We will close our reflections on Sacred Scripture by speaking about the canon of Sacred Scripture. The definition of canon is a collection or list of sacred books accepted as genuine. In the early days of the Church, the Church Fathers had to decide which writings taught false or incomplete ideas of God, which taught good or noble ideas, but were not necessarily inspired, and finally, which books were inspired by God, the speech of God.
It is important to note that the final canon was not determined until four centuries after the death of Our Lord. It is not just like a book dropped out of the sky right at the beginning of the Church. There was time in the Church without the Bible as we know it. There was Tradition, and there was Scripture, but there was not a canon of Scripture, or what we now call the Bible. The inspired works , however, were being read at liturgy. This is critically important. The first use of Scripture was not for private meditation, but for use at public liturgy. We must realize that anew today. There is nothing wrong with private mediation and prayer with the Bible, but the primary forum in which we engage, and get the most out of the written Word of God, is at liturgy, in the public worship of the Church. The words of Scripture are meant to be lived at the heart of the Church, which means they have their most power when they are read and heard at her celebration of the liturgy, where She is most Herself, because only there, does She celebrate and makes present the events of our salvation. Catholic biblical authors such as Scott Hahn have written beautifully on the connection between Scripture and the liturgy, and I encourage you to read them. We have spoken about liturgy in a previous post or two, and may speak about it more.
The complete list, or canon, includes 46 books in what is called the Old Testament, and 27 in what is called the New Testament.
The Old Testament is the gradual revelation of God before He revealed Himself fully in the person of Jesus Christ in the New. Through the trials, tribulations, victories, and defeats of God's chosen people Israel, whom he selected to begin his Revelation through, God gradually revealed Himself.
The New Testament reveals the full revelation of God in His Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ. At this chosen time in history, God fully revealed Himself. Why this time, and not another time? Perhaps we will only know in heaven why 2000 years ago in the Middle East was the perfect time for God to become man. The bottom line, for us, now, though, is that He did.
The New Testament's center object is Jesus Christ, and the beginnings of His Church. It is my contention if the New Testament was simply about Jesus, it would only have included the 4 Gospels, and not the Acts of the Apostles, and the various letters that follow.
Speaking of the Gospels, they are considered the heart of the Scriptures, because it is from them that we learn and hear the most about Jesus, who is the full revelation of the Father. The Gospels did not come at the same time as Jesus, but were written several decades after His Resurrection. They were written based on the life of Jesus, but also based on the experience of his first followers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, who began an oral tradition.
Despite the fact that the New Testament contains the fullness of God's self-revelation, and the Old Testament does not, it is important to note that the Church still considers the books of the Old Testament as inspired by God because in them, the realities of the New Testament are preconfigured. If one reads the Old Testament with the allegorical sense (one of the "senses" we spoke of several posts ago.) For examples, Adam preconfigures Christ. Eve preconfigures Mary. Noah's ark preconfigures the Church. The serpent tied to the staff preconfigures the Cross.
Having said that, the books of the Old Testament have their own intrinsic value as it tells the love story of God for His people, and gives us many valuable life lessons today (i.e. the 10 Commandments). Also, the New Testament really cannot be understood in its fullness without the light of the Old.
Because of this, at Sunday Mass, we usually see the First Reading from the Old Testament tie somehow into the Gospel reading; if you pay attention you will see the connection. For example, this past Sunday, the 1st Reading from the Prophet Zechariah speaks of the house of David looking "on him whom they have pierced" , and in the Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus says he must be "killed". The prophet's words preconfigure what would happen to Jesus many years later.
There is a unity to the Old and New Testament. There is a unity to Scripture. There is a Magisterium who can faithfully give interpretation to Scripture, based on the Holy Spirit, who is the authentic interpreter of Scripture. Scripture is primarily for use at liturgy, but it can also be read on an individual level for personal spiritual nourishment, as long as the person reading asks the same Holy Spirit for wisdom and understanding. This is all the beautiful Catholic vision of Scripture.
If Scripture does not mean much to you now, or overwhelms you, then ask the Holy Spirit for inspiration to help you be able to engage it more fully. Do not go at it alone. Hear and listen to God's Word with fellow believers at liturgy. Seek the wisdom of the Church for questions on interpretation of this or that passage. At the same time, however, do not get bogged down in one or two specific lines of Scripture. The totality and unity of the entire book is more important.
Joseph, one could say, was born and raised in the Old Testament, but became fully a man only in the New. Let's be like Joseph and treasure and value our roots in whatever the past of our lives may be, and continue to carry on the valuable lessons it gives us, while recognizing our true home is what is "new". Let's realize that just as there is unity in Scripture between the Old and the New Testaments, so in our lives there needs to be unity, at least in soul and spirit, between the past, the present, and the new, by seeing how God has been at work throughout. May we grow in love for the written Word of God, the Sacred Scriptures, and in seeing the love and unity of God revealed in those pages, may there be love and unity in our lives, as well.
Joseph, light of patriarchs, pray for us.
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