The Bible in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 313: The Ark of the New Covenant (2024)
Episode Date: November 8, 2024As we begin reading the Gospel of Luke, Fr. Mike draws our attention to Mary. He clarifies the difference between Zechariah's response and Mary's response to the angel Gabriel, and also explains why M...ary is the Ark of the new Covenant. We learn that through Mary, God begins to fulfill his promises to the people of Israel. Today's readings are Luke 1-2, and Proverbs 25:24-26. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/bibleinayear. Please note: The Bible contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.
Transcript
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Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Bible in a Year podcast,
where we encounter God's voice and live life through the lens of scripture.
The Bible in a Year podcast is brought to you by Ascension.
Using the Great Adventure Bible timeline, we'll read all the way from Genesis to Revelation,
discovering how the story of salvation unfolds and how we fit into that story today.
It is palindrome day, it is day 313-313. We're reading today, as you probably know,
the fourth installment of our Messianic fulfillment, the beginning of a new chapter,
literally and figuratively, of the Gospel of Luke. We are entering into the New Testament
and we will be journeying through the New Testament for the next... until the end, until day 365.
And so here we are reading Luke chapter one and two,
as well as Proverbs.
We still dip back into Proverbs for the rest of the year
as well, Proverbs chapter 25, verses 24 through 26.
As always, the Bible translation I'm reading from
is the Revised Standard Version, second Catholic edition.
I'm using the Great Adventure Bible from Ascension.
If you want to download your own Bible
in a year reading plan,
you can visit ascensionpress.com slash Bible in a year.
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It is day
313 we have Luke's Gospel chapter 1 & 2 Book of Proverbs chapter 25 verses 24 through 26
The Gospel according to Luke chapter 1
dedication to Theophilus
In as much as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been
accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were
eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all
things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent
Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been informed."
The birth of John the Baptist foretold.
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the division
of Abijah, and he had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of
the Lord blamelessly, but they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. Now, while he was serving
as priest before God when his division was on duty according to the custom of the priesthood,
it fell to him by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And the whole multitude of
the people were praying outside at the hour of incense, and there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said to him, Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer is heard, and your
wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John, and you will have
joy and gladness.
And many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great to the angel, And Zechariah said to the angel, And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel,
And Zechariah said to the angel, the disobedient to the wisdom of the just,
to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.
And Zechariah said to the angel,
How shall I know this?
For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.
And the angel answered him,
I am Gabriel, who stand in the presence of God,
and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.
And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak
until the day that these things come to pass,
because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time."
And the people were waiting for Zechariah,
and they wondered at his delay in the temple.
And when he came out, he could not speak to them,
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple,
and he made signs to them and remained mute.
And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.
After these days, his wife Elizabeth conceived,
and for five months she hid herself, saying,
Thus the Lord has done to me in the days when he looked on me,
to take away my reproach among men.
The birth of Jesus Foretold
In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee called
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David, and
the virgin's name was Mary.
And he came to her and said, Hail, full of grace!
The Lord is with you.
But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.
And the angel said to her,
Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And, behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
and you shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High,
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of David his father,
and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.'
And Mary said to the angel, How can this be, since I have no husband?
And the angel said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most
High will overshadow you, therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of
God.
And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth, in her old age,
has also conceived a son.
And this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
For with God, nothing will be impossible.
And Mary said, behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord.
Let it be to me according to your word.
And the angel departed from her.
Mary visits Elizabeth and Mary's song of praise.
In those days, Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country to a city of Judah,
and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the child leaped in her womb,
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed
with a loud cry, Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the child in my womb leaped
for joy.
And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices
in God my Savior. For he has regarded the lowest state of his handmaiden. For behold,
henceforth all generations will call me blessed. For he who is mighty has done great things
for me, and holy is his name. And his mercy is on those who fear him from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm.
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.
He has helped his servant Israel in remembrance of his mercy,
as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his posterity forever.
And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her home.
The Birth of John the Baptist
Now the time came for Elizabeth to be delivered, and she gave birth to a son.
And her neighbors and kinsfolk heard that the Lord had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. And on the eighth day they came to circumcise
the child, and they would have named him Zechariah after his father, but his mother said, Not so,
he shall be called John. And they said to her, None of your kindred is called by this name.
And they made signs to his father inquiring what he would have him called. And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, His name is John.
And they all marveled.
And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke,
blessing God.
And fear came on all their neighbors, and all these things were talked about through
all the hill country of Judea.
And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying,
What then will this child be?
