"NOW YOU TOGETHER ARE CHRIST'S BODY; BUT EACH OF YOU IS A DIFFERENT PART OF IT. IN THE CHURCH, GOD HAS GIVEN THE FIRST PLACE TO APOSTLES, THE SECOND TO PROPHETS, THE THIRD TO TEACHERS; AFTER THEM, MIRACLES, AND AFTER THEM THE GIFT OF HEALING; HELPERS, GOOD LEADERS, THOSE WITH MANY LANGUAGES." - 1 CORINTHIANS 12:27-28 -

"EACH ONE OF US, HOWEVER, HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS OWN SHARE OF GRACE, GIVEN AS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ALLOTTED IT. IT WAS SAID THAT HE WOULD:

             WHEN HE ASCENDED TO THE HEIGHT, HE CAPTURED PRISONERS,
             HE GAVE GIFTS TO MEN.

WHEN IT SAYS, 'HE ASCENDED,' WHAT CAN IT MEAN IF NOT THAT HE DESCENDED RIGHT DOWN TO THE LOWER REGIONS OF THE EARTH? THE ONE WHO ROSE HIGHER THAN ALL THE HEAVENS TO FILL ALL THINGS IS NONE OTHER THAN THE ONE WHO DESCENDED.

AND TO SOME, HIS GIFT WAS THAT THEY SHOULD BE APOSTLES; TO SOME, PROPHETS; TO SOME, EVANGELISTS; TO SOME, PASTORS AND TEACHERS; SO THAT THE SAINTS TOGETHER MAKE A UNITY IN THE WORK OF SERVICE, BUILDING UP THE BODY OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

IN THIS WAY WE ARE ALL TO COME TO UNITY IN OUR FAITH AND IN OUR KNOWLEDGE OF THE SON OF GOD, UNTIL WE BECOME THE PERFECT MAN, FULLY MATURE WITH THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST HIMSELF.

THEN WE SHALL NOT BE CHILDREN ANY LONGER, OR TOSSED ONE WAY AND ANOTHER AND CARRIED ALONG BY EVERY WIND OF DOCTRINE, AT THE MERCY OF ALL THE TRICKS MEN PLAY AND THEY CLEVERNESS IN PRACTISING DECEIT.

IF WE LIVE BY THE TRUTH AND IN LOVE, WE SHALL GROW IN ALL WAYS INTO CHRIST JESUS, WHO IS THE HEAD BY WHOM THE WHOLE BODY IS FITTED AND JOINED TOGETHER, EVERY JOINT ADDING ITS OWN STRENGTH, FOR EACH SEPARATE PART TO WORK ACCORDING TO IT FUNCTION. SO THE BODY GROWS UNTIL IT HAS BUILT ITSELF UP, IN LOVE." - EPHESIANS 4:7-16 -

Whether Acts is objective is the first question that must be faced when discussing the book's purpose. F.C. Baur and his followers thought Acts was a 2nd century attempt to smooth over the quarrel between Petrine and Pauline factions. Such a radical attack on the objectivity of Acts would not be put forward by any exegete today, not only because the date it suggests is far too late, but because its formulation is so obviously influenced by Hegel's philosophy of history. To what extent, however, is Acts a piece of special pleading? To what extent does it twist the facts that it records? Was Saint/Apostle Luke's purpose in writing Acts to present a portrait of Saint/Apostle Paul that would convince the Roman authorities that Saint/Apostle Paul was not a political criminal?

This is certainly one aspect of Acts but not the only one, and in any case such a portrait of Saint/Apostle Paul need not necessarily be tendentious - Saint/Apostle Luke may have been convinced it was a true portrait, and Saint/Apostle Luke may have been right. The two things he stresses are the exclusively religious nature of Saint/Apostle Paul's battle with the Jews, and Saint/Apostle Paul's loyalty to Roman authority. These were plain facts and Saint/Apostle Luke had every right to base his portrait on them.

