ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS -- JESUS EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES -- EPISODE 3 - Part 3 -- THE EUCHARIST IN GENESIS, AND THE FORESHADOWING OF JESUS AND MARY

The Eucharist in Genesis

In the Garden of Eden there were two trees at the center of the Garden, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and the Tree of Life.  Eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would result in death while the fruit from the Tree of Life would result in eternal life.  Adam chose, as did the fallen angels, to be just like God.  This sin of pride represented the hinge on which history would swing.  The role of eating, as an act of Faith or disbelief, serves as the central defining moment at the beginning of redemptive history.   The Tree of Life represents the Eucharist.  This tree gives us eternal life as Christ did as he hung from a tree offering his flesh as true food.  In eating the flesh that was nailed to that tree, we obtain eternal life.  In the Fall of Adam, we have the antithetical Eucharist, a reverse Communion that required an antidote from the NEW ADAM—through Christ.  The Cross of Calvary becomes a Tree of Life from which we eat.

The High Priest Melchizedek—A Foreshadowing of Jesus Christ and the Eucharist 

But who is this mysterious man?

When Abraham returned from the battle where he rescues his nephew Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, he is met by the High Priest Melchizedek, the king of righteousness, priest of God Most High, and king of Salem.  He meets Abraham with bread and wine. (Genesis 14:17-18) Jewish tradition identifies Melchizedek as Noah’s firstborn son, Shem.  Melchizedek is his throne name (just as Benedict XVI is the throne name of Joseph Ratzinger).  But how can Melchizedek be Noah’s son, Shem?   Noah lived many years before Abraham. After all, it was Noah and his descendants who repopulated the world after the flood and there are lots of people around when Abraham is living.  Thankfully, Genesis is the book of generations, so of course it contains many lists of the generations of man. All those begettings and begattings we try to ignore or skip over when reading Genesis actually are there for a reason. Using the numbers from these passages (Genesis 11:10-26) we can calculate Shem’s age at the beginning of each of the generations that follow in his family line.  The first generation after Shem comes when Shem is 100 years old , the second generation comes  35 years later when Shem is 135 years old; the third generation, 30 years later; then another 34 years (4^th  generation) + 30 years (5^th generation) + 32 years (6^th generation) + 30 years (7^th generation when Nahor is born ) + 29 years (8^th  generation when Nahor (Abram's grandfather) fathers Terah + 70 years (9^th generation when Terah  fathers Abram) =  390 years which is Melchizedek  age when Abram was born. Genesis states that Shem lived for six hundred years and, in fact, he outlives Abraham by 35 years. Abraham lived to be 175, (Melchizedek’s age at Abram’s birth was 390 + 175 [Abram’s age when he dies] = 565 years, which is Shem/Melchizedek's age when Abraham died.  From the passage we know that Shem/Melchizedek dies at the age of 600 years.  Subtract his age at Abraham’s death 565 years from his age at death we know that Melchizedek lives 35 years longer than Abraham.  The sacred author certainly wants us to be able to see the connection between Shem/Melchizedek and Abraham; otherwise this genealogy which gives all these ages would not have been included. This connection is important because it traces the “priesthood of the family”.

As we follow the blessings through Scripture (the priesthood of the family) we find that in Genesis 9: 1, Noah is blessed by God and in Genesis 9:26 Shem is blessed by Noah. The next mention of the blessing is in Genesis 14:19 where Abram is blessed by Shem (Melchizedek). Later, Abraham blesses his son, Isaac, and then Isaac passes the blessing on to Jacob (instead of the older twin Esau as he had intended). When Isaac finds that he has been deceived by giving the blessing to the wrong son, Isaac tells Esau that the blessing cannot be taken back and describes the effect of this priestly ordination:  "I have already appointed him your master, and I have assigned to him all his kinsmen as his slaves." (Genesis 27:37). This is the priesthood of the order of Melchizedek, the priesthood of the family. Once the blessing was conferred, the father continued in his position as elder of the family, but the one who received the blessing assumed the responsibility for the well-being of the family.

Shem/Melchizedek kept the blessing for over 400 years before passing it on to Abraham.  This family priesthood blessing is the same blessing which was bestowed on Jesus. The genealogy of Jesus goes from Adam to Seth, to Noah, to Shem, to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob, to Judah, to Perez and so on to Jesse, David, Solomon, and eventually to Jesus, the High Priest of the family of God and Eternal King.  Jesus never gives anyone else this blessing as he had no sons; however, he does give the blessings to his Apostles (and therefore to all future priests).  It is called the “order of Melchizedek” because it is different from the Levitical priesthood.   Melchizedek plays a vital linking role among the Abrahamic, the Davidic, and the New Covenants, especially regarding his priesthood and kingship.  Shem/Melchizedek is the first priest mentioned in the Scriptures, he is a “type of Christ”. He was also known as the King of Righteousness and King of Salem (the word Salem comes from the word “shalom which means peace”). 