For the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah's Prophecy
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed
be the Lord God of Israel!
For he has visited and redeemed his people, and has raised up a horn of salvation for
us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant,
the oath which he swore to our father Abraham to grant us that we,
being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people in the forgiveness of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God when the day shall dawn upon us from on high,
to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace."
And the child grew and became strong in spirit,
and he was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
Chapter 2. The Birth of Jesus
In those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus
that all the world should be enrolled.
This was the first enrollment, when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be
enrolled each to his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city
of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
to be enrolled with Mary his betrothed who was with child.
And while they were there, the time came for her to be delivered.
And she gave birth to her firstborn son,
and wrapped him in swaddling cloths,
and laid him in a manger,
because there was no place for them in the inn.
The Shepherds and the Angels
And in that region there were shepherds out in the field,
keeping watch over their flock by night.
And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were filled with fear.
And the angel said to them, Be not afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of a great
joy which will come to all the people.
For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be a sign for you. You will
find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was
with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased.
When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another,
Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.
And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a manger.
And when they saw it, they made known the saying which had been told them concerning this child,
and all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them.
But Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart,
and the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
Jesus is circumcised and named,
and at the end of eight days, when he was circumcised,
he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel
before he was conceived in the womb.
Jesus is presented in the temple.
And when the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses,
they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord,
as it is written in the law of the Lord,
Every male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,
and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord,
a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and
devout, looking for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not see death before
he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And inspired by the Spirit, he came into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
to do for him according to the custom of the law,
he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
Lord, now let your servant depart in peace
according to your word.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and for glory to your people Israel.
And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him, and Simeon blessed
them and said to Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising
of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against.
And a sword will pierce through your soul also, that the thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed.
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Faneuil, of the tribe of Asher.
She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity
and as a widow till she was eighty-four.
She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day.
And coming up at that very hour, she gave thanks to God
and spoke of Him to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The return to Nazareth.
And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord,
they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom,
and the favor of God was upon him.
The Boy Jesus in the Temple
Now his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover,
and when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom.
And when the feast was ended, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company,
they went a day's journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances.
And when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem seeking him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting among the teachers, listening to them, and asking them questions.
And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
And when they saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him,
Son, why have you treated us so?
Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.
And he said to them,
How is it that you sought me?
Did you not know that I must be in my father's house?
And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.
And he went down with them and came to Nazareth,
and was obedient to them. And his mother kept all these things in her heart.
And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.
The Book of Proverbs, chapter 25, verses 24 through 26.
It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a contentious
woman.
Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country.
Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the
wicked.
Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory.
We thank you so much.
Thank you for this corner that we've turned.
Thank you for this new day and this new mercy,
this new grace, this new gift
that you've given to us today.
We thank you for the fulfillment of your promises,
not only in Jesus Christ in the gospels,
but also your promises in our lives.
Lord God, you never promised a life free of suffering.
You just promised that you would be there in the midst of suffering.
You never promised a life without trials, you just promised that you would be there
as our defender in our trials. And so we ask you in this moment, please be there,
be with us, be here, defend us, protect us, and continue to guide us so that we can
do everything for your glory and for the sanctification and salvation of our brothers and sisters
In Jesus name we pray amen in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Gosh you guys here we are. This is phenomenal
Obviously, we've already read three gospels up till now, but Luke's gospel stands in a unique spot
I mean, they're all unique because they are written from four different perspectives
But Luke's gospel as he begins the entire thing
He says many people have undertaken to compile a history of the events. Here's what happened in the life of Jesus
I'm doing this myself. We know that Luke was a physician
He was one of Paul's traveling companions
And so here is Luke who's interviewed we assume he's interviewed a number of these eyewitnesses
To get the story and get the story straight not to to say that Mark, Matthew, and John didn't get the story straight, but Luke being a Greek, right? Luke wasn't Jewish. He was
a Greek physician who became a Christian, whereas the other gospels were written by people who have
a Jewish origin. Luke being Hellenized, right? He's being Greekified. He has a different kind
of perspective and that different perspective is more of a Greek
Situation whereas the Jewish perspective wouldn't be overly concerned with chronology Won't be overly concerned with telling the story in a certain way Luke was so here
He even gives us a little introduction and he dedicates this to theophilus theophilus
Maybe being a actual character maybe a real human, but also could be any friend of God,
anyone beloved by God, that's what Theophilus means, right?
So, Theos is God and Philo is love,
and so either the one who loves God
or the beloved of God, either way.
Anyways, moving on with our story.