However, as has been said, Saint/Apostle Luke was not merely interested in giving a portrait of Saint/Apostle Paul to serve as evidence for the Roman courts: what he aimed at was to write the history of the beginnings of Christianity.

This assertion is based on the structure of the book that is summarised in the words of Christ with which it begins: 'You will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth', Acts 1:8. Acts begins with Jerusalem where the faith takes firm roots and the first community grows in grace and numbers, chapter 1-5. This community begins to expand, under the stimulus of the world-wide outlook of converts from hellenistic Judaism especially after the martyrdom of Saint/Apostle Stephen when these converts were expelled, Acts 6:1-8:3.

The faith spreads north of Jerusalem to Samaria, 8:4-25, south-west to the coast and north again to Caesarea, 8:26-40; 9:32-11:8. The insertion here of Saint/Apostle Paul's conversion shows that the faith had already reached Damascus and indicates that it was soon to reach Cilicia, 9:1-30. Refrains like the one that closes this section (9:31, which adds Galilee to the list) draw attention repeatedly to the spread of the faith. Acts turns to the reception of the Good News in Antioch, 11:19-26, and shows how Antioch became a missionary headquarters, while keeping in touch with Jerusalem, and how Jerusalem and Antioch reached an agreed solution to the main problems connected with the missions, 11:27-30; 15:1-35.

This leads on to the spread of the faith to the pagans. After his imprisonment following the conversion of Cornelius, Saint/Apostle Peter goes off to a place that is not named, chapter 12, and from that point Saint/Apostle Paul takes over the leading part in Saint/Apostle Luke's story.

His first journey (before the council of Jerusalem) takes the faith to Cyprus and Asia Minor, chapter 13-14; his next two journeys take it as far as Macedonia and Greece, 15:36-18:22; 18:23-21:17. After each one he returns to Jerusalem where eventually he is arrested and later imprisoned at Caesarea, 21:18-26:32. This leads him to Rome, where, still a missionary in spite of being a prisoner in chains, Saint/Apostle Paul preaches the Good News, chapter 27-28, and since Rome could be taken as 'the ends of the earth' by anyone who thought of Jerusalem as the centre, Saint/Apostle Luke has reached a point where he can stop.

It is a pity that Saint/Apostle Luke does not write about what the other apostles did, or describe how the Church was founded, for example, in Rome where it had been established before Saint/Apostle Paul's arrival (cf. Romans, written during Saint/Apostle Paul's third journey) or in Alexandria. Saint/Apostle Luke does not even suggest that Saint/Apostle Peter had an apostolate outside Palestine: there is never any doubt as to who the focus of attention is all through Acts, though only the second half is devoted to Saint/Apostle Paul exclusively. The sort of things, however, that Saint/Apostle Luke does not mention and the kind of gaps he leaves are valuable guarantees of the things he does say, since he limits himself to facts that he has acquired either at first hand or from sources he has checked.

Saint/Apostle Luke is not interested in giving all the details about the spread of Christianity. What he is interested in is: (1) the spiritual energy inside Christianity that motivates its expansion, and (2) the spiritual doctrine he can deduce from the facts at his disposal. This is what the book is about, and what makes it universal and irreplaceable.

Here it is only possible to list the main points of this elaborate theology of Acts. (1) The kerygma (proclamation) of the apostles is centred on faith in Christ, and in Acts this is presented with many slight variations that make it possible for us to recover the history of how this teaching grew more and more precise; for example, the earliest Christians are shown as feeling no need to go beyond the stage of contemplating the triumph of the human Jesus who has become the Kyrios by his resurrection, 2:22-36; but later Saint/Apostle Paul is made to give him the title 'Son of God', 9:20.

(2) From the speeches we know the main scriptural texts that (under the Spirit's guidance) formed the basis both for a systematic Christology and for arguments with the Jews; for example, the themes of the Servant, 3:13,26; 4:27,30; 8:32-33, and the second Moses, 3:22f; the proof of the resurrection from Psalms 16:8-11 (Acts 2:24-32; 13:34-37); and the use of their own history to warn Jews against resisting grace, 7:2-53; 13:16-41.

