This week we will be learning a little about Abraham. If you feel energetic enough, read Genesis 11 through 25.
Abraham’s faith led him to believe that God would be able to raise Isaac even from the dead.
Hebrews 11:17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was ready to offer up his only son, 18 of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall your descendants be named.” 19 He considered that God was able to raise men even from the dead; hence he did receive him back and this was a symbol.[1]
Some stuff about Mary
Luke 1:26In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, “Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you!” 29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be. 30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. [2]
MARY: The mother of Jesus. Because she is the mother of Jesus—Son of God and second Person of the Blessed Trinity—according to the flesh, she is rightly called the Mother of God (Theotokos) (148, 495). Mary is also called “full of grace,” and “Mother of the Church,” and in Christian prayer and devotion, “Our Lady,” the “Blessed Virgin Mary,” and the “New Eve” (722, 726, 963). See Virgin Mary.[3]
From the CCC
“Rejoice, you who are full of grace”
721 Mary, the all-holy ever-virgin Mother of God, is the masterwork of the mission of the Son and the Spirit in the fullness of time. For the first time in the plan of salvation and because his Spirit had prepared her, the Father found the dwelling place where his Son and his Spirit could dwell among men. In this sense the Church’s Tradition has often read the most beautiful texts on wisdom in relation to Mary. Mary is acclaimed and represented in the liturgy as the “Seat of Wisdom.” (484)
In her, the “wonders of God” that the Spirit was to fulfill in Christ and the Church began to be manifested:
722 The Holy Spirit prepared Mary by his grace. It was fitting that the mother of him in whom “the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily” should herself be “full of grace.” She was, by sheer grace, conceived without sin as the most humble of creatures, the most capable of welcoming the inexpressible gift of the Almighty. It was quite correct for the angel Gabriel to greet her as the “Daughter of Zion”: “Rejoice.”103 It is the thanksgiving of the whole People of God, and thus of the Church, which Mary in her canticle lifts up to the Father in the Holy Spirit while carrying within her the eternal Son. (489; 2676)
723 In Mary, the Holy Spirit fulfills the plan of the Father’s loving goodness. Through the Holy Spirit, the Virgin conceives and gives birth to the Son of God. By the Holy Spirit’s power and her faith, her virginity became uniquely fruitful. (485; 506)
724 In Mary, the Holy Spirit manifests the Son of the Father, now become the Son of the Virgin. She is the burning bush of the definitive theophany. Filled with the Holy Spirit she makes the Word visible in the humility of his flesh. It is to the poor and the first representatives of the gentiles that she makes him known. (963)
725 Finally, through Mary, the Holy Spirit begins to bring men, the objects of God’s merciful love, into communion with Christ. And the humble are always the first to accept him: shepherds, magi, Simeon and Anna, the bride and groom at Cana, and the first disciples. (208, 2619)
726 At the end of this mission of the Spirit, Mary became the Woman, the new Eve (“mother of the living”), the mother of the “whole Christ.” As such, she was present with the Twelve, who “with one accord devoted themselves to prayer,”109 at the dawn of the “end time” which the Spirit was to inaugurate on the morning of Pentecost with the manifestation of the Church. (494, 2618)[5]
This one is for Estrella and her question about Lot’s daughters. It’s the best I could find. Sorry…..
Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot’s actions in Gen 19, during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, contribute to discussions of whether he is a righteous character. Coats and Jeansonne criticize Lot for his actions in this passage, including:
• his offering of his daughters to the mob (Gen 19:4–8);
• his lingering in Sodom, despite the angels’ command to leave (Gen 19:16);
• his request to go to Zoar (Gen 19:18–22);
• his engaging in drunken incest with his daughters (Gen 19:30–38).
In contrast, Alexander sees Lot as a righteous individual because of his hospitality (Alexander, “Lot’s Hospitality”). In Alexander’s view, Lot offering his daughters reflects a concern to protect his guests. It is also possible to interpret Lot’s daughters of having taken advantage of him.
Turner and Heard assert that neither a wholly negative nor a wholly righteous picture of Lot can be ascertained from Gen 19. Turner comments, “Is Lot righteous? At the beginning of the story (in his offer of hospitality), yes, he is. Is Lot wicked? At certain points in the story (e.g., in his offer of his daughters), yes, he is. Taking ch. 19 as a whole, Lot emerges as being neither entirely righteous nor entirely wicked. He exhibits both qualities” (Turner, “Lot as Jekyll and Hyde,” 99; compare Heard, Dynamics, 61).
