Reminder: Read, Review and Analyze Carefully!

Bear in mind all the highlighted

information in greens and blues.

Do well in all your exams! Ace the exam with good and godly intentions that you may be
of service to God, His people and His entire creation. Find happiness and take pride and
honor in obtaining scores without resorting to what is not likely a Christian value (e.g.
cheating). Observe Christian Living before excellence while taking the exams. May the
grace of the Holy Spirit guide you in discerning the correct answers! God bless you all!

Sacrament: means channel, representative, visible sign of an invisible reality

God Jesus Church

The Sacrament of God is Jesus and the Sacrament of Jesus is the Church (John 20:21,
Acts 1:8)

The Church started as a religious renewal “movement”/group in Jerusalem, Israel by no other

than Jesus Christ. Jesus grounded the Church on the foundation of the Apostles and it
spread from Jerusalem to the Roman Empire world until throughout all the earth.

The first “name” of the Church was The Way (Acts 9:2), The members of the Church
were called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11: 26). The Church was persecuted by the Roman
Empire (which was still pagan) until the Conversion of the Emperor Constantine in 313 AD
which paved the way for Christians to infiltrate Rome until Christianity was declared as
the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 AD by Emperor Theodosius.

Way back in 45 AD, the first apostle who went to Rome and started the Church there
was no other than Peter. Later, reflecting on the mission of Jesus which He passed on to the
Church, the Church’s official “name” or title evolved into: One (John 17:21), Holy (Ephesians
1:4, 5:27, I Peter 2:9), Catholic (Matthew 28: 18-20, Acts 1:8, Gen 12: 3, John 3: 16-17) and
Apostolic (Ephesians 2:20 )

From the Church developed the Hierarchy (Bishops, priests, and deacons – with the
Pope as the overall head for the sake of division of work and maintaining the unity of the Church
while it spreads the Kingdom of God on earth.

From the Church comes the different “kinds” of priests according to spirituality or
mission area.
a. Diocesan is a term use for priests serving their local places;
b. Monks: started in the 3rd century AD in Egypt and in Syria with a life of simplicity or
asceticism.

Monks who are composed of sisters (not priests) only came out later. Example of few
monks in Cagayan who are sisters are those at the St. Claire monastery in Iguig.

c. Missionaries are group/community of priests who really want to go to serve remote places
not yet evangelize.
Examples of missionaries are the following:
c.1. The Dominicans who was founded by St. Dominic in Prouille, France in 1216. (Dominic
was a Spanish
priest).
c.2. The Augustinians which started in 1244 in Italy (group or no specific founder).
c.3. The Jesuits or called Society of Jesus who was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola,
formerly a Spanish
soldier who became priest.
c.4. The CICM and other missionary groups only came out later.

 The CICM was founded by a diocesan priest Theophile Verbist in 1862 in Scheut,
Anderlecht, Brussels, Belgium.

So what is a CICM? It is just one of the missionary groups which is an arm of the
Church for evangelization.

One of the strategies for missionaries to evangelize people especially the youth to prepare
them to become also evangelizers in the future is to establish schools. With this, the missionary
schools and even in the schools established by the local Church, the core of the curriculum is
the Christian Faith Education of the young (children to college). In a wider sense, the Christian
formation of the Community who are in the school. The CICM established schools for such
purpose. Here at the University of Saint Louis, our motto for us to always remember this is
“Mission and Excellence” and among the core values of our University’s Vision-Mission, the first
is Christian Living.

 USL’S MOTTO: WISDOM BUILDS

USL’s VISION, MISSION, AND

CORE VALUES

VISION
USL is a global learning community recognized for science and technology
across all disciplines, strong research, and responsive community engagement
grounded on the CICM mission and identity for a distinctive student experience.

MISSION
USL sustains a Catholic academic community that nurtures persons for
community, church and society anchored on CICM’s Missio et Excellentia.

EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY AND CORE VALUES

The University of Saint Louis upholds the philosophy that education is for building of self
and persons for the Church and the Society. Wisdom builds. To these ends, the following are
 the core values of University of Saint Louis; integral in the formation of every member of the
Louisian community.

a. Christian Living. We are witnesses to the Gospel values as taught and lived by Christ thus
making God’s love known and experienced by all.

b. Excellence. We seek and maintain uncompromising standard of quality in teaching, learning,

service, and stewardship of school resources.

c. Professional Responsibility. We are committed to efficiently and responsibly apply the

learned principles, values and skills in the chosen field of discipline, taking initiative and
command responsibility in one’s professional advancement.

d. Social Awareness and Involvement. We engage ourselves with society by listening to the
prevailing issues and concerns in the society, thereby initiating and participating in constructive
and relevant social activities for the promotion of justice, peace and integrity of creation and for
people’s wellness and development consistent with the CICM charism.

e. Innovation, Creativity and Agility. We keep ourselves relevant and responsive to the
changing needs of our stakeholders by being flexible, solution oriented, and having cutting-edge
decisions and practices.