The Eucharist seen Through the Sacrifices of Abel, Melchizedek, and Abraham

There are three offerings in Genesis that prefigure the sacrifice of the Son of God.  The first offering acceptable to God was the sacrifice of Abel when he offers from the firstlings of his flock (lamb).  The second sacrifice was that of the Priest Melchizedek of Bread and Wine (Eucharist—Last supper) and finally the sacrifice of Abraham of his own beloved son, Isaac (which prefigures the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary). Even to the current day these sacrifices are remembered at Mass in the First Eucharistic Prayer "Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedek." 

Remember, on the way to the sacrifice, Isaac carried the wood for the sacrifice on his back. (As Jesus carried his cross to Calvary) On the way, Isaac asks his father, where is the lamb for the sacrifice?  Abraham tells him that "God will provide the sacrifice." (God would provide his own son to sacrifice his life for our sins.) When an angel stops Abraham from sacrificing his son, a ram appears in the thicket for Abraham to offer to God.  Not the lamb -- which is why throughout all Hebrew history they awaited the "Lamb of God".  Before the Exodus from Egypt, the Passover Lamb was thought to be the Lamb of God -- but that realization was not the Messiah they awaited. It was not until John the Baptist did the Lamb appear when his 'voice cried out in the wilderness' proclaiming "Behold, the Lamb of God", as he saw Jesus approaching him.

Melchizedek continues to prefigure Jesus in other ways.  His name and title means King of Justice, King of Peace.  Jesus entered the world to bring justice and peace.  Melchizedek was not a priest of the Old Testament as he came well before the time of Moses and before the tribe of Levi, the tribe of the Israelites that inherited the priesthood.  Only members of the house of Levi could be priests. However, it was not an everlasting priesthood, but temporary, as a Levite served as a priest from the age of 25 to the age of 50.

In contrast to the Levitical Priesthood is the Priesthood of our Lord, which Melchizedek foreshadows in the following ways:

1. Melchizedek's priesthood is not based on heredity. Christ, like Melchizedek, is a priest by divine appointment and His priesthood does not depend upon hereditary ties.  He was an eternal priest not limited as the Levitical priests were. 

2. Abraham recognized the priest-king Melchizedek by receiving his blessing and offering him tithes. An act of such humility signified that the priesthood which would descend from Abraham is of lesser stature than that of Melchizedek. This act also foretold that the Levitical Priesthood would be replaced by the greater, perfect, and royal priesthood of Jesus Christ.

3. Melchizedek offered bread and wine in thanksgiving to God, prefiguring what our Lord did at the Last Supper.

4. Melchizedek was a "member of the nations." Christ came to save not just the House of Israel, but the people of all nations.

5. Melchizedek was not a priest of the Old Covenant, but prefigured the priesthood of the New Covenant. The Letter to the Hebrews elaborates upon the historical Melchizedek and weaves an image which foreshadows our Lord, who would fulfill the Old Testament covenant and the priesthood. This new, eternal covenant is continually being renewed at each Mass in the Eucharist--the offering of Christ's Body and Blood--a continual sacrifice, a perpetual offering. When Jesus died on the cross, he was the New Melchizedek feeding the children of Abraham so that through Abraham's seed, all the nations of the world would be blessed. Something which God had sworn to Abram but had not fulfilled until Christ, the "son" of Abraham was sacrificed on Moriah on the peak called Calvary. (Moriah was the mountain where Abraham went to sacrifice his son Isaac...the future site of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.)

Joseph and the Eucharist

Scene 1 New Life through Bread and Wine

The story of Joseph in Genesis is also filled with Eucharistic imagery.   While in prison, Joseph was joined by the Pharaoh’s baker (bread) and the Pharaoh’s cupbearer (wine). The baker was sentenced to die but the cupbearer was to live.  Because of this we see both death and resurrection linked to the Eucharist typology.  It is through Joseph’s relationship with these two that he is delivered from the dungeon.  The cupbearer, who lived, pleaded Joseph’s cause to Pharaoh who released Joseph, giving him new life.  The typology in the story provides bread and wine, death and resurrection, and a new life for Joseph, all elements of the Eucharist—without which Joseph would have rotted in prison.

Scene 2 Revealed through Bread and Wine

There is also Eucharistic typology employed in how Joseph “revealed himself” to his brothers.  Joseph places his cup of divination (a device for holding wine) into the grain sacks (a form of bread) of his brothers.  It was through this act that Joseph would draw his brothers back to him.  The brothers were accused of stealing the cup, buried in the grain.  Through this “crime” Joseph had them brought into his presence where they “confessed their sins”.  The typology in this scene provides bread, wine, confession and reconciliation, all elements of the Eucharist—without which the family of Joseph would never reconcile.

Scene 3 Salvation of the World

Finally, Eucharistic typology is employed when Joseph saves the world with the bread of Egypt. When the people were starving because of the famine affecting the whole area of Egypt and Canaan, they went to Pharaoh who told them “Do whatever he (Joseph) tells you.” (Also note that Mary, the mother of Jesus, says the same thing to the wine stewards at the wedding feast at Cana—Jesus’ first miracle of changing water into wine” which also prefigures the Eucharist ceremony at the Last Supper.)  The people are told to go to Joseph, hear from him what is to be done, and as a result be fed with life giving bread.  Eating the bread saved them.  The typology in this scene provides first hearing the Word (the Liturgy of the Word at Mass) and then the eating of bread, all elements of the Eucharist in the Mass without which the world would perish.  (Also note the first hearing the Word…and then drinking the wine, at Cana.)

