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Meditation Two Hundred Sixty Six

The First Week of April 2008

The Gospel According to Saint Paul

 

 Begin with prayer to the Holy Spirit 

 

  Read Colossians 1: 15-20

            “He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation; for in him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominations or principalities or authorities — all things were created through him and for him.  He is before all things and in him all things hold together.  He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be pre-eminent.  For in him all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of this cross.”

 

            It is important to know about this text as well as several others in the writings of Saint Paul, such as Galatians 4: 1-7 and 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  In these quotations Saint Paul proclaims Christ to be the Lord, the Son of God, and equal to the Father.  This is really the Gospel of Saint Paul.  He not only proclaims the divinity of Christ but he tells us why the Son of God was sent into this world and how He accomplished His task, which was the salvation of souls – the salvation of the world.

            It is important to realize that the first Letter to the Thessalonians is probably the oldest Christian document we have.  The Gospels were apparently still in the process of being put together, with various people adding to the original Gospel, when this epistle was composed.  As far as we can tell, the first completed books of the New Testament appear to be Saint Paul ’s two Letters to the Thessalonians.  In them, Saint Paul gives us a comprehensive picture of the faith of the early Church in Christ.  This was very important at the time and remains vital today since, unfortunately, there are many who are spreading doubts about the divinity of Christ either directly or indirectly by saying that he did not know who he was. 

            Oratorians can be very helpful to others by being very well aware of the Christian theology of Christ and what the Church properly teaches about Him.

                                                                                                            

Quotation for Meditation

 

Galations 2:19 

 

“For I through the law died to the law, that I might live to God.  I have been crucified with Christ; it is not longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

 

Quiet Time and Then Discussion

 

Questions for Meditation

  

  1. What important contribution does Saint Paul make to the history of the very early Church?
  2. What does it mean for a person to live within us?  Can an ordinary mortal man be said to live through another man?
  3. What does Saint Paul mean when he calls Jesus “Lord?”

Prayer 

 

O Lord Jesus Christ, You have revealed Your glory in Your holy life and through the writers who were inspired to preserve the facts of that life for the rest of us.  You have given us the Apostle Paul with his tremendous intelligence and his absolute dedication to You.  Help us to learn from this great man, this chosen arrow of God, so that we ourselves may grow in love of Christ. We pray through Christ our Lord. Amen.