Introduction to Sacred Scriptures

The Formation of the Bible
The Bible did not come out as a book/compiled from the beginning. The process was
God’s revelation to people, oral tradition by which the people preached and passed it to the next
generations, and the writing stage.

The whole Bible was written over a period of more than 1000 years. From about 1000
BC (OT) to about 100 AD (NT).

Crucial Events that led to the Formation of the Bible

1. The Call of Abraham: The call of Abraham (Gen
12:1-3) marked the very beginning of God’s historical
intervention in the lives of humans to bring them back
to His fold, since they have been going astray. This was
the actual start of God’s mission of bringing Salvation
(total well-being, true meaning of life) to humanity. God
made a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:7-8) which
will be followed up by the Israelites, the descendants of Abraham being formed into one nation
who will live the covenant and statutes of God.

2. The Exodus and the Covenant at Mt. Sinai: This event speaks about God’s direct
intervention in liberating the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt through Moses and the giving
of the Decalogue or 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai. The 10 Commandments made God’s
intention clearer, to free or to save people from going astray using the Israelites, His chosen
people as starting point.

3. The Establishment of the Kingdom: With the Kingship of David, the kingdom of
Israel was finally established. This was the most prosperous and peaceful time for the Israelites.
So, David became the model king for the Israelites. This was made possible because of his
faithfulness to God.

Despite the exemplary kingship of David, the succeeding kings failed to emulate
or even just to sustain, it led to the unfaithfulness of the Israelites. This unfaithfulness came in
the form of idolatry or believing and worshipping other gods, and even oppressing their poor co-
Israelites. God will again intervene by sending the prophets to remind them their covenant with
God which they should be faithful to. The prophets will only write their messages usually at their
old age if not, by their “disciples.” Despite the coming out of the prophets the situation even
became worst which will lead to their exile.

4. The Babylonian Exile (587 BC): With the

unfaithfulness of the Israelites, God allowed them to be conquered
by other countries until their exile in Babylon by King
Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians burned Jerusalem and the
temple and exiled all the rich and proud Israelites in Babylon and
made them their slaves. This experience in Babylonian exile made
the Israelites realize their unfaithfulness and their being unjust to
the poor and decided to remorse and return back to God. This
was the time that they wrote some of their concept about God
such as the Creation Story and others which was usually passed
orally. So, they started to worship God in small groups in small
places which will be called Synagogue by praying
and studying the Torah (commandments).

King Cyrus of Persia defeated Babylon and

freed the Israelites and later allowed them to go
back to Israel in 538 BC with the guidance of the
prophets Ezra and Nehemiah.
Later when there will be no more prophets,
Israel tried to look for other guidance for a
meaningful life and so this was the time they have
written their wisdom books.
5. The Jesus Event: Jesus is the perfect
embodiment of God’s mission. The same process
with that of the Old Testament, that there was
Jesus who personally worked for the kingdom, later the apostles will continue Jesus’ mission by
preaching (oral tradition) and at their old age will be the writing.

The evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) wrote their gospels at the
second half of the 1st century A.D (50-100 AD) which was the stage of the early Church. Aside
from the Gospels, the other books of the New Testament such as the Pauline letters and other
Epistles were written at this era and even later.

The Catholic Church (recall the evolution of the Church from The Way to
Becoming One Holy Catholic and Apostolic in week 1 topic) started to compile all the books
which they believe to be inspired by the Holy Spirit from the time of Prophets until after the
Jesus’ event which they will call BIBLE. The first compilation was in 360 AD, another was in 382
AD, and another in 1441 AD and the final was in 1545 by the Council of Trent or meeting of the
Church in Trent. The compiled books of the Bible since 360 AD were all 73. 46 books of
the Old Testament which includes the 7 Deutero-canonical and 27 books of the New
Testament. The Church carefully discerned the canon/books of the sacred scriptures. It was
Tertulian (200 AD) who introduced the “Old Testament” for the Jewish/Israelites Scriptures and
“New Testament” for the Christian Scriptures. (From the very beginning there were no
protestant churches yet since they started emerging in the 16 th century and they will later follow
the Canon of the Israelites who did not accept the Seven Deutero-canonical books as inspired
by the Holy Spirit.)