Joseph a “Type of Jesus”

Joseph, Jacob’s favored son prefigures Jesus as an unjustly accused righteous man who is sold for silver, saves his kinsmen, and “rises” to the throne. Joseph was Jacob’s special son, born from his beloved wife Rachel. As the favorite son he was rejected by his brothers. (Just as Jesus was: “He came to his own, and his own people received him not…”) (Jn 1:11)  Centuries later near the tomb where Rachel was buried, Jesus was born.  Like Christ, Joseph was an innocent man made to suffer by his own people, sold for money, (Joseph—20 pieces of silver; Jesus 30 pieces) condemned, and counted among the dead.  (Jacob believed his son Joseph was dead.)  But God “raised” him to a new life, and through Joseph’s suffering and his forgiving of his family’s betrayal, God’s chosen people (descendants of Israel/Jacob) would be saved as the family is brought to Egypt under Joseph’s protection during the famine in the land given to Abraham.  Joseph is the instrument in saving his family from starvation.  Joseph and Jesus are saviors. Jesus ascends to the throne at the Ascension, Joseph rules over Egypt with the signet ring.  The story of Joseph teaches us to always trust God and be forgiving like Joseph.  In this way we too participate in the Lord’s work of salvation. 

Joseph also serves as a type of Saint Peter who is a chief steward whom Jesus appoints over his kingdom.   God reveals important things to both Joseph and St. Peter.  Joseph interprets a dream about the famine in Egypt; Peter responds that “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.  (Matthew 16:17)

Joseph is given Pharaoh’s signet ring becoming his Prime minister.  Jesus gives Peter the keys of the Kingdom, becoming the leader of His Church.

Twelve Tribes—Twelve Apostles

God continued his covenant with Isaac’s son, Israel (Jacob), whose 12 sons –head up the 12 tribes of Israel and who carry on the  Old Covenant.  The 12 Apostles carry on the New Covenant, bringing all Nations to God through his Church on Earth.

A Type of Mary in Genesis

At the fall of Adam and Eve, God promises that an offspring from the woman will come and bruise the head of the serpent, putting an end to the enmity between each of their offspring. This promise becomes an organizing theme for the rest of Scripture and the rest of human history, as every character and event find their place in relation to the great battle that now unfolds between the conquering Seed of the woman and the resistance of Satan. Adam was told by God that if he ate of the tree, then he would surely die (Genesis 2:16-17). Adam ate, but, God’s administered grace, instead of judgment, even going so far as to promise a redeemer for Adam, his wife, and their offspring. As evidence that Adam believed God’s promise is the fact that Adam names his wife Eve, “the mother of all the living” (Genesis 3:20), expressing his confidence that God would keep mankind alive until the Deliverer would come.

The Woman

When “Eve” was created, the man first called her “Woman”.  It was the woman who “gave the forbidden fruit to her husband who was with her and he ate it.   When God saw their sin, he immediately put together his plan of salvation:  “I will put enmity between you (the serpent–the devil) and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; they will strike at your head while you strike at their heel.

One might think that the “woman” referred to Eve; however it referred to another “woman”, Mary, the mother of Jesus.  At the wedding feast in Cana, Jesus’ response to his mother’s  telling him that there was no more wine, was to call her “Woman”  and added “My hour has not yet come. “  With that, both Mary and Jesus knew that his hour had indeed come. The woman Mary was without sin—she had enmity (hatred) with the devil.  Her seed, Jesus, was about to do away with the evil in this world with his suffering, death, and resurrection that would once again set straight God’s creation—putting  it back on its intended path towards eternal life with God.

Eve, Mother of all the Living

Jesus on the cross says to his mother “Woman, behold your son.”  To his disciple he said “Behold your mother.”  Once again Mary has fulfilled the foreshadowing of Eve when she received her name—“Mother of all the living”, as Mary becomes the mother of all believers.

The Annunciation

Sarah the mother of Isaac receives a message at Mamre from one of the three mysterious visitors (sometimes referred to as the Lord and his Angels) that her barrenness will be overcome when the Lord says to Abraham “Is anything too marvelous for the Lord to do?  At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you and Sarah will have a son.” (Gn 18-14).  Mary is told by the Angel Gabriel, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God…for nothing will be impossible for God” (Lk 1:35.37).

From the Annunciation to the Crucifixion of her Son, Mary can be seen as God’s ultimate validation of free will.  The Virgin Mary’s obedience to the will of God as conveyed to her in the angel Gabriel’s message was no less voluntary in its affirmation than the disobedience of the virgin Eve had been in its negation.  In the Catechism of the Catholic Church #494” “…’Being obedient she became the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.’  Hence not a few of the early Fathers gladly assert, “the knot of Eve’s disobedience was untied by Mary’s obedience: what the virgin Eve bound through her disbelief, Mary loosened by her faith.’ Comparing her with Eve, they call Mary ‘the Mother of the living’ and frequently claim “death through Eve, life through Mary.”

