Chapter 2: Preparing for the Messiah

Chapter 2: Preparing for the Messiah THE MYSTERY OF REDEMPTION

1. The Promise of Redemption ANTICIPATORY SET Have the students look over the questions identified under “This chapter will address . . .” (p. 36), and have them free write about the one they currently know the most about. Share responses.

1. The Promise of Redemption BASIC QUESTIONS • Who are the persons referred to in the Genesis Protoevangelium? • What is the felix culpa? • What are the senses in which the Sacred Scriptures can be read? • How does Cain illustrate the transmission of Original Sin? KEY IDEAS • The Protoevangelium or “First Gospel” in Genesis promises that Christ, the New Adam, the seed of the woman Mary, the New Eve, will overcome the Devil and bring salvation. • The Fall of Adam and Eve is the “felix culpa,” or happy fault, because it resulted in the Incarnation of Christ. • The Old Testament can be read in the literal, allegorical, moral, and anagogical senses. • Cain showed the fruits of Original Sin when he murdered his brother Abel.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS What does it mean to say that God created Adam and Eve in a state of original holiness and justice? It means they had a share in God’s own life and were in a right relationship with God, each other, and the rest of creation. What are preternatural gifts? They are gifts that go beyond a creature’s nature but which are not strictly supernatural. For example, if a dog were given the ability to speak that would be preternatural for dog nature. For a human being to be immune from physical death is preternatural for a human being but a quality natural for an angel. Sanctifying grace is strictly a supernatural gift.

1. The Promise of Redemption GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students free write for a few minutes on which effect of Original Sin they think is the worst and why.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS From the point of view of Christianity, who are the woman, her seed, and the serpent in Genesis 3:15? They are, respectively, Mary, her son Jesus Christ, and the Devil. Why is this passage rightly called the Protoevangelium? Protoevangelium means “first good news” or “first gospel,” and these words are the first prophecy of the Messiah.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS How is Jesus the New Adam? Christ is the “New Adam” because his obedience made amends for the disobedience of the first Adam. How is Mary the New Eve? Mary’s humble “yes” to the angel’s message brought salvation to the world, undoing Eve’s “no” to God’s command, which brought sin and suffering.

1. The Promise of Redemption GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share on the following question: How are both Eve and Mary “the Mother of the living”?

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS What does it mean to say that sin proliferated in the ancient world? It means that it both spread and increased in gravity. Why did the early Church think God permitted the Fall of Adam and Eve? They reasoned that God permitted it to bring about a greater good. The good that will come about by Christ’s Incarnation and redemption is greater than the good that would exist if Adam and Eve had never fallen. What is the “felix culpa”? It literally means “happy fault.” It refers to the Original Sin, the fault of our first parents, which resulted in Christ becoming our Savior.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the difference between a literal and a literalistic reading of Sacred Scripture? A literal reading means to read the passage the way the author intended it to be read. A literalistic reading does not take into account genre or literary technique. Extension: A literal reading of “it was raining cats and dogs” is that it was raining very hard. A literalistic reading is that cats and dogs were actually falling out of the sky. What are the two basic ways the early Church distinguished for reading the Sacred Scriptures? The literal and the spiritual. What is the literal sense of Scripture? The literal sense is what the Sacred Author, inspired by the Holy Spirit, intended to express; it is the most immediate and direct meaning of the text.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS What are the three spiritual senses of Scripture, and what does each mean? (1) The allegorical or typical sense shows how people and events in salvation history parallel future people or events. (2) The moral or tropological sense interprets the heroes of Scripture as models for life. (3) The anagogical sense elucidates knowledge of Heaven through the events of Sacred Scripture. What is the most important sense of Scripture? The most important is the literal, since the spiritual senses are based on the literal sense.

1. The Promise of Redemption FOCUS QUESTIONS How did God’s regard for the sacrifices of Cain and Abel differ? God had “regard” for the firstling animal offerings of Abel but not for the agricultural offerings of Cain. How is Cain a witness to the reality of Original Sin? Cain murdered his brother out of anger and envy. How does God show mercy to Cain after banishing him? He gave Cain a “mark,” which promised sevenfold vengeance on anyone who killed Cain.

1. The Promise of Redemption GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share on the following question: What did God mean when he told Cain (p. 42), “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is couching at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Gn 4:7)?

1. The Promise of Redemption CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph explaining the Protoevangelium in terms of the felix culpa.

1. The Promise of Redemption HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Reading • The Descendants of Seth through The Covenants Prepare God’s People for Redemption (pp. 42–43) Study Questions • Questions 1-9. • Practical Exercise 1. Workbook • Questions 1–6.

1. The Promise of Redemption ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students work with a partner to write a dialogue between Adam and Eve when they learn of Cain’s slaying of Abel. Share responses.

2. Man’s Early Immortality ANTICIPATORY SET Incorporate the second creation account from Genesis (the creation of Eve) into the class’s opening prayer (Gn 2:4–25). Have the students free write on what this passage might be telling them about God’s original intention for marriage.

2. Man’s Early Immortality BASIC QUESTIONS Who is Lamech? Who is Seth? What are covenants in the Old Testament? KEY IDEAS Lamech, the first polygamist and a violent killer, illustrates how sin proliferated in the primitive world. Seth’s lineage, unlike Cain’s, began in righteousness, but it too became corrupted. God instituted his plan for the redemption of man by entering into covenants with individuals and groups of people who would be ancestors of Jesus Christ.

2. Man’s Early Immortality FOCUS QUESTIONS What did the sacred writer mean when he wrote that God “regretted” creating man and woman? He indicated God’s “sadness” that man rejected him and his laws and were blocking the way to their own happiness. For what two sins is Lamech infamous? He is the first recorded polygamist, and he was a violent killer. Why is polygamy especially bad on women? Women become objects of lust and domination. The husband withholds the exclusive affection owed to the one wife. What does it mean to “call upon the name of the Lord”? It means to please him by obeying his commands and to give him glory.

2. Man’s Early Immortality FOCUS QUESTIONS How does Genesis stress the dignity of the children of Adam and Eve in Seth’s case? Seth was the son of Adam, made in Adam’s image and likeness. Adam was the son of God, made in God’s image and likeness. How are Seth’s descendants described in Genesis? They are called “sons of God.” What is the meaning of Genesis 6:1–3? The line of Seth became corrupted by polygamy as the “sons of God” (the descendants of Seth) and “the daughters of men” (the descendants of Cain) intermarried. How did God punish early man for his evil? He shortened man’s life span.

2. Man’s Early Immortality GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students read Genesis 6:5–6: Then conduct a class discussion on the following question: To what extent could it be argued that the very same thing could be said about the age in which we live?

2. Man’s Early Immortality GUIDED EXERCISE Have each student work with a partner to complete a paragraph shrink on the paragraph “These covenants between . . .” (p. 43).

2. Man’s Early Immortality CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph illustrating why God “regretted” creating man.

2. Man’s Early Immortality HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Reading • The Covenant with Noah through the sidebar The Tower of Babel (pp. 44–47) Study Questions • Questions 10-13. • Practical Exercise 2. Workbook • Questions 7-8.

2. Man’s Early Immortality ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students search the Internet to learn about the effects of divorce in modern society. Have the students share findings. Point out that divorce is only one of the violations of the marriage covenant. Ask the students to estimate the effect of all the violations of God’s plan for marriage and the family on individuals and society.

3. The Covenant with Noah ANTICIPATORY SET Have the students read the story of Noah (Gn 6—8:17) and then conduct a class discussion to identify moral and spiritual truths that God and the Sacred Author seem to be trying to communicate.

3. The Covenant with Noah BASIC QUESTIONS What is the significance of Noah and the deluge? How did Noah’s descendants behave? How does the disunity of the human race relate to salvation history? KEY IDEAS God saved the world in the person of the one righteous man, Noah, and made a covenant with him. The Flood is a “type” of Baptism. Noah’s children spread their arrogance throughout the world, with a good remnant preserved in the line of Shem, the ancestor of Abraham. The disunity of the human race into nations, languages, and peoples is meant temporarily to curb human pride.

3. The Covenant with Noah GUIDED EXERCISE Conduct a think/pair/share on the following question: Why does God decide never again to curse the ground because of man, according to Genesis 8:21?

3. The Covenant with Noah FOCUS QUESTIONS How was Noah different from the rest of men? “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation,” and he “walked with God.” What is the significance of the number forty in Sacred Scripture? The number forty is frequently used in both the Old and New Testaments to symbolize a period of trial, testing, preparation, or penance. What is the new “divine economy” that begins at the time of Noah? Because sin had destroyed human unity, God sought to save humanity part by part, dealing with them in their various groupings.

3. The Covenant with Noah FOCUS QUESTIONS How is Noah’s flood a “type” of Baptism? The flood symbolically represents the cleansing power of Baptism achieved through Christ’s redemption: the waters of the flood destroyed the sins of the old creation and opened the way for a new creation, just as the waters of Baptism wash away our sins and create us anew. Of what are the “clean animals,” which Noah sacrificed after the flood, a “type”? They are a type of the sacrifice of Christ, who was the sinless and perfect Lamb of God.

3. The Covenant with Noah GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students write a paragraph on what Genesis 9:5–6 seems to be saying about violence and capital punishment.

3. The Covenant with Noah FOCUS QUESTIONS What command that God gave to Adam and Eve did God repeat to Noah and his sons? To “be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” What foods does God give humanity to eat in the Noahic covenant? Plants and animals, except for the blood of animals.

3. The Covenant with Noah GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students work with a partner to summarize the terms of the covenant God made with Noah and his descendants.

3. The Covenant with Noah GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students work with a partner to paraphrase the following statement from CCC 57 in order to clarify its meaning: [B]ecause of sin, both polytheism and the idolatry of the nation and of its rulers constantly threaten this provisional economy with the perversion of paganism.

3. The Covenant with Noah FOCUS QUESTIONS How do the descendants of Noah divide into a good line and an evil line? Shem continued the righteous lineage that would eventually become God’s Chosen People. Ham’s line became the idolatrous Canaanites, the traditional enemies of the Hebrews. What was the reason for the division of languages, according to Genesis? It was a temporary and partial measure to curb human pride and sin. Why is the disunity of the human race only provisional? God wants to reunite the human family under Christ.

3. The Covenant with Noah Closure Have the students write a paragraph summarizing the most important truths that can be gleaned from the stories of Noah and the Tower of Babel.

3. The Covenant with Noah HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Reading • God’s Covenant with Abraham through St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross(pp. 47–49) Study Questions • Questions: 14-19. Workbook • Questions 9-11.

3. The Covenant with Noah ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students free write for a few minutes on how the history of Europe in the twentieth century could be described as “idolatry of the nation and of its rulers.”

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham ANTICIPATORY SET Incorporate the sacrifice of Isaac into the class’s opening prayer (Gn 22:1–18) then have the students free write for a few minutes on what aspect of the story most surprised them. Briefly share responses.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham BASIC QUESTIONS What was God’s covenant with Abraham? KEY IDEAS God chose Abraham and made a covenant with him to be the father of a new nation, his Chosen People, through whom he would reveal himself to mankind.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham FOCUS QUESTIONS Who are the father and mother of the Israelite people? Abraham and Sarah. What things did God say to Abram when he first called him in Genesis 12:1–3? God told Abram to leave his family and go to a land God would show him. There he would make him a great nation. God would bless him and make his name so great that he would be a blessing for the whole earth. God would reward those who blessed Abram and punish those who cursed Abram. What seemingly impossible thing did God promise Abraham? That he and his wife, both very old, would have a son. How would Abraham be like Adam and Noah? Abraham would become the father of a chosen and divinely favored people.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students perform a focused reading on the paragraph beginning, “This famous Old Testament story . . .” (p. 48).

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham FOCUS QUESTIONS Why was God’s command that Abraham sacrifice his son Isaac both challenging and inexplicable? Isaac was the son through whom Abraham was to become a great nation, but how could that be if Isaac was dead before he even had one child of his own? Extension: God’s command was also challenging and inexplicable because (1) a father was being asked to kill his own son, which goes against human nature, and (2) God was directing a man to do something immoral, which would mean that God was evil.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham FOCUS QUESTIONS What does God promise Abraham because of his fidelity and generosity? God promises (1) he will bless Abraham; (2) Abraham’s descendants will be countless; (3) Abraham’s descendants will rule over their enemies; and (4) by Abraham’s descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed. How would God reveal himself from this point onward? God would reveal himself through the descendants of Abraham: the patriarchs, judges, and prophets of the Chosen People, and finally through Jesus Christ.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham GUIDED EXERCISE Have the students write a paragraph describing Edith Stein’s life as a journey from Judaism to atheism to Catholicism.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham FOCUS QUESTIONS What is the sign of the covenant with Abraham? Circumcision. What is the relationship between circumcision and the Passion of Christ? The blood that was shed by the males who entered into the Abrahamic covenant served as a remote prototype for the blood shed by Christ in establishing the New Covenant.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham CLOSURE Have the students write a paragraph summarizing God’s covenant with Abraham.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT Reading • The Covenant with Moses through The Promised Land (pp. 50–55) Study Questions • Questions: 20-25. • Practical Exercise 3. Workbook • Questions 12-13.

4. God’s Covenant with Abraham ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT Have the students explore Practical Exercise 3through a class discussion on the virtue of faith. The following questions may be used to help frame a discussion: What is faith? Have I ever felt I was losing my faith? What do I think brought this about? Where should I go for help when I have doubts or questions about my faith?

5. God’s Covenant with Moses ANTICIPATORY SET Read the institution of the Passover in Exodus 12:1–28. Explain that the Israelites considered the Passover to be one of the fundamental events in Jewish history because it marks their liberation from slavery. Also, point out why Christians consider it central: it prefigures the Passion of Christ, the Mass, and the Eucharist.

Chapter 2: Preparing for the Messiah