The Israelites who did not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and stick to their
Old Testament beliefs and practices called their religion Judaism in 70 A.D. They only
finalized the compilation/canon of their sacred scriptures (which were Old Testament books)
around 930-1009 AD. They called their canon of Sacred Scriptures TaNaK which stands for
Torah (Law/Pentateuch), Nevi’im (Prophets/Prophetic books), Ketuvi’m (Writings/wisdom
books). The TaNaK is composed of 24 books. In their counting it is 24 but if you count
their books individually it is actually 39. They only have 39 books since they did not
include the 7 Deutero-canonical books. This counting of the books of the Old Testament will
be the basis of the Protestants (who only emerged in the 16th century) when they had their
version of the Bible.

BIBLE
A. ORIGIN OF THE WORD BIBLE
 Names Used for the Bible
The bible has a lot of characteristics given
mainly by the ancient people. Thus, the existence
of its other names:

Holy Scriptures:
The bible is also
called Holy Scriptures
which was taken from the
Latin scriptus, meaning
“written” and Greek
graphe, Hebrew (mikra),
the word refers to
religious writings that are
considered authoritative,
foundational, and/or
sacred by some religious
groups.

Holy Writ:
“Writ” literally means something that is written, the Bible is also called Holy Writ
because it contains salvation history that started with the call of Abraham and climaxed
with Jesus’ Paschal Mystery.

The Word of God:

The Greek term used is logos, which means “a word as embodying a concept or
discourse.” It is also used of the “revelation of God’s word.”
The Oracles of God
This name is used in Rom. 3:2 and Acts 7:38 where it is translated as oracles.
For Christians, the whole Bible can be called “The Oracles of God because it contains God’s
divine utterance for humanity.

The Law (Torah)

The Jews call their Scriptures as Torah or Law, because the whole of the Old Testament
is authoritative as God’s Word of instructions to humanity on how to live well as human beings.

The Law and the Prophets

This name looks at the Old Testament from the perspective of its divisions (which
will be discussed to you as we move towards learning) -the law, the prophets and the writings.

BIBLICAL INSPIRATION

Salvation or in short called Salvific Truth.

The Holy Spirit acted in and through the
author’s own natural powers and abilities,
God did not dictate what to write, but the
Holy Spirit made sure that in their choice
of words and forms of expression they
were conveying the message of God.

corresponds to the intention of the author.

INERRANCY OF THE
BIBLE
Since the Bible is not a scientific book, not even
a pure historical one, there might be errors in it such
as; spelling, grammar, structure and worldview, but
in terms of its salvific message which is the truth
about our salvation it has no error. Why? Because
it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
 LANGUAGES OF THE SACRED
SCRIPTURES
Except for the Deutero-canonical books whose original manuscripts did not survive, all
the Old Testament scrolls were originally written in Hebrew which is one of the ancient
languages of the Israelites. The New Testament books were all written in Greek.

BIBLICAL CANON
Explanation of Terms

Etymologically the word Canon

comes from Latin ‘Canon’ which is a translation of
Greek word, derived from Hebrew, meaning bar or
rod used for measuring. As a tool for measuring,
like a ruler or T-square it is used as a basis to
draw a straight line. Symbolically the word
canon is applied as norm or standard in proclaiming an official teaching of the Church .
Adopted with Christian importance the word was used in the Canon of Saints, Canon of the
Mass, and Canon of the Bible. These examples suggest that there are official contents which
we must observe as standard, thus, outside these lists, invalidates its connection to the
Church’s teachings.

We are now ready to define the term Biblical Canon.

It is a collection or a list of books which the Church receives as divinely inspired

and which she considers as norm of faith and morals. We say that the Bible is a library---
books within a book. Librarians must make an account of all the books which the library had
acquired. Like a librarian, the Church takes into account the list of books to be treated as the
official roster which we should uphold as divinely inspired. Thus, the Church has the authority to
approve and reject a book to be included in the
Scriptures.

With these in mind, let us look at the

relationship of Biblical Inspiration and Biblical
Canon. Inspiration is the work of the Holy
Spirit while canonicity is the work of the
Church. Inspiration is simultaneous with the
composition since the Holy Spirit inspired the
human authors. Canon of the Bible simply
means the Church just collected and compiled into one the books which passed the
criteria as being inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Church recognizes this book as the
Word of God for our Salvation. As sacred and inspired, it becomes Canonical.

The Catholic Church recognizes two groups of Canonical Books--- Protocanonical and
Deuterocanonical Books.

Proto is a Greek word which means first. Protocanonical Books belong to the first
collection of books (Canon) of which the Church had no difficulty in accepting their inspired
character. They easily passed the criteria as being inspired by the Holy Spirit. These are the 39
books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament.

