Dear Friends in Christ,
The next radio broadcast on "Light of the East Radio" is up and runnning!
http://www.byzantinecatholic.com/radio.htmBroadcast #155 (9/16/07)
The previous broadcast which introduces my new book, �The Twelve Great Feasts of the Messiah and the Mother of God�, is #154 (9/9/07) and can be found on the same link.
In this broadcast, Father Tom Loya does an excellent job introducing the idea of the spiritual exegesis of Sacred Scripture and its relationship to Christian worship. When the early Christian writers (known as the "Church Fathers" from the 1st to the 8th centuries) would read the Old Testament Scriptures, they would always try to interpret them in the light of the revelation of Jesus Christ. They would see in the New Testament, the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and in the Old Testament the prefigurement of the New. The method of interpretation that develop from the time of the apostles onward is called the "four-fold method of spiritual exegesis" or the "patristic quadriga". Scholars have argued that this method is in fact the most apostolic form of exegesis (the interpretation of Scripture), since the New Testament can be seen as the spiritual interpretation of the Old Testament, that is, in the light of Christ.
The four-fold method is as follows:
1. The Historical Event or Thing (the Literal/Historical Meaning - answers questions such as who, what, where, when, how, etc. )
2. The Mission of the Messiah (the Allegorical Meaning - seeing the event in relationship to Jesus' mission as He fulfills the Old Testament signs and prophecies)
3. Our Life in Christ (The Moral/Tropological Meaning - seeing the event in relationship to our spiritual and moral growth as disciples of Jesus)
4. The Kingdom (The Eschatalogical/Anagogical Meaning - seeing the event in relationship to heaven and the final return of Jesus, the New Advent from on high)
Hugh of St. Victor (11th century) captured this perfectly when he wrote: "The letter teaches what took place, the allegory what to believe, the moral what to do, the anagogy what goal to strive for." In other words, the levels of meaning when interpreting the Sacred Scriptures correlate to the three virtues mentioned by St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13: of Faith (allegorical), Hope (anagogical/eschatalogical) and Love (moral/tropological). The Bible is thus read through these three lenses. This was truly the early Christian method of interpretation. (cf. St. Paul's treatment of the two women as types of the two covenants in Galatians 4:21-24).
Perhaps the best example of this in the Bible is the treatment of the Temple in Jerusalem:
1. Literal/Historical Meaning:
There was a Temple in Jerusalem (which means "YHWH provides peace"), the first one was built by King Solomon, the Son of David, and was a place of sacrificial worship for Israel as a witness to the nations.
2. The Mission of the Messiah (the Allegorical Meaning)
Jesus, the Son of David, the High Priest and the Lamb of God, refers to His body as the Temple, the fulfillment of the Old Testament Sacrifices, which will be "torn down" through His crucifixion and death, and rebuilt through His Resurrection on the Third Day in Jerusalem. Through His offering, peace with be given by God to the whole world, expanding the spiritual boundaries of Israel to encompass the Gentile nations who can be made the "sons of Abraham" through Christ. We are, through the gift of faith given by being "born from above" through water and the Holy Spirit, joined to His Mystical Body, a "spiritual temple" made with living stones.
3. Our Life in Christ (The Moral/Tropological Meaning)
As members of this spiritual Temple, redeemed and "rebuilt" by Christ, the physical body of the Christian is made into the Temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19-20); we make of our bodies a living sacrifice by offering to God "spiritual worship" (cf. Romans 12:1), imitating and participating in Christ our High Priests sacrifice of love on the Cross through daily discipleship and priestly service at the three altars of the Church, the Home and the Marketplace.
4. The Kingdom (The Eschatalogical/Anagogical Meaning)
When Christ returns in Triumphal Glory (Maranatha!), He will bring with Him the spiritual Jerusalem from on high, which will come down to earth, and peace will reign in our hearts and in creation and we will worship the Holy Trinity in a heavenly Temple "not made by human hands" for all eternity (cf. the entire book of Revelation, which is, in essence among other things, a heavenly liturgy on the Lord's Day).
This is the approach I have tried to take when it comes to the events in the lives of Jesus and Mary in my new book, "The Twelve Great Feasts of the Messiah and the Mother of God". In this broadcast, I provide an illustration of this with a treatment of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion, showing how this passage can be seen through faith, hope and love, and the four levels of meaning.
God bless and thank you again for your support and encouragement!
In ICXC,
Gordo
Click here for my book, "The Twelve Great Feasts of the Messiah and the Mother of God: A Handbook/Toolkit for the Domestic Church"
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