Tag: Scripture

Divine Liturgy Bible Crib

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One of my great discoveries upon engaging with the Catholic faith was that the Liturgy was saturated with Scripture. In my exploration of the eastern liturgies of the Church, I’ve found this to be no less true.

Below is a summary of the Scriptural allusions of the Liturgy which was compiled by V. Rev. John J. Matusiak from St. Joseph Russian Orthodox Church, OCA in Wheaton, IL.

Opening Doxology (“Blessed in the Kingdom…”)
Mark: 11:10; Luke: 22:29-30, Matthew: 28:19; Revelation: 7:12.

The Great Litany
Philippians: 4:6-7; Psalm 51:1 Luke: 18:13; John: 14:27; 1 Timothy: 2:1-2; Hebrews: 13:7; Psalm 109:26; Luke: 1:42.

The First Antiphon (“Bless the Lord, O my soul…”)
Selected verses from Psalm 103.

The Second Antiphon (“Praise the Lord, O my soul”)
Psalm 103.

The Hymn to Christ Incarnate (“Only-begotten Son…”) 
John: 1:1, 3:16, 17:5, 19:18; Luke: 1:35; Hebrews: 2:14; Matthew: 8:25.

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Scripture Nerd Moment…

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This afternoon I came across something which made me chuckle while I was out taking my afternoon stroll with Scott Hahn (Dr. Hahn couldn’t make it in person but was considerate enough to be present on my iPod).

I was walking through one of Seattle’s many lovely parks and I came across some children’s play equipment:

IMG_1482

I noticed that the bars of the fence enclosing the area had names written on them. I assumed that these were the names of the donors who helped pay for the equipment. It was then that I noticed one particular entry:

IMG_1483The Thomas family appeared to have wanted a Bible verse included with their name. Their choice of verse made me chuckle. Can you guess what text is found in Luke 18:16?

Questions for 1, 2 & 3 John

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Before I left San Diego, I went through all the Johannine epistles (1, 2, 3 John). Here are the questions we devised:

1 John

72. Who wrote this letter?
The Early Church identified it as John the Apostle, son of Zebedee. This would explain the preservation of the letter as well as the numerous parallels with John’s Gospel and the Book of Revelation. In recent years some have suggested that it is a disciple known as “John the elder”, a character from the Early Church about whom we know relatively little.

73. When was this letter written?
It was probably written after the publication of John’s Gospel, sometime in the 90s.

74. To whom was it written?
Probably to the Christians around Ephesus where John is said to have settled.

75. Why was this letter written?
Primarily to respond to a heretical, schismatic group. These could have possibly been Docetists, Gnostics, Cerinthians or possibly even converts from Judaism. The issue seemed to surround the nature and identity of Christ. John spends most of the letter talking about the authentic fellowship with God.

76. What are some of the words which John uses a lot in his writings?
Life, death, light, dark, beginning, abide, …

2 John

77. To whom is this letter addressed?
It is addressed to “the elect lady and her children”. Although this could have possibly been an actual person, it is more likely that John is speaking of a neighbouring Church is sisterly, feminine terms.

78. What is the main content of this letter?
John is writing to a sister church. He encourages them and warns them of the antichrist

79. Who is the antichrist?
According to John, anyone who “will not acknowledge the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh”.

3 John

80. To whom is this letter addressed?
It is addressed to “the beloved Gaius”. He is most likely in the leadership of the one of the local congregations.

81. What is the main content of the letter?
A man named “Diotrephes” is exalting himself, refusing to accept John’s authority, refusing welcome to those John sends and excommunicating anyone who does so.

1-16 | 17-27 | 27-42 | 43-52 | 53-57 | 58-67 | 68-71 | 72-81

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