Deutero is also a Greek word, meaning second. Deuterocanonical Books belong to the
second canon. These books were carefully discerned and even disputed before being
accepted by the Church as inspired.
The Deuterocanonical Books are the books of Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach,
1 Maccabees and 2 Maccabees. Moreover, there are some books which came out after the
death of the Apostles which are not inspired. These books are called Apocryphal Books.
The word apokriptus in Greek means hidden. Thus, in order for the readers not to be misled
with the teachings of the uninspired books, the Church invalidates its credibility as a norm of
faith and morals.

In order not to be confused with the Bible editions that we have today, it is also good to
know that the Protestants who only came out later in the 16 th Century followed the Jewish
groups who did not recognize the Deuterocanonical Books as inspired. So, in order to know if
our Bible is a Catholic one, we look at its list if the Deuterocanonical Books are included.

Events that will support the inclusion of the 7 Deutero-Canonical books

1. Septuagint or LXX: This was a Greek

translation of the Old Testament by 72 Jewish
Scholars in Egypt upon the request of King Ptolemy
Philadelphus around 300-200 BC. The Jewish
scholars translated their scriptures from Hebrew to
Greek and they came out with 46 copies (OT). This
means that the 7 deutero-canonical books had their
original bases but these copies may have been
destroyed or were not preserved. This Septuagint version of the Old Testament was also used
by the Apostles.

2. Dead Sea Scrolls: This event had

happened after the Canon of the Bible was
finalized, but greatly proves that the inclusion of the
7 deutero-canonical books in the Bible is correct.
Between the years 1947 and 1956 they discovered scrolls in eleven caves along the Northwest
shore of the Dead Sea which were ancient copies of all the 46 Old Testament books, these
copies were most likely written by the Essenes around 200 BC.

The canon of Scriptures is divided into the books written before Jesus’ life (Old
Testament) and those written after (New Testament). Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church
determined the inspired and normative New Testament Books in terms of their apostolic origin,
coherence with the essential Gospel Message, and constant use in the Church’s Liturgy. After a
long development, the Church finally accepted as inspired, sacred and canonical, the 46 books
of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New Testament that we find in our Catholic Bible.

Biblical Interpretation
As divinely inspired, the Bible carries truth.
Moreover, in getting the meaning of the text we
must treat truth objectively. The meaning of the text
is not always in its literal sense but employing some
methodic ways of hermeneutics, there is a need to dig
the meaning of it. We should also understand that in
reading the Bible, we may encounter a lot of scientific
and historical errors. Even though the Bible is
speaking about science and history, it is not trying to
present facts about them, for the purpose of the
Bible is the self-disclosure of God to us and
treating this as a the Word of God for us and for
our salvation.

The Bible is a book written in different literary styles. Thus, in order for us to be led to the
meaning of the text it is deem necessary to discuss some literary genres present in the
Scriptures.

Some of the Major Genres within the Hebrew Bible (Old

Testament)
1. Foundational Myths and Legends- Narratives about the beginning of the world, the first
generations of humans, early years of nation, intended to provide a foundational world-view
upon which people base their communal and individual lives. (Ex. Gen, parts of Exod., Num,
and Deut)
2. Legal Codes- collection of laws by which the people are to live (Lev, parts of Exod, Num,
Deut)

3. Genealogies- lists of inter-relationships between peoples, either of successive generations or

different nations (Parts of Gen, much of Num)

4. Annals- semi-historical narrative accounts of decisive events in a nation’s life that gives
emphasis on the political and military exploits of its leaders. (Josh, Jdg, 1 & 2 Sam, 1 & 2 Kings)

5. Prophetic Books- collection of oracles or words of God spoken to the people through human
intermediaries and the symbolic actions they perform at God’s direction for the people’s benefit
(Isaiah, Jeremiah, etc.)

6. Psalms- poetic lyrics of songs/ hymns intended for communal worship and individual prayer.
(Psalms)

7. Laments- words addressed by people to God, especially reflecting situations of crisis or

laments

8. Proverbs- generalized sayings and aphorisms containing advice on how to live well: “do
good and avoid evil”

9. Apocalypses- symbolic narratives that interpret historical crises through God’s eyes to
provide hope for a better future. (Dan)

Some of the Major Genres within the New Testament

1. Gospels- proclamation of the “good news” about Jesus intended to establish/ strengthen
people’s faith in Him; quasi-biographical, semi-historical portraits of the life, teachings, and
actions of Jesus (Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn) The gospels contain many sub-genres of literature.

2. Acts- a partial narrative account about the beginnings and the growth of early Christianity;
not a complete history of the early Church, since it focuses only on the actions of few missionary
leaders.

