Introduction
to Judges[1]
The Hebrew word translated “Judges” in the
English title of the book refers not to specialized judicial officers or
magistrates but to leaders in general. According to the biblical narrative
these judges led Israel from the end of the conquest of Canaan until the
beginning of the monarchy. The period of the Judges, therefore, extended from
the death of Joshua until the installation of Saul as Israel’s first king by
the prophet Samuel, who was also the last judge.
·
The Book of Judges begins with two
introductory passages.
o The
first (chap. 1)
gives a description of the situation in Canaan after the Israelite conquest. It
emphasizes the continued existence of the indigenous inhabitants of Canaan in
many parts of the land because of Israel’s inability to drive them out
completely.
o The
second passage is a thematic introduction to the period of the Judges,
describing a cyclical pattern of infidelity, oppression, “crying out,” and
deliverance.
·
The main part of the book consists of a
series of stories about thirteen leaders whose careers are described in greater
or lesser detail. The exploits of six of these—Othniel, Ehud, Deborah, Gideon,
Jephthah, and Samson—are related at length, and all are shown to have delivered
Israel from oppression or danger. They are customarily called “major judges,”
whereas the other six—Shamgar, Tola, Jair, Ibzan, Elon, and Abdon—who appear
only in brief notices, are designated “minor judges.” The thirteenth,
Abimelech, is included in neither group, since his story is essentially a
continuation of that of Gideon and his career is presented as deplorable, a
cautionary tale of royal ambition.
·
The final section of the book consists of two
episodes, one about the migration of the tribe of Dan and the other about an
intertribal war directed against the tribe of Benjamin. These stories
illustrate the religious and political disorder that prevailed at the time
when, as yet, “there was no king in Israel”.
Fifth Sunday Of Lent-Passion Sunday
passiontide
Judges,
Chapter 6, Verse 1-2
1
The
Israelites did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, who therefore delivered
them into the power of Midian for seven years,
2
so that Midian held
Israel subject. From fear of Midian
the Israelites made dens in the mountains, the caves, and the strongholds.
One does wonder; what was the evil
that the Israelites did in the sight of the Lord?
Answer: Baal was the name of the supreme
god worshiped in ancient Canaan and Phoenicia. The practice of Baal worship
infiltrated Jewish religious life during the time of the Judges (Judges 3:7),
became widespread in Israel during the reign of Ahab (1 Kings 16:31-33) and
also affected Judah (2 Chronicles 28:1-2). The word baal means “lord”;
the plural is baalim. In general, Baal was a fertility god who was
believed to enable the earth to produce crops and people to produce children.
Different regions worshiped Baal in different ways, and Baal proved to be a
highly adaptable god. Various locales emphasized one or another of his attributes
and developed special “denominations” of Baalism. Baal of Peor (Numbers 25:3)
and Baal-Berith (Judges 8:33) are two examples of such localized deities.
According
to Canaanite mythology, Baal was the son of El, the chief god, and Asherah, the
goddess of the sea. Baal was considered the most powerful of all gods,
eclipsing El, who was seen as rather weak and ineffective. In various battles
Baal defeated Yamm, the god of the sea, and Mot, the god of death and the
underworld. Baal’s sisters/consorts were Ashtoreth, a fertility goddess
associated with the stars, and Anath, a goddess of love and war. The Canaanites
worshiped Baal as the sun god and as the storm god—he is usually depicted
holding a lightning bolt—who defeated enemies and produced crops. They also
worshiped him as a fertility god who provided children. Baal worship was rooted
in sensuality and involved ritualistic prostitution in the temples. At times,
appeasing Baal required human sacrifice, usually the firstborn of the one
making the sacrifice (Jeremiah 19:5). The priests of Baal appealed to their god
in rites of wild abandon which included loud, ecstatic cries and self-inflicted
injury (1 Kings 18:28).[1]
“They drank wine,
and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of
stone.” Daniel 5:4.
·
America has fully embraced paganism as 70,000 Wiccan,
Satanists, nudists, new agers, sorcerers, earth-worshippers, party revelers and
curiosity seekers descend to Black Rock Desert in Nevada for 8 days of
debauchery and spiritualism.
·
The annual “Burning Man
Festival” is the largest gathering in the
world where revelers from around the globe dance the nights away as loud music blasts a wide range of music, from hip-hop, techno
and electronic.
·
The all-night dance parties include invoking on the
pagan deities, nudity, unrestrained sex and drug use, while during the day
partygoers are treated to “artistic”
displays and “spiritualistic”
exercises, which include worshiping pagan gods. Every occult practice is on
full display. This is a revival of the Old Testament worship of Baal.
