PAUL S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY

Transcription

1 HEART OF CATECHESIS PAUL S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST LESSON 11 THEY HAVE BEATEN US PUBLICLY EVEN THOUGH WE ARE ROMAN CITIZENS. Acts 16:37 By birth Paul was a Roman citizen and had rights that others living in territories under Roman rule did not. A Roman had the following rights with regard to trial and punishment: The right to have a legal trial (to appear before a proper court and to defend oneself). The right to appeal the decisions of the magistrates and to appeal the lower court decisions. A Roman citizen could not be tortured or whipped. He could not receive the death penalty, unless he was found guilty of treason. If accused of treason, a Roman citizen had the right to be tried in Rome, and even if sentenced to death, no Roman citizen could be sentenced to die on the cross. After Paul cured the slave girl, her owners were so angry that they had lost their income they brought him before the magistrate. The magistrate illegally whipped and imprisoned Paul. Paul Preaching in the Areopagus, Raphael , Royal Academy of Arts London PARENTS & CATECHISTS READING REFLECTION & PRAYER Sacred Scripture Acts 15:36-18:22 Matthew 9:35-11:1 Catechism of the Catholic Church # , 1252, 1655 #28, #551

2 Page 2 PAUL S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY Sacred Scripture STUDENTS READING REFLECTION & PRAYER Grades K-1 The Illustrated Acts of the Apostles pp Grades 2-4 Bible for Young Catholics pp Grades 5-12 Acts 15:36-18:22 Matthew 9:35-11:1 Catechism Grades K-2 First Communion Catechism pp Grades 3-6 Baltimore Catechism #1 pp , Grades 7-12 Catechism of the Catholic Church # , 1252, 1655 #28, #551 TEACHING STRATEGY & OBJECTIVES THEME: OBJECTIVES: PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS SET OUT ON A SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY. THIS TIME THEY TRAVEL OVER AN EVEN GREATER DISTANCE, BEYOND PALESTINE AND ASIA. FOR THE FIRST TIME THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED IN EUROPE. USING SELECT READINGS FROM THE THREE CHAPTERS OF ACTS, DISCUSS THE FOLLOWING: God chooses and uses a wide variety of persons in the building of his kingdom. Paul makes the best use of Romans roads and sailing ships to bring the Gospel to the world. Paul s attempt to use worldly wisdom to convert the worldly Athenians backfired. Jesus instructed his apostles (and us) how to be missionaries in the world. Review BAPTISM and RESURRECTION OPENING PRAYER NICENE CREED REVIEW: From Lesson 8: From Lesson 9: From Lesson 10: RESURRECTION FIRST COMMANDMENT CATHOLIC CHURCH FAITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS FAITH INFALLIBILITY SACRED SCRITURE THE TWO GREAT ORIGINAL SIN REVELATION COMMANDMENTS CONCUPISCENCE SACRED TRADITION MAGISTERIUM

3 Page 3 PAUL S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY READINGS FROM SACRED SCRIPTURE: THE SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY ACTS 15:36 18:22 CATECHISTS THERE IS QUITE A BIT OF MATERIAL IN THIS WEEK S LESSON NEARLY THREE CHAPTERS. INSTEAD OF TRYING TO COVER EVERYTHING, WE WILL FOCUS ON SEVERAL STORIES. CONTROVERSY BETWEEN PAUL AND BARNABAS ACTS 15:36 41 WHERE AND WHEN DOES THIS SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY BEGIN? Paul and his companions are in Antioch, not long after the Council of Jerusalem. The year is about 50 AD. The journey on which they are embarking will occupy about 3 years of Paul s life. WHAT DO PAUL AND BARNABAS ARGUE ABOUT? Barnabas wants to take John Mark [who is a relative of his] with them on this second journey. Paul remembers that on the first journey John Mark chickened out and left them when the going got tough and he does not want to travel with John Mark again. WHAT HAPPENS, AND HOW CAN WE LEARN FROM THIS INCIDENT? Paul and Barnabas have a sharp disagreement and after many years of working together, they separate. We learn an important lesson from this story. Often in our Church there are disagreements and arguments. Sometimes even good, solid, and faithful people cannot come to an agreement, and end up parting company. There are several things we need to keep in mind: 1. We must never leave the Church! We cannot walk away from the Mystical Body of Christ for any reason whatsoever! 2. We should be as faithful to legitimate authority [like our Pastors or our Bishops] as they are faithful to our Holy Father in Rome, because the Holy Spirit works in and through them. 3. Whenever we can bend our will to accommodate others who have legitimate views, we should try. 4. Sometimes we will not be able to work out our problems with certain individuals, and we need to pray for them and to figure out how best to continue to know, love, and serve Jesus in and through His Church perhaps in another place in the Church. Paul and Barnabas Separate Artist Unknown, circa 1700 Keep in mind too the rest of this story. God may very well have wanted Paul and Barnabas to go their separate ways so that the Gospel could be preached to a broader constituency. We know that later Paul and Barnabas are reconciled. In his First Letter to the Corinthians [9:3 6] and in his Letter to the Galatians [2:9] St. Paul writes favorably of Barnabas. Later on, in his Letter to the Colossians he tells them that he and Mark are working together [4:10] Paul is probably writing of John Mark at the end of his Second Letter to Timothy when he asks for Mark s help. Also, though he may have had a weak moment in his first trip with Paul and Barnabas, John Mark proved to be a faithful friend and follower throughout his career and even served Peter in Rome, where he wrote the Gospel According to Mark!

4 OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 4 WHERE IS MACEDONIA? THE APOSTOLIC BAND PREACHES IN MACEDONIA ACTS 16:6 40 Macedonia is between Palestine and Rome just to the west of Asia Minor. It is a part of what today we call Greece. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE PLACES PAUL VISITED? In Asia Minor: Lystra, Iconium, Phyrgia, Galatia In Macedonia: Samothrace, Neapolis, Philippi, Beroea Paul s Second Missionary Journey Bible Mapper 4.3 WHY IS VERSE 16:10 IMPORTANT? If you re not reading carefully, you ll pass right over this section. It marks the beginning of the We passages in the Acts of the Apostles. It is Luke s thumbprint. When you re telling a story about someone else, you ll tend to say, He or they [this is called Third Person ]. If you re telling a story in which you are playing a part, you ll usually say, I or we, [this is called First Person ]. In the first 15 chapters of the Acts of the Apostles Luke is writing in the Third Person about situations and adventures where he is not present. Apparently, he joins with the Apostolic Band in Troas and travels with Paul for a time because he begins to use the word we. WHERE IS PHILIPPI, AND WHY IS IT ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT TO PAUL? [Point it out on the Map] Philippi is across the Aegean Sea from Asia Minor on the eastern coast of Macedonia. It is here that the Gospel is first preached on European soil. Philippi was built on an ancient Roman road called the Via Egnatia. At this point in his ministry, Paul was deliberately choosing cities on major thoroughfares which helped with the spread of the Gospel. He established three important Catholic Communities along the Via Egnatia; at Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica. Philippi had been established as a retirement city for Roman soldiers. Paul seemed to have an affinity for soldiers; they know how to follow orders and to serve a higher good they know how to put the mission before the men an attitude which often serves Christ and the Church well. In later years, when Paul needed to write letters to many of the Churches he had established, he often used an angry tone. But his letter to the Philippians had a very different tone. It is clear that his brothers and sisters in Christ in Philippi had a special place in Paul s heart. Some scholars have called Paul s letter to the Philippians his love letter.

5 OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 5 WHY IS THE STORY ABOUT LYDIA IMPORTANT? Paul knew how to make friends and to allow them actively to participate in his great mission. Lydia was probably a very wealthy lady [dealers in purple goods tended to be very prosperous] and was eager to help Paul s mission band. Many people think that Paul did not like women and would not let them work in the early Church. This is not true. In a number of his letters Paul does address harsh words to certain women who were stirring up problems in their local Churches. Overall, Paul was willing to work with anyone who the Holy Spirit led to him. Lydia is one example of a woman who worked with Paul; Priscilla and Damaris also actively participated in Paul s missionary endeavors. HOW DO PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS GET INTO TROUBLE IN PHILIPPI? A very unusual slave girl who was troubled by a demon used to shout at Paul. People thought that the girl could tell the future. One day Paul exorcised [drove out] the demon, and the young woman could no longer prophesy. The men who owned the girl got mad at Paul and incited a riot against him. WHAT DO THE CITY OFFICIALS DO TO PAUL AND HIS FOLLOWERS? They arrest them, tear off their robes, and have them beaten with rods. Then they put them in jail in chains. Business as usual for Paul WHAT HAPPENS TO PAUL WHILE HE IS IN THE PRISON? While singing hymns at midnight the prison is rocked by an earthquake. The doors fly open, and the chains fall off of the prisoners. WHY IS THE HEAD JAILOR GOING TO KILL HIMSELF? It was a Roman custom that if an official or a soldier failed in a serious way in his duty, he was expected to commit suicide. WHAT DOES PAUL DO FOR THE HEAD JAILOR, AND WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? The story is almost funny. The Christians are singing songs and the earthquake hits. Chains fall off and all the doors fly open. The jailer is about to kill himself and Paul cries out, Don t hurt yourself! We are all here! The jailor s self-imposed death sentence, nearly carried out, is suddenly forgotten and he proves more than ready to hear the good news of the Gospel. Visual Bible Alive He and his entire household receive the Sacrament of BAPTISM: THE SACRAMENT IN WHICH THE GUILT OF ORIGINAL SIN IS WASHED AWAY, WE BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, AND THE INDWELLING PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS BREATHED INTO OUR SOULS. In the Acts of the Apostles we see entire households baptized no less than three times; the clans of Cornelius, Lydia, and now the Roman Jailor. It is a safe guess that children [and even infants] may have been baptized in those ceremonies. These passages can be cited when we are in discussion with those who are opposed to baptizing infants. St. Augustine referred to Infant Baptism as a Tradition received from the Apostles, and he could well have had these passages from the Acts of the Apostles in mind. CATECHISTS WE ARE GOING TO SKIP OVER ACTS 17:1 15 IT IS SIMPLY A REPLAY OF THE CLASSIC PATTERN OF PAUL GOING INTO A NEW PLACE, WINNING SUPPORT, ENEMIES FOLLOW AND STIR UP OPPOSITION, AND THEY RE CAST OUT AND HISTORY DOES REPEAT ITSELF MORE THAN ONCE!

6 OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH--THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST Page 6 WHERE IS ATHENS, AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? PAUL IN ATHENS ACTS 17:15 34 Athens is south of Macedonia in the Province of Achaia [also a part of Greece]. In the glorious days of Greece, Athens had been Greece s greatest city and the intellectual capital of the world. In Paul s time Athens was still thought to be the place where the greatest thinkers gathered. WHAT WAS THE AREOPAGUS? The Areopagus [ Mars Hill ] was a marble-crowned height in the city of Athens where people gathered to hear speakers and philosophers to discuss new and great ideas of the time. It was their version of Facebook. For all their brilliance, the Athenians were fools. They worshiped hundreds and hundreds of false gods. A writer named Petronius once wrote, Our country is so filled with divinities that one is more likely to meet with a god than a man. HOW IS THIS SPEECH OF PAUL DIFFERENT FROM ALL OF HIS OTHERS? This is Paul s longest address to pagans, and is his most finely crafted speech. It is a masterpiece of wisdom and rhetoric. It is a bomb! Paul is trying to use the wisdom of the world to win the Athenians to faith and perhaps he is a bit too full of himself. CATECHISTS IF YOU COULD WALK YOUR STUDENTS THROUGH THIS SPEECH [VERSES 22-31] IN AN AGE-APPROPRIATE WAY EXPLAINING KEY VERSES, THIS WOULD BE GOOD WHAT HAPPENS AS PAUL IS FINISHING HIS SPEECH? As Paul is nearing his conclusion, he says that the one True God has raised a man from the dead. As soon as the Athenians hear about rising from the dead, they mock Paul and walk away. Paul was trying to tell them that Jesus rose from the dead; we call this the Resurrection. RESURRECTION JESUS CHRIST WAS CRUCIFIED UNDER PONTIUS PILATE, HE SUFFERED DEATH AND WAS BURIED, AND ROSE AGAIN ON THE THIRD DAY, HIS BODY AND SOUL UNITED FOREVER IN A GLORIFIED STATE WHAT LESSON DOES PAUL LEARN FROM THIS EXPERIENCE? Paul himself tells us later in one of his letters to the Corinthians [in Greece!] Christ [sent me] to preach the Gospel not with wordy wisdom however, lest the Cross of Christ be rendered void of its meaning. The message of the Cross is complete absurdity to those who are headed for ruin, but to us who are experiencing salvation, it is the power of God. Scripture says, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and thwart the cleverness of the clever, Where is the wise man to be found? Where the scribe? Where is the master of worldly argument? Has not God turned the wisdom of this world into folly? Since in God s wisdom the world did not come to know Him through wisdom, it pleased God to save those who believe through the absurdity of the preaching of the Gospel. Yes, Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ Crucified a stumbling block to Jews and an absurdity to Gentiles; but to those who are called, Jews and Greeks alike, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God s folly is wiser than men, and His weakness more powerful than men [1 COR 1:17 25].

7 Page 7 PAUL S SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME MOMENTS FROM THE LIFE OF JESUS CHRIST JESUS MISSIONARY DISCOURSE MATTHEW 9:35 11:1 CATECHISTS WE WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU READ THROUGH THIS CHAPTER YOURSELF AND DIS- CUSS PASSAGES YOU THINK WOULD BE BEST UNDERSTOOD AND APPLIED BY YOUR STUDENTS. BELOW ARE ANSWERS TO A FEW QUESTIONS WHICH MIGHT COME UP AS YOU GO WHEN AND WHERE DID JESUS GIVE HIS MISSIONARY DISCOURSE? After teaching the Apostles for nearly a year [Jesus probably met Andrew and John in Judea in late winter of 28 AD]. In the early months of 29 AD, it was finally time to send the Apostles out in pairs to give to others the gift they had received. We cannot too precisely locate the base from which Jesus sent them out. It was certainly in Galilee, and most likely from Capharnum. WHY DID JESUS TELL THEM NOT TO GO TO THE PAGANS AND SAMARITANS? [verse 5] The Twelve sent out Jesus was not being a racist. He Himself had spent time evangelizing the pagans and the Samaritans Julius Schnorr Von Carolsfeld, 1851 [remember the Sinful Woman by the Well in John Chapter 4?] At this particular point and time in His Public Life, however, Jesus plan was to focus on the Jews. The time to evangelize the Samaritans [and all the world] was soon to come DID THE APOSTLES NOW PERFORM MIRACLES THEMSELVES? [verse 8] They did. At this time in their ministry, Jesus gave them the power to CURE THE SICK, RAISE THE DEAD, HEAL THE LEP- ROUS, EXPEL DEMONS. This is one of the places in scripture which provides the foundation for our understanding of the Sacrament of the ANOINTING OF THE SICK: THE SACRAMENT IN WHICH A PERSON WHO IS SERIOUSLY ILL IS BLESSED WITH HOLY OIL WHICH HELPS TO STRENGTHEN AND HEAL THEM IN BODY AND SOUL. There are other important references to this Sacrament in the Bible [Mark 6:13 and James 5:13 16] and these verses: MK 6 & JAMES 5 are included in our list of scriptural citations to be memorized. WHO IS BEELZEBUL [verse 25] AND WHAT IS JESUS TALKING ABOUT IN VERSES 24 27? In this passage Jesus is telling the Apostles that they are going to be slandered and calumniated by others just as people spoke ill of Jesus Himself. A few verses earlier in Matthew s Gospel the Pharisees were saying about Jesus, He casts out demons through the prince of demons! [MT 10:34]. In the Jewish mind of the time, one name they applied to the devil, or the prince of demons was Beelzebul [which means the lord of flies ]. This hardness of heart which ultimately refuses to recognize the work of Christ [and to attribute it to Satan] is actually the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit. WHAT DOES JESUS MEAN WHEN HE SAYS, DO NOT SUPPOSE THAT MY MISSION ON EARTH IS TO SPREAD PEACE. MY MISSION IS TO SPREAD NOT PEACE, BUT DIVISION. [MT 10:34]? On the surface this is confusing. How could Jesus not bring peace? Why would He want to bring division and contention? To understand these sayings we need to consider what Jesus meant by peace in this passage. First, we know that Jesus did come to bring peace [ Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace]. The first word Our Risen Lord speaks to the gathered Apostles on Easter Sunday night is SHALOM, and he repeats the word a few moments later. At the Last Supper Jesus said to the Apostles, PEACE IS MY FAREWELL TO YOU, MY PEACE IS MY GIFT TO YOU. I DO NOT GIVE IT TO YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES PEACE [JN 14:27]. This last sentence is the key to understanding what Jesus says in Matthew 10:34. The Peace that Jesus gives is true and profound it is soul-deep, an abiding awareness of oneself in the embrace of God s power and mercy and love. The peace that the world gives is false peace it is pride, laziness, complacence that phony selfsufficiency that does not need [or even recognize] God. Often hippies and worldlings people in our culture and society seek to give this false peace. People who are possessed by this false peace tend to be disturbed by one who tries to bring the SHALOM of Jesus Christ they are often very disturbed How frequently we see this drama played out in the ministry of Paul, Peter, Stephen, and the other heralds of the Gospel in the Early Church! Thus, the bearer of True Peace ends up being a cause of division. Jesus Christ sought to bring us His Peace and we crucified Him for it. If we seek to bring His Peace to the world, they will certainly treat us as they treated Christ. HOW SHOULD WE DEAL WITH THE ANTI-FAMILY PASSAGES [verses 21 & 34 37] These anti-family passages [e.g. brother against brother father against child daughter against mother etc.] are not about breaking up good families! Jesus Himself was obedient to Joseph and Mary [LK 2:51] and confirmed Himself the FOURTH COMMANDMENT: YOU SHALL HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER in the story of the Rich Young Man [MK 10:19]. In these division passages Jesus is prophesying that there will come a time [especially in the Early Church] when even the members of one s own family will turn and attack their relatives who dare to follow Christ. In spite of tragic situations like this, we must always and everywhere put Jesus Christ first!

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