Pentecost

• Shavu’ot: the Jewish Harvest Festival

• Feast of Weeks. [Bible pg 116 Lev 23:15]

• Apostles were in the upper room, hiding

• Read Acts chpt 2 pg 1171

Peter the Fisherman• Little information is available outside of what we know

from the gospels• Fisherman w/ a brother Andrew• Was called by Jesus w/ James & John the “sons of

Zebedee”• He is married since he has a mother-in-law• His real name was Simon, but changed by Jesus to Peter

“rock” in Aramaic because Peter acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah

• He denies Jesus during His trial but after Pentecost Jesus allows him to recant this

• Peter ends up in Rome, is crucified upside down, and in 1950 what is believed to be his body, was laid directly below the altar in St. Peters

Jewish Roots of the Church

• It is necessary to understand the Jewish roots of Christ to understand who He is, where He came from, why He came,etc.

• Christianity finds its roots in Judaism

• Without knowing our Jewish roots we cannot understand how the early Church understood themselves

Abraham: Father in Faith of the Christian Church

• About 18-1900 years before Jesus was a man named Abram and his wife Sarai

• They lived in Ur and began to understand that there was one superior God among the gods (monotheism)

• He had a son named Isaac, whom God asked Abram/Abraham to sacrifice

• God promised Abraham he would be the father of many nations

• From these roots came our belief structure and the good news that all people are children of the one God.

The Exodus Reveals a Loving God

• Jesus is linked to the Jewish Exodus• Abraham’s descendents were enslaved in Egypt,

just as mankind is enslaved in sin• God sent Moses to save his people from their

slavery• Christ is the New Moses to save all mankind from

the slavery of sin• This freedom is celebrated at Passover by the Jews

as they remember not only the old delivery but also reflect on their present delivery in a spiritual sense

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The Jews of Israel vs. the Hellenistic Jews [pgs 10 – 12]

• Jewish history helps us to understand the development of Christianity

• In Roman times, Jerusalem, Samaria, Galilee and the surrounding areas were known as Palestine

• 631 BCE the Assyrians conquer all but the kingdom of Judea around Jerusalem. This results in a blending of some aspects of both cultures

• In 587 the Babylonians conquer Assyria and all of its territories including Jerusalem. The Babylonians take back captives from Jerusalem and thus begins the Babylonian Captivity.

(# 7 Cont’d - A)

• The Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and for about 50 years the captives in Babylon thought they would never be free

• To keep true to their faith, they felt it was imperative write down what was oral traditions from of old. This was the writing of the first books of the Old Testament.

(# 7 Cont’d - B )

• With the Temple destroyed and they being in captivity, the Jews began a system of synagogues, places of prayer and Scripture reading

• In 539 BCE King Cyrus of Persia defeated the Babylonians and allowed the Jews to return home

• Jews who were fortunate enough to live outside of Jerusalem were known as the Diaspora [the dispersed]

(# 7 Cont’d – C)

• Finally in 331 Alexander the Great defeated the Persian Empire and Greek culture became the dominant culture throughout the region [Hellenization]

• The members of the Diaspora soon started to take on the Greek culture

• The Jews of the Diaspora were more open to intermingling with their neighbors but the Jews of Palestine would not associate with the non-Jews of the area.

(# 7 Cont’d – D)

• The Diaspora Jews had so little contact with the Jews of Palestine that they lost most of their culture including their language

• Around 200 it became so obvious that there was a need for a Greek translation of the Scriptures

• Legend says that seventy (seventy-two) scholars working independently, ended up with an almost exact copy of the entire text. This became known as the Septuagint – The work of the seventy

(# 7 Cont’d – E)• When Alexander died he did not appoint a successor and

the empire was divided up• Palestine was supposed to fall under the control of the

Syrian general but it most often reported to the Egyptian general

• Then when the Syrian general needed money for his war chest, a serious taxation and invasion of the region came from Syria

• In 63 BCE the people of Jerusalem asked the Romans to help them repel the Syrian Greeks

• The Romans came with more than assistance in mind and occupied Palestine well into the late 1st C

• The first name of Christians was “the Way” and for the most part it began to spread quickly thru the Hellenistic Jews.

