In Class Read Genesis Chapter 18: 1-15 - cloudfront.net
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In Class Read Genesis Chapter 18: 1-15 God appears as a traveler to reaffirm his promise of a son. Why is Abraham so “smitten” or “taken” by these travelers? Search our own hearts—if we commune with God, then our souls can often sense this unless God is purposely making us unaware. We may not get the whole picture or just parts of it. A relationship with God, prayer, communing with God, stepping out in faith, being available and participating in our relationship with Jesus, creates this sort of “sensitivity.” It will make us sensitive to the things of God and also make us more sensitive to the things apposed to God. It is a gift and some people are more “docile” to the Holy Spirit while others, very practical sorts have gifts in other areas.
Abraham and the Angels Rembrandt There are three figures, on is God, 2 are angels. Abraham saw all three but only worshiped one. 18:3 “My Lord,” Hebrew for “Adonay” exclusive address for God.
Here is an example of sensing something spiritual but not knowing at first
“So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be
going further, but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward
evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When
he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it, and
gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he
vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn
within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the
Scriptures?” (Luke 24: 28-32).
Pay attention to those stirrings in our souls—for good or for evil”And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Make ready
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes” (Gen 18:6).
The three visitors prefigure the image of the Trinity and the
three measures as flour as serving, one for each guest.
These in Christian tradition prefigure the theological virtues
of faith, hope and love, “to that if one possesses all three he
can receive the entire Trinity at the banquet of the heart.”
Commentary by Hahn and Mitch Ignatius Study Bible
Also from the sermons (83 & 5) of St Caesarius of Arles
468-542 AD Among those who exercised the greatest
influence on Caesarius were St. Augustine of Hippo, John
Cassian and later, St Thomas Aquinas.Read in class Chapter 18:16-33
God depicted in humanlike terms: 18:21 “I will go down and see” 6:6 “the Lord was sorry” Ex 7:5 “hands” Hos 11:3 “arms” Dan 7:9 “white hair” Ps 27:8 “face” God does not change, he does not need to go and see, he is not regretful or “sorry.” This writing is to make God more understandable to the human mind. He does not need to go investigate Sodom and Gomorrah firsthand.
Abraham intercedes for Sodom
This exchange between God and Abraham focuses on two attributes of God:
His justice and His mercy.
Justice: He brings down judgment on the cities
Mercy: He spares Lot and his family and invites Lot to save others: “Have
you any one else here? sons-in-law, sons, daughters or any one you have in
the city, bring them out of the place for we are about to destroy this place…”
19:12
NOAH ABRAHAM
Remains silent on behalf of the people Bargains with God to save people before
when told the world would be destroyed the cities are destoyedRead Chapter 19:1-29 in class
What Is the Sin of Sodom and Gomorrah?
Sodom and Gomorrah, the cities of the plain of the Jordan, play an
important role in the life of Abraham (Gen 14, 18, 19) but never again in the
history of Israel. The Bible describes the men of these cities as “wicked, great
sinners” (Gen 13:13). In contemporary scholarship, the question has been
raised: What exactly is the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah? Is it homosexual
relations? Or is it, as some scholars have suggested, a sin of inhospitality
toward strangers, or is it some other kind of sin, such as social injustice?
cont…
Pitre, Brant James . A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (pp. 215-216). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.After telling us that the “sin” of Sodom and
Gomorrah is “very grave” (Gen 18:20),
Genesis then goes on to describe a
situation that is clearly focused on
homosexual relations. After discovering
that Lot has two male visitors, the men of
the city of Sodom demand: “Bring them
out to us, that we may know them” (Gen
19:5). In this case, the word “know” (yada’)
is a Hebrew euphemism for sexual
relations. This is made explicit
immediately after, when Lot insists on
protecting his two male visitors and
despicably offers the men of Sodom
instead his two daughters who “have not
known (yada’) man” (Gen 19:8). Heinrich ALDEGREVER 1502-1538
Pitre, Brant James . A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (pp. engraving “Lot prevents the habitant of Sodom from violence”
215-216). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.“…the New Testament itself explicitly identifies the sin of Sodom as
sexual in nature when it refers to the “licentiousness” of the citizens (2
Pet 1:6-7).a In response to this debate, the Magisterium of the Catholic
Church has clarified that the account of Sodom does in fact refer to
“homosexual relations” and continues to teach, on the basis of Genesis 19
and other texts in Sacred Scripture, that while “homosexual persons”
must be “accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity”,
“homosexual acts” are acts of “grave depravity” and are “intrinsically
disordered”.