·
The
national, mainstream media is covering this event, but they are reporting it
simply as an “arts” and “music”
festival. What they don’t tell you is that
the biggest draw for the party-goers is the free, casual sex that is absolutely
rampant at the Burning Man Festival. And it isn’t just one on one
sex that we are talking about, they actually have an orgy tent or temple that
is always open. This is what is on full display in America. Every manner of
perversion is glorified.This festival has become so popular that other nations are following in America’s footsteps and
have launched their own free-love and free-spirited events in Israel, Africa,
Spain, England and Australia. They all follow the same principles and and
philosophy as the Nevada gathering.
Many
ancient cultures such as Greece, Babylon, Rome, Sodom and the antediluvians
ceased to exist for participating in these same displays of reckless revelry
and sensuality. God won’t be mocked. He is
about to bring the curtain down on all this nonsense which America has bought
into the world since the sexual/cultural revolution of the 1960s. The
Scriptures point to a sexual and moral depravity that will exist in our world
during the last days, the period just before the time of the end. Our
generation is witnessing the fulfillment of this end time sign in an
unprecedented way. The sexual revolution of our time has no parallel in
history.
“This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God”
2 Timothy 3:1-4.
How
long will God allow this pagan perversion to continue? The Scriptures reminds
us that there is a limit to God’s mercy.
·
“And it shall be, if
thou do at all forget the LORD thy God, and walk after other gods, and serve
them, and worship them, I testify against you this day that ye shall surely
perish. As the nations which the LORD destroyeth before your face, so shall ye
perish; because ye would not be obedient unto the voice of the LORD your God.”
Deuteronomy 8:19, 20.
·
“And I will cut off
witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers: Thy
graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of
thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands…And
I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have
not heard.” Micah 5:12, 13, 15.
·
“And I will utter my
judgments against them touching all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and
have burned incense unto other gods, and worshipped the works of their own
hands.” Jeremiah 1:16.
In this prayer, Christ has just
spoken of the Evil One, placing us on alert before the battle, reminding us of
our enemy, and keeping us from negligence. “For the kingdom, the power, and the
glory are Yours” (see Mt 6: 13).
·
The
kingdom belongs to God, we should fear no one? For no one can withstand Him or
tear apart His Empire.
·
“The
power is Yours,” Christ says. For this reason, no matter how many forms your
weakness may take, you may still rightly be confident in the battle.
·
“The
glory is Yours.” Not only can God free you from the dangers you face; He can
also make you glorious and outstanding in battle. His power is great, and His
glory is beyond telling— they are both limitless and never come to an end. See
how He has in every way anointed you, His champion, and surrounded you with
confidence? ST. JOHN
Fifth Sunday Of Lent-Passion
Sunday
Passion
Week[4]
The focus
of Passiontide is to meditate on the Jews' growing hatred of Christ
recorded in the Gospel and makes plain His imminent death.
FROM this day, called Passion Sunday, until Easter the
Church--gives herself up entirely to meditation on the passion of Jesus. Today
the crucifixes are covered, in remembrance that from this time until His
entrance into Jerusalem Jesus walked no more openly among the Jews. From to-day
the Glory Be to the Father is omitted in the Mass, because in the person of
Jesus Christ the Most Holy Trinity was dishonored. As on this day the high
priests held council about Our Lord, the Church says, at the Introit of the
Mass, in the name of the suffering Jesus, the words of the psalmist: Judge me,
O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy; deliver me
from the unjust and deceitful man, for Thou art God, my strength. Send forth
Thy light and Thy truth, they have conducted me and brought me unto Thy holy
hill, and into Thy tabernacles (Ps. xlii. 1-3).
Prayer. We beseech Thee, Almighty God,
mercifully look upon Thy family, that by Thy bounty it may be governed in body,
and by Thy preservation be kept in mind.
EPISTLE. Heb. ix.
11-15.
Brethren:
Christ, being come a high priest of the good things to come, by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation:
neither by the blood of goats, nor of calves, but by His own blood, entered
once into the holies, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of
goats and of oxen, and the ashes of a heifer being sprinkled, sanctify such as
are defiled, to the cleansing of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of
Christ, Who by the Holy Ghost offered Himself unspotted unto God, cleanse our
conscience from dead works, to serve the living God?
And
therefore, He is the mediator of the New Testament: that by means of His death,
for the redemption of those transgressions, which were under the former testament,
they that are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance, in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
Explanation. St.
