Bible Timeline, Session 2
I am one of the millions of Catholics who are unaware of the
depth of Genesis 1-3. The first chapters
of the Bible always seemed to be a simple representation of how the world was
created. It also included the temptation
and fall of Adam and Eve that led to the "Original Sin" that we are
born with.
Well it was not so simple after all. Here are some of new insights
I learned from Session 2.
- Understanding why there are two accounts of
the creation of the world and that Genesis 1 complemented Genesis 2, the second
account of creation. Genesis 2
highlighted how everything fell into perfect place with the creation of man
with dominion over all that God had created.
- The temptation of Eve and the fall of Adam and Eve and how
this has impacted the perfect balance of the world, including the mortality of
man was clearly tied together in the Genesis 3.
- Of particular importance is the protoevangelium, "the
first promise of a redeemer for fallen humankind", announced in Gen 3:15,
"And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his
heel". This clearly shows the
unconditional love of God for man.
- A fresh look at temptation as God giving us a chance to go
back to Him in repentance is equally invaluable.
Let's also turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC).
CCC 289 amplifies the importance of Genesis 1-3
289 Among all the Scriptural texts about creation, the first
three chapters of Genesis occupy a unique place. From a literary standpoint
these texts may have had diverse sources. The inspired authors have placed them
at the beginning of Scripture to express in their solemn language the truths of
creation - its origin and its end in God, its order and goodness, the vocation
of man, and finally the drama of sin and the hope of salvation. Read in the
light of Christ, within the unity of Sacred Scripture and in the living
Tradition of the Church, these texts remain the principal source for catechesis
on the mysteries of the "beginning": creation, fall, and promise of
salvation.
Lastly, I would like to invite you to read CCC 290 - 292, with particular attention the
last two sentences of CCC 292.
292 The Old Testament suggests and the New Covenant reveals
the creative action of the Son and the Spirit,132 inseparably one with that of
the Father. This creative co-operation is clearly affirmed in the Church's rule
of faith: "There exists but one God . . . he is the Father, God, the
Creator, the author, the giver of order. He made all things by himself, that
is, by his Word and by his Wisdom", "by the Son and the Spirit"
who, so to speak, are "his hands".133 Creation is the common work of
the Holy Trinity.
----------
Every time I spend time and study scripture, more so when I have to facilitate a teaching night or household meeting, I learn more than than I expect to and am surprised that there are important concepts and lessons that I have
missed on totally in the past. The
blessing of having to study and prepare enriches my own understanding of
portions of our faith. There is an
incredible wealth of knowledge that has to be learned which then pushes me
further for more hours of study. I get
caught in tremendous breaths of inspiration that I can only attribute to doing
"God's Work" to the best of the abilities that I can muster.
I pray that this will be so for all of you as well as we go on the Bible Timeline journey together!
I pray that this will be so for all of you as well as we go on the Bible Timeline journey together!
"to the greater
glory of God"
Bro Sonny
Bro Sonny
No comments:
Post a Comment