Built on the Good News [13 -14]• Keep in mind that Jesus is fully God and fully

human• The Church is our primary source of knowledge

about Jesus• Archeology and language studies have helped us

to understand what life was like during Jesus’ time

• Jesus was all about a ‘conversion’ of heart• The “reign of God” meant a new way of viewing

the world and our role in it. We need to see ourselves as sons and daughters of God and live like it. Believe in “Our Father.”

Built on Good News #2• To understand the message of Jesus we need to

understand Jesus’ call to conversion• A new way of being… the reign of God• A new way of viewing ourselves and each other.• It is already in the world, it was wherever the

people saw themselves as brothers and sisters in God. Thus God is ‘Our Father’

• People must feel themselves as not being superior to each other. And that the possession of wealth is contrary to the exclusions of others is contrary to the will of God.

• For this He died.

Built on the Good News # 3

• The new message that God loves us and that we must love each other like god loves us is a tough message

• People can no longer be superior or aloof from each other but rather accepting of all

• One cannot possess ‘excessive’ wealth when others are starving

• This causes people to be angry at the message and cost Jesus His life.

The Beginning of the Church [ pg 15]

• Early Christians believed that Christ would return in their lifetime. The world would end

• Once they realized that the end was not at hand, they began to divide up the work.

• They chose leaders, clarified the teachings of the Church, and figured ways to solve conflicts.

Gamaliel’s Words of Wisdom [pg 17]

• Peter and John are arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish High Crt)

• According to Acts, they again were arrested and an angel freed them

• Because they would not stop, the court wanted to kill them but was persuaded not to by Gamaliel, a high ranking pharisee

• Read Acts 5:17-42

Mary—Model of the Church [pg 19]

• Mary was given to John at the foot of the cross and thus became the mother of all mankind.

• The Mysteries of the Rosary are recollections of Mary’s life and sufferings

• Mary’s complete acceptance of the situations presented to her by God is why she is considered to be the model of the Church.

Early Christian Communities: Unity Out of Diversity [pg 20]

• Jesus’ earliest followers were Palestinians of Jewish decent.

• Gentiles who were drawn to the idea of one God, and supported synagogues or the Temple were called God-fearers

• The God-fearers started to find Christianity appealing.

• Read Acts 10, pg 1182

Paul--The Apostle to the Gentiles [pg 21]

• Read Acts 7 pg 1178• Originally named Saul, a Pharisee who had

studied under Gamaliel, he participated in the execution of Stephen the first martyr of the Church.

• The Pharisees felt Christianity was a threat to the Mosaic Law

• Paul had been born in Tarsus and a tent maker. He was also a Roman citizen a privilege granted to his parents.

Paul: cont’d #2• Saul was directed by the High Priest to go

to Damascus to fight the growth of Christianity there.

• On his way, Saul was knocked off his horse by a bright light and he heard the voice of Jesus

• He took on the Greek form of his name Paul

• He went around converting anyone who would listen and in 58 when he went to Jerusalem, his Jewish brethren tried to kill him

Paul: Cont’d #3• Paul was arrested by Governor Felix • Porcius Feshus, the new governor offered to try

in Jerusalem, Paul chose to enforce his Roman privilege.

• He was taken to Rome in 61• From Rome Paul wrote many of his letters to the

various churches.• When Nero began his persecution in 64, Paul was

eventually beheaded.• Because he was converting mostly gentiles, he is

referred to as the Apostle to the gentiles

Gentile Converts [pgs22-23]

• Acts 15

• Recall the story of Cornelius

• The first meeting of the Church elders in Jerusalem was called to Read solve the problem of gentile conversions.