Pagans, of course, needed a more generalised theological argument, 14:15-17; 17:22-31, and though the apostles are primarily 'witnesses', 1:8+ (as such Saint/Apostle Luke sums up their kerygma 2:22+, and records their miraculous 'signs') the most urgent problem facing the new Church was the admission of pagans, and Acts provides important details about this. The Jerusalem brotherhood led by Saint/Apostle James remains faithful to the Jewish Law, 15:1,5; 21:20f; but the Hellenists, for whom Saint/Apostle Stephen acts as spokesman, want to break away from Temple worship.

Saint/Apostle Peter, but even more so Saint/Apostle Paul, get the principle of salvation through faith in Christ recognised at the council of Jerusalem. This dispenses the pagans from the need to be circumcised and from obeying the Law of Moses. As it is still true, that this salvation comes from Israel, Saint/Apostle Luke records how Saint/Apostle Paul always preached to the Jews first, and only turned to the pagans after his fellow Jews had rejected him, 13:5+.

(3) Acts also provides important details about life in the earliest Christian communities, for example, the way of prayer and community of goods known to the Church in Jerusalem; the administration of baptism in water and baptism in Spirit, 1:5+; celebration of the Holy Eucharist, 2:42+; early attempts at organisation in, for example, 'prophets' and 'teachers', 13:1+, and the 'elders' who preside in the Jerusalem Church, 11;30+, and who are also appointed by Saint/Apostle Paul in the churches he founds, 14:23.

(4) All these developments in community life are attributed to the irresistible guidance of the Spirit. As Luke 4:1+ insists on the importance of the Holy Spirit so Acts (1:8+) attributes the spread of the developing Church to be continuous activity of the Holy Spirit - this is why the book has been called 'the gospel of the Spirit', and why it seems so full of spiritual joy and of wonder at God's works, a fact that can hardly surprise those who understand what the coming of Christianity meant to a world that had never seen anything like it.

(5) To this wealth of theology we must add the detailed factual information which we should otherwise lack, the psychological tact with which Saint/Apostle Luke typically presents his characters, the shrewdness and the craftsmanship of passages like the speech in the presence of Agrippa, chapter 26, and the pathos of scenes like the farewell to the Ephesians elders, 20:17-38. This book, the only one of its kind in the New Testament, is full of treasures. Without it, there would be great gaps in what we know the beginnings of Christianity.

The texts of the New Testament have come down to us with a great number of minor variants, and for Acts those in the so-called 'Western' Text (Codex Bezae, the old Latin and old Syriac versions, and early ecclesiastical writers) are most interesting. Because this Western Text has not been critically edited like the Alexandrian recension, it contains many corrupt readings, but many of its concrete and vivid details, absent from the other texts, could be authentic. The most important of these readings have been either mentioned in the footnotes or incorporated in the text.

                                                                Page 35

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:

Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen! 

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES

Acts and the third gospel must originally have been two parts of a book that today we should call 'a history of the rise of Christianity'. About 150 A.D., when Christians wanted the four gospels bound in one codex, these two parts were separated. The title 'Acts of the Apostles', which may have been given to the second part at this time, follows normal contemporary hellenistic usage as in, example, the 'Acts' of Hannibal and the 'Acts' of Alexander, etc.

That these two books of the New Testament were once closely associated is suggested - 1.- by their Prologues: both are addressed (cf. Luke 1:1-4) to someone called Theophilus and Acts 1:1, having referred to the gospel as an 'earlier work', goes on by way of introduction to say why the gospel as an 'earlier work', goes on by the way of introduction to say why the gospel was written and to summarise its closing incidents (appearances of the risen Christ, Ascension); - 2. - by their literary affinity: vocabulary, grammar and style are not only consistent all through Acts showing that it is a literary unity, but they are also characteristic of the third gospel, which makes it almost certain that both books are by the same author.

