Christ’s Death - Execution or Sacrifice?

As Christians we take for granted that Christ’s death on the cross is rightly understood as a sacrifice, and also the fulfilment of all the Old Testament sacrifices. But if we take a step back from what we simply take for granted, how is it that Christians came to this understanding? How did the disciples come to see that the death of Christ on the cross was more than the atrocious act of sentencing an innocent man to an ignominious death? What exactly is it that makes Christ’s death a sacrifice as opposed to an execution of an innocent man?

Obviously, there are many things that we could point to showing that the death of Jesus was more than just an execution; but the most evident would have to be the Last Supper. It was during the Last Supper that our Lord Jesus Christ, as the High Priest after the Order of Melchisdec (Heb 6:20), made an offering of bread and wine (Gen 14:18). But that was not where it stopped, because it was in this offering that He also gave Himself when He changed the bread and wine into His Precious Body and Blood when He said “This is My Body...This is My Blood...”.

But stepping back again from what we always take for granted, how is the Last Supper actually connected to Calvary? As Catholics we believe that the Last Supper CANNOT be separated from Calvary. And this is not based on a theological hypothesis...but on a real fact that is easy to miss if we don’t have an understanding of the Passover liturgy, which was the basis and context of the Lord’s Supper.

During the course of the Passover meal, 4 cups of wine were drunk. The cup which the Lord consecrated was the third cup, the cup of blessing (cf. 1 Cor 10:16), which was drunk after the eating of the Passover meal.

In the usual Passover meal, the liturgy would end with the drinking of the 4^th cup of wine and the singing of the Great Hallel. What is interesting, and often overlooked, is that in the Last Supper our Lord and His disciples sang the Great Hallel (Matt 26:30), but they did not drink the 4^th cup. Instead, our Lord said that He would not drink the fruit of the vine until He would drink it in the kingdom of God (Matt 26:29; Mk 14:25). And so it was that our Lord never actually concluded the Passover liturgy during the course of the Last Supper. This means that for our Lord and His disciples, the Passover liturgy was still continuing when they had left the Upper Room. It is this 4^th cup that our Lord is likely referring to when He said “Let this cup pass from me...” (Matt 26:39).

In accordance with His words in Matt 26:29, our Lord refused to drink the wine that was mixed with gall which was offered to Him before He was nailed to the cross (Matt 27:34). But, when the time had come for Him to finally give up His life, He did drink of the fruit of the vine (Matt 27:48). St. John tells us that when He had received the wine (which would now be the 4^th cup of the Passover meal), our Lord said “It is finished” (Jn 19:30). And with these words our Lord had completed the Passover meal of the Last Supper by offering Himself as the sacrificial Passover Lamb.

Here we see that the Last Supper of Jesus cannot be separated from Calvary. And because the Mass is the perpetual celebration of the Last Supper, it too cannot be separated from Calvary. This is why we as Catholics believe that every Mass is a sacrifice – in every Mass time is transcended and we take part in the Last Supper of Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of Himself on Calvary. And so, in the words of St. Paul “our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. Therefore, let us celebrate the festival...” (1 Cor 5:7-8) always giving thanks to God that He has graciously given us His Son as the Passover Lamb who takes away our sins, and not ours only but also the sins of the world (Jn 1:29; 1 Jn 2:2).

"Love, Sex, and the Cross"

For those of us who are married (and even those who are not) this article is worth a read.

http://www.insidecatholic.com/feature/love-sex-and-the-cross.html

The Pope's 3 Simple Rules for Holiness

Have a read of this...it is so simple yet so profound...

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-popes-3-simple-rules-for-holiness?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+%2540National+Catholic+Register%2541#When:14:46:21Z

Covenant and Communion – The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI

I have just finished reading Scott Hahn’s book “Covenant and Communion – The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI”.

I really appreciated how he brought to light the Pope’s teaching that the Scriptures are to be read and interpreted both scientifically and through the eyes of a historical faith.

But for me one of the more significant teachings of the Pope that Scott Hahn highlighted was that the Word of God is not only informative, but it is also performative and transformative. That is, it is not only a dead letter, but it really achieves what it sets out to achieve. For example, when God said “Let there be light”, He was not simply stating a fact, but His very words spoken transformed the formless void and the heavens and earth came into being. And just as Jesus, who is the True Word of God, transformed water into wine, so too by His words the bread and wine are transformed into His Body and Blood.