Paul here teaches that Jesus Christ has given full satis faction for the sins
of men, and opened to all the entrance into the sanctuary. The Church proposes
this epistle to us in order that we may thank God for the great mercy of the
redemption, love and praise Him, and be encouraged to share in His sufferings
by fasting, prayer, and penitential works.
Aspiration. Give us Thy grace, O meekest
Jesus, that by true sorrow for our sins, and by the practice of good works, we
may become partakers of Thy bitter sufferings, and obtain the promised in
heritance of eternal life. Amen.
GOSPEL. John viii.
46-59.
At that time
Jesus said to the multitudes of the Jews: Which of you shall convince Me of
sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me?
He that is of God
heareth the words of God. Therefore, you hear them not because you are not of
God. The Jews therefore answered, and said to Him: Do not we say well that Thou
art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?
Jesus answered: I
have not a devil: but I honor My Father, and you have dishonored Me. But I seek
not My own glory: there is One that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you:
if any man keep My word, he shall not see death forever. The Jews therefore said:
Now we know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and Thou
sayest: If any man keep My word, he shall not taste death forever. Art Thou
greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? and the prophets are dead. Whom
dost Thou make Thyself?
Jesus answered:
If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father that glorifieth Me,
of Whom you say that He is your God. And you have not known Him, but I know
Him. And if I shall say that I know Him not, I shall be like to you, a liar.
But I do know Him, and do keep His word. Abraham your father rejoiced that he
might see My day. He saw it, and was glad. The Jews therefore said to Him: Thou
art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham?
Jesus said to them:
Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones
therefore to cast at Him. But Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.
Explanation.
When Our Saviour said: He that is of God heareth God’s words, He meant to point
out to the Jews the cause of their stubborn unbelief. He that is of God hears
and loves that which is Godlike. When, therefore, we gladly hear the word of
God and strive to do what we have heard, we testify that we are the children of
God. Instead of reflecting on Our Saviour s words the Jews poured out their
offended pride and abuse, and called Him a Samaritan, and one having a devil.
The same thing happens to-day. Instead of listening to the truth; the proud man
answers with calumny and contempt. Our Saviour hid Himself from the Jews to
teach us to forgive aand avoid our enemies rather than to oppose them and take
revenge on them.
Consolation
under Insults
O friend, what insult can be given to you which your
Savior has not suffered?
He was called a glutton and a drunkard, a heretic and
a rebel, a friend and associate of sinners, and one who had a devil; He was
even told that He cast out devils by the prince of devils (Matt. ix. 34). He,
therefore, comforts His disciples with the words, “If they have called the good
man of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his household? (Matt. x. 25)
There is no sorrow so bitter that He has not borne it,
for what was more painful and grievous than the death of the cross? Christians,
“think diligently upon Him that endured such opposition from sinners against
Himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds, at contempt and
insult.” (Heb. xii. 3)
Lenten Calendar[5]
Read: Take extra time with the Gospel
today.
Reflect: “We need to reject the desire to
identify only with those who are sinless. How could the Church have excluded
sinners from her ranks? It is for their salvation that Jesus took flesh, died
and rose again.” (Pope
Benedict XVI, Meeting with Clergy in Poland, May 25, 2006)
Pray: today for the courage to seek God’s will
for you.
Act: In today’s Gospel, Jesus challenges the
scribes and Pharisees: “Let the
one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” How often are you too quick
to judge sinners? Take extra time to reflect on how you can be more loving and
understanding of others you deem sinful.
Passiontide Customs[6]
The main custom for Passiontide is the veiling of all sacred images in home and church with purple cloth. This custom originated in ancient times, when the images in the papal chapel of the Vatican were covered after the words of the Passion Sunday Gospel, "Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple" (Jn 8.59), were pronounced.
Passiontide:
- (First)
Passion Sunday.
The Jews' growing hatred of Christ recorded in today's Gospel makes plain
His imminent death.
- Friday
after Passion Sunday: Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. A special
commemoration, one week before Good Friday, of Mary's com-passion for
(literally, "suffering with") Her innocent son.
- (Second
Passion or) Palm Sunday. Christ's triumphant entrance
into Jerusalem and the account of His Passion according to St. Matthew.
Akin
to the asceticism of Lent is its mournful tone.
The Church is traditionally draped in purple or black, its organ silenced, and
its altar bereft of any flowers. At home medieval Catholics would avoid
frivolity or hilarity and would wear black during either Holy Week or Good
Friday.