“I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. "

John 11:25,26

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS --JESUS EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES -- EPISODE 3 - Part 2 --TYPOLOGY IN THE BIBLE

Typology in the Bible 

The story of Abraham’s faith in Part 1, is a perfect example of typology in the Bible.  Typology is the study of persons, places, events and institutions in the Bible that foreshadow later and greater realities made known by God in history.  The basis of such study is the belief that God, who providentially shape and determines the course of human events, infuses those events with a prophetic and theological significance.  Typology thus reveals the unity of salvation history as a carefully orchestrated plan that God unfolds in stages of ever-increasing fulfillment.   The movement from “types” to the realities they signify, called “antitypes,” is always a movement from the lesser to the greater.   (Adam is a “type” of Jesus; Jesus is the “antitype” of Adam.) 

Typology can be understood in prophetic (promise/fulfillment), Metaphysical (matter/spirit), eschatological (time/eternity), or anagogical terms (earth/heaven).  Typology is not simply applied to the Bible; it is something applied within the Bible.  Typology was used by the authors of the Bible.  Studying the Bible in terms of typology is a valid approach to understanding salvation history.   Typology is first and foremost grounded in the Semitic world of Scripture, because the biblical authors themselves made extensive use of typology in explaining the actions of God in history (CCC 128-30) For example, the story of Joshua is deliberately worded to evoke memories of the story of Moses and to suggest that Joshua himself was a new Moses who acquired for his people what his forbearer could not, possession of the Promise Land. For example, Joshua parted the waters of the Jordan so that Israel could cross over on dry ground (Jos 3:14-17; 4:23) just as Moses had done at the Red Sea (Ex 14:16).

Typology comes into its fullness in the New Testament in the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles.  It is more pervasive in the NT than in the OT and reaches a crescendo of fulfillment as typological themes of the Hebrew Scriptures give way to the definitive antitypes that God had intended to prefigure from the beginning in the person and work of Jesus Christ.   This can be seen in Matthew 12 where Jesus claims “something greater than the temple is here” (Mt 12:6), and something greater than Jonah is here” (Mt 12:41) and “something greater than Solomon is here” (Mt 12:42) His words state what is true for all typology, that is, antitypes resemble the types that foreshadow them, yet they also surpass them because they are something greater than the original.  Christ is a new and living temple, for in him dwells the divine presence more intensely than in the sanctuary.  He is a new Jonah (who was in the belly of the whale for 3 days), for his Resurrection after three days in the grave would be the one miracle that outshines all others, and, as the New Solomon, he is a king of the royal line of David and a man of legendary wisdom who will draw the world closer to His Father.

All Scripture speaks of Christ and the Church and is found hidden in the text and foreshadowing of what is fully revealed in the New Testament.  The Church has illuminated the unity of scripture through typology which reveals God’s work in the Old Testament and prefigures his accomplishments in the fullness of time in the person of Jesus Christ.  Some “types” of Christ in the Old Testament are Adam in his original and intended holiness; the high Priest Melchizedek; Joseph, the son of Jacob; Moses, as well as the prophecies of the suffering servant proclaimed by Isaiah. 

Adam a Type of Christ

ADAM AND CHRIST ARE ALIKE	ADAM AND CHRIST ARE UNALIKE
Both had an effect upon the whole human race	Sin and death came from Adam while righteousness and life came from Christ
Both endured the temptation of Satan	Adam failed and Christ was victorious
Through both humanity receives an inheritance	Through Adam’s failure humanity inherits death and original sin. Personal sin becomes a plague on mankind.  Through Christ’s victory humanity inherits adoption into God’s family and the promise of eternal life.
Both were human men	Christ was both human and divine
Both the acts of Adam and Christ invoke a divine verdict	Satan stood behind the act of Adam while the grace of God stood behind Christ; the verdict behind Adam’s act is judgement while the verdict behind Christ’s is acquittal
Both Adam and Christ  exercised their free will	Adam willingly fell from grace; Christ willingly laid down his life in sacrifice for all mankind
Both were born into the world as sinless and immortal beings	Adam lost his immortality when he fell from grace while Christ remained pure and sinless and through his sacrifice and resurrection has made God’s gift of immortality once again available to man.

The Trinity in Genesis

The reference of “three” has its own interesting study with regards to Typology.  Whenever the number three appears it usually signifies something of great importance.  For example, in the Bible, the phrase “on the third day” is used many times and it signifies something important is about to happen; the first two days don’t tell the whole story—the third day is the conclusion.