The only identification of the author ever suggested by Church writers is Saint/Apostle Luke, and no critics ancient or modern have ever seriously suggested anyone else. This identification was already known to the churches about the year 175 A.D. as shown by the Roman canon known as the Muratorian Fragment, by the Anti-Marcionite Prologue, by Saint Irenaeus, Saint Clement and Saint Origen in Alexandria and by Saint Tertullian, and it is supported by internal evidence: the author must have been a Christian of the apostolic age, either a thoroughly hellenised Jew or, more probably, a well educated Greek with some knowledge of medicine and extremely well acquainted with the LXX and Jewish things in general.

Lastly, and more significantly, he had accompanied Saint/Apostle Paul/Saul on his journeys judging from his use of the first person plural in Part 2 of Acts, and of all Saint/Apostle Paul's companions none is more strongly indicated than Saint/Apostle Luke. According to an ancient tradition Saint/Apostle Luke was a Syrian from Antioch, a doctor and of pagan origin, Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Timothy 4:11. Saint/Apostle Luke probably accompanied Saint/Apostle Paul on the second (Acts 16:10f) and third (Acts 20:6f; cf. perhaps 2 Corinthians 8:18) missionary journeys, and the only reason he does not figure in lists like that of Acts 20:4 is because he probably compiled the lists himself.

There is no clear early tradition about either date or place of writing (Greece, after Paul's death? Rome, before the end of Paul's trial?) and we have to rely on internal evidence. Acts ends with Paul's Roman captivity in 61-63, with reference to which it mentions a period of two years, Acts 28:30+, and this happens to be legal interval after which a case was dismissed if no evidence had arrived to support the charge. It is possible, therefore, that these lines were written after Paul's release. This ties in with the date of 64 A.D. suggested for Saint/Apostle Mark Gospel, since Acts must be later than Saint/Apostle Mark Gospel. A date as late as 80-100 which has been suggested by some critics is possible, but (as in Saint/Apostle Luke Gospel) there are no positive indications in Acts of a date later than 70 A.D.

The precise date, however, becomes a secondary consideration once the book can establish its primary importance either as an author's eyewitness account for the events that fill a major section or as based on adequate sources at the author's disposal. Analysis of Acts confirms Luke 1:1-4 (meant as a prologue to the complete work) by suggesting that Saint/Apostle Luke must have collected a great deal of detailed evidence from a variety of sources because in spite of the way Saint/Apostle Luke has superimposed his own personality in reworking this material he has not succeeded in disguising the various sources he has used.

Not only does the flavour of the doctrinal content change according to the context so that in appropriate sections it seems convincingly primitive, but as well as that there is considerable variation in the literary style. In passages where Saint/Apostle Luke can control the style, when, for example, he is writing up his own travel notes, the Greek is excellent; but in his description of the early history of the Palestinian community we find that the language becomes full of semitisms, clumsy and even inaccurate. In some places this is only because he is trying to copy Old Testament LXX Greek, but mostly it is because he is reproducing his various Aramaic sources as closely as possible.

In Saint/Apostle Luke Gospel, this can be checked by comparing it with two of its sources (that is, Saint/Apostle Mark Gospel and the document common to Saint/Apostle Matthew Gospel and Saint/Apostle Luke Gospel) but unfortunately there are no texts with which to compare Acts; it is possible, however, to try to determine what kinds of sources were used. One suggestion was that the whole of 1-15:35 is based on a single Aramaic document, but this is far too sweeping as it does not account for all the editing that Saint/Apostle Luke has unmistakably done in these chapters.

