MOST HOLY MOTHER OF GOD CATHOLIC PARISH, VLADIVOSTOK, RUSSIA

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LESSON ONE: God's Plan in History

Christianity and History

Christianity is a historical religion. That means that it is about historical events that actually happened, and about what those events mean for us. It is about the development of history, by which we mean that the human situation was different at one time than it is now, and that it will be yet different some day than it is now.

[List some ways in which our world today is quite different from the world of our great grandparents.]

Because we know that the human reality is changing, Christianity is not simply a philosophy of life, nor a certain kind of discipline for the body or mind. Religions which deal with discipline or philosophy presume an unchanging or a cyclic world. History for Christianity proceeds in one direction of development. The events of history are unrepeatable and unique.

For example, there is only one you, and you will never be repeated. Your life began in a place, family, country over which you had no choice, and your death will occur at some future time over which you have no control. You are a mysterious historical event, never to be repeated, and the world is forever different because of you and the choices you have made.

The Earth is permanently changed by the decisions humans made about nuclear energy, and the Moon is permanently changed by the fact that men from Earth have walked upon it.

Where has history come from, and where is it going? Are there important historical events which have made all the difference? Is humanity and the world to end in hot sameness, as some physicists have proclaimed? On the other hand, we worry about our own end, and not really the end of the world! Where do we find answers to our questions? How do we know our answers are right? What can I do to plan for the future, especially my personal future?

[Were there moments in the past when you had to face great personal decisions? What decisions have you made which affected the whole of your future?]

These are questions which Christianity answers in a remarkable way. But Christianity answers not only these questions, but even more remarkable questions, and corresponding answers, which only result from the unfolding of Christianity itself.

We will look at all these things, but first let's look at what Christianity regards as the most important event of history: The life and death of Jesus Christ. Christianity says that all history before him was leading to him, and that all history after him is shaped by him and for him--a remarkable claim for someone born nearly 2000 years ago. But it would be odd for anyone not to realize the remarkable changes in our planet and lives since that time. Medicine, travel, and communications are radically different now, and everybody sees that the world is rapidly changing to a new pattern. Some regimes which have tried to force the world to take the shape they have wanted have long vanished from the Earth, and this is because the future of the planet and all its peoples was radically determined by Jesus already long ago, and a new world is taking shape, a world of which you will be a part, a new world for which Jesus gave his life and his death as a preparation. The time of this new world has only to come, and so the last book of the Bible finishes this way in open expectation of the new world: "Come, Lord Jesus!" (Rev 22:30)

[Can you give examples where people wanted to change the nature of things or of society?]

But we have raced all the way to the end of the story. We should begin at the beginning. The book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, begins, "In the beginning" (Gen 1:1), so that is where we must start.

A Word About the Bible

The Bible is the main Christian book, a unique collection of historical and theological material. The Bible you have looks like one book, because it is bound in one cover with a uniform appearance throughout. But it is actually a collection of 72 or so books which have been collected into one book by the ancient people of the Holy Land in the Middle East known as the Jews, and by the followers of Jesus during the first hundred years after his death, who were Jews and Greeks. The first, older part of the collection is called "The Old Testament", and the second part, "The New Testament".

[Inspect your Bible to find the things mentioned here. Is there a table of contents with abbreviations for the books?]

Perhaps you may have only one of these parts rather than the whole Bible itself which has both parts. We will explain these terms later, but for now please notice that the separate books in the Bible look like chapters of other books, and that these books are again divided into "chapters", which may only be a page, more or less in length. So when we write (Rev 22:30), this is a short way of saying that you can find the text in the book of the Bible called "Revelation", in the 22nd chapter of that book, in the lines labelled "30". This way of numbering the pieces of the Bible was invented in about 1500 A.D. as a quick handy way of finding things in the Bible.

[Try it yourself--write out here these citations: Deut 5:6, John 6:35]

In The Beginning

Something went wrong in the beginning. That fact is all around us and in us. We are aware of the terrible wars and diseases which have plagued human beings for so long. We remember the horror we experienced when we first realized the reality of death, and when we wondered why there has to be so much pain and insensitivity in the world. We wonder why children have to cry, and why couples can't find a way to live together in peace, to save the children from pain. We wonder why abortion produces such guilt in women that it changes their whole life attitude. And why do some people live in violence off of the work of others. Why were whole generations of people killed in gas chambers and with automatic weapons, and why were thousands killed in bombs dropped without concern for the innocent and the poor.

[Which evils have made you most wonder about the justice of God or have worried you the most?]

But why only mention the problems of the world? We ourselves have done things which later we regretted and which can't be undone--Apologies don't undo history. We are aware of our defects, and sometimes even aware of how we try to cover our "nakedness" or guilt by blaming others, or even by trying to disguise our minds with drugs or alcohol, because the pain is too much to bear. Each in our lives can see repeated the mistakes of history, so we know we are part of the same story of evil and failure.

[What have you done that you now most regret?]

Not everything is gloomy, however! We are sometimes heroes, too, and proud of ourselves. We know people are heroes, but it only proves the point, because, if the world were all good, there would be no heroes!