The Bible makes great use of the number three.  On the third day, Abraham reaches Mount Moriah (the future Temple mount of Jerusalem) where he is to sacrifice his son Isaac.  (Gn 22: 4-5) On the third day, Pharaoh releases the chief cupbearer from death row (Gn 40:20-21) as Joseph correctly interpreted his dream which would eventually lead to Pharaoh learning that Joseph can interpret dreams.   On the third day, Joseph releases his brothers from prison in Egypt (Gn 42:17-18) On the third day, God descends to Mount Sinai and reveals the 10 Commandments.  After three days, Jonah is expelled from the belly of the whale. (Jonah 2:11).   On the third day, Jesus performs his first miracle at the Wedding feast in Cana. On the third day, Jesus rises from the dead. The number three is significant as it plays out in important events as well.  In the story of the sacrifice of Isaac, Abraham brings Isaac and two servants.  At Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus is crucified with two other men.  Noah has 3 sons to repopulate the world.

From the very beginning of the Bible we can see the significance of the Holy Trinity.  In the first chapter of Genesis there are hints of the Trinity:  In Gen 1: 1-3, we read, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth -- And the earth was without form, or shape, with darkness over the abyss and a mighty wind sweeping over the waters…  (Wind is symbolic of the Spirit of God = Holy Spirit)   Then God spoke… (God spoke words, the Word of God = Jesus)

From the very beginning of God’s revelation we can see the suggestion of the three Persons of God.  Often when God speaks or does something the singular and plural is interchangeable.  Plural indicates the three persons; the singular indicates the one God.

Genesis 1:26 - Then God said: Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness.

Genesis 3:22 - When expelling Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden, God also speaks in the plural: "Then the LORD God said, 'See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil...' "

Genesis 11:7 - Seeing the Tower of Babel, God again speaks in the plural: "Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."

In Genesis 18:1-3 - The Lord appeared to Abraham near the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent. … Looking up, he saw three men standing near him.  Abraham addresses them as The Lord.

...Coming soon

 ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS --JESUS EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES 

   EPISODE 3 - PART 3

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS --JESUS EXPLAINS THE SCRIPTURES -- EPISODE 3 - part 1

 Genesis

 the Book of Creation, Covenants,

 and the  Promise of the Messiah 

[As I was planning my next Bible Study Class that I have been running for the past 16 years, (has it really been THAT long ago!)  I decided to start over from the beginning with the Book of Genesis. I have had many new members join since I did Genesis the last time, so many of my members were excited to do that study, as were the members who have been with me for years.  (The more you study the Bible the more there is to discover in it!)  
Because of my  new fascination with finding how the New Testament is hidden in the Old, (which is called Typology) I spent extra time looking for the clues to the New Testament that Jesus spoke about to his disciples on the Road to Emmaus.  I have posted a few blogs on this very topic before, but now I wanted to go into greater detail, and find even more hidden signs of God's plan of salvation.  I would like to share what I have discovered with the followers of my blog. Due to the length of my findings, I plan to post  in shorter episodes so as to not bog down my followers. I will start with a summary of Genesis and some of the typology that can be found in it.]

The Book of Genesis

The name for the first book of the Bible, Genesis, has a dual meaning.  In Hebrew, the opening word is “Bereshit” which means “In the beginning” and from the Greek, Genesis means a book of generations of the heavens and the earth.

The creation story in Genesis is written with figurative or metaphorical elements.  This does not mean it is fictional, nor does it mean that it is a book of scientific facts.  But it is written in a way to cause man to ponder the meaning of creation and human life and to develop a deep faith in the Creator and to show man how to live in this creation.

The Creation of Man

How God created the world is of little importance in the grand scheme of the Bible.  The purpose of its writing is to understand what God created and why.  When God created man, he breathed into him (Holy Spirit) and with that man was created in God’s likeness.  The presence of the Holy Spirit made him eternal.  But man lost that eternal life with the first sin, as he would now experience death.  Only after Jesus breathes on the Apostles and gives them the Holy Spirit is there the re-gifting of eternal life.

God’s Covenants with his Creation

Covenant is the Golden Thread that holds the entire Bible together.  Covenant means Testament, which is why the Bible is divided between the covenants of the Old and the Covenant of the New.  Covenant is a swearing of and oath between God and man.  Covenant is binding and solemn and God remains ever faithful even when his people are not.  God never broke covenant, only man has, but God in His infinite mercy has made a new covenant with man when man has found his way back to Him. Covenants are formed by the swearing of an oath and, interesting enough, the Latin word for OATH is SACRAMENT.

One enters into a covenant with a promise, invoking God’s holy name, an oath.  It is not an exchange of goods, but of people, a kinship bond, where the two parties are now family.  One cannot get out of a covenant, even if broken.  The result of breaking a covenant is to be cursed.  Throughout the Old Testament is a vicious cycle of breaking covenant with God.  When God’s people kept their covenant they received blessings, when they broke covenant they were cursed.

Through covenants God binds himself to his people in a relationship of fidelity and care.  As a husband to his wife, God binds himself to his people Israel of the Old Testament and to the Jews and Gentiles of the New Israel of the New Testament.

The First Covenant between God and Adam

 One of the most important things to come out of the creation story is the importance of the Sabbath.  As in creation where each day that God creates the various parts of the cosmos, the day begins with the evening and ends when the day turns into the next evening—so does the Sabbath. This is how the Hebrews counted their days.  And, as God rested on the 7^th day, so should man.  The Sabbath is the sign of the first Covenant God made with man.   God put man in charge of His creation.  This is why man was tasked with naming each element of God’s creation.  Giving a thing its name meant you were responsible for it and must take care of it.  Man,   Adam, had dominion (ruler) of the world.

Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden.  The World was God’s temple, but the Garden was his Holy of Holies.  Adam was the first priest, whose job was to guard the sanctuary. Just as the Ark of the Covenant was guarded by the carved Cherubim, so was the  eastern gate of the Garden near the Tree of Life guarded by two Cherubim.(Gen3:24).  Adam failed in his priestly duties by allowing the serpent   to tempt the woman and him.  God told Adam before he created the woman, not to eat from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil.  If he did eat from it he shall die.  The Serpent tempted Eve first , but Adam was standing right next to her  and did not stop her from eating it, and he went further by eating the fruit himself.  With this breaking of God’s first covenant with man, Adam was cursed.  To be cursed meant to be excluded or alienated from the blessings of communion with God.  Eve would experience pain in child bearing, and her relationship with her husband was affected as she became dependent on him and he would rule over her.  Adam would toil in order to eat all the days of his life. And worst of all he lost his likeness of God as he lost the Holy Spirit and would now experience death.

After man’s fall, the book of Genesis sets out the Lord’s blueprint for the reconciliation and salvation of fallen humanity. God, under his plan, would gradually reveal himself through a chosen people; preparing mankind for the Messiah and His Church.

The consequence of sin, (turning away from the source of life—God) is death.  Sin filled the Earth and death came to all men.  Jealousy raged and resulted in the murder of a brother.  Sin continued to spread rampant so that “every desire that their heart conceived was always nothing but evil, the Lord regretted making human beings on the earth, and his heart was grieved.” (Gen 6:5-6) “But Noah found favor with the Lord. (Gen 6:8)

The Second Covenant between God and Noah

God spoke to Noah and told him about the evil He had seen in man and told him he was to build an Ark to save his family from the total annihilation he was planning for the rest of mankind.  Noah did everything God commanded him.  As in creation and the later building of the Temple and the Ark of the Covenant, the building of the ark was carried out just as God commanded.   Noah was to become the new Adam and the Flood brings about the New Creation.  The Ark symbolizes God’s Church to come which is the bringer of salvation through her sacraments.   Just as later in Exodus, all first born were exterminated except for those protected by the Paschal lamb, so here all sinful humanity is drowned, except those protected by the wood of the ark.  The waters of the Flood themselves represent the Last Judgement, in which the good are saved and the wicked damned, and the flood water prefigures Baptism, by which we are saved from condemnation  as first spoken of in the First Letter of St. Peter, 3:20-21.  There are other typological elements as well.  The dove sent out by Noah, which returns with an olive branch, represents the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  God spoke seven times to Noah.  (The number seven means Spiritual Perfection)   In the first creation story God separates the land from the water as a wind (symbolic of the Holy Spirit) that swept over the water.  In Noah’s story after the flood, God made a wind sweep (the Holy Spirit) over the Earth and the waters began to subside.  In the first creation story on the seventh day God rested—in Noah’s story the name Noah means “rest”.  The sign of the second covenant is the rainbow as God promises to never destroy man again and the obligation of the covenant is to respect life.

 The Tower of Babel

The building of the Tower of Babel represents the attempt of man to make a name for himself on earth, to create a technological civilization that rivals God and that reaches up to heaven.  Such a society has no use for God or heaven. St. Augustine sees it as a perfect symbol of the earthly city: a civilization opposed to the City of God (kingdom of God), focused on the love of self to the point of contempt for God.  On the contrary the City of God is a civilization built on the love of God, building a pathway to heaven, not through pride in man’s works, but through the divine condescension of the Incarnation and Passion of Christ.

It was fitting that the punishment for Babel and its cult of pride was the proliferation of tongues and the dispersal of peoples.  By its nature, the sin of pride divides individuals and societies from one another.  Thus, Babel is the opposite of the Church which beginning with Pentecost, seeks to unite all men into one Body through the bond of charity and which unites all tongues in praising God.  When Peter spoke and all Jews from many different countries could understand him in their own tongue, this was the sign that God was beginning to undo the scattering of the Tower of Babel.  He was fulfilling the promise of the outpouring of the spirit by keeping his covenant with Abraham that he would bless the whole world.  The Church seeks to reestablish in the unity of faith, hope and charity, all mankind as it becomes the Light to the Nations.

The Third Covenant between God and Abraham

The call of Abram came immediately after the Destruction of the Tower of Babel and the scattering of its builders.  One purpose of this bond was to reconcile the peoples of the Earth and reuniting them into one family.  The Old Testament hints at how the reconciliation will come about, but it is only in the coming of Jesus Christ where we clearly see God’s plan.  The New Covenant would be ratified by Jesus Christ in his blood and the promise of the Spirit would be fulfilled at Pentecost when Peter spoke and all in Jerusalem from many different countries could understand him in their own tongue.  This was the sign that God was beginning to undo the scattering of the Tower of Babel, he was fulfilling the promise of the outpouring of the spirit—and keeping the covenant with Abraham that he would bless the whole world.

