Transcript Jesus Christ Instituted the Church

The Church: Chapter 2
JESUS CHRIST INSTITUTED THE
CHURCH
God Prepares His People
Thinking with the Church
 Read the words by Pope John Paul II on p. 36.
Then write a 1-3 sentence summary of each
paragraph.
 God wanted to save and sanctify the human race,
not just individuals. This plan began with
Abraham.
 God unfolds His plan through His chosen people.
To lead them He uses specially chosen persons.
 The events in the Old Testament prepare and
prefigure (foreshadow) the New Covenant in
Christ.
Thinking with the Church
 The object of God’s plan expands from the Nation
of Israel to include all nations, languages and
races.
 Christians are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a
holy nation.”
Preparation
 How did the Old Testament covenants
develop visibly (outwardly, externally)?
 From two persons to an entire nation
 Yet at the same time there is “contraction”
 From the world to a chosen people
 This pattern will revert
Culmination
 Who is the culmination of the covenants?
 Culmination = fulfillment, high point, zenith
 What are some ways Jesus is presented as the
culmination of these covenants?
 THINK: Opening words or phrases in
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Matthew
Mark
Luke
John
Culmination
 What is typology?
 Chose one of the types on p. 38, and explain
the anti-type
 What are some other types?
 THINK: Fulfillment of type of Moses
 Murder of infant boys
 Moses is “fatherless”
 Shepherd
 In the desert
 Sermon on the Mount
Culmination
 What words does St Augustine use to show
that Jesus is the culmination of the Old
Testament covenants?
 Tell me more about this most important
doctor of the Church
 Early Life
 Contribution to Scripture study
 Later Life
The Incarnation
Promises
 What does “fullness of time” mean?
 The right time
 God looks into time and says “Now is the right
time”
 What are three promises that God makes?
 Found in the ¶ “For generations” (p. 40)
Promises
 What does St Paul say instead of “fullness of
time”?
 What are four key elements to St Paul’s words?
 What else does God see concerning the
fullness of time?
 HINT: Luke 1.28ff
 Read Luke 2.8-12
 What do the words of the angels reveal about the
infant Jesus?
Promises
 Read Luke 2.22-35
 What do Simeon’s words reveal about the infant
Jesus?
 HINT: Don’t just focus on one thing Simeon says;
read all that he says (vv 29-32)
 What does the visit of the Magi reveal about
the infant Jesus?
Promises
 IMPORTANT: From His earliest days, God
shows us that Jesus is the culmination of the
covenant with the Old Testament patriarchs,
and the fulfillment of God’s promises
Proclaiming the Kingdom of God
The Third Luminous Mystery
Kingdom of God & Church
 What is the relationship between the
Kingdom of God and the Church?
 Kingdom of God = state of communion between
God and humans
 Church = restoration of communion through
Christ’s Body
 So, the Church is the Kingdom of God on earth in
Christ’s Body (Church)
 Complete the following table to organize
your knowledge on how the Kingdom of God
is present visibly and invisibly.
 KEY TERMS: pilgrim; spiritual
Christ’s Teaching
 What is Christ’s public ministry?
 When did it begin?
 What was the central theme of Christ’s
preaching?
Parables
 Why did Christ teach using parables?
 What is a parable?
 Parable of the Sower
 Story (Lk 8.4ff)
 Elements
 Representations
 Good Samaritan
 Luke 10.29-end
 Identify and match elements
Assignment
 What does the Parable of the Wheat and
the Weeds reveal about the Church?
 What does the Parable of the Mustard
Seed reveal about the Church during the
time of Christ’s public ministry?
 Explain the meaning of one of the five
parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
listed in the sidebar (p. 42).
Parable of the Wheat
 What does the Parable of the Wheat and
the Weeds reveal about the Church?
 It explains why God allows evil in the world
and even among members of his Church—
they are like the weeds sown by the devil,
something God temporarily permits for the
sake of the good “wheat,” or faithful
followers of Christ.
Five Parables
 What does the Parable of the Mustard
Seed reveal about the Church during the
time of Christ’s public ministry?
 Explain the meaning of one of the five
parables of the Kingdom of Heaven
listed in the sidebar (p. 42).
The Twelve
 What do we learn about the Church through
Christ’s appointing of the Twelve Apostles?
 What is Christ’s hidden life?
 What can we assume about Christ’s
Hidden Life?
 How do the Synoptic Gospels support the
assumption that Christ lived a normal life
during his hidden years?
 Who were Christ’s disciples?
 How many disciples did Christ have?
