Category Archives: Scripture

Death: Punishment or Consequence?

Throughout the Bible, God reveals Himself to us because of His desire for a loving relationship with each one of us. Sin is our rejection of this loving relationship that we enjoy with God.

St. Paul states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom 6:23) Here we see that death is a result of sin and is the opposite of eternal life in Christ. The connotation of ‘wages’ is that death is something that we earn; it stems from our choice.

Many read parts of the Old Testament and overlook God’s perpetual love; focusing on the repugnant gore and violence, they assign undue weight to the horrible things that happen to people. How could a God who is Love do or allow these horrible things to happen? If God really loves us, the thought goes, would He be so unrelenting and harsh? This theology considers death as a punishment. I suggest instead, and will explain below, that the result of sin (wages earned) is not punishment but rather consequence.

A definition of punishment is “the infliction or imposition of a penalty as retribution for an offense”, while consequence is “a result or effect of an action or condition”. If death is punishment, then it would come from God as a penalty for our misbehavior. As consequence, however, death does not come from God, but rather out of the nature of our not accepting the relationship of love that we enjoy with God. Spiritual death is the absence of a relationship with God- our not even acknowledging His existence. Physical death is a consequence of our existence in this material/physical world that is limited by space and time.

Sin – the rejection of God’s intended relationship of love – enters human reality in Genesis 3 with the depiction of Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit. As portrayed in the Bible – Old Testament and New – God’s reaction to sin is one of protection for the sinner. God’s response in Gen 3:17-19 (and Gen 3:16) is clearly that God, in the aftermath of the sin, prepares humankind for life in this new reality that exists as a result of sin. He is not punishing Adam and Eve, but rather lovingly protecting them. God is forewarning them of the new reality that they have chosen; forewarned is forearmed! This understanding is consistent throughout all facets of the Old Testament including the psalms and narrative and prophecy and wisdom literature; it is also consistent throughout the New Testament.

Indeed the Bible, as an indicator of our relationship with God, is the story of our journey from the Garden of Eden through death/sin to redemption/eternal life in Christ as portrayed in Revelation.

In the Old Testament God is consistently the Good Shepherd tending His flock, perpetually bringing the outliers (sinners) back into the fold, i.e., a loving relationship. All it takes is our sincere repentance, which is a result of our acknowledging our true and happy relationship to God: that He is the Creator and we are the Created.

— Eric Wolf

Saint John Paul II

John Paul II’s papacy is noted for many things, yet two stand out for me as significant in his legacy to the Church. Saint John Paul IIToday as the liturgical date for canonization of our two recent popes is not without meaning – even irony –  for one of these.

First of all, who is John Paul? Saint John Paul was born Karol Jozef (Charles Joseph, in English) Wojtyla of Polish nationality in 1920. As an adolescent in Nazi-overrun Poland during World War II, Wojtyla lost close friends and got an up-close view of authoritarian and totalitarian government. As the only pope to serve from Polish ethnicity, John Paul was uniquely qualified in the role he took on in the first decade of his papacy to affirm the dignity of man and thereby assist in bringing on the demise of the atheist Soviet Union.

His Mercy Endures Forever…

Today is Divine Mercy Sunday, proclaimed by John Paul in the Jubilee Year of 2000 to be permanently celebrated on the Second Sunday of Easter; Psalm 118 is the Scriptural celebration of God’s Divine Mercy. John Paul’s proclamation was at the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska, the Apostle of Divine Mercy’, a 20th century Polish nun who received visions of Jesus and Divine Mercy. While John Paul was an ambassador or role model for divine mercy, no image would be more powerful that that of Saint John Paul meeting with his would-be assassin to forgive him. John Paul attributed his survival of the shooting to the intercession of the Blessed Mother.

Theology of the Body

Saint John Paul’s contribution to theology- the study of our relationship with God- comes from a series of 129 lectures given between 1979 and 1984. His Scripturally-based discourses focused on what it means to be human, created in the imago Dei, image and likeness of God. Anthropologically speaking, John Paul presented an integrated understanding of a human person – body, spirit, and soul. His vision means that if we truly see others, we can see God in each other; we can know God by truly seeing who one another is.

On a related note, Lectio Publishing has just released a new book whose author extends the concept of Theology of the Body – as John Paul himself suggested should be done – to explore the human stages of childbirth, impairment, and dying as spiritual signs pointing to our own human imago Dei. Discover more about this interesting and readable book on the Lectio website, and download an ePub excerpt.

Did You Know?

In the last blog I talked about Saint John XXIII as having rocked the Catholic world by convening Vatican Council II and the following pope- Paul VI as continuing the Council for three more sessions/years. When Pope Paul VI died in 1978, Cardinal Luciani was elected pope and took the names of his two predecessors signifying that he would continue in the ideas and work of the Second Vatican Council. This Pope John Paul I would be the last in a centuries-long line of Italian popes (at least until this writing!). We do not hear anything about John Paul I because he died a month after becoming pope. Cardinal Wojtyla was then elected pope, taking the name of John Paul II again continuing the tradition of Vatican II. John Paul I was one of the shortest papacies in history; John Paul II was the third-longest serving pope in history.

Interesting tidbit: according to John Allen, a reporter assigned to the Vatican, of the 268 popes in Catholic history, only 80 have been canonized, and prior to today, only seven had been canonized in the last 1,000 years!

And in memory of Saint John Paul, I give you his Scriptural mantra: Peace be with you!

— Eric Wolf

Thy Kingdom Come

The Old Testament, especially the prophets, spoke of the coming of the Messiah, the Anointed one, who would save Israel and usher in the Day of the Lord, that is, the time when God would exercise His power to vanquish evil.