God chooses Abram because through him the one true God would be made known to the world.  (This anticipates the coming of the Church of Christ)  This great covenant with the Patriarch Abraham and his decedents binds God to his people in a relationship of fidelity and care as a husband pledges to his wife.  God promises to make of Abraham a great nation in a land of plenty. This foreshadows the heavenly kingdom of God.  The sign of the covenant was marked in the circumcision of Abraham and all his male descendants, just as the sign of the New Covenant in the Holy Spirit is marked on our hearts.

This covenant was renewed with Isaac, who was born to the elderly Abraham and Sarah, after the birth was foretold by the Three Visitors at Mamre whom Abraham addressed as one. (The Holy Trinity)   God continued this covenant with Isaac’s son Jacob and his 12 sons (prefiguring the 12 Apostles.)  At first, Jacob was depicted negatively, stealing his older twin brother’s birthright, etc. but later in Genesis Jacob wrestles with a mysterious stranger (later to be revealed as the Lord) who gave him the name Israel.  Pope Benedict XVI interpreted this incident as a “long night of seeking God, the struggle to learn his name and see his face.” 

The remainder of Salvation history is foretold in the 3 parts of the Covenant that God successfully formed with Abram in Genesis 15, 17 and with Abraham’s seed in Genesis 22.

In Genesis 15, in the first part of the covenant, God promises Abram that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars. This covenant is fulfilled in the Mosaic Covenant when God forms Israel into a nation at the foot of Mt. Sinai in the Arabian Desert.   In the second part of the covenant, in Chapter 17, God promises that he will make Abraham the father of a multitude of nations and that kings will stem from him and he will be given the land of Canaan as a permanent possession.  This covenant is fulfilled in the Davidic covenant when God takes the nation  of Israel and transforms it into a kingdom under David, his heir Solomon, and each subsequent Davidic king—the last being Jesus Christ.  In Genesis 22 the third part of the covenant would be that in Abraham’s descendants, all the nations of the earth will find blessing because Abraham obeyed God’s command.  This is fulfilled when Jesus Christ at his Ascension proclaims to the apostles “go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always until the end of the age.”  (Mt 28:19, 20)   The covenant God made with the Patriarchs and the divine plan of forming one people is fulfilled in Christ as the Light of the World is preached to all nations and all are baptized in Christ and become heirs to the promise.

The Faith of Abraham

In Genesis 22, Abraham is tested. Finally he has the son he was promised, even after failing to fulfill the promise himself with his wife’s handmaiden, Hagar.   In God’s time the promise is fulfilled.   Abraham has a son named Isaac.  After years of living with the joy of his life, God comes to Abraham and asks him to offer Isaac up as a burnt offering.  Abraham is heartbroken yet he complies.  “On the third day,” Abraham and Isaac reach Mount Moriah (Centuries later this place will be the location of the city of Jerusalem, where Solomon builds the Temple.)  Abraham is thus the first person to worship God on that site.  Isaac carries the wood for the sacrifice on his back as he climbs up the mountain. (Foreshadowing Christ carrying his cross up Golgotha)  He asks his father where the sheep for the sacrifice is.  And Abraham replies that God will provide the sheep.   (In God’s time He would provide his own son, the Lamb of God as the sacrifice on Calvary.) With a heavy heart Abraham prepares the altar and arranges the wood on it.   Isaac allows Abraham to bind him and he climbs on top of the wood.  (This prefigures God’s Beloved Son who is also bound and climbs onto his cross allowing his sacrifice.)  Ready to sacrifice his son, Abraham somehow believes that his son is to be the source of his future generations.  He now has the faith he lacked earlier when Isaac was first promised to him.  He knows that God will fulfill his promise…that his sacrifice will somehow result in Isaac being raised from the dead, (Hebrews 11:19) fulfilling God’s promise (foreshadowing Christ’s resurrection).  He didn’t know exactly how, but he trusted God to fulfill the promise he made to him.  Just as Abraham is about to kill his son, an angel stops him.  His faith has saved his son.  Just as Jesus is resurrected “on the third day” so too is Isaac given back to his father when God provided another sacrifice (the ram).  Abraham’s faith and trust in God proves to all generations that trust in God will be rewarded.

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS -- Jesus explains the Scriptures Episode 2

The Promise to Abraham

In the last episode of “On the Road to Emmaus”, we saw how God’s creation turned against him.  How Adam and Eve was tempted by Satan to eat from the Tree of Knowledge.  Satan was the fallen angel Lucifer (meaning “Light-bearer”) who was one of the Seraphim, the highest choir of angels, who see and adore God directly.   But in spite of truly knowing who God was, because of the free will God gave to all of his creation, Lucifer chose pride over obedience to God as he chose to become God’s equal and would no longer serve Him.  The choice of one angel to sin against God was the beginning of the existence of evil.  Satan used his sin of pride as the temptation he presented to Adam and Eve.  He tempted them that if they would just eat from the forbidden tree they would become like gods themselves, promising them that “You certainly will not die! No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods who know what is good and what is bad.” (Gen 3: 4, 5). 