There
is a special mourning custom that also begins on Passion Sunday (Fifth
Sunday of Lent (Passion Sunday) and
ends when the Gloria is sung during the Easter Vigil Mass: covering all sacred images
(crucifixes, statues, etc) with purple cloth in both church and home. This
might seem counterintuitive, since one would expect to gaze at a crucifix more
during the season when the Passion is being considered. Yet the Roman rite
teaches by absence as well as by presence. In an odd way, being denied access
to the sacred images alerts you to their presence all the more, in the same way
that not having the sacrifice of the Mass on the one day you would expect it
the most, i.e., Good Friday, makes one all the more aware of the Sacrifice that
took place on that day. Covering sacred images also adds immensely to the sense
of sorrow and compunction that should naturally accompany this somber period.
We often learn our doctrine much
more deeply and effectively simply by celebrating the feasts and fasts of the
Church.
In fact, in Orthodox Judaism the
calendar is the catechism of Israel. According to Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch,
“On the pinions of time which bear us
through life, God has inscribed the eternal words of His soul-inspiring
doctrine, making days and weeks, months and years the heralds to proclaim His
truths. Nothing would seem more fleeting than these elements of time, but to
them God has entrusted the care of His holy things, thereby rendering them more
imperishable and more accessible.”
2698 The Tradition of
the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to
nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer,
grace before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours. Sundays, centered on
the Eucharist, are kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical
year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian's life of
prayer.
No one knows human nature better
than the God who created it. The book of Genesis tells us that the Lord God
made the world in six days and rested on the seventh. He rested not because he
was weary-God does not tire-but because He wanted to provide a model for human
labor and rest. The Church calendar coincides with the cosmic rhythms of God.
The Church calendar reflects this fact:
That Christ rose from the dead in payment
for our sins and is the Jewish Messiah that was hoped for.
Though
technically only the last fourteen days of Lent explicitly consider the
sufferings of our Lord, the Stations of the Cross (a.k.a. the Way of the Cross)
have long been a popular Lenten devotion for any or all of the forty days
(though they tend to be done on Fridays). These fourteen scenes from the via
dolorosa, the sorrowful path that Christ took while carrying His cross to
Golgotha, help direct one's heart to the mysterium fidei of our Lord's selfless
sacrifice.
For Jews, there was only one Temple. It was the one
place on earth that could truly be called holy. It was the place where God’s
Spirit dwelt. The Temple was a place where they could withdraw from the
pollutions of the world and know God’s presence in purity. As Christians by the
action of Christ we, our bodies, are the temple of God, and He is always with
us. No longer was God’s presence and his purifying ritual confined to a single
geographic location. No longer were they the exclusive privilege of a single
ethnic group. Now the temple has no walls. It is universal—that is, it’s
catholic. We are the temple of God’s presence.
Do you not know that
you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? ...God’s temple is
holy, and that temple you are.
(I Cor. 3:16-17)
We are the temple of
the living God; as God said, “I will live in them and move among them, and I
will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (2 Cor.6:16)
When I was a youth of 20, I had the great honor of serving
in the Navy Seabee’s and went to build the South Pole Station in Antarctica and
breathing was difficult in the frozen thin air, here is an excerpt from my
book,
“The
Ice is Nice and Chee-Chee is Peachy.”
Most of the
Steelworkers and I were assigned to shoveling snow that had accumulated from
the winter. As you worked, it was so ice-cold that frost formed on your beard,
face and hair from the vapor of your very breath. Living there, I could really
reflect on the statement: “God is closer to you than the very air you breathe”.
Being there gave new meaning to that. Your breath was always with you; you
could not escape it; even if you tried. Your breath almost caressed you as you
went about your day. I thought, “Are we really loved that much?” and then I
reflected on John 3:16 from the bible and it seemed to make more sense to me.
Today,
plan to do at least one Novena for the calendar year for yourself and for your
Family. I always plan to do the Divine Mercy Novena by hiking for nine
Saturdays starting on the Saturday before Divine Mercy Sunday.
Daily Devotions
·
Manhood of
Christ Day 5, Fifth Week.
[1]
http://www.gotquestions.org/who-Baal.html
[2]
http://adventmessenger.org/the-largest-baal-worship-service-on-the-entire-planet-is-in-america/
[3]
Thigpen, Paul. Manual for Spiritual Warfare. TAN Books.
[4]
Goffine’s Divine Instructions, 1896.
[8] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 6. The Church Calendar.
[10] Hahn, Scott, Signs of Life; 40 Catholic
Customs and their biblical roots. Chap. 32. Presence of God.
No comments:
Post a Comment