3. Letter/Epistles- real letters addressing practical and theological issues relevant to particular
communities

4. Homily/ Sermon- an exegetical sermon that cites and interprets older biblical texts in
reference to Jesus. (Heb)

5. Enyclicals- more stylized works in letter format; circular letters intended for broader
audiences. (1 & 2 Pt)

6. Apocalypse- a vividly symbolic narrative that “reveals” God’s views about a historical crisis in
order to provide encouragement for a difficult present and hope for a better future. (Rev)
Smaller Genres and Sub-Genres within New Testament:

 The New Testament Gospel contain narrative materials, discourse materials, and some
mixed genres:
 Narrative genres include the following:
-genealogies
-narrators introductions, transitions and summary passages
-miracle stories
-call and sending stories
-conflict or controversy stories
 Discourse genres include the following:
-parables and allegories
-laws and legal interpretations
-short exhortations: individual sayings or proverbs
-longer speeches: discourses or monologues

There are two kinds of interpreting the Biblical Text. The first one is Exegesis, It is the
exposition of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally
means “to lead out of” that means that the interpreter is being led to his conclusions by
following the text.

Exegesis is drawing out the meaning of the text after considering its background or
context such as the background of the author, his styles of writing and delivering his
message to his audience, the audience of the author, the time and situation of the
audience to mention few. With this method, the interpreter will be able to determine the
message of the Biblical text. According to Catechism of Filipino Catholics 92-96, there are at
least four factors which play significant part in interpreting the Scripture: (i) the inspired human
author’s intention, (ii) the text itself, (iii) the reader of the text, (iv) the common horizon
connecting the original community context of the text with our community reading today.

Eisegesis, is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical

reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,” which means the interpreter injects
his own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants. This kind of interpretation
may be implied during reflection, Bible sharing, and personal prayers. However, the task
of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God has been entrusted to the living
teaching office of the Church alone. (Dei Verbum No. 10)

Between the two methods of interpreting the text in the Bible, Exegesis is the proper or
highly recommended, as it is being used by the official interpreters of the Bible.

Why is the need to do exegesis in interpreting the Bible? First, we must know or be
aware that we do not have the copy of the original Sacred Scriptures which were written in
Hebrew and Greek. All the Bible editions that we have today are just translations from the
original manuscripts. Even in the process of translating the scriptures, there is/are “dagdag-
bawas” if the translator is not careful. Remember that the translations/editions are most often
not in exact words or not literal. This means that the words in the translations may not capture
the exact meaning of the words in the original manuscript. Second, we are not the original
audience of the authors of the Sacred Scriptures. These were the Israelites. This means that the
worldview and message of the authors were focus on their direct audience. Third, the situation
of the original audience may not be the same with our situation at present. So, with these
important reminders, we cannot directly apply the words of the Bible to us but a lot of it should
be re-appropriated or be contextualized to our situation at present.

Chapters and Verses

When the Bible was compiled there were no chapters and verses yet. Stephen Langton,
Archbishop of Canterbury divided the Bible into chapters only in 1227. Later, Robert Stephanus
divided the Bible into verses only in 1551.

How to read Chapters and Verses in the Bible?

Genesis 3:16
The word Genesis represents the book, the first number before the colon (3) represents
the chapter while the number after the colon (16) represents the verse. The above sample reads
as Genesis chapter 3 verse 16.

The Patriarchs

For us to understand the importance of the Patriarchs in the history of the

Israelites or in modern term called Jewish people, let us make a glimpse of the stories
before the calling of the first Patriarch--- Abraham. These stories are called
“reconstructed history” by some Biblical experts.

