Oh what an incredible week of discovery. I just finished the first three chapters of the Book of Galatians and I am learning so much! This Ignatius Catholic Study Bible is definitely the best Study Bible/Commentary I have ever read. I love it so much that I immediately purchased two more: The Gospels of Matthew and The Gospel of Luke. I should be set for the next 5 to 6 weeks for my Scriptural Gleaning and content materials for this blog!
The most important discovery this week has been the various aspects of the "Law". I have not always been clear about the teaching of the church coming from the many different Protestant traditions. I always understood that the importance of the "Law" (see note 1) for the Christians is basically the Ten Commandments but not the other 613 commandments (note 2) scattered throughout the Torah. I had memorized it and held it in very high regard to guide my day to day action. Jesus came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus taught me a much deeper meaning on the Ten Commandments. For example, depending on how you count them (note 3), on the sixth commandment, Jesus taught, "“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:27-30) Jesus is obviously more interested in the purity of our inner being than just the outward appearance only. Also He held the Ten Commandments in high regard and wanted us to do likewise.
So what have I learned?
(1) Why was the Torah even necessary?
"Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring would come to whom the promise had been made; and it was ordained through angels by a mediator." (Galatians 3:19) Paul explained that the reason the Torah was inserted into history between the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 22:18; Sirach 44:21) and the New Covenant (CCC 706) was to expose transgressions and heightened Israel's awareness of sin (Romans 3:20; 5:20; 7:7). The Law was given because of the rebellion of Israel during the Exodus period, particularly the golden calf transgression (note 4).
(2) So is the Torah still necessary today?
"Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, " (Galatians 3:23-25)
The word disciplinarian (or "custodian") "refers to a household slave in Hellenistic society who was charged by a father to oversee the moral formation of his son... until he reached maturity." (from the Word Study of "Custodian") I also looked up the Word Study for "Justified" (Romans 2:13) in the Study Bible. To be justified is to be acquitted, or to be pronounced righteous. Christ came and died for us, which frees us from sin (Acts 13:39; Romans 6:7) through the free gift of grace (Romans 3:24) which is received by faith (Romans 3:26; 5:1) in the liturgical context of Baptism (1 Corinthians 6:11). So because I was baptized and had believed (and continue to believe) that Jesus died for my sins on the cross, I am justified by God. This produces an inward transformation which makes me holy and righteous in His sight (Romans 5:19); (CCC 654 - note 5). So in fact, I no longer depend on the "Works of the Law" to prove my adoption into God's family - i.e. circumcision, food restrictions, observance of the Sabbath etc. However, the moral principles (as presented by the Ten Commandments and many other teachings in the Old and New Testaments, and the Church) will continue to shape my conscience and assist me in all my daily actions. For example, I continue to reflect on the Ten Commandments before I go to my confession.
I am grateful for the Law, and I am grateful for the gift of faith. The world (and the devil) is telling me to live for myself and for this life. But praise be to God, I am motivated by love, and empowered by the Holy Spirit to live for God and for eternity! And praise God for the Community of Faith, Scott Hahn and Curtis Mitch who wrote the Study Bible!
"for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:26-29)
Note:
(1) "Law" (or the "Mosaic Law") is translated from the Hebrew word "Torah" - which is the first five books (the "Pentateuch") of the Hebrew Bible - or the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.
(2) I also just learned that the word commandment (singular) is in Hebrew Mitzvah. Bar/Bat Mitzvah literally means Son/Daughter of Commandment - the Jewish coming of age ritual! According to Wikipedia "Many of the mitzvot (pleural of mitzvah) cannot be observed now, following the destruction of the Second Temple, although they still retain religious significance... there are 77 positive and 194 negative commandments that can be observed today, of which there are 26 commands that apply only within the Land of Israel. Furthermore, there are some time-related commandments from which women are exempt ... Some depend on the special status of a person in Judaism, while others apply only to men or only to women."
(3) I have learned that the reformers have separated the first commandment into two (see picture below) to basically discredit the Catholic church for having statues and relics in their churches! I am now very happy to see them. They are what Mother Angelica called "Holy Reminders". I don't worship them but they remind me of saints in the past who I can call on to pray for me.
(5) CCC 654 - "The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God's grace, "so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace. It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren." We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection. "
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