Saint/Apostle Luke has obviously used not one long source but several short ones, many of which may not even have been written documents, though some probably were. Without being dogmatic about details, it is possible to classify the main kinds of traditions collected by Saint/Apostle Luke. ( 1 ) Those that relate to the primitive Jerusalem community, chapter 1-5. ( 2 ) Biographical notes about individuals: for example, Peter, 9:32-11:18; chapter 12, or Philip, 8:4-40; these details could have been supplied at first hand by people like Philip, the deacon Luke met at Caesarea, 21:8. ( 3 ) Details about the early days of the community in Antioch and its foundation by hellenistic Jews: these were obviously provided by that community, 6:1-8:3; 11:19-30; 13:1-3.

( 4 ) Saint/Apostle Paul's conversion and missionary journeys:these were things Saint/Apostle Paul himself could have told Saint/Apostle Luke, 9:1-30; 13:4-14:28; 15:36f. ( 5 ) For Saint/Apostle Paul's later journeys Saint/Apostle Luke would probably have had his own notes and these he seems to use in the 'we' passages which are precisely the sections where the peculiarities of Saint/Apostle Luke's own style are most concentrated, 11:28; 16:10-17; 20:5-21:18; 27:1-28:16. Saint /Apostle Luke managed to organise all this material into a single book by sorting it out chronologically as best he could and linking the episodes together with frequent editorial formulae, for example, 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; etc.

The unsophisticated nature of this material and the respect with which Saint/Apostle Luke treats it guarantee the historical worth of Acts. It was not easy to put all these sources together, and obviously a certain amount of anticipation, repetition and fusion was unavoidable; thus the events of chapter 12 should come before the visit of Barnabas and Saul/Paul to Jerusalem mentioned in 11:30; 12:25, unless this visit is to be identified with that of chapter 15; though the account of the 'council of Jerusalem' (chapter 15) may itself be a conflation of two quite distinct debates (cf. notes).

Slight adjustments like this do not affect the basic reliability of the work, as may be seen for example by checking how closely Saint/Apostle Luke's account of Saint/Apostle Paul's missionary activities agrees with Saint/Apostle Paul's epistles, which were quite certainly not among the sources Saint/Apostle Luke used for Acts. This is even true of Galatians if we make allowances for the conflations in Acts. The earlier events, of course, cannot be checked in this way, but may seem reasonable enough in themselves, and Saint/Apostle Luke seems to have treated the sources for his account with considerable respect, if we may judge by all the realistic and life-like details he has left in.

Considerable suspicion, however, is aroused by the speeches in Acts since it is maintained that Saint/Apostle Luke has done what all classical historians did and put his own free compositions into the mouth of his characters. On the other hand it is hard to believe that anyone, however gifted, but least of all a person of Greek culture like Saint/Apostle Luke, could reproduce so convincingly, after forty years, the archaisms and semitisms of, for example, the speeches by Saint/Apostle Peter and Saint/Apostle Stephen. Saint/Apostle Luke must have had access to records in the sense that the earliest preaching made use of only a very few main themes and supported these with stereotyped arguments set out in standard ways and learnt by heart.

Christian Jews had anthologies of scriptural texts; non-Jewish Christians had collections of tags from the accepted philosophers, while both had the essential kerygma (proclamation) of the Messiah who was killed and rose again, together with his invitation to conversion and baptism. Saint/Apostle Luke must first have come across these outlines of Christian preaching as sermons and from his own researches have been able later on, through his acute sense of psychology, to fill them out authentically with the most important Christian teaching.

Whether Acts is .......

"IT IS TRUE, GOD SENT HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, AND IT WAS TO THEM THAT THE GOOD NEWS OF PEACE WAS BROUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST - BUT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD OF ALL MEN. 

YOU MUST HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE RECENT HAPPENINGS IN JUDAEA; ABOUT JESUS OF NAZARETH AND HOW HE BEGAN IN GALILEE, AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD BEEN PREACHING BAPTISM. GOD HAD ANOINTED HIM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH POWER, AND BECAUSE GOD WAS WITH HIM, JESUS WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD AND CURING ALL WHO HAD FALLEN INTO THE POWER OF THE DEVIL.

