Daily Retreat 04/30/09
2009 Apr 30 Thu:Easter Weekday/ Pius V, pp, r
Acts 8:26-40/ Ps 65(66):8-9. 16-17. 20/ Jn 6:44-51
From today’s readings: “Do you understand what you are reading?... Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or His kindness!... I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever; and the Bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world!”
How can I understand, unless someone instructs me?
The Ethiopian eunuch presented in chapter 8 of Acts must have been a well-educated man in order to serve as treasurer. In spite of his education, he did not presume that his personal interpretation was a sufficient understanding of the Old Testament prophecies. On the contrary, at the first opportunity, he eagerly turns to Philip for clarifying instruction. This text refers to Philip the deacon (Acts 6:5) rather than Philip the Apostle (since according to Acts 8:1, the Apostles themselves were not scattered in the persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen), but even Philip, as an accredited minister and deacon, still relied on the Apostles as overseers of his own evangelization (cf. Acts 8:14ff).
Clearly, regarding scriptural interpretation and evangelization, no one is called upon to be a maverick or “free agent” who sticks to personal interpretation and personal agenda at the expense of Church unity founded on the authority of the Apostles and their successors. To earn my own post-graduate degree in Sacred Scripture, I spent years at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, studying the original biblical languages, as well as Old and New Testament history, topology, archeology, theology, and exegesis. But I certainly would never claim that such education could ever be grounds for interpreting scripture in a manner contrary to the Church!
Instead, we must all recognize that there never comes a point in this life in which any of us, no matter how well educated, can boast of the Bible, “I know it all - I understand everything!” Rather, we all have need of continual instruction from Scripture itself, from the Church’s Magisterium, from the writings of the Church fathers, from insights offered through the centuries by other saints, from exacting research by competent experts, and from personal prayerful meditation on the Word of God.
Acts 8:26-40/ Ps 65(66):8-9. 16-17. 20/ Jn 6:44-51
From today’s readings: “Do you understand what you are reading?... Blessed be God who refused me not my prayer or His kindness!... I am the living Bread that came down from Heaven; whoever eats this Bread will live forever; and the Bread that I will give is My Flesh for the life of the world!”
How can I understand, unless someone instructs me?
The Ethiopian eunuch presented in chapter 8 of Acts must have been a well-educated man in order to serve as treasurer. In spite of his education, he did not presume that his personal interpretation was a sufficient understanding of the Old Testament prophecies. On the contrary, at the first opportunity, he eagerly turns to Philip for clarifying instruction. This text refers to Philip the deacon (Acts 6:5) rather than Philip the Apostle (since according to Acts 8:1, the Apostles themselves were not scattered in the persecution after the martyrdom of Stephen), but even Philip, as an accredited minister and deacon, still relied on the Apostles as overseers of his own evangelization (cf. Acts 8:14ff).
Clearly, regarding scriptural interpretation and evangelization, no one is called upon to be a maverick or “free agent” who sticks to personal interpretation and personal agenda at the expense of Church unity founded on the authority of the Apostles and their successors. To earn my own post-graduate degree in Sacred Scripture, I spent years at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, studying the original biblical languages, as well as Old and New Testament history, topology, archeology, theology, and exegesis. But I certainly would never claim that such education could ever be grounds for interpreting scripture in a manner contrary to the Church!
Instead, we must all recognize that there never comes a point in this life in which any of us, no matter how well educated, can boast of the Bible, “I know it all - I understand everything!” Rather, we all have need of continual instruction from Scripture itself, from the Church’s Magisterium, from the writings of the Church fathers, from insights offered through the centuries by other saints, from exacting research by competent experts, and from personal prayerful meditation on the Word of God.
posted by FrPitstick | 4/26/2009
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