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TEA: Life in Christ, not just improvement, but transformation

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In this episode of “Theology With An English Accent” (TEA) is the first of a few talks I’m giving this Lent at St. Ignatius in Los Angeles. This is a longer version of the talk I gave the previous week in Dodge City which was called “What is the point of Christianity?”. The first 20 minutes is basically identical, after which I get into new material.

Life in Christ: Not mere improvement, but transformation (Download)

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Bishop Flores RIP

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As those of you who live in San Diego will doubtless know by now, a few days ago, Bishop Flores passed away. A few months ago he suffered a stroke and we heard recently that his condition had seriously deteriorated.

Bishop Flores

I was a member of the Diocesan Pastoral Council around the time Bishop Flores took over the care of San Diego Diocese from Bishop Brom. Through these Council meetings, as well as through various diocesan events, I got to know this shepherd of Christ reasonably well. He was kind and had a great sense of joy, as well as certainly having some fire in his bones! He was extremely supportive of the Young Adult Catholic Community here in San Diego.

At 7:30pm the Young Adult Community in San Diego will be praying a rosary for Bishop Flores. Please join us in prayer, even if you can’t make it to the church.

My favourite memory of the Bishop was at the Rite of Election this year. My roommate Nathan was entering the Church and I was (for my sins) his sponsor. As we stood with the other candidates and catechumens having a group photograph, Nathan whispered to me “I want to high five the bishop”. As Nathan is always a bad influence on me, I whispered back “Do it!”. Nathan quickly made his way down to the bishop. Oh, it was the highest of fives… 🙂

Now that Bishop Flores has gone to be with the Lord, I can’t help but think of the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch to the young Bishop Polycarp at the beginning of the Second Century:

The times call for you, as pilots do for the winds, and as one tossed with tempest seeks
for the haven, so that both you and those under your care may attain to God. Be sober
as God’s athlete: the prize set before you is immortality and eternal life
– St. Ignatius of Antioch to St. Polycarp

You have run your race, Bishop Flores. May you rest in peace.

Who’s your daddy? St. Justin Martyr

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Justin MartyrIn the JP2 Group we’re doing a mini-series on Christian worship in the Early Church. It is for this reason that I recently posted several blog entries about St. Justin Martyr, an Early Church Father and one of the first great Christian apologists.

However, I realized as I was finishing up yesterday’s post that I haven’t actually written an introductory post about this great man. I had done this previously when we were studying St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Polycarp of Smyrna. So today I’m going to remedy this, providing a little bit of information about St. Justin’s life.

Who was this man whose writings we’ve been studying?

Searching For Truth

What we know about St. Justin mainly comes from his own writings. He was born in about AD 103 to Pagan parents in Flavia Neapolis, modern day Nablus on the West Bank. He had a great love of philosophy and studied various philosophical systems:

“…I surrendered myself to a Stoic Philosopher…but when I had not acquired any further knowledge of God (for he did not know himself, and said such instruction was unnecessary)…I left him…

A Peripatetic Philosopher… asked me for money. For this reason I left him, believing him to be no philosopher at all….

I came to a Pythagorean Philosopher, very celebrated – a man who thought much of his own wisdom… He said, ‘What then? Are you acquainted with music, astronomy, and geometry?’ Having commended many of these branches of learning, and telling me that they were necessary, he dismissed me.

In my helpless condition it occurred to me to have a meeting with the Platonists, for their fame was great. I thereupon spent as much of my time as possible with one who had lately settled in our city…and I progressed, and made the greatest improvements daily. And the perception of immaterial things quite overpowered me, and the contemplation of ideas furnished my mind with wings, so that in a little while I supposed that I had become wise; and such was my stupidity, I expected forthwith to look upon God, for this is the end of Plato’s philosophy.
– Dialogue With Trypho, Chapter 2

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The Shape of the New Testament

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One of the wonderful treasures of the Catholic faith in the Roman Rite is the Lectionary.

Pope Benedict and the Lectionary

Every Sunday the congregation hears large chunks of Scripture selected from different parts of the Bible, from both the Old and New Testaments:

1. Old Testament passage
2. Psalm
3. New Testament Epistle
4. Gospel Reading

Making Connections

The Readings selected for each week are usually united by a common theme. This is especially true for the Old Testament passage and the Gospel Reading. The brilliance of this arrangement is that it shows the unity between the Old and New Testaments. As the great Early Church Father, St. Augustine, wrote:

“The New Testament is hidden in the Old and the Old is revealed in the New”
– St. Augustine of Hippo, “Quaestiones in Heptateuchum” 2.73

However, as good as this arrangement is, I have found that it can lead to certain difficulties. In particular, Catholics can sometimes have difficulties understanding how the Readings they hear on Sunday relate to the respective books of Scripture from which they are drawn, and also how those books fit into the the New Testament as a whole.

What can be done to address this problem? Well, when leading small Bible study groups, I always begin by asking those present to walk me through their New Testament’s “Table of Contents” page. I do this because, as with most things, once one comprehends the overall structure of something, the contents becomes less intimidating and more memorable because one already understands the framework and context in which that content has been placed.

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Carried to the Table

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Today I’d like to share a few thoughts about one of the lesser-known stories about my Biblical namesake, arguably the greatest king in Israel’s history, David.

Hail to the King, baby!

In the eighth chapter of Second Samuel, we are told of David’s great military victories and the tribute brought to him by other kings. David had clearly “made it”: his Kingship was secure, Israel was safe and the Ark of the Covenant had been brought back to Jerusalem where it belonged.

Personally, I would have expected that it would be time for David to put up his feet and enjoy some of the benefits that came from being king. However, what follows in 2 Samuel 9 is something rather different:

“David asked, ‘Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?’  …Is there no one still left…to whom I can show God’s kindness?” – 2 Samuel 9:1, 3

What a reaction! Rather than simply indulging himself, David looks to use his wealth and power to bless others!

Background: Biblical Homeboy

To understand the meaning behind David’s question, we must look a little further back in events recorded in the books of 1 & 2 Samuel. The “Jonathan” David referred to above, was son of the “Saul” he mentions, the same Saul who was the former king of Israel (1 Samuel 10:24). Because of Saul’s disobedience, God rejected him as king (1 Samuel 15:23), choosing the shepherd boy, David, to be his successor (1 Samuel 16:13).  Despite Saul’s jealousy (1 Samuel 18), Jonathan and David were extremely close friends, even from their first meeting:

“Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself… And Jonathan made a covenant with David… Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt” – 1 Samuel 18:1-4

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Leading a Bible study: Part 4

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Today I thought I’d post the fourth part of my five-part series on leading a Bible study. In the earlier posts (Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3) I discussed some Do’s and Don’ts of preparation, beginning the meeting and starting the discussion. Today I would now like to continue to discuss some suggested Do’s and Don’ts of guiding the discussion…

DON’T: Sit inappropriately close. It’s kinda creepy 😉

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