NOW I, ( SIMON PETER / PETER ) AND THOSE WITH ME, CAN WITNESS TO EVERYTHING JESUS DID THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRYSIDE OF JUDAEA AND IN JERUSALEM ITSELF; AND ALSO TO THE FACT THAT THEY KILLED HIM BY HANGING HIM ON A TREE, YET THREE DAYS AFTERWARDS GOD RAISED HIM TO LIFE AND ALLOWED HIM TO BE SEEN, NOT BY THE WHOLE PEOPLE BUT ONLY BY CERTAIN WITNESSES GOD HAD CHOSEN BEFOREHAND.

NOW WE ARE THOSE WITNESSES - WE HAVE EATEN AND DRUNK WITH HIM AFTER HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD - AND JESUS CHRIST HAS ORDERED US TO PROCLAIM THIS TO HIS PEOPLE AND TO TELL THEM THAT GOD HAS APPOINTED HIM TO JUDGE EVERYONE, ALIVE AND DEAD.

IT IS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAT ALL THE PROPHETS BEAR THIS WITNESS: THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS WILL HAVE THEIR SINS FORGIVEN THROUGH HIS NAME." - ACTS 10:36-43 -

                                                                  Page 34                                                                  

Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:

Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen! 

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -

The road to Emmaus

That very same day, two of them were on their way to a village called Emmaus, seven miles [ Lit. 'sixty stadia' (furlongs): var. (with less support) 'one hundred and sixty'. The identity of the village is disputed.] from Jerusalem, and they were talking together about all that had happened. Now as they talked this over, Jesus himself came up and walked by their side; but something prevented them from recognising him. [ In the apparitions declared by Luke and John the disciples do not at first recognise the Lord: they need a word or a sign, Luke 24:30f, 35,37,39-43; John 20:14 and 16:20; 21:4 and 6-7; cf. Matthew 28:17. This is because the risen body, though the same body that died on the cross, is in a new condition; its outward appearance is therefore changed. Mark 16:12 and it is exempt from the usual physical laws, John 20:19. On the condition of glorified bodies, cf. 1 Cor. 15:44+.] 

Jesus said to them, 'What matters are you discussing as you walk along?' They stopped short, their faces downcast. [ Var. 'as you walk along and look sad?']

Then one of them, called Cleopas, answered Jesus, 'You must be the only person staying in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have been happening there these last few days'. 'What things?' Jesus asked. 'All about Jesus of Nazareth' [ Var. 'the Nazarene'. Cf. Matthew 2:23+.] they answered who proved he was a great prophet by the things he said and did in the sight of God and of the whole people; and how our chief priests and our leaders handed him over to be sentenced to death, and had him crucified.

Our own hope had been that Jesus would be the one to set Israel free. And this is not at all: two whole days have gone by since it all happened; and some women from our group have astounded us: they went to the tomb in the early morning, and when they did not find the body, they came back to tell us they had seen a vision of angels who declared he was alive. 

Some of our friends [ Either generalising Peter's experience, v. 12, or alluding to the visit made by Peter with John and described in John 20:3-10.] went to the tomb and found everything exactly as the women had reported, but of Jesus they saw nothing. - Luke 24:13-24 -

Then Jesus said to them, 'You foolish men! So slow to believe the full message of the prophets! Was it not ordained that the Christ should suffer and so enter into his glory?' Then, starting with Moses and going through all the prophets, Jesus explained to them the passages throughout the Sacred Scriptures that were about himself.