 When did the Apostles begin to exercise
their responsibilities as shepherds of the
Church?
 How did the Apostles receive special
training during Christ’s public ministry?
 Witnessed His preaching and miracles
 Much of the teaching was given privately to
the Apostles (or directed at them with others
overhearing)
Cross & Eucharist
Basic Questions
 Why did Jesus die on the Cross?
 Sacrifice by the Father or self-sacrifice?
 What is different from Jesus’ death compared to
other deaths?
 What does the Eucharist do for us?
 IMPORTANT: What is the connection
between the Cross and the Eucharist?
 KEY: The body of Christ which was sacrificed on
the cross is the same body of Christ received in the
sacrifice of the Holy Mass
Lamb of God
 What did St. John the Baptist call Jesus?
 See John 1.29-34
 “Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the
world”
 How would the people to first this these
words have understood this saying?
 Where does the phrase come from?
Lamb of God
 What two things does the Passover signify?
 Salvation from slavery
 Salvation from death
 What is the full meaning of the expression
“Lamb of God”?
 Why do we still call Jesus the Lamb of God?
 What is a similar image?
 See John 10.10-16
 What does it mean to be saved?
 Rescued from death
 Nurtured and strengthened by grace (forgiveness
of sins)
 Share in divine life
 Image: Man lost at sea
 Saved
 Being saved
 Will be saved
Filiation
 What is another phrase for “share in the
divine life”?
 Sons (and daughters) of God
 Latinate: Divine filiation
 How is our filiation different from Christ’s?
 Actual vs. adoption
 Nature vs. participation
 Uncreated vs. created
 NOT: real vs. unreal
Filiation
 What do we receive as sons of God (divine
filiation)?
 St Paul: “Everything belongs to you”
 How can everything belong to us? How can
we have all that Christ has?
 Wonderful exchange
 Heirs
Sacrifice
 When did Jesus offer Himself as a sacrifice for
our salvation?
 Read Luke 18.31-34
 Did the Apostles know Jesus would suffer death
before it happened?
 Did they understand what it meant?
 Read Luke 24.28-35; 36-48
 How did they come to understand?
 What was the Apostles’ mission?
Breaking of the Bread
 Read John 6.35-58
 What is the significance of Jesus feeding
5000?
 Israel in the wilderness
 God provides our needs
 Jesus explains that He is the bread of life, the
bread from heaven
 What does Jesus say that He will give us in
the Eucharist?
 What does the Eucharist do for the Church?
God Prepares His People
Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
A New and Everlasting Testament
New Adam
 Read the last paragraph on p. 48
 How is Jesus the new Adam?
 Obedience vs. disobedience
 Life-giving vs. death-giving
 Image of God vs. image of the image
 How did Jesus fulfill the Adamic covenant?
 Caretaker
 Multiply
 Protoevangelium
New Adam
 How does Jesus as New Adam apply to you?
 HINT: Defaced picture
 Image restored to the original design
 We are all sons of God
 By becoming the New Adam, Jesus fulfilled
the Adamic covenant by
 Restoring, repairing and renewing the broken
image
 Giving birth to the Church, the new mother of the
living.
New Noah
 One key component in the covenant with
Noah was the promise never to flood the
earth again
 The flood cleansed the world of sin
 The flood ushered in a new beginning, new life
 Jesus fulfilled the covenant with Noah was
cleansing each person
 His blood cleanses us from all sin
 This happens in baptism, which ushers in new life,
and a new beginning
New Abraham
 How did Jesus fulfill the Abrahamic covenant?
 All nations blessed
 “Seed” of Abraham
 Not “seeds” but one “seed”
 Son of Abraham
 Sacrifice (Isaac and Ram)
 Kingship
 Many descendants
 Church
 Promised Land
New Abraham
 What is the key characteristic of Abraham
that we should imitate?
 Hebrews 11.1ff
 Jesus fulfilled the covenant with Abraham by
 Becoming the universal blessing in redeeming
mankind (blessed nation)
 Founding the Church, the new and perfect family
of God (many descendants)
 Being faithful to God in all things
New Moses
 How is Jesus the New Moses?
 Exodus
 Deliverance from…
 Sermon on the Mount
 How did Jesus fulfill the Mosaic covenant?
 Commandments explained
 Love is the key
 Holy Nation, kingdom of priests
 “My people”
New Moses
 How does Jesus as the New Moses apply to
you?
 In Christ you can keep the commandments
 Assembly of God = Church
 Jesus fulfilled the covenant with Moses by
 Leading his new people, the Church out of the
bondage of sin
 Giving them the New Law, the commandment to
love
New David
 How did Jesus fulfill the Davidic covenant?
