Monday in the Octave of Easter

Lectionary: 261

I saw the Lord ever before me,

with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed.

Therefore my heart has been glad and my tongue has exulted;

my flesh, too, will dwell in hope,

because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world,

nor will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.

You have made known to me the paths of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence.



Christians have always used the “Old Testament” to identify the role and mission of the Messiah. Jesus, who is the Word-Made-Flesh, even as a child, must have known a deep connection with the Scriptures when he heard them proclaimed in the synagogue. He might have remarked about the cantors, "They're singing my song!" Saint Luke describes the boy's self-assurance as he “listened to the elders and asked them questions. They were astonished at his wisdom and his answers.”

Saint Matthew makes many references to the Hebrew Scriptures as he describes Jesus and his work. He often uses the expression, “this was to fulfill the passage which says….” Saint Paul, other New Testament authors, and the first millennium "fathers of the Church" plus the second millennium "doctors of the Church" universally read the ancient writings as heralds of the Savior. They not only found clues to his identity and mission, they also described the place of his birth, the manner of his death, and the joy of his resurrection. That was their passion and delight. Why would they read the Pentateuch, histories, prophecies, psalms, and wisdom literature if not to discover the Messiah? 

Recently, with an interest in improving relations with Jews, and perhaps to atone for centuries of Christian criminal violence against Jewish people, some scripture scholars have questioned that reading of the “Old Testament.” Many prefer to call it the “Hebrew Scriptures” even as they recognize that Jews have a very different approach to the Scriptures. If Christians regard all the documents of the Old and New Testaments as equally important, Jews clearly prefer the Torah over later scriptures, and have very different attitudes toward the histories, wisdom literature, and psalms.

Some Christian scholars doubt that the prophecies which Christians find on every page of the Old Testament were intended to prophecy the Messiah. Did the prophets really expect their words, planted like seeds in the scriptures, to lie dormant for hundreds of years, and then be used to recognize the Messiah when he came? Were those who failed to recognize the Lord criminally foolish? If the prophets didn't entertain that thought, did the Evangelists and other New Testament writers, see it that way? Is that understanding of prophetic statements sheer nonsense, which should be discredited and discarded in our time?

Given their criticism, I understand that the prophets addressed the issues of their own time, and did not expect their words, much less their inspirations, to survive many centuries until a Christ should be born. But nonetheless, I believe their words are "fulfilled" in the person of Jesus. As a writer and sometime poet, I don't suppose I know -- or should be held accountable for -- all the ideas, images, and inspirations my writing my suggest. Words change and develop with time. Some perish and are forgotten; others evolve and blossom with rich, new meanings. Did Shakespeare predict Italian fascism or German national socialism when he wrote Macbeth? Should the Italians or Germans be held responsible for failing to understand Mussolini or Hitler by the Bard's plays? 

If God's inspired spokesperson has an ominous feeling about a political situation, or a hopeful attitude about another, that hardly means he can see it playing out like a movie before his eyes. He says what the thinks and feels and lets the word go out to the world. Others hearing them with different understandings, in different times and perhaps in alien languages, may discover meaning the prophet never imagined. 

Our faith tells us the same Lord inspired the prophet and his audience, the scribe who recorded the prophet's words, and the generations who faithfully cherished, transcribed, and translated the words. The Holy Spirit directed the faithful to pay attention to these documents, preserve them and teach them to their children. 

If I would know Jesus I must know the Old Testament. This principle resembles the same principle that governs ordinary human relations. I cannot understand my friend Jose unless I know something of his Mexican background, nor Giovanni without appreciating his Italian heritage, nor Joseph except I remember that his ancestors were slaves until the Civil War. 

We study the Old Testament and we find types and figures that suggest the Presence of the Holy Spirit throughout Jewish history, and throughout all human history. The Lord has revealed what was hidden, what we could hardly expect, in the resurrection of Jesus. No one could have seen it coming, but those who knew the Spirit of God recognized and welcomed in Easter joy.