When they drew near to the village to which they were going, he made as if to go on; but they pressed him to stay with them. 'It is nearly evening' they said 'and the day is almost over.' So Jesus went in to stay with them. Now while he was with them at table, he took the bread and said the blessing; then he broke it and handed it to them. And their eyes were opened and they recognised Jesus; but he had vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, 'Did not our hearts burn within us as he talked to us on the road and explained the Sacred Scriptures to us?' - Luke 24:25-32 -

They set out that instant and returned to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven assembled together with their companions, who said to them, 'Yes, it is true. The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon/Peter.' Then they told their story of what happened on the road and how they had recognised Jesus at the breaking of bread. [ In Acts 2:42, Luke uses this as a technical term for the Eucharist; probably it means the same here.] - Luke 24:33-35 -

Jesus appeared to the apostles

They were still talking about all this when Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you!' In a state of alarm and fright, they thought they were seeing a ghost. But Jesus said, 'Why are you so agitated and why are these doubts rising in your hearts? Look at my hands and feet; yes, it is I indeed. Touch me and see for yourselves; a ghost has no flesh and bones as you can see I have.'

[ Om. v. 40 ] And as Jesus said this he showed his hands and feet. [ Writing for Greeks who scoffed at the idea of bodily resurrection. Luke underlines the physical reality of Christ's risen body, cf. v. 43.] Their joy was so great that they still could not believe it, and they stood there dumbfounded; so Jesus said to them, 'Have you anything here to eat?' And they offered him a piece of grilled fish, which Jesus took and ate before their eyes. - Luke 24:36-43 -

Last instructions to the apostles

Then [ The impression given is that all these events took place on the same day of resurrection. See Matthew 28:10+] Jesus told them, 'This is what I meant when I said, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, in the Prophets and in the Psalms, has to be fulfilled.' Jesus then opened their minds to understand the Sacred Scriptures, and he said to them, 'So you see how it is written that the Christ would suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that, in his name, repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be preached to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses to this.

'And now I am sending down to you what the Father has promised. Stay in the city then, until you are clothed with the power from on high.' - Luke 24:44-49 -

The ascension

Then Jesus took them out as far as the outskirts of Bethany, and lifting up his hands Jesus blessed them. Now as Jesus blessed them, he withdrew from them and was carried up to heaven. [ Om. 'and was carried up to heaven'.] They worshipped Jesus and [ Om. 'They worshipped him, and'] then went back to Jerusalem full of joy; and they were continually in the Temple praising God. [ Luke's gospel ends where it began, in the Temple; its last word is joy and praise.] - Luke 24:50-53 -

Introduction to THE  ACTS  OF  THE  APOSTLES

THEOLOGY? ISN'T THAT THE STUDY OF RELIGION? SO, WHAT DOES IT HAVE TO DO WITH ME? ISN'T IT CONCERN PRIESTS, THEOLOGIANS AND THE VATICAN?

THEOLOGY HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH ME, HASN'T IT?

Most of us think that theology is the concern of specialists, an academic subject that has little to do with lay person. Yet, the Christian theology that we accept today has its roots in the faith experiences of the Hebrews' search for God, their reflection on those experiences and their response to Him.

As Rev. Fr. Michael Amaladoss SJ, the Assistant to Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach SJ, responsible for Dialogue and Ecumenism (May 1992-...) puts it, "Faith looks, not only backward to God's saving and powerful presence in history, but also to the future that God invites us to create in the power of the Word and of the Spirit. Theology is therefore not an abstract philosophical elaboration of eternal verities reserved to a few expert professionals. It is a discerning search for God in the here and now of history that is the concern of everyone".

In this sense, theology must be the concern of every Christian and more so of every Christian in Malaysia.

It is the recognition of the Malaysian situation, specifically that of Saint Francis Xavier's Church (Petaling Jaya, Selangor.), that has prompted the central argument in Theology of Shoes-off, an initial effort on the part of Rev. Fr. Joseph (Jojo) Fung SJ to identify the elements that could form our very own Malaysian Theology.

Rev. Fr. Amaladoss SJ has this to say about Theology of Shoes-off. The flowering of local theology is a sign of the rootedness and maturity of a particular Church. So I am glad to welcome and introduce this pioneering effort by Rev. Fr. Joseph (Jojo) Fung SJ to develop a Malaysian theology of "Shoes-off".