The summit of the Pope’s teaching then is that the goal of the Word of God is not only to inform us about where we came from and how we relate to God, but it’s goal is to transform all of creation. And this transformation begins with the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God, in the Gospel. And truly the Gospel is not just a message about a Messiah that died for our sins and rose again for our justification. Certainly it is that, but it is also so much more. The Gospel is the Word that transforms those who hear it; and through this Word God conforms us more and more to our Lord Jesus Christ. So it is that by the Word of the Gospel, and the Gospel of the Word, that God completes the work that He began when He first spoke the universe into existence.

If you are interested, the book can be found at Amazon at the link below:

http://www.amazon.com/Covenant-Communion-Biblical-Theology-Benedict/dp/1587432692/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302696317&sr=8-1

Circumcision and Baptismal Regeneration - Col 2:13

I was reading through St. Paul’s Epistle to the Colossians earlier this week and noticed something that I had never noticed before...

In Col 2:13 St. Paul tells the Colossians that they were once dead in their sins but now God had made them alive. What I hadn’t noticed was that St. Paul doesn’t say that they were only dead in their sins, but that they were dead in their sins AND the uncircumcision of their flesh. In other words, some part of their spiritual deadness was attributable to the fact that they had not been circumcised.

This actually made me realise that there was more to the sign of circumcision in the Old Covenant than simply the outward sign. If St. Paul says that they were dead in their sins and the uncircumcision of their flesh, then it stands to reason that those who were circumcised in the Old Covenant were actually made alive (or “regenerated”) by their circumcision.

Interestingly, this particular passage is in the context of St. Paul teaching the Colossians that they no longer need to be circumcised in order to be part of God’s covenant people. The reason St. Paul gives is that the circumcision of the flesh is replaced by the spiritual circumcision of the New Covenant (v11) which takes place in our baptism (v12).

So, in St. Paul’s thinking, just as God’s Old Covenant people of Israel were made alive in God by their circumcision, so too we as God’s New Covenant people (the Church, the continuation of Israel)  are made alive in Christ through our baptism. And that is why our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus that the new birth takes place by the power of the Holy Spirit in our baptism (Jn 3:5).

This has significant implications for us as Christians then. St. Paul goes on to tell the Colossians that because of this change that God has worked in us, our lives should show it. If we are dead to our sins, we are alive in Christ and so we should live knowing that it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us. May this be our challenge especially over these last few weeks of Lent. May we give ourselves even more to living for Christ as we strive to live holy lives, and especially as we reach out in love to those around us so that they too can experience the love of Christ.

"Prayer & Goosebumps"

We all do it...say that we'll pray for someone and then forget to do it...

Well, I came across this article today, and I thought that I would share it. It offers a handy tip to ensure that you don't forget to pray for someone that you said you would pray for. And the real life example she gives really did give me goosebumps.

Have a read, I am sure you will be encouraged...

http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/04/peterson-prayer-and-goosebumps/

A Beautiful Nuptial Mass

We had the privilege yesterday of attending the wedding ceremony of a couple whom we have befriended since moving to Australia. The wedding ceremony, a traditional Nuptial Mass, was absolutely stunning...the incense, the traditional architecture, the Latin chant...it was all stunning. But the most stunning thing of all was to really experience for the first time how the marriage celebration actually fits within the Eucharistic celebration.

I am sure that when I was younger I probably attended a Catholic wedding (I think...) but I would never have appreciated it. Firstly, because even from a young age, I thought Catholics were just weird; and secondly, because I really didn’t appreciate the full significance of what marriage is.

My wife and I were married in the Baptist church, and we were fortunate enough to have been taught in our particular brand of Baptist theology, that marriage is a picture of Christ and His Church. But, as much as I understood that I really don’t think that I ever really appreciated just how significant this understanding of marriage is. 

Yesterday, we were able to experience firsthand the beauty of the marriage ceremony where it really belongs – that is, in the Mass. It is during the Mass, in Holy Communion, that our Lord Jesus Christ unites Himself in the most intimate of ways with us His Bride. That is why St. John refers to Holy Communion as the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. When a husband is being joined to a wife, and they are only but a picture of the reality that is the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church, then there is no better place to witness the marriage ceremony than in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Because it is in receiving our Lord in the Eucharist that we become One Body (i.e. Communion) with, through, and in Him.

So, Greg and Melissa, thank you so much for sharing your very special day with us. And our prayer for you is that as you grow in your marriage, God would continually pour out His grace upon both of you through this glorious Sacrament. May you always grow in being Christ to each other, and may you always experience Christ in each other.