Often folks use the Bible as some sort of soothsaying device. This is missing the point. It is, instead, an introduction, a conversation, with Christ. Father Steve Grunow explores this theme, especially in Advent as we revisit the prophet Isaiah, and gives us comfort that in the midst of our desolation, suffering and despair, we always have a choice. And we always have an answer.
We are not a people of the book.
Why do I mention this? Often, this is the impression that people have, that like Jews and Muslims, Christians understand the revelation of the word of God in the same way. We do not.
The Church esteems the Scriptures, accepts that the Bible marks and remembers the revelation of God in a way that is singular, unique and privileged beyond all other claims to revelation. But for us, the definitive revelation of God is not simply delivered to us in a text, even the biblical text. The definitive revelation of God is a person — Jesus Christ and the scriptures reveal their significance inasmuch as they reveal him.
Contrary to what has become a popular perception, the Church does not use the Bible as if it is some kind of oracle. Instead, the scriptures are reverenced as a long, sustained introduction to Christ. Through the inspired authors of the Bible, who construct its stories, poems, histories and essays, God introduces us to Christ and Christ introduces himself to us.
And this is important. Knowing Christ is necessary if we are to know God, and as the Fathers of Second Vatican Council aptly put it, knowing God in Christ is the best means by which we can understand ourselves...
Jonah is a pretty relatable guy. Not only is he the most reluctant of the prophets (doing God's will doesn't always come easy to us), but his actions wind up demonstrating how God works in our ultimate best interest. Father Steve examines the lessons of Jonah today, in the Word on Fire blog.
I have come to understand the story of the prophet Jonah as a combination of comedy, action adventure, and densely textured theological narrative—all this is meant to communicate the mystery of vocation, mission, the identity of the God of Israel, as well as his relationship with both Israel and her enemies. All this is wrapped up tightly in one of the best-told tales in all of the Bible.
The Book of the Prophet Jonah makes it clear from the beginning that Jonah doesn’t want to be a prophet; he is summoned by the Lord to fulfill a prophet’s mission but he goes the complete opposite direction of where the Lord wants him to go! Once he reaches his destination, the scriptures tell us that he barely opens his mouth to speak God’s word of truth, and much to his surprise (and even to his consternation), he becomes the most successful prophet in the history of Israel.
I experience Jonah’s laconic proclamation as one of the most creatively comedic moments in Biblical literature: “Forty days more and Ninevah shall be destroyed.” Read the elegantly crafted prophetic texts of Isaiah or Jeremiah and compare then with Jonah’s proclamation that, in its brevity, seems like a throw-away line. Yet it is Jonah’s seemingly whispered warning that is what convinces the Ninevites to repent.
The story of Jonah is meant to delight and to teach. What is the lesson?
One way to look at the lesson of the Book of Jonah is that most of us are, like Jonah, reluctant prophets. We have received the Word of the Lord. We have been given a mission through our Baptism to speak God’s Truth. But does our witness resonate with scarcely a sound above a whisper?
Granted, the Lord has a way of doing magnificent things with whatever we are willing to give him (no matter how small). The Book of the Prophet Jonah demonstrates the principle that we can, like Jonah, scarcely open our mouths to give testimony to the truth and God can give that witness the power to bring down empires. God can work with our weakness—but I don’t think that the lesson here is a ratification of our reluctance or reticence...
Another portion of the meeting of Father Barron and Dr. Scott Hahn covers their conversation about Modernity, the Bible and Theology.
The topic of this segment of Faith Seeks Understanding is, "How is the Bible Revelatory?" Father Barron addresses the typical criticisms and questions about the Biblical texts and the way in which they are to be understood.