The question of why Lot was spared the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is also debated. Alexander argues that Lot was spared because of his righteousness (Alexander, “Lot’s Hospitality”). Jeansonne believes he was spared because of his connection with Abraham (Jeansonne, “Characterization”). The biblical text does not specify that Abraham was thinking of Lot when he begged God to spare Sodom (Gen 18). However, Gen 19:29 connects Lot’s salvation with God’s remembrance of Abraham.[6]
This one is for Janet. Lots daughters getting their father drunk and becoming pregnant by him.
Patriarchal Period. Genesis 19 records that following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Lot’s daughters attempt to preserve their family lineage by engaging in sexual relations with their father. Both daughters conceive and give birth to the eponymous ancestors of the Moabite and Ammonite cultures. Interpreters suggest this material is included in the Genesis narratives to cast these antagonistic neighbors of Israel in a negative light while preserving the close relationship between the two states. Deuteronomy records that at some point the Ammonites drove out the Rephaim and occupied their territory (Deut 2:20–21). However, the last remaining descendent of the Rephaim, Og of Bashan, later conquered approximately half of the Ammonites’ territory (Deut 3:11).[7]
The Aftermath of the Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen 19). The account of Ben-Ammi’s birth falls during the aftermath of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah and should be interpreted within that context. Previously, when the residents of Sodom had come to Lot’s house demanding that he release to them the two angels he was hosting, Lot instead offered to give them his virgin daughters in an attempt to protect his guests (19:1–8). He describes his daughters, who were apparently still living with him, as women “who have not known any man” (Gen 19:8 ESV), implying that they were unmarried and childless.
After describing the destruction of Sodom and the death of Lot’s wife, the account explains that Lot and his unnamed daughters lived in a cave because “he was afraid to live in Zoar” (Gen 19:30 ESV). Fearing that their family line would cease, Lot’s daughters decide to intoxicate their father and conceive children by him. The son of the younger daughter was Ben-Ammi. Ross finds it ironic that, earlier in the chapter, Lot had offered to give his daughters to the men of Sodom to be raped, and later Lot’s daughters sexually exploit him (Ross, Daughters of Lot, 1–5).
Genesis’ description of Ben-Ammi and his half-brother being conceived through incest offers an unflattering story of origin for the nations of Ammon and Moab and may reflect a later period when Israel shared a negative relationship with Ammon (see Collins, Weapons Upon Her Body, 8, 29). The Genesis narrative does not explicitly condemn Lot and his daughters’ actions (Heard, Dynamics of Deselection, 59–61). However, the apocryphal book of Jubilees calls their actions “sin … such as had not been on the earth since the days of Adam till this time” (Jubilees 16:8–9). Many Christian commentators throughout history have likewise taken a negative view toward Lot and his daughters (Grossman, “Associative Meanings,” 40–57; Humphreys Character of God, 125–27). However, Collins has offered an alternative perspective in noting that Lot’s daughters were acting in desperation and, through their actions, managed to save their family line from extinction (Collins, Weapons Upon Her Body, 116). Under this interpretation, Lot’s daughters took on the patriarchal role of leading the family, so Lot’s legacy would be carried through their sons, Moab and Ben-Ammi.[8]
And here is the story of the “Tent peg through the head” I mentioned.
Judges 4:17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite; for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera, and said to him, “Turn aside, my lord, turn aside to me; have no fear.” So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, “Pray, give me a little water to drink; for I am thirsty.” So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, “Stand at the door of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, ‘Is any one here?’ say, No.” 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand, and went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple, till it went down into the ground, as he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said to him, “Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking.” So he went in to her tent; and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple. [9]
[1] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). (1994). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition (Heb 11:17–19). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
[2] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). (1994). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition (Lk 1:26–31). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.
[3] Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., p. 887). Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.
[4]Newberry, T., & Berry, G. R. (2004). The interlinear literal translation of the Greek New Testament (Lk 1:28). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[5] Catholic Church. (2000). Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd Ed., pp. 191–192). Washington, DC: United States Catholic Conference.
[6] Rickett, D. (2012, 2013, 2014). Lot, Son of Haran, Critical Issues. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Dodd, R. A. (2012, 2013, 2014). Ammonites. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Williams, S. A. (2012, 2013, 2014). Ben-Ammi, Son of Lot. In J. D. Barry, L. Wentz, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair-Wolcott, R. Klippenstein, D. Bomar, … D. R. Brown (Eds.), The Lexham Bible Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain). (1994). The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition (Jdg 4:17–22). New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.