 Read Luke 1.28-36
 King
 “No end”
 What is the relationship between Christ’s
kingdom and the world?
 “In but not of this world”
 Pilgrim Church
New Temple
 The Temple was also part of the Davidic
covenant
 Built by Solomon
 The place the “housed” God’s glory
 Jesus fulfilled the covenant with David by
 Establishing the Church, the new and everlasting
kingdom, the Kingdom of God
 Reigning as the King of all forever and ever
 Building a new Temple, his Body, the Church, in
which God dwells on earth
Mystical Body & Bride of Christ
Names and Images of the Church
Mystery & Mystical
 What is a mystery?
 Not incomprehensible, but inexhaustible
 How do we understand a mystery
 Revelation
 Images show us just one aspect or bit about
what the church is
 Images may be contradictory
Images
 Body of Christ – unity, Christ is the Head and
we are the Body
 Bride of Christ – holiness, Christ is the
Husband and we are the wife
 Temple of God – holiness, Spirit/soul, Christ is
the Temple and we are the living stones
 Family of God – catholic, Christ is our Brother
and we are co-heirs
Images
 Kingdom of God – catholicity, Christ is the
King and we are the citizens
 People of God – catholicity/unity, Christ is
sacrifice and we are the redeemed
 Sheep Fold – apostolicity, Christ is the Good
Shepherd and we are his sheep
 Branches of the Vine – apostolicity, Christ is
the Vine and we are the branches which bear
fruit
Mystical Body of Christ
 Read Romans 12.4-5
 Read 1 Corinthians 12.12-26
 What two main aspects of the church does
the image “Body of Christ” illustrate?
 Union between Christ and the Church
 Union between members of the Church
 Living and departed
 Saints and faithful
Bride of Christ
 Read Ephesians 5.21-end
People of God & Kingdom of God
Names & Images for the Church
People of God
 Who were the first “People of God”?
 What was their mission?
 Israel was chosen and commissioned by God to
bring all the nations into the communion with him
that he had desired from the beginning.
 What was the outcome or result?
People of God
 What was God’s promise nevertheless?
 God promised a new covenant about which he
said, “I will put my law within them, and I will write
it upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and
they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33).
People of God
 What is the meaning of the image of the
Church as the People of God?
 The image of the Church as the People of God
comes from the assembly of the Israelite
community on Mt. Sinai. Both assemblies reveal
that God ordinarily wills to save people as a
community rather than as individuals.
 REMEMBER: God made his covenant with Moses
and the Israelites, promising that if they kept the
covenant, they would be his Chosen People, a
kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
Kingdom of God
 What is the most common image that Christ
used to describe the Church?
 Which covenant speaks specifically of a
kingdom?
 THINK: Type of the Kingdom of God
 How is Christ’s kingdom fundamentally
different from David’s?
 Christ’s kingdom is not of this world, not a
temporal kingdom.
Kingdom of God
 How does the Kingdom of God fulfill the
Davidic Covenant?
 Christ’s kingdom fulfills the primary and
secondary characteristic of the Davidic covenant.
Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
Chapter Review
Summary: Key Points
 The New Covenant brings to completion that
which the Old Covenant promises.
 The Kingdom of God refers variously to God
himself, to God’s action in the world, and to the
Church.
 Christ’s primary desire is to restore humanity’s
original communion with God by forgiving our
sins and making us God’s own children.
 Christ gave his Church her hierarchical structure.
 The Church is Christ’s Mystical Body, his Bride,
the children of his Father’s family, and the new
people of God.
Summary: Key Themes
 The relationship between the
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Old and New Testaments
The Incarnation
The proclamation of the
Kingdom of God in relation to
the Church
The calling of the Twelve
Apostles as it relates to
the Church
Why Jesus died on the Cross
The Eucharist
God fulfilled the Old Testament
covenants in the Church
 The Church as the Mystical Body
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of Christ
The Church as the Bride
of Christ
The Church as the Family
of God
The Church as the People of God
The Kingdom of God and the
Davidic Covenant
Summary: Key Questions
 What is the significance of the Incarnation?
 What are the two names of Christ?
 What did Christ teach about the Kingdom
of Heaven?
 What is our source of salvation?
 How is the Old Testament fulfilled in the
Church?
Summary: Key Questions
 What are some of the metaphorical images
used to describe the Church?
 How is the Church the Family of God?
 How is the Church the People of God?
 What does it mean to say that the Church is
the Mystical Body of Christ?