We have two origin stories, essentially.
We have the origin of John the Baptist
and the origin of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior,
and we recognize that the angel Gabriel appears both to Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist and the origin of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and we recognize that the angel Gabriel appears both to Zechariah the father of John the
Baptist as well as Mary the mother of Jesus Christ. It's interesting because it
seems that when Zechariah asks a question so the angel Gabriel appears to
Zechariah and says here's the deal your wife Elizabeth shall bury your son you
call his name John and then says a lot of important things
about what he'll be, what this prophet will ultimately be.
He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah.
This is, ah, you guys remember, you know who Elijah is.
You know the prophecy about how Elijah
would precede the Messiah.
And Zechariah said to the angel, how shall I know this?
For I'm an old man and my wife is advanced in years.
And Gabriel responds basically saying,
I'm Gabriel who stand in the presence of God sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news behold
you'll be silenced and unable to speak until the day these things come to pass because you did not believe my words and
Then we are confused sometimes because Mary after Gabriel comes to Mary and says do not be afraid you have found favor with God
Behold you will conceive in your womb to bear a son
You shall name in Jesus a number of things about him. He'll be great called the son of the most high and Mary said to the angel
How can this be since I have no husband and she doesn't get silenced for the next nine months
She gets instead the answer now. What is going on here?
I think what's going on is there's a way to ask a question and there's a way to ask a question
There is a way to ask the question that says I don't believe you and there's a way to ask a question that says just give me some clarifying
details here. Zechariah has a reason to ask a question. The reason is we're old,
we've never had children before. How can this be? Mary has a reason to ask the
question. There is a tradition, it's a small T tradition, meaning it's not
necessarily a doctrine or a dogma in the church, but it is that Mary had arranged
that she'd be a
virgin perpetually. That when she and Joseph married, the understanding was on her part
that she had already consecrated her virginity to the Lord. And so the question would be,
how can this be since I have no husband? Now, Mary is already betrothed to Joseph, so she
actually does have a husband in the technical sense. But if it is the case, and this is
just a theory, right? As a thing, small t tradition, if it is the case that Mary and Joseph
were never intending to consummate their relationship,
then that would make sense for the question, right?
So with Zechariah, it makes sense that he'd ask a question.
With Mary, it would make sense that you would ask
the question, but there's a way to ask a question
and there's a way to ask the question.
And in this case, we have Zechariah,
who the understanding is in the subtext have Zechariah who is the understanding
is in the subtext is that he's challenging the message of God through
the angel whereas Mary is asking a clarifying question how can this be
since I have no relations with a man not I'm too old like Zechariah saying this
is impossible but the idea of I have a clarifying question angel Gabriel and
God through Gabriel answers the question.
Here's the answer. The Holy Spirit will come upon you. The power of the Most High will overshadow you.
Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. So that's remarkable.
We already covered this a little bit and one of the reasons,
you might be listening to this thinking, wait, why would Mary be perpetually a virgin? We already talked about in past episodes
about the quote-unquote brothers of Jesus and how that Greek word is Adelphoi, right?
So the Greek word Adelphoi can mean brothers. It can mean like I have a brother named Mark, I have a brother named Matt
But also can mean relatives, any relation. So Lot and Abraham were Adelphoi
Even though you and I know that Abraham was Lot's uncle and Lot was Abraham's nephew but they're
still called Adelphoi. So Adelphoi can mean brothers like actual siblings. It
can also mean simply relatives or kin and so later on when we have the
brothers or the Adelphoi of Jesus it's very important to understand that that
doesn't mean siblings it means kin not brothers. So even James the brother of
Jesus, James the Adelphoi or even James the brother of Jesus James the
Adelphoi or the kin cousin whatever of Jesus now why would that be the case
well for one it's fitting very fitting that Jesus would be the only son of
Mary why because it is a tradition in the church and we might have mentioned
this before it is a tradition in the church it goes all the way back to the
very beginning that Mary not only was perpetually a virgin that after
She gave birth to Jesus that she and Joseph never consummated their relationship
But also that Mary is referred to as the new arc of the new covenant
Why we talked about this a little bit again a little review?
and that is because
For a number of reasons a number of reasons. The one is what was in the old arc of the covenant
We had the manna, the bread from heaven,
you had the commandments, the word of God,
and you had Aaron's staff, a symbol of the high priesthood.
What is Jesus?
Jesus is the great high priest, he's the word made flesh,
and he is also the true bread come down from heaven.
And so in the womb of Mary is, in so many ways,
the fulfillment of those three things
in the old Ark of the Covenant.
