  commended the fate of those who have died in the hands of God ( 1 Thes 4: 13-18)and now when he speaks of the eschaton (how everything will happen at the end of time) he does so in order to bring comfort to the Thessalonians and not to frighten them. However this message is also laced with caution.

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Faith

Dead Christians live forever- Monday, 22nd week in ordinary time – 1 Thessalonians 4: 13- 18

Written in 50 AD, the letter of St Paul to the Thessalonians is the earliest written book in the New Testament.  Thessalonica was a port city in Macedonia, modern day Greece. The city took its name from the wife of Cassandra, a general of Alexander the great.

This city was important for economic, commercial and political reasons. Its harbour and Roman highway contributed greatly to the wealth of this commercial centre. This city also housed a Jewish population and a synagogue. It is here that Paul arrives during his second missionary journey in 50 AD.

Paul courted controversy where ever he went. He was not one to water down the message that he himself had received from the Lord. He wore his convictions on his sleeve and doing so does not always win you the Nobel Prize.

Paul’s mission thus far, has been stormy, to say the least. He has been expelled from Philippi which was no more than a hundred miles east of Thessalonica and now arrives in this bustling city which had a Jewish population large enough to warrant the building up of a synagogue.

As what will become his characteristic trade mark, Paul will go first to the synagogue where we know that he preached at least for three weeks till I riot erupted among the Jewish population.  Three weeks was all it took for some Jews to be threatened by the popular message of Paul. Along with Paul, his companion Silvanus was also expelled; it is from here that they go to the city of Beroea.

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Art/ Heritage

ROCK OR STUMBLING BLOCK? : ‘Get Thee Behind Me, Satan’ by James Tissot

It is a moment of jubilation. The disciples are buzzing with excitement after having been part of the revelatory moment. The identity of Christ is revealed and affirmed. He indeed is the Messiah. But the messianic plan of God could not be completely comprehended. In the following verses Jesus throws a bombshell announcing His suffering and salvific mission.

Christ, the Messiah, would not be praised but rejected, not be crowned but executed. He would not hail the porticos of Jerusalem but die on a humble cross. However on the third day He would rise again.  This was too much to digest. How could the Messiah be the one to undergo suffering and be killed? It was contrary to the Jewish hope and expectation.

Peter, the spokesperson for the twelve, calls Jesus aside and chastises him, ‘Never Lord! No, this must never happen to you.’ Jesus response is anything but subtle, ‘Get behind me Satan!’, he says. ‘You are a stumbling block to me. Your thoughts are not from God but from man.’

James Tissot frames this narrative in today’s painting. The scene is taken from the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 16, verse 22 and 23. Amidst the dry and rugged terrain, Jesus is displayed traversing the trying path to Jerusalem, the city where the prophets are killed. (Mt: 23: 37).

While Christ determined feet plunge forward, his left hand withholds the ‘stumbling block.’ Peter, his hands raised upwards, staggers backwards, balancing himself. To the left are the rest of the apostles, perplexed.

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