I Never Noticed

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

I just noticed in Palm Sunday's Gospel reading from Luke, that at the Last Supper Jesus didn't eat or drink after the words of Consecration:

"And when the hour came, he sat at table, and the apostles with him. 15* And he said to them, "I have earnestly desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; 16* for I tell you I shall not eat it * until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 17* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this, and divide it among yourselves; 18* for I tell you that from now on I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." 19* And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 20 And likewise the cup after supper, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."

Nor in Matthew: 

  "When it was evening, he sat at table with the twelve disciples... Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; 28* for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom."

Nor in Mark:

"And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body." 23* And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, and they all drank of it. 24* And he said to them, "This is my blood of the covenant, * which is poured out for many. 25 Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God."  

Having thought about this for several minutes (!), I believe this points to Transubstantiation. If Jesus were speaking symbolically when he said "This is my body...this is my blood," then why not share in the eating and drinking along with the Apostles? If nothing else, it would clarify that this bread and wine were no different from any they had consumed earlier in the evening; lest anyone erroneously suppose Jesus was speaking literally on this night, and also the day after the Loaves and Fishes miracle (John 6). 

On the other hand, if Jesus had indeed transformed the elements into his own flesh and blood, then it would be appropriate that he not partake in consuming himself.

Tempus Fugit 7: Don't Dare to Blink

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

The little girl on the chin-up bar got married in November. 

 
I'm reminded of this from my own childhood.

Teachers' Conference

Last Friday at the S.C. Catholic Teachers' Conference, I gave two presentations (same content both times) on Bible-sourced catechesis and 4 teaching methods I use in my 6th-grade class. The blurb from the program:

"This session recreates a typical classroom experience, based on the content of my book, The Bible Tells Me So. The audience will play the part of students, and will learn through participation how guided discussion, drawing, props, impromptu skits, fine art, and the Bible can be used to effectively teach middle-schoolers their Catholic faith."

A couple of weeks earlier, my DRE hosted a 2-hour light dinner and workshop with a couple of local parishes' catechists so I could get a feel for dealing with adults instead of kids, and also find out how much I could cover in a given amount of time. Based on that experience, each 60-minute session went like so:

A short prayer ("Holy Spirit, don't let me waste anybody's time. Amen."), and a few lines of Psalm 78 were followed by a brisk presentation of 4 teaching methods:

1. Teach by drawing, using the story of the Loaves and Fishes as the example.

2. Teach with impromptu skits, by having volunteers play the various characters in the Healing of the Paralytic.

3. Teach from Bible languages, in this case some useful Greek from Acts of the Apostles.

4. Teach from fine art, using a Christmas card and an Annunciation.

So how fabulous was it? Well...it was terrific! The teachers plugged in right away, participated fully, and more than half of them left with copies of the book. And on my side, I could've done four 1-hour sessions with no trouble, covering different topics each time.

I'll be doing another diocesan workshop this fall, and am interested in taking the show on the road. If anyone you know may be interested, please send them this brief description.

How Many Times Do I Hafta Tell Ya?

 In preliterate cultures very little is written down. For example in Jesus’ day, covenants were formally entered into (or canceled) by agreeing out loud three times in the presence of witnesses. This pattern of triple assent shows up repeatedly in the Bible.

Young Samuel ‘contracts’ to serve the LORD:

“…the LORD called, “Samuel! Samuel!” and he said, “Here I am!” and ran to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And the LORD called again, “Samuel!” And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” But he said, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” And the LORD called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

 

Young Elisha agrees to “take up the mantle” of Elijah:

 

“Now when the LORD was about to take Elijah up to heaven by a whirlwind…Elijah said to Elisha, “Tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me as far as Bethel.” But Elisha said, “As the LORD lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.” So they went down to Bethel. Elijah said to him, “Elisha, tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me to Jericho.” But he said, “I will not leave you.” So they came to Jericho. …Then Elijah said to him, “Tarry here, I pray you; for the LORD has sent me to the Jordan.” But he said, “I will not leave you.”

Centuries later in the desert, Jesus three times rejected a covenant with the Devil. 

The Gospels don’t say if the apostles had a formal covenant with Jesus; but whatever deal they had was clearly canceled one Thursday night:

 

“[Jesus] said to them, “[R]emain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed. And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed. And again he came and found them sleeping. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time. Then he came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”

 

But Peter’s singular status as the founding-stone of the Church, and key-holder of the Kingdom of Heaven required a personal renunciation:

“Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a maid came up to him, and said, “You also were with Jesus the Galilean.” But he denied it before them all, saying, “I do not know what you mean.” And when he went out to the porch, another maid [said], “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.” And again he denied it with an oath, “I do not know the man.” After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, “Certainly you are also one of them, for your accent betrays you.” Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, “I do not know the man.” And immediately the cock crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, “Before the cock crows, you will deny me three times.”

But after the Resurrection, and before the Ascension, Jesus re-established his covenant with Peter:

 

“This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” A second time he said to him, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” And he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

 

Jesus specifically contracted with Peter to take charge of his flock, his Church; and that authority is wielded until today by the man who sits in Peter’s Chair.