The New Testament Greek noun basileia refers to something associated with a king; in English we translate this word as either ‘reign’ or ‘kingdom’. In the New Testament, Jesus saw His ministry as revealing the presence of the reign or kingdom of God. Jesus himself is the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The reign of God is no longer in the future; when we have faith we are dwelling right now in the kingdom of God.

Jesus healed in order that people would have faith and believe. Jesus taught and preached so that people would understand the new paradigm and believe. The Gospel According to Matthew focuses significantly on Jesus’ teaching and preaching (Mt 5 – 7 et al).

At one point (Mt 6:9-13) Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray- and so we have the Lord’s Prayer. We recall that Hebrew poetry is based not on rhyme as in English tradition but rather on repetition or various types of related parallel phrases. The Lord’s Prayer is a New Testament example of Hebrew parallelism using five supplications each with a parallel phrase.

Our Father who art in heaven = hallowed be thy name

The opening sentence is an example of synthetic parallelism: the second phrase builds on and expands the meaning of the first phrase.

Thy kingdom come = Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven

How often do we unthinkingly break this sentence after the word ‘done’; perhaps for breathing purposes we tend to make two equal size phrases. However, in terms of Jesus’ meaning as He teaches us to pray to the Father, the sentence is better paused after the word ‘come’: ‘Thy kingdom come’ is our basic supplication. What does this mean? Remember one of the purposes of parallel poetry is to confirm meaning.

This is an example of synonymous parallelism, in which the second phrase has the same meaning as the introductory phrase. Typically one phrase can define one or more terms in the other phrase. So we find that ‘Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven’ defines ‘Thy kingdom come’. Jesus doesn’t just announce the coming of the kingdom, He is telling us what that means. The kingdom of God means that the will of the Father is fulfilled not just in the next life but right here and now! Wow, what a difference a Savior makes!

When we pray the “Our Father’ let us put the pause after ‘come’; if we need to break up the second phrase, let us do so to punctuate Jesus’ message by placing a pause not after ‘done’ but rather after ‘Earth’.

— Eric Wolf

Reading the Gospels

We are a highly literate society; we often read almost constantly throughout most days. Like any frequently practiced activity, we have developed habitual ways of reading. Now that we read Scripture, we do so using these same thought patterns (reading habits) that we utilize in our everyday reading such as newspapers, road signs, recipes, novels, textbooks, corporate memos, television news alerts, or Internet blogs!

Yet in reading Gospels (indeed any Biblical narrative) some of these habits are detrimental to a well-formed understanding of scriptural intent. For instance, the gospels were written neither as history nor as biography (nor as any of the above-mentioned reading), rather as theology.

What are gospels?

Gospels are a means of transmitting the apostolic teaching of Jesus’ mission. The evangelist Mark is seen as inventing the gospel form of literature. We believe that the Gospels (as all the Bible) were written by human authors under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

St. Augustine characterizes a gospel as a passion narrative with an extended introduction. We know that Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection has been seen from the earliest days of Christianity as God’s saving action through his only Son.

The gospels teach us about who Jesus is, and what our relationship with God is and most specifically concerning the second person of the Trinity.

Best Practices – and pitfalls!

When reading gospels, keep in mind the human author’s audience and situation- these are the keys to understanding his message. The term ‘gospel’ is a translation of the Greek word meaning ‘good news’. Always look for how a gospel passage points to the ‘good news’ of salvation.

It is fruitful to compare parallel passages in the various gospels only to better understand this author’s message and/or purpose. How the author modifies a passage points to his overall message/purpose.

Because the authors wrote to different audiences in different situations, it is a pitfall (it is illogical and detrimental to understanding) to ‘mix-and-match’ between Gospels.

If perceiving an apparent ‘inconsistency’ between different Gospels, consider whether the inconsistency is of theological importance or whether it merely stems from a different emphasis that is based on the situational message that the human author intended.

A verse does not stand on its own but is relative to its entire story. What is its meaning in relation to the individual story and to this author’s purpose? 
It is a pitfall to take an individual verse and generalize it into a larger context.

Lastly, remember that we have four Gospels- no one is more definitive than any of the others. While we may have our favorite gospel- one that tugs more at our heart- it is a pitfall to think that it is more true or most appropriate for everyone than is any of the other canonical gospels. All are the Word of God; all are meant to advance our faith. Praise God!

— Eric Wolf

The King With No Parents

Melchizedek enters the Biblical stage in Genesis 14:18. Abram has just saved his nephew Lot from peril and captivity. In Genesis 14:18-20a we read:

“Melchizedek king of Salem brought bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High.
He pronounced this blessing: Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. And blessed be God Most High for putting your enemies into your clutches.”

His succinct introduction tells us a few things about Melchizedek:

  • His name means righteous king (melchi-tzedek).
  • He is the king of Salem (Shalem in Hebrew; remember that Shalom means peace).
  • He is a priest of God Most High.
  • He blesses Abram yet he also places the correct emphasis on God.

In the New Testament Melchizedek is referred to in Hebrews, which is the letter that asserts Jesus Christ to be the eschatological high priest. Hebrews 5 quotes Psalm 110 that refers to the Lord: “you are a priest forever of the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 7:3 says of Melchizedek “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever.”

Unlike Abraham or Jesus, we don’t know where Melchizedek came from- we don’t know who his parents are, let alone his genealogy. Therefore as a priest of God Most High he resembles a Son of God- eternal, divine. Translations use the word ‘like’ or ‘resemble’; they never claim that Melchizedek actually is divine.

Jesus as high priest is the Son of God, yet he also has a genealogy- we know that He is human. Jesus is both human and the divine Son of God.

— Eric Wolf