Stories in the Old Testament revolve with

the cycle of sin-curse-blessing/restoration.
When Adam and Eve committed the sin of
pride and disobedience, they became
conscious and were ashamed that they are
naked. In Genesis 3, the curse or
punishment was given by God in verse 16
and 17, such as pain in child bearing,
making man till the soil before reaping its
fruits, and death as the consequence of the
sin they have committed. As a blessing,
towards the end, God did not allow them to
be naked, he made garments of skins and
clothed them.
Same cycle is also applied in the story
of the children of Adam and Eve--- Cain
and Abel. In Genesis 4, Cain out of
jealousy murdered his brother Abel, who
was a more favored son because of his best offering to God. Clearly, in this story sin
was present in the act of killing and the feeling of jealousy by Cain. After which the
punishment was when the Lord said’ “…and now you are cursed from the ground…
When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield you its produce; you shall be a fugitive
and a wanderer on earth.”(Gen 4, 11-12 RSV) Cain was fearful of becoming a fugitive
and wanderer and said “My punishment is greater than I can bear… you have driven me
… and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will slay
me.”(Gen 4, 13-14) However, as a response on the fear of Cain, the Lord answered,
“Not so! If anyone slays Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold. And then
the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest any one who came upon him should kill him.”
(Genesis 4, 15) Even though the Lord cursed him to be a fugitive and wanderer, yet the
blessing came when He promised that Cain will never be killed.
The pattern is also the same in the Story of Noah in Genesis 6. The wickedness
of mankind made God plan to wipe out all people on earth. As a symbol for cleansing,
the great flood was the punishment. However, Noah was presented as the blessing
when he builds the ark to save them from the flood. After the flood subsided, there was
only one nation under the descendants of Noah.
When people grew in number sin comes into the fore again in the story of the
tower of Babel. The building of the tower of Babel was a desire to have fame so that
their names will spread throughout all the earth and the next generation instead of that
of God (Genesis 11:4). It was also a sin of disobedience since they did not spread
throughout all the earth as God commanded their forefathers. Their desire to be the
ones to be glorified instead of God was shattered when the Lord differentiated their
languages. Thus, they really were scattered on earth as God planned for people.
The cycle in the stories before the calling of the Patriarchs presents the people’s
act of always turning away from God despite God’s act of always restoring them. This
act of committing sin was continuous from the forefathers to the next generations. This
will lead to God’s calling the first Patriarch Abraham to start journeying with His people.
Meanwhile the continuity of sin is what we call “original sin”. Why original?
Because it is not local (joke only). Original sin does not mean that we inherited the
sins committed by our forefathers but what we inherited is the weak human
nature which has the tendency to commit sin. In tagalog, this is called “kahinaan
ng tao”. This is the reason why some of us when we are accused of committing
mistake would answer by saying “tao lang”. Water or the flood as a sign of cleansing in
the story of Noah will come to us in the water of Baptism which will remove our original
sin and so we are also marked as God’s people. So, with our Baptism, we hope that we
overcome that weakness of being “tao” will live out our nature as the image of God. This
means that if God is good, we should also be good, if God is just, we should also be
just, and so on and so forth. You can enumerate a lot of God’s traits which we should
live being his image such as loving, caring, compassionate, etc.
With the continuity of sin or people always turning away from God, comes the
calling of Abraham in Genesis 12. How will Abraham become a blessing? Who is
Abraham? What is his role in the life of the people of God and in God’s plan for all
people?

Genesis 12:1-3: The Call of Abraham.

 Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your
kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show
you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you,
and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will
bless those who bless you, and him who curses you I will curse;
and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves.”[a]
4 
So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five
years old when he departed from Haran. 5 And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s
son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in
Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of
Canaan, 6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak [b] of Moreh. At that
time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, “To your
descendants I will give this land.” So, he built
there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared
to him. 

Let us analyze the words of God to

Abram in Genesis 12:1-4. What are the three
things that God promised to Abraham? Among
those three promises, which one is clearly
telling us that God calling Abraham was just
the beginning of His plan to give salvation to
humanity? Obviously, the first promise was
the land which is Canaan as found in
Genesis 12:5. For the second promise which
Abram did not immediately believe was the
son since he had no heir with Sarai. How can
Abram become a great nation if he will not
have children or even a son? The third promise which may also be very remote for Abram
was God’s plan to save or journey with His people starting with Abram and his
descendants who will be the Israelites. This third promise was greatly implied in Genesis
12: 4, when God said, “all the families of the earth will find blessing in you.”

God’s covenant with Abraham

With the plan of God for all people as greatly implied in the calling of Abraham, there are
series of events that will slowly give signs on how it will be carried out starting with Abraham.
With the promises of land and a son to Abram, the next would be the changing of their names
and the circumcision (Genesis 17:1-22). Circumcision is a sign of cleanliness and holiness,
which means that one must walk blameless with God. The changing of names has a deep
and greater implication. In Genesis 17:5, 15, God will change the names of Abram and
Sarai into Abraham and Sarah. Change of names in the Bible greatly implies the change
that the person must undergo, and the name greatly signifies one’s mission that he will
carry out. One good example of this is the name “Jesus” which means savior (Matthew 1:21).
With this, Abraham’s mission was to become the “father of a multitude of nations”.
 How will Abraham become the “father of a
multitude of nations”? Biologically, Abraham
was the father of the Hebrew nation only or
the Israelites. How can we call Abraham our
father? As said in Genesis 12:3, how can we
gain blessing through Abraham? With this, we
must ask the question, what was really the
covenant between God and Abraham in its
fullest sense? In Genesis 17:7- 8, it is greatly
implied that God will slowly introduce Himself
as the God not only of Abraham but even his
descendants. So, the covenant was “I will be
your/their God. While Abraham and his
descendants were the only ones being
mention here, we need to go back to the
wider context of God’s words to Abraham
which was “all the families of the earth will
find blessing in you.” Back to the question,
how will Abraham become the “father of a
multitude of nations” or how can we call
Abraham our father? The people descended
from Abraham would be the trustee, the
chosen people, called to prepare for that day
when God will gather all his children into unity. They would be the root onto which the
gentiles would be grafted, once they come to believe. So, what would connect us with
Abraham? It is our faith in the God (YHWH) who called Abraham and the patriarchs. So,
Abraham is not our biological father, but he is our father of faith. This is why we
hear many people singing “father Abraham has many children, and I am one of them…”
Still, we have to ask the question of how will God bless all the families of the earth
through Abraham? Who is the person from the lineage of Abraham who will bless all the
families on earth? Going back to the background of the calling of the patriarchs, it was
because of the people continuously committing sin. So, it is now very clear that the
person who will bless us all is no other than the Savior, the Word or the promise of God
who became flesh. It is now clear that Abraham is our father of faith.