In Catechism class, I make it clear to the kids with Samuel that they have to watch out for examples of 3 assents or 3 rejections. Starting with Elisha, they figure it out themselves.

Jesus Quotes Isaiah Yet Again

This post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

(Originally posted at Electing the Pope)

 Here's a quick Biblical reason why the Pope continues to exercise Peter’s authority:

In Isaiah 22, King Hezekiah has discovered that his household steward Shebna has been stealing money from the King. The obvious evidence is the pricey tomb Shebna has made for himself:

“What have you to do here and whom have you here, that you have hewn here a tomb for yourself, you who hew a tomb on the height, and carve a habitation for yourself in the rock?”

The King banishes his corrupt chief steward:

“Behold, the LORD will hurl you away violently, O you strong man. He will seize firm hold on you, and whirl you round and round, and throw you like a ball into a wide land; there you shall die, and there shall be your splendid chariots, you shame of your master's house.”

And makes a new one of Eliakim. He dresses him in the official clothes :

I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your girdle on him, and will commit your authority to his hand; and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah.”

And gives him the key to the Kingdom, the House of David:

 “And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open…and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house.”  Of course when Eliakim dies or falls out of royal favor, the King will get himself yet another prime minister- it’s not a one-time status unique to Eliakim.

Centuries later, Jesus borrows from this scene of a King authorizing his #1 official when he tells Peter:

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."

So Peter is entrusted with the keys not to an earthly kingdom, but the Kingdom of Heaven. Like Eliakim, he will be a father, a papa, to the people. And being a key-holder, when Peter dies or retires a new prime minister will take his place.

Chelyabinsk Meteor

Y'all are by now aware of Friday's meteor, which busted a million square feet of windowpanes in Chelyabinsk, Russia. And I know what y'all are thinking: what a great opportunity to learn some Russian! Yes!

Chelyabinsk was a small town before WW2 turned it into a huge weapon-manufacturing city, beyond the reach of German bombers. Like most Russian, Chelyabinsk, Russia is pronounceable (and maybe understandable) if you know the letter-sounds. And you know most of them already: 

Ч   е  л    я   б  и   н  с к,      Р  о  с  с  и  я
Ch e   l  ya   b   i   n  s  k,      R  o  s  s   i  ya

Not too bad, especially if you've had some exposure to Greek letters via math, physics, or fraternities. BTW, a Russian C always sounds like S.

Chelyabinsk churned out so many tanks that it was nicknamed Tankograd, Tank City.  Yes, the Russian word for 'tank' is 'tank.'

 Т а н к о г р а д
 T a n k o g r a d

It's all Greek and Roman letters, not too tough. Tankograd made thousands of tanks at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Factory:

Челябинский  тракторный  завод
Chelyabinskiy   Traktorniy   Zavod

The 'iy' on the end makes the nouns into masculine adjectives because zavod / factory is masculine. But a Chelyabinsk newspaper might be called the Chelyabinskaya Gazette:

  Челябинская     газета
Chelyabinskaya   Gazeta

because a gazette, a newspaper, is feminine.

Among other weapons, Chelyabinsk made Katyushas, trucks mounted with rocket-launchers:

К а т  ю́ ш а
K a t yu sh a

The Katyusha rocket-launcher was named after a girl in a popular wartime song who misses her soldier boyfriend. Katyusha means 'beloved Katie,' a diminutive term of endearment for a woman named 

Екатерина
Ekaterina

It's pronounced "Yekaterina." 

And last is this easy one, which prompted the post. I expect you can figure it out on your own:

 

метеор 

 

A Cheap Bible

this post links to RAnn's Sunday Snippets

originally posted at New Evangelizers

When I first started reading the Bible regularly, I used a plain hardbound copy of the NAB. But because it was hardbound, I wouldn't mark it up. I kept telling myself to get over it: it was my book, I could mark it up however I liked. I finally forced myself: I highlighted something. I felt like a vandal.

So I bought a cheap paperback version of the same Bible. Highlighted something...that seems ok. Highlighted something else...uh-huh. Added some margin notes...I feel good! This works!

Over the next few years I colored and tagged that cheapie like a graffiti artist. But eventually that Bible became so globbed with stickytabs, highlights, underlines, paperclips and margin notes that it was unmanageable in Catechism class. As Frederick the Great said, "Wer alles verteidigen will, verteidigt nichts/ Who would defend everything defends nothing." If everything is eventually highlighted, then nothing is highlighted. Besides, I had internalized most of what I had been marking up. So three years ago I gave that copy to my son Michael, and bought another copy, same as the old one:

Still manageable. When it's not, I'll pass it on and start again.

Catholics who want to study the Bible are rightly advised to own a Bible that they are comfortable reading. My extra advice is to own a Bible that you are also comfortable marking up.




 P.S. Little quiz for ya! See handwritten note Shekhinah > Cherubim > Mary>. What's that got to do with the 'Signs and Wonders of the Apostles' in Acts 5?