Pitre, Brant James . A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (pp. 215-216). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (2357-2359) “Homosexuality…has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures….Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination…constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition. Homosexual persons are called to chastity…”
“…it is worth noting that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah have, at times,
been considered mythical, the invention of the biblical author. However, recent
archaeological excavations have made a strong case for identifying Sodom and
Gomorrah with Tall-el-Hammam, a site in what is now the state of Jordan,
near the entrance of the river Jordan to the Dead Sea.
If the identification is correct, the
archaeological record shows that
Sodom and Gomorrah were
extremely powerful and wealthy
cities in the early second millennium
B.C., but were destroyed suddenly by
a natural disaster by mid-millennium
and remained uninhabited for about
700 years.
Photo from the Washington Post
Pitre, Brant James . A Catholic Introduction to the Bible: The Old Testament (pp. 215-216). Ignatius Press. Kindle Edition.Lot and his daughters escape
Gen 19:12-29
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640)
“Lot and his family escaping from the doomed city guided
by an angel, circa 1615The shameful origin of the
Moabites and Ammonites
Read in class
Gen 19:30-38
The nations of the Moabites and the Ammonites will become enemies of
Israel during the Exodus (Num 22:1-6, 25: 1-3, Deut 23:3-4)
Consider family sins—the drunkenness of Noah compared to the
drunkenness of Lot
19:31 “not a man on earth.” Lots daughters believe the calamity is
everywhere—a worldwide event. “Lot is made to pay the bitter penalty for
recklessly offering his daughters to the perverted Sodomites (19:8).”
Hahn & Mitch commentary from the Ignatius Study Bible GenesisRead Chapter 20 in class
Points to consider
Abraham is still not trusting of God and in this chapter not listening or
communion with God. He repeats his sinful action regarding Sarah.
Abraham is not a good husband but uses his wife, prostituting her. Think
of Lot his nephew willing to give up his daughters as sexual objects to a
depraved group. Family sins…..
adultery was widely acknowledges as a serious offense in the ancient Near
East
prohibitions against marriages between close relatives did not arise until
the Torah was given to Israel (Lev 18:11)Read Genesis Chapter 21 in class consider the age difference of the Ishmael a teenager and Isaac a toddler “But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac” 21:9. the interpretations of most current scholars and the early Church fathers, Origen, Ephrem the Syrian, & Chrysostom is the playing with is interpreted as laughing at or taunting. Hagar did this to Sarah when she was pregnant and Sarah was barren and Sarah sees the same attitude in Hagar’s son Sarah and Abraham are old—if something happened to them, the son of the slave might be equal heirs with the son of the promise. Abraham sends Hagar and Ishmael out with meager provisions God saves Hagar and Ishmael
next is the test of Abraham—too big of a subject to start towards the
end of classPay attention to the Holy Spirit stirring in our
souls
show link to “Prayer and the Discernment of
Spirits” with Monsignor Cihak
Connecting with God through the Scriptures
that we love and study—
Learning to pay attention to the stirrings in
our souls
https://ctk.cc/scripture-study
By Own work, Public Domain, https://
commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?
curid=6675601Here is an example of sensing something spiritual but not knowing at first
“So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be
going further, but they constrained him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is toward
evening and the day is now far spent.” So he went in to stay with them. When
he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed and broke it, and
gave it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he
vanished out of their sight. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn
within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the
Scriptures?” (Luke 24: 28-32).
Pay attention to those stirrings in our souls—for good or for evilYou can also read