Readers may be troubled by God's choice of Abram. Is Abram somehow special,

or better, or more religious than other people? Again, God called people not because
they are perfect or holy, but God would intervene and comes to our rescue
because of our sinfulness. Abraham’s faith was tested many times when he
questioned his being childless, but again, this is where God’s power and love would
work. The ultimate test of his faith was when God asked him to offer his only son Isaac
which was just a proof that Abraham now would fully trust God after all his encounters
with Him. So, with faith in God, His grace will overcome our human weaknesses.

Conclusion
 The Story of Abraham is the actual starting point of God bringing salvation
to humanity although this has been planned since when the first persons committed sin
(Gen. 3:15). Abraham became the father of the Israelites whom God will continue to use
as instruments in spreading His Love / salvation for all. From the Israelites would come
the peak of God’s promise to give blessing to all the families on earth.

The Next Patriarchs

The major theme of Genesis 12-50 is

how God overcomes obstacles in order to keep
His covenant and the promises that goes with
it. From Abraham to the next patriarchs until their
formation as God’s chosen people, God would
sustain His covenant with them. He was a God
who really journeyed with them.

After Abraham, the next patriarchs would be

his son Isaac, who is the father of Jacob and his
twelve sons who would become the
founders/fathers of the Israelites until they will be
formed as one nation. Among the sons of Jacob,
the one who would become famous since he was
God’s instrument for saving Jacob’s family from
the great famine would be Joseph.
The story of Joseph going first to Egypt could not also be understood by many
until its peak which was his becoming the acting pharaoh of Egypt who will eventually
rescue his family when the great famine even affected Canaan where his parents and
brothers lived.
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob. He was considered the favorite son of Jacob
and was a dreamer and an interpreter of dreams. One of his dreams when he was
young was that the sun and the moon and eleven stars were bowing down to him. His
brothers were so envious that they tried to kill him but later decided to sell him. They
sold him to the Ishmaelites, but the Midianites traders pulled and took Joseph to Egypt
and sold him to Potiphar who was a courtier and chief steward of the Pharaoh. By the
way, the term “Pharaoh” is a “title” for the king of Egypt. Joseph’s refusal to have an
affair with the wife of Potiphar who reversed the story sent Joseph to the prison cell.
Despite the hardships in Egypt his name became great because of his
interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream. This will eventually promote him to become the
governor or the acting Pharaoh of Egypt. Pharaoh’s dream was about a great famine
who would come after years of good harvest.
The famine for which the Egyptian greatly prepared for with the leadership of
Joseph did not only
affect Egypt but even Canaan where Jacob’s family was. With such great crisis in food,
Jacob asked his sons to go to Egypt to buy food which will lead to their discovery of
Joseph who will eventually let them settle in Egypt.
 In the stories of the next patriarchs, God would always remind that He is the God
of their forefathers and would always sustain His covenant with them.

Moses, the greatest prophet in the history of the Israelites

Why is Moses so important in the life of the Israelites? Let

us take a journey of what had happened during the Egyptian
persecution and how God will rescue His people.

The story of the prophet Moses is common to most

Christians and is so important for the Israelites. As an infant, he
was rescued by no other than the princess, who was the daughter
of the Pharaoh who ordered the killing of the male babies of the
Israelites. Consequently, Moses grew in the palace of the Pharaoh
as a prince. Despite growing in the palace, Moses knew very well
that he was an Israelite. Moses was so upset with the condition of
his co-Israelites who being slaves were also maltreated by most
Egyptians. With this, he did something bad in the eyes of the
Egyptians and the Pharaoh. He had to run away for his life and fled
to a place called Midian. He met Jethro and later married Zipporah,
one of the daughters of Jethro.

The Calling of Moses

3 Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the
priest of Mid′ian; and he led his flock to the west side of the
wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel
of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a
bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was burning, yet it was not
consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside and see this great
sight, why the bush is not burnt.” 4 When the LORD saw that he turned
aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And
he said, “Here am I.” 5 Then he said, “Do not come near; put off your
shoes from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy
ground.” 6 And he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid
his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 
Then the LORD said, “I have seen the affliction of my people who are
in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; I
know their sufferings, 8 and I have come down to deliver them out of
the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a
good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place
of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per′izzites, the
Hivites, and the Jeb′usites. 9 And now, behold, the cry of the people of
Israel has come to me, and I have seen the oppression with which the
Egyptians oppress them. 10 Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you
may bring forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt.” 11 But
Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring
 the sons of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you; and
this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have
brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this
mountain.”

God called Moses at the time when Moses has chosen the paths of a father and a
shepherd of sheep. He does this in the desert where Moses apparently isolated himself from the
misfortunes of his people. This calling of Moses marks the beginning of God’s direct
intervention in the history of the Israelites. God asked Moses to return to Egypt to deliver
the Israelites out from their slavery.

Who is this God who called Moses? How did

He introduce Himself to Moses and why does this
God intervene in the situation/life of the Israelites in
Egypt? Let us analyze some words or verses in the
calling of Moses. First, God asked Moses to remove
his sandals and staff since the ground where he
stood is holy. Therefore, this God is a Holy God. This
God deserves the highest respect from anyone. Even
the ground or place where God called Moses is
considered holy. This is one of the bases of the
practice of the Catholic Church of respecting holy
place, things, and other matters that God uses as an
instrument in communicating with His people. This also tells us that anything, or person or
other matters that God uses as instruments is holy.

The holiness of God radiates to these instruments or medium. The presence of God or
His grace will convert the person to become holy. This is why most theologians would say “God
does not call the qualified, but He qualifies the ones whom He will call for a mission”. Moses
even had to hide his face, knowing that looking at God could cost him his life (v. 5). In the
beliefs of the Israelites, one is not worthy to see God, that is why they must cover their face
whenever they encounter God “face to face”. Second, God said, He saw the sufferings of His
people in Egypt and heard their cry. This means that this God is a Compassionate God. God’s
intention to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage is not only motivated by His holiness,
but also by His compassion for them in the midst of their affliction. Third, why did God say
“my people” referring to the Israelites in verse 7? How did the Israelites become people of God?
This reminds us of the covenant that God made with their forefather Abraham when he
told him that he will become a father of multitude and He will be their God. Here we can
see the very reason why God called Moses; that this God is a very FAITHFUL God. He is
faithful to His covenant with Abraham, which He sustained with Isaac, with Jacob, until the
formation of the Israelites, His chosen people. This was very clear when God introduced Himself
to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that there is a covenant and the promise
attached with it that God is maintaining. In a wider context, that God’s plan to bring salvation to
humanity beginning with the Israelites has to be fulfilled.

If we continue reading the call of Moses, he also asked the name of this God, and God
said “I AM” / YHWH. For many Biblical experts, this “YHWH” or “I AM” is not really a name.
This is because in the strict sense, God has no name since giving a name to God would put
limitations on Him. The two great implications of this “name” YHWH/I AM are: first, God is here,
God is Alive, or this God is a living God. This means that this God/YHWH is existing; it is not
just an imagination or a wish. Second, “I AM” means I am here, and I will be with you or will
accompany you. This assurance of God’s presence to those whom He will send for the
mission will be God’s consistent word to the next prophets until the Apostles (Matthew 28:19-
20) that God called and will send for the mission. One important question in the events before
the calling of Moses was, why did Moses grow in the palace of the pharaoh? Aside from being
saved from the killing of the male babies, Moses grew in the palace for him to be prepared as a
leader in the future; to lead the Israelites out from Egyptian bondage to be formed as God’s
chosen people.

What will be the role of Moses as a leader for the Israelites and what will be the source of
his strength as a leader? Moses will be the “mouth” of God for the Israelites and he will be
God’s spoke person to Pharaoh when he will convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Moses’
strength or source of authority will be God whom he represents and who is accompanying him.
This was clear during his calling when God said, “I will be with you” when Moses was so
hesitant to go to Pharaoh. With this, it is very clear that when God calls someone for a mission,
God will accompany him. God will always accompany someone or people He will send for a
mission. This is like the case of our priests or ministers and missionaries. These people that
God called are not doing their personal mission, but they are performing God’s mission. They
personify God in their mission areas. On the part of a prophet or a missionary, it is also very
important that they should always have God’s presence with them which is done through a
constant conversation or closeness with God. This will be the case when Moses later will
withdraw to a mountain to have a communion with God. In our present situation, this will be
done through constant prayer, recollections and retreat if longer period.