Naturally, its difficult to say just exactly what went wrong a long time ago. Let's look at the beginning of the Bible, Genesis 2:4 through Genesis 3:19. Please read it carefully. We won't have time to read all the Bible, of course, but this section is important.

[Read Genesis 2:4 through Genesis 3:19. Any reflections?]

Let's summarize the main points of the end of the story. God used to walk with Adam in the garden in the evening. They were friends. Adam was the best that God had made in the garden, and God even provided for his human companionship by making Eve. Adam was the king of all he saw. One day, though, when God came to find his friend Adam, he was nowhere to be found. God called for him, hoping again to share his friendship, but there was only silence. Suddenly Adam jumped up from behind a bush, shaking from fright and wearing an apron of fig leaves to cover his private parts--parts which only now had become private!

When God saw his friend Adam in his new condition, he knew with sorrow what had happened: Adam had eaten from the tree that God had warned him about, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. There had been two special trees in the garden, the Tree of Life, whose fruit would always keep one alive because of its beneficial effects, and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the one tree that God told Adam not to eat.

[Did you notice the two trees when you read the story? If you have a "children's bible", find out if it speaks of two trees or only one. ]

God wanted Adam to live and live always, but he knew that the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil would do exactly what it promised: give one a knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good is good, but the knowledge of evil--the personal experience of evil--is a horrible thing, and after beginning to know evil, Adam also for the first time realizes how good "good" had been.

What was the evil Adam had done? He violated his agreement with his best friend, God. He had decided that being a god himself was more important than loving God. He did not want to receive his life as a gift from God, but wanted to be the author of his own life lived as he wanted to live it. Suddenly Adam realizes his error, but it is too late, and history cannot be repeated--the choice had been made. It was made for all time.

Evil had entered the world of man. Its presence is well shown by Adam's lie: Eve didn't make him eat the fruit--he did it himself, maybe even preferring Eve to God. Eve also lied, because the serpent's trick didn't force her to eat the fruit--she could have said, "no"! The serpent had also lied, saying "You certainly will not die!" The experience of death is surely one of the most horrible "knowledges of evil" that Adam can experience.

[Relate how you first experienced the evil of death.]

Who was this "Adam", anyway? "Adam" is simply a Hebrew word meaning "Man". And "Eve" is "mother of the living". They are simply US--the story is about us! The story of man is repeated in the story of us human beings. The story is the same whether we are talking about the first man or about each man. We eventually choose evil, but this is always a trap for us. Even if we don't choose evil, we are still trapped in the evils from others, including Adam! Because the knowledge of evil continues to get eviler and eviler--that is what evil is all about. Adam is ashamed, even of his body. How can he escape from his error? How can he regain his pride and his composure. He is now a shaking, guilty, ashamed person. His nature is still good--he was made in God's image--but his whole "program" has been invaded by a "virus" which threatens to undo everything he had hoped or planned for. Because he is without any defense, his illness can only end in death.

[Satanists worship evil. How must such worship end?]

Adam is completely helpless. He cannot escape from his situation. His poverty is complete. Is there any hope at all for him? There is still one possibility: what will God do?

At this point people often say, "God will punish him!" But how will punishment help? It will only make Adam feel he is suffering justly for his sins, but he will still be suffering. Suffering will not restore his pride, his innocence, and his joy. Such suffering would have to be eternal, because no pain can undo the damage done by evil. Pain is itself an evil, and two evils leave you with evil, not a return to good. In other words, if God merely punishes Adam he confirms the evil Adam did, and does not heal it. Adam needs healing, not punishment.

[Can you find from your life examples where healing was painful?]

So we have some questions: 1. Can God find a way to heal Adam? And, probably more importantly, 2. Does God want to find a way to heal Adam? 3. Does God love Adam enough to find a way to heal him? 4. If God loves his friend Adam, what form will the healing take? 5. What does this healing look like in concrete reality? 6. We might even want to know whether it will be painful for Adam or not.

[Take some time to reflect on each of the six questions, and what their concrete meaning is.]

But Adam is us, so the questions are, does God love me, even though I have done wrong, and if so, can he find a way to bring me healing and peace, and to restore my innocence? What will I see? What will it be like?

[Concretely, are there areas where you need spiritual or physical healing?]

God's Plan to Save Adam

We have to jump ahead in our story, because we want to know the answer whether God loves us and can help us in our need. Only God could think of the plan, of course. God himself would have to become a man! As a man who is also God, God could take all the pain, punishment, sorrow, blame, and burden of Adam's sin upon himself! This is true love, to give all for the one you love, to carry his burdens! God in Jesus Christ would bear all the burden of our sins, and in his own person reconcile us to God, and bring us, finally, complete healing. Exactly because he is God, his suffering is of infinite worth, and capable of restoring Adam and us to God by raising us up with him from every burden of sin and guilt. The joy of Christianity is the knowledge that God loves us this much, that he took our terrible burdens upon himself. To do this, he had to reveal hidden facts about himself and his own inner richness. While Adam put on fig leaves to hid his inner procreative richness, God opened his inner self and his own eternal procreative richness, to make vulnerable to the world his only begotten son. (John 3:16)

[Read John 3:16. What does it mean?]