Old Testament

The scroll of the Prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written (Luke 4:17).

            When I was growing up, I heard a lot of stories about the Great Depression and World War II. All of the events described in the stories took place long before I was born. Most of the people in the stories were ones I had never met. Many of the places where the stories occurred were ones I had never visited. However, these stories fascinated me because they had an impact upon my life. If my grandfather had not moved from one town to another in New Brunswick, my parents would never have met. Unless my father became friends with someone in that town he would never have gotten a job at General Motors in Oshawa where I was born. If my parents had not lived in that poor place, they would not have been motivated to save every dollar they could so I would grow up in our house on Ravine Road. The experience showed me how stories about the past enabled me to understand the present and future.

            In this passage from Luke, Jesus uses the Old Testament to launch his Ministry. By doing so, he indicates how these writings connect the past, present and future of God’s saving plan.

            The Jewish Scriptures/Old Testament from which Christ read were a collection of Sacred texts written over a period of eight centuries. These texts included: the Law (which outlined its content and how it came to the Jewish people); the Historical Books which recorded the central events in the History of the Jewish Nation after its settlement in the Promised Land); the Wisdom Writings which applied the insights of Scripture to everyday situations; and Prophetic Literature which provided warnings about the existence of Sin within Society and messages of Hope during difficult times from messengers from God. Each of these sets of Writings connected the Jewish people with their past. Yet, since the issues raised in them were perennial, they also spoke to the Community about their present and future. When Jesus read from the Prophet Isaiah, he not only reminded those in the Synagogue of what God stated centuries earlier. As people under Roman occupation and ruled by a Political and Religious elite primarily concerned about its interests, the text probably spoke to the frustrations and Hopes experienced by ordinary Jews. Christ’s promise about the fulfillment of this Prophecy raised expectations about their future. As he continued his Ministry, Jesus often communicated his Teachings with references to ideas and images found in the Old Testament. Luke also used citations from the Hebrew Scriptures when he interpreted the meaning of Christ’s Teachings and actions. Through these texts composed centuries earlier, Luke revealed how Jesus stressed the connections between God’s deeds in the past, present and future.

            Our Society has experienced change in quantity and quality on a massive scale over the past generation. One of the consequences of this development has been a lack of appreciation of the past. New versions of products come out so often people are unable to distinguish between a significant advancement and a minor improvement. Obsolete objects end up in garbage dumps while old ideas are disregarded without a second thought. Innovation is more highly valued than Wisdom accumulated over centuries of experience. Yet, many of the most basic problems faced by Humans are recurrent. Bad communication is more frequently due to a lack of empathy than poor Technology. During the 1960s, a time of turbulent change in the world and Church, Vatican II reintroduced Old Testament Readings for most Sunday Masses. Many Catholics found the Old Testament texts unsettling and had difficulty connecting them to their Faith in the Modern world. However, these stories which often need some explanation are those of our Religious ancestors. They identify issues, concepts and practices which are fundamental to our Faith. When properly understood they are as relevant to our present situation as they were at the time of Jesus. We are where we are with God today because of what these individuals did millennia ago.

            It has been decades since I heard those stories with which I grew up. Yet, they are seared into my memory and my life. I am the product of those past events, people and places. Whenever I read the Old Testament I realize those events, people and places have also shaped me.

January 23, 2022