Meanwhile Saul was still breathing threats to slaughter the Lord's disciples. He had gone to the high priest and asked for letters addressed to the synagogues in Damascus, that would authorise him to arrest and take to Jerusalem any followers of the Way, [ The 'Way' is the way of life characteristic of the Christian community; the term is used, by extensions, for the community itself. When men follow this 'Way' God is served as he wishes to be served, Matthew 22:16p, cf. 7:13-14; 21:32; 1 Cor. 12:31; 2 Peter 2:2; Psalms 119:1f; Proverbs 4:10f; Jer. 12:16, etc. This unqualified use of the word is peculiar to Acts 18:25-26; 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14-22.] men or women, that he could find. [ The Roman authority recognised the high priest's jurisdiction over the members of Jewish communities even outside Palestine; according to Matt. 15:21 this even included right of extradition.]
Suddenly, while he was travelling to Damascus and just before he reached the city, there came a light from heaven all round him. He fell to the ground, and then he heard a voice saying, 'Saul, Saul, [ Aramaic ('Hebrew', 26:14) form of Saul's name.] why are you persecuting me?' 'Who are you, Lord?' he asked, and the voice answered, 'I am Jesus, and you are persecuting me. [ Whatever is done to the disciples for the sake cf. Romans 9:5+.]
Get up now and go into the city, and you will told what you have to do.' The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless, for though they heard the voice they could see no one. Saul got up from the ground, but even with his eyes wide open he could see nothing at all, they had to lead him into Damascus by the hand. For three days he was without food nor drink. - Acts 9:1-9 -
A disciple called Ananias who lived in Damascus had a vision in which he heard the Lord say to him, 'Ananias!' When he replied, 'Here I am, Lord', the Lord said, 'You must go to Straight Street and ask at the house of Judas for someone called Saul, who comes from Tarsus. At this moment he is praying, having a vision [ Lit. 'having seen'; var. 'having seen in a vision'.] of a man called Ananias coming in and laying hands on him to give him back his sight.'
When he heard that, Ananias said, 'Lord, several people have told me about this man and all the harm he has been doing to your saints [ Since God is the Holy One par excellence, Isaiah 6:3, those consecrated to his service are called 'holy', Lev. 17:1+. The term applied originally to the people of Israel, Exodus 19:6+, and in particular to the community of the messianic era, Daniel 7:18+, is especially apt for the Christians who are the new 'holy race', 1 Peter 2:5,9, called, Romans 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; Eph. 1:4; 2 Tim. 1:9, by their baptismal consecration, Eph. 5:26f, to a blameless life, 1 Cor. 7:34; Eph. 1:4; 5:3; Col. 1:22, which makes them holy as God is holy, 1 Peter 1:15f, cf. 1 John 3:3, and like Jesus himself, 'the Holy One of God', Mark 1:24+.
In the early community it becomes the usual term for the Christians, in Palestine first, Acts 9:13,32,41; Romans 15:26,31; 1 Cor. 16:1,15; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:1,12, and then in all the churches, Romans 8:27; 12:13; 16:2,15; 1 Cor. 6:1f; 14:33; 2 Cor. 13:12; Eph. 1:15; 3:18; 4:12; 6:18; Phil. 4:21f; Col. 1:4; 1 Tim. 5:10; Phm. 5,7; Heb. 6:10; 13;24; Jude 3 (and in the introductory formulae of the letters 2 Cor. 1:1,etc.) In Rev. 5:8; 8:3, etc. the word is used more specifically of the Christians who witness by their death. At times its application may be restricted to the leaders, the 'apostles and prophets', Eph. 3:5 and Col. 1:26; Eph. 3:8; 4:12; Rev. 18:20. Lastly, as in the Old Testament, Job 5:1+, it may indicate the angels, Mark 8:38; Luke 9:26; Acts 10:22; Jude 14; Rev. 14:10, and in some cases it is doubtful whether the reference is to angels or to the saints in glory, Eph. 1:18; Col. 1:12; 1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:10.] in Jerusalem.
He has only come here because he holds a warrant from the chief priests to arrest everybody who invokes your name.' The Lord replied, 'You must go all the same because this man is my chosen instrument to bring my name before pagans and pagan kings and before the people of Israel; [ Cf. Jer. 1:10. Paul's mission is 'to all men'. Acts 22:15, to the pagan nations, 26:17; this agrees with what Paul himself writes in Gal. 1:16, cf. Romans 1:5; 11:13; 15:16-18; Gal. 2:2,8,9; Eph. 3:8; Col. 1:27; 1 Tim. 2:7. On the 'kings', cf. Acts 26:2+.] I myself will show him how much he himself must suffer for my name'.
Then Ananias went. He entered the house, and at once laid his hands on Saul and said, 'Brother Saul, I have been sent by the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way here so that you may recover your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit', [ Characteristic Lucan phrase, Luke 1:15,41,67; Acts 2:4; 4:8,31; 9:17; 13:9. Cf. Luke 4:1+.] Immediately it was as though scales fell away from Saul's eyes and he could see again. So he was baptised there and then, and after taking some food he regained his strength. - Acts 9:10-19 -
Saul's preaching at Damascus
After he had spent only a few days with the disciples in Damascus, he began preaching in the synagogues, 'Jesus is the Son of God'. [ 'Son of God' corresponds to 'Christ' in v. 22. Cf. Matthew 4:3+. We meet the title 'Son of God' only once more in Acts 13:33. It is a characteristic of Pauline Christology. Gal. 1:16; 2:20; 4:4,6; Romans 1:3, 9:1; 1 Thess. 1:10; cf. Romans 9:5+.] All his hearers were amazed. 'Surely' they said 'this is the man who organised the attack in Jerusalem against the people who invoke this name, and came here for the sole purpose of arresting them to have them tried by the chief priests?' Saul's power increased steadily and he was able to throw the Jewish colony at Damascus into complete confusion by the way he demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ.
Some time passed [ Three years, according to Gal. 1:17-18; Paul's stay in Arabia belongs to this period. Luke's statement is not detailed.] and the Jews worked out a plot to kill him, but news of it reached Saul. To make sure of killing him they kept watch on the gates day and night, but when it was dark the disciples [ Var. 'his disciples'.] took him and let him down from the top of the wall, lowering him in a basket. - Acts 9:20-25 -
Saul's visit to Jerusalem [ Paul mentions this visit, Gal. 1:18-19. He observes that at that time the churches in Judaea did not yet know him by sight, but says nothing of the part Barnabas played. He states that, of the apostles, he saw none but Peter, and James the brother of the Lord; Acts, generalising, speaks vaguely of 'the apostles'.]
When he got to Jerusalem he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him: they could not believe he was really a disciple. Barnabas, however, took charge of him, introduced him to the apostles, and explained how the Lord had appeared to Saul and spoken to him on his journey, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Saul now started to go round with them in Jerusalem, preaching fearlessly in the name of the Lord. But after he had spoken to the Hellenists [ Var. 'the Greeks' (that is, the pagans); same variant in 11:20. The hellenistic Christians (cf. 6:1+) are the most active proselytisers, just as the hellenistic Jews were the most active opponents of Christian propaganda, 6:9f; 7:58; 9:1; 21:27; 24:19.] and argued with them, they became determine to kill him. When the brothers knew, they took him to Caesarea, and sent him off from there to Tarsus. [ Where Barnabas later finds him, 11:25. Compare this with Gal. 1:18-21 and with Acts 22:17-21.] - Acts 9:26-30 -
A lull
The churches [ 'the churches' Western and Antiochene Texts; 'the Church' Alexandrain Text.] throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria were now left in peace, building themselves up, living in the fear of the Lord, and filled with the consolation of the Holy Spirit. [ Joy in the faith, 2:46+. Others render 'they thrived through the comfort (or: by the help; or: thanks to the encouragement) of the Holy Spirit'.] - Acts 9:31 -
Peter cures a paralytic at Lydda
Peter visited one place after another and eventually came to the saints living down in Lydda. There he found a man called Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter said to him, 'Aeneas, Jesus Christ cures you: get up and fold up your sleeping mat'. Aeneas got up immediately; [ For similar miracles: Luke 5:18-26p; 13:11-13; John 5:1-14; Acts 3:1-10 (and 4:22); 14:8-10.] everybody who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they were all converted to the Lord. - Acts 9:32-35 -
Peter raises a woman to life at Jaffa
WELCOME TO SACRED SCRIPTURE/HOLY BIBLE READER'S COMMUNITY. - Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, and the fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!
"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 -
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.
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 -
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