1623AFC060316 – Our Story is His Story
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Galatians 1:11-12 – 11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin; 12 for I did not receive it from a human source, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Aloha nui loa, ʻŌmea! Much love to you, Belovéd, in the name of Jesus the Christ of God! As we read in Scripture, so also I say to you, my esteemed brothers and sisters in Christ: May grace and peace be yours in abundance in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. (2 Peter 1:2) Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:3) May mercy, peace, and love be yours in abundance. (Jude 1:2)
I am eager to get right into this, today, because I want to share good news with you as well. Let’s begin with the passage from Galatians which is sometimes referred to a Paul’s vindication of his apostleship. What is vindication? It is proof, evidence, confirmation, substantiation, and/or verification. Paul is telling the Galatians, and through them also telling us, that the Gospel he preached was not something he read about (remember the Synoptic Gospels were not set down until somewhere between 60 – 100 AD), it was not something he learned from the Apostles in Jerusalem, nor was it something he learned from other missionaries. He states clearly and boldly, “I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” No one but Jesus has told him what he is to do with that Gospel. We know throughout his writings he speaks of his intimacy with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. That is why he specifically says “through.” (Here comes another lesson in Greek.)
The word used for “through” is δι’ from διά, the root of such English words as diameter and diametric. It connotes “by the means of,” and “on account of,” or “across to the other side and thoroughly back-and-forth.” It is a preposition that conveys the meaning of the route or means of transmission of a message or the performance of a deed. Paul and Jesus had direct-line, face-to-face communication. In those encounters, the Gospel was imparted to Paul. We know the word Gospel, but let’s also look a bit deeper into why that word was used.
The first time we see “Gospel” is in Matthew 4:23 – 23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news [Gospel] of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. (See the link for other versions of this verse.) In this passage, the Greek word is εὐαγγέλιον (euaggelion) {yoo-ang-ghel’-ee-on}. It is the root from which we get EVANGELIZE, EVANGELICAL, and EVANGELIZATION. In the Old Testament, it meant any kind of good news. For example, take a look a 2 Samuel 4:10 for a passage that uses the same sense of this word. If we look at Mark’s account of Jesus’ ministry we see his account of “The Great Commission” in Mark 16:15 – 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the good news [Gospel] to the whole creation.”
In the Luke’s account of the ministry of Christ, there is an earlier, similar word in Luke 2:10 – 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news εὐαγγελίζομαι (euaggelizó) {yoo-ang-ghel-id’-zo} of great joy for all the people: I think we can see that this word “Gospel” not only means “good news” or “glad tidings,” but it is also information meant to be shared. That sharing is to be done with joy, mercy, grace, peace, love, and especially reverence. You will recall Paul’s words in what many believe was an early Christian hymn found in Philippians 2:9-11 – 9 Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
David expressed a similar attitude when he said in Psalm 5:7 – 7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house,
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in awe of you.
Angel Adoration from the Sacristy door in Sacred Heart Church in Waterflow, NM
(See also Psalm 138:2 frequently referenced in these posts as another example of reverencing God.)
This Good News, The Gospel, is indeed meant to be shared; in fact, if you possess The Gospel, you cannot help but share it – not just because Jesus commanded us to – but because it is such a joyful thing that it just bubbles up in your heart and soul. I’m going to throw in a little thing here I’d like to remind my fellow Catholics about, but I also what to encourage anyone who is not Catholic – or even not Christian – to think about this as a way to reverence The Trinity, and most specifically, Jesus. It has to do with reverencing that name, Jesus.
Why reverence that name (other than it is the name of God)? In the historic culture of Israel – and indeed all of history in all nations – a person’s name was more than just an identity to share with others. One’s name declared the deepest fundamental nature of that person’s being. The name Jesus is from the Hebrew Yehosua יְהוֹשׁ֫וּעַ (Joshua) which means “The LORD is salvation.” Yeshu’a יֵשׁוּעַ was a frequently-used option – sort of like Chuck for Charles or Liz for Elizabeth – but it carried the same connotation and had the same defining impact on other persons and how each person was perceived by others. It has long been a custom in many cultures to acknowledge the dignity of another with a tilt of the head, or touch of a cap or visor (the beginning of what we see in our Armed Forces as a salute). In many cultures – for example in many Asian traditions – it is more than just a tilt of the head; it is a bow, and the degree of the bow is determined by the esteem in which a person is held. Catholics – and other Christians – bow their heads to pray out of respect and reverence to God, but there is another, maybe subtler but still significant way, to show that reverence. It is found in what we call The General Instruction for the Roman Missal (Catholic Instruction for Liturgy). It is a bow, not with the knees, and not from the waist, but a slight bow of the head. Here is the first part of that two-part instruction:
GIRM §275: A bow signifies reverence and honor shown to the persons themselves or to the signs that represent them. There are two kinds of bow: a bow of the head and a bow of the body.
A bow of the head is made when the three Divine Persons are named together and at the names of Jesus ….
It’s such a little thing, but like most little things it packs a wallop. Whatever church you attend, just try this during the liturgy: Whenever you hear the name “Jesus,” give a slight bow of your head. Whenever you hear “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,” give a slight bow of your head. It’s that simple, but you will be amazed at how this simple little gesture fortifies your reverence for and participation in the liturgy – regardless of your church affiliation.
It is a way of willingly offering your allegiance to your Creator and Savior. Look at what we find here in Psalm 110:3 – 3 Your people will offer themselves willingly
on the day you lead your forces
on the holy mountains.
From the womb of the morning,
like dew, your youth will come to you.
Those who reverence the Lord are those who show up at reveille every day, not just when the Last Trumpet sounds. Those who listen attentively to the Gospel and teaching based on the Gospel – and the entire Word of God revealed in Christian Scripture – are those who know and serve God with joy, mercy, grace, peace, love, and especially reverence. If we are “Gate-Post Christians” – someone who does not participate in the Liturgy as part of the Community of Christ but just stands or sits like a gate post, completely unmoved by what is happening – then we are failing to be The Body of Christ, the Bride of Christ, The Church, and Life of the Gospel. There is no sense of gratitude in that sort of failure to worship, to be engaged in the community of believers. We have been taught to be better than that.
Paul was already a man who deeply reverenced God. When he started persecuting the Church and the Gospel he sincerely believed he was doing God’s Work. But Jesus changed that for him, permanently. Paul received the Gospel and his ministry directly from Jesus through revelation quite some time after Jesus’ Resurrection. There have been other claims of other revelations, but none of those came directly from Jesus; instead they allegedly came from angels, spiritual beings, voices, secret messages. The authentic Gospel comes only and directly from Jesus the Christ of God. Other messages may be embraced by other faiths, but there is only ONE Gospel – the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is that Gospel and that name I reverence with every slight bow, with every genuflection, with every prayer whether kneeling, sitting, or standing. Please accept my encouragement to you to join in that simple reverence. You and I have not received the Gospel by revelation, but by the Word (LOGOS) of God. Let us reverence Him as The Word, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. His Story is our story if only he is in us and we are in him. It is, as Sherry Wendell says in her book Intentional Discipleship, and ongoing experience of conversion that brings us to the
Savior. When we are ready to lay down our lives to honor and serve God by honoring and serving each other and the rest of Creation, we understand that the Gospel … is not of human origin. Think about today. What are your intentions for God and Man? “Spirituality” in some mythical hyperbole, or the simple Truth that God is Love?
I Love to Tell the Story of Jesus and his love! (↔ Music Link)
Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd! Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License
Biblical languages inserts from Bible Hub (Bible Hub: Search, Read, Study the Bible in Many Languages) Visit at http://biblehub.com