BY REV. FR. JOSEPH  MATTHEW  FUNG  JEE  VUI  ( JOJO ) SJ, was the Parish Priest of SFX Church (Petaling Jaya, Selangor.) from 1988 to 1992.

WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE/HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY.

'Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?'

"Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He is like a man who when he built his house dug, and dug deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built.

But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man who built his house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 -

The Lord Jesus Christ, promised to us that our mission on this earth is really and utmost important for our own salvation.

"I tell you solemnly, there is no one who has left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not be given repayment many times over in this present time, in the world to come, Eternal Life." - Luke 18:28-30 -

HOW? AND IN WHAT WAY, WHEN IT COME TO UNDERSTANDING MATTERS: WHAT I WAS ALWAYS BEING TOLD IS: THERE ARE WAYS AND PREFERENCES TO COMPREHEND ALL MATTERS, WHETHER IT IS OF SPIRITUALITY AND OF UNSPIRITUALITY.

FIRSTLY, IN A LITERALLY MANNER: THAT IS, USED FOR EMPHASIS OR TO EXPRESS STRONG FEELING WHILE NOT BEING LITERALLY TRUE.

SECONDLY, IN A HUMANLY MANNER: THAT IS, FROM A HUMAN POINT OF VIEW, IN A HUMANLY MANNER, BY HUMAN MEANS; WITHIN ABILITY; WITH HUMAN FEELING OR KINDNESS.

THIRDLY, IN A SPIRITUALLY MANNER: THAT IS, IN A WAY THAT RELATES TO OR AFFECTS THE HUMAN SPIRIT OR, SOUL AS OPPOSED TO MATERIAL OR PHYSICAL THINGS.

FINALLY, IN AN UNSPIRITUAL MANNER: THAT IS, NOT SPIRITUAL. BUT SECULAR AND WORLDLY.


"IT IS TRUE, GOD SENT HIS WORD TO THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL, AND IT WAS TO THEM THAT THE GOOD NEWS OF PEACE WAS BROUGHT BY JESUS CHRIST - BUT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD OF ALL MEN. 

YOU MUST HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE RECENT HAPPENINGS IN JUDAEA; ABOUT JESUS OF NAZARETH AND HOW HE BEGAN IN GALILEE, AFTER JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD BEEN PREACHING BAPTISM. GOD HAD ANOINTED HIM WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT AND WITH POWER, AND BECAUSE GOD WAS WITH HIM, JESUS WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD AND CURING ALL WHO HAD FALLEN INTO THE POWER OF THE DEVIL.

NOW I, ( SIMON PETER / PETER ) AND THOSE WITH ME, CAN WITNESS TO EVERYTHING JESUS DID THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRYSIDE OF JUDAEA AND IN JERUSALEM ITSELF; AND ALSO TO THE FACT THAT THEY KILLED HIM BY HANGING HIM ON A TREE, YET THREE DAYS AFTERWARDS GOD RAISED HIM TO LIFE AND ALLOWED HIM TO BE SEEN, NOT BY THE WHOLE PEOPLE BUT ONLY BY CERTAIN WITNESSES GOD HAD CHOSEN BEFOREHAND.

NOW WE ARE THOSE WITNESSES - WE HAVE EATEN AND DRUNK WITH HIM AFTER HIS RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD - AND JESUS CHRIST HAS ORDERED US TO PROCLAIM THIS TO HIS PEOPLE AND TO TELL THEM THAT GOD HAS APPOINTED HIM TO JUDGE EVERYONE, ALIVE AND DEAD.

IT IS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST THAT ALL THE PROPHETS BEAR THIS WITNESS: THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE IN JESUS WILL HAVE THEIR SINS FORGIVEN THROUGH HIS NAME." - ACTS 10:36-43 -
                                                                  
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Faith . Hope . Love - Welcome donation. Thank You. God bless. 

By bank transfer/cheque deposit:

Name: Alex Chan Kok Wah
Bank: Public Bank Berhad account no: 4076577113
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen! 

I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.

HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -