Jews and Gentiles: Law and Early Christianity
As Christianity surfaced, it was adhered to not as a religion other than Judaism but rather as a continuation of Judaism where adherents believed Jesus to be the promised Jewish Messiah whose birth, life, death, and resurrection bring forth salvation to Israel and a light for the Gentile nations. Thus, early Christians, most of whom were of a Jewish descent, welcomed Gentiles to join the fold of God. At the core of the Christian faith is the celebration of the Eucharistic meal, the consecrated bread and wine that become truly and mystically the body and blood of Christ. The struggle then hinged on how Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians can share a single meal without Jewish Christians necessarily breaking their Kashrut laws.
Cleansing the Unclean: God’s Infinite Presence Through the Cross
St. Paul teaches us that “we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews…” (1 Corinthians 1:23). Crucifixion is a stumbling block as the Law proclaims, “anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23).
The Twofold Passover
Eastern Christians typically refer to the celebration of the Resurrection as Pascha rather than Easter. The Greek term pascha is derived from the Hebrew pesach meaning Passover. The term Pascha is employed differently across Eastern Christian traditions.
The Messiah in the Book of Revelation
While Revelation is the most prophetic text of the New Testament, it is not the only prophetic text. The Messiah offers eschatological prophecies (i.e., prophecies about end times) in the four Gospels. That said, our endeavour in this reflection will not be trying to uncover Revelation prophesies or attempting to tie them to contemporary […]
The Messiah in the Gospel of John
Wine at the Wedding The Gospel of John is certainly the most mystical and theological of the four gospels. While it contains numerous motifs and metaphors, we will pay close attention to the marriage banquet theme. The first of Jesus’ miracles, changing the water into wine at the wedding in Cana, takes place “on […]
The Messiah in the Book of Acts
In the gospel of Luke, Jesus is the teacher of truth and the cleanser of the temple. His ministry was the blueprint for the ministry of the apostles. The latter will begin spreading the gospel beyond the temple and Jerusalem upon receiving the power of the Spirit. Thus, the disciples are painted in better light […]
The Messiah in the Gospel of Luke
Luke and Genesis The book of Genesis opens with the words, “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth”. The combination of heaven and earth was often used in stories surrounding the inauguration of temples where the gods dwelt with humans. Likely, the original recipients thought of the world as a cosmic temple in […]
The Messiah in the Gospel of Mark
Mark gave minimal attention to editing his Gospel for grammar and rhetoric. Often, the text runs like someone telling a friend a story over coffee with tangents, random commentaries on events, and even uses “immediately” like a crutch word. However, this is not to say that Mark does not use clever motifs. His favourite […]
Lent Series: We have found the Messiah
St. Andrew’s words to St. Peter, “we have found the Messiah” (John 1:41), ought to be our words at the end of each Great Lent. Thankfully, the Messiah already found us through the incarnation by which He sought after us who were lost. During Great Lent, we are invited to search for the Messiah throughout the life of the Church.