Not only that, in the book of Revelation, chapter 11 11 and 12 what you have is you have John the beloved
He's looking into heaven and he sees the ark remember we just within the last month
Shoot, I think within the last two weeks. We heard that Jeremiah had taken the ark and he'd put it away
No one's ever seen it
Here's John looking into heaven and he sees the Ark of the Covenant for the first time ever since Jeremiah
hid it away and the very next verses as John is looking into heaven and he sees the Ark of the Covenant
He says then I saw a woman clothed with the Sun with the moon of the stars of her feet and round her head a crown
Of 12 stars and she gave birth to a son and so that the image of that is not only is this woman giving birth to
A son who could be it could just be the church giving birth to Christians, but it also is seen as
Mary giving birth to our Lord and Savior Jesus
So the ark then blends into being a woman so like you know
How you have a vision or have a dream where something becomes something else here is John looking into heaven
Seeing the ark and then at the simultaneously seeing the woman who gave birth to the son, to the Messiah,
Mary.
Now, okay, maybe that's a stretch, but here's the next thing.
In this same chapter, chapter one of Luke's Gospel, verse 39, it says, in those days Mary
arose and went with haste into the hill country to a city of Judah and she entered the house
of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
This is remarkable because what happened back in the book of Samuel?
Well, when the Ark of the Covenant was lost, it was taken away from the city of Jerusalem,
what did David, or was he moved to the city of Jerusalem? What did David do?
He went with haste, same words, went with haste into the hill country of Judea to see the Ark
and even says the words that Elizabeth said. He says, how is it that the Ark of the Lord
should come to me? Elizabeth says to Mary, or to, says to the Elizabeth said. He says, how is it that the ark of the Lord should come to me?
Elizabeth says to Mary, or says to the world,
whatever she says, she says, who am I?
That the mother of my Lord should come to me.
And then also what happens,
behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears,
the child in my womb leaped for joy.
When David was bringing the ark into Jerusalem,
what was he doing?
He was leaping and dancing before the ark.
So you might say, but it really isn't necessary and I would say it's not necessary
It is poetically necessary. It's not necessary. It's what you call fitting
It is fitting that Mary being the new arc of the new covenant would also be without
Should be perpetually virgin is what I'm trying to say now
That's a little apologetic. There's more other reasons for this to be the case
But I just wanted to offer that as a piece of seeing here is the whole story going all the way back
to when Moses and the people of Israel were wandering in the wilderness and they made the Ark of the Covenant
all the way to this moment here in Luke's Gospel where here is the fulfillment.
The fulfillment of all the promises of God, the fulfillment of the Co promises of God, the fulfillment of the covenant of God,
the fulfillment of God's presence, right?
Remember what would happen is the ark
would be where the presence of God would abide.
What is Mary in this moment?
She is where the presence of God,
the Word made flesh is abiding.
And so there's something, there is a connection,
even if we, as Christians might argue that,
that's completely fine if you want to argue that
But as Catholics just wanted to share that that's one of the reasons that's one of the things we believe and that's some of the reasons
why we believe that as a
reality that that Mary is the new Ark of the New Covenant because Jesus Christ is the true and real presence of God
Among us and so gosh we got to have the rest of chapter 2 as well the birth of Jesus
Merry Christmas you guys because what a gift you get to to have the rest of chapter two as well, the birth of Jesus. Merry Christmas, you guys,
because what a gift we get to go through
the story of the Nativity and the story of the shepherds
and Jesus being circumcised and presented in the temple.
Remember, as the firstborn, he had to be redeemed
and he was redeemed by a pair of turtle doves
or two young pigeons, which indicate and reveal to us
that Mary and Joseph were poor.
Because if you were poor, you got to, I don't wanna poor because if you were poor you got to I don't say get
Away with but you got to get away with only offering a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons and that's a place to end
I think there's something really beautiful about this sense of he'd say man the price of God
I you know I'm saying price, but the redemption price was a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons
I imagine how inadequate Mary and Joseph felt in that moment saying this is this is the son of the
Most High. All we can afford is a pair of turtledoves. All we can afford is two
young pigeons and yet we give what we can because that's what all God wants
from us. Just give what you can. Do what you can. Don't worry about what you can't.
Don't give what you can't. Don't do what you can't.'t do what you can't just give what you can and do what you can
that's all he needs that's all he wants it's always asking and
Miriam Joseph being a great model for us today and
Every day, I'm praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is father Mike. I cannot wait to see you tomorrow. God bless You