With this sin, God’s plan for us was rerouted and the beginning of our salvation through his son Jesus was begun.  Throughout the Old Testament, God works through man to bring about this salvation and finally, with the sacrifice of his only Son, we would be brought back to God. 

The beginning of the salvation story starts with a single man of faith, Abraham, along with his wife Sarah.  Abraham proved his faith and obedience to God by leaving his home and heading to a land that God would give him as a new homeland where he would become the patriarch of a great nation.  Through Abraham, God would establish a holy land and a holy people who could stand before God without shame—as God intended when he created Adam and Eve and placed them in the Garden of Paradise. The land would be holy because God would once again dwell in that land and walk amongst his people. 

God begins the process of salvation by making a covenant with Abraham in which his descendants will become a great nation that will bring about the “Light to the World”, the salvation that will bring humankind back to God. It is only in Jesus that the kingdom of God is fully proclaimed and initially realized and its final realization awaits the second coming of Christ.

The foreshadowing of this redemption can be found in the Old Testament story about the testing of Abraham.  (Gen 22: 1-18)  After the birth of his long-awaited son Isaac, Abraham was put to the test to prove the firmness of his faith and trust in God’s promise that through Isaac all the nations of the earth would find blessing.  God told Abraham to take his beloved Isaac to Mount Moriah where he would sacrifice him to God.  Abraham was devastated with the thought of giving up his son, yet somehow he still believed in God's promise to him, that through Isaac, his descendants would be as plentiful as the stars in the sky.  Somehow he had that faith and trust, though he couldn’t understand how, that God would fulfill that promise, just as he had fulfilled the impossible gift of his son in his old age.

“On the third day,”** Abraham reached Mount Moriah (later to be known as the Temple Mount in Jerusalem).  Isaac, the faithful son, carries the wood for the sacrifice on his back up the mountain (the foreshadowing of Jesus carrying his cross up Mount Calvary to his sacrifice).  As he climbs he asks his father “where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”   And Abraham answers that “God himself will provide the lamb.” (Gen 22: 7.8)   After building the altar and placing the wood on it, Abraham tied up his son and placed him on the altar.  As he is about to slaughter his only son with the knife, the Lord’s messenger stops him relating God’s message that “I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son.”   (Gen 22:12)  Abraham looked around and saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket and offered it instead of his son.  Abraham named the place “YHWH jjreh”–“The Lord will provide”  (the latter half of the word is the Hebrew root word jeru for what will later be called Jerusalem).   God then pronounced a universal blessing upon Abraham, “in your descendants all the nations of the earth shall find blessings themselves—all this because you obeyed my command.”  (Gen 22: 18)

Abraham’s descendants continued to wait for the time when God would himself provide the lamb for sacrifice.  The first time this seemed to be fulfilled was right before the Exodus from Egypt.  The final act that allows the Israelites to leave Egypt occurs when the families celebrate the first Passover meal and sacrifice the Passover lamb.  The blood of the lamb is spread on the doorposts to protect them as the angel of death slays the first born of Egypt.  Israel is saved and in remembrance of this salvation, they have celebrated the Passover annually from that time on. Israel was saved through the blood of a lamb, however they provided the lamb, not God. 

In 2 Chronicles, Solomon built the Temple as a dwelling place for the Ark of the Covenant in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, and there were many sacrifices on the spot where Abraham had said that God would provide the lamb for the sacrifice.  Yet these lambs, over the years of faithful covenant to God, were not provided by God either.  And for years Israel continued to wait for the Lamb of God.

Isaiah’s prophecy of the lamb being led to slaughter in the Suffering Servant prophecies (Is 52—53) gave further hope for the long-awaited lamb that would save Israel.

Finally, in the Gospel of John, John the Baptist looked up and “saw Jesus coming toward him and said. ‘Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”’  (Jn 1:29)  On the next day, John was baptizing again with two of his disciples, “and as he watched Jesus walk by, he proclaimed again ‘Behold the Lamb of God.’  The two disciples of John the Baptist (Andrew and John, son of Zebedee) heard what he said and (from that moment on) followed Jesus.” (Jn 1: 35-37) 

Abraham's statement that God would provide the lamb was finally realized. Jesus, the only son of God, entered the world as the "Lamb  of God" who would be sacrificed for our sins and finally bring universal blessings upon all nations just as God had promised Abraham.

In the beginning was the Word,

and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things came to be through him,

and without him nothing came to be.

What came to be through him was life,

and this life was the light of the human race;

the light shines in the darkness

and the darkness has not overcome it.

And the Word became flesh

and made his dwelling among us,

and we saw his glory,

the glory as of the Father’s only Son,

full of grace and truth.

Behold, the Lamb of God!

John 1:1-5, 14, 29

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**“On the third day” Whenever you see this phrase on the “third day” in the Bible, take careful notice. It is an indication of something important that is about to happen in the the Bible story.  For example: On the third day, there was a wedding in Cana…” (Jn 2: 1)  See the previous blog posting: "A MEDITATION ON THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA"