Msgr. Peter J. Vaghi
Title of Series: "What's the Word? Dei Verbum 40 Years Later"

"The New Testament: The Principle Source for the Life and Teaching of Jesus, Our Savior"

Session 6 - March 4th, 2005

We gather on this First Friday of Lent to continue our study of the Dei Verbum--that great dogmatic document of the Vatican Council which focuses on the living Word of God. How appropriate it is that we should be focusing this First Friday during Lent on Chapter V, The New Testament, for it speaks of Jesus and how He communicates Himself to us. "In times past, God spoke in partial and various ways to our ancestors through the prophets; in these last days, he spoke to us through a son, whom he made heir of all things and through whom he created the universe." Hb l:1-3 Lent is a special time each year to focus on Jesus and how He speaks to us in our prayer, fasting and works of charity. O Lord, we pray, "Let your word be a lamp to guide us that we may live the truth and grow always in your love."

This chapter was much debated and probably one of the most important in the entire document. I have entitled this meditation: "The New Testament: The Principal Source for the Life and Teaching of Jesus, Our Savior." It is divided into four articles. They include: l.) The Excellence and Uniqueness of the New Testament; 2.) The Apostolic Origin of the Gospels; 3.) History and the Gospels and 4.) The Other Writings of the New Testament.

Article 17: The Excellence and Uniqueness of the New Testament

The word God, which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (see Rom. 1:16), is set forth and shows its power in a most excellent way in the writings of the New Testament. For when the fullness of time arrived (see Gal. 4:4), the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us in His fullness of graces and truth (see John 1:14). Christ established the kingdom of God on earth, manifested His Father and Himself by deeds and words, and completed His work by His death, resurrection and glorious Ascension and by the sending of the Holy Spirit. Having been lifted up from the earth, He draws all men to Himself (see John 12:32, Greek text), He who alone has the words of eternal life (see John 6:68). This mystery had not been manifested to other generations as it was now revealed to His holy Apostles and prophets in the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 3:4-6, Greek text), so that they might preach the Gospel, stir up faith in Jesus, Christ and Lord, and gather together the Church. Now the writings of the New Testament stand as a perpetual and divine witness to these realities.

From the outset, the Council in upper case starts by saying "The Word of God" which is the title of the entire document itself. What does it say here about the Word of God? It cites St. Paul from Romans and describes the Word of God as the "power of God for salvation." And this "power of God" is set forth in a most wonderful or unique or excellent way in the writings of the New Testament. (praecellenti modo) Immediately it becomes clear that the New Testament has a clear and unique priority among all the writings of scripture.

That unique and wonderful way in which the power of God is set forth and displayed has to do with Jesus Himself who became incarnate "when the time had fully come." Dei Verbum now speaks of the "Word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth." Jesus is the Word of God. He reveals to us everything there is to know about the Father. The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. It is His only Son who is closest to His Father's heart who has made Him known to us. But how does He do this? He does it by words and deeds. Our study of the New Testament is a study of the unpacking, through words and deeds, of Jesus--especially His death, resurrection, ascension and sending of the Holy Spirit. That is how God revealed and continues to reveal Himself to us.

This article also uses the phrase "words of eternal life." In addition to being the Word of God, the power of God, the Incarnate word, Jesus ALONE has the words of eternal life. There is something about His words which communicate life to us and transform and change us as we come daily in contact with His living words.

So it is that the plan of God, hidden from all eternity, is finally revealed in the Person of Jesus. In Him, this plan, "not made known to other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Holy Spirit." Why has it been so revealed? The council gives us three specific reasons: l.) that they might preach the Gospel; 2.) stir up faith in Jesus Christ and the Lord; 3.) and bring together the Church. Article 17 concludes by stating: "The writings of the New Testament stand as a perpetual and divine witness to these realities." And it is a constant witness and and active proclamation. You and I are a part of this witness and proclamation in our daily lives.

Article 18: The Apostolic Origin of the Gospels

It is common knowledge that among all the Scriptures, even those of the New Testament, the Gospels have a special preeminence, and rightly so, for they are the principal witness for the life and teaching of the incarnate Word, our savior. The Church has always and everywhere held and continues to hold that the four Gospels are of apostolic origin. For what the Apostles preached in fulfillment of the commission of Christ, afterwards they themselves and apostolic men, under the inspiration of the divine Spirit, handed on to us in writing: the foundation of faith, namely, the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.(1)

First, the preemience, that "special place" is due to the fact that they are "our principal source for the life and teaching of the Incarnate Word, our Savior." It is how we come to know Jesus--what He did, the choices He made, what He said and how He said it. These are all ways in which He reveals, communicates then and now who Jesus was and is.

Second, the apostolic origin of the four Gospels belongs to the tradition of the Church. The Gospels were preached by the apostles (as Christ had charged them to do) and written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. There is a solemn proclamation which goes back to the second century that the "Church has always and everywhere (semper et ubique) maintained , and continues to maintain, the apostolic origin of the four Gospels." "....they and others of the apostolic age handed on (language of tradition) to us in writing the same message they had preached , the foundation of our faith, the fourfold Gospel, according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John." Interestingly, Dei Verbum does not tell us exactly how the apostles are related to the origin of the Gospels, or how they handed it down, only that they did. For example, the measure of apostolic influence in the preparation of the final version of the writings is not stated. What is more important is the Gospel "message" than the text of the Gospels.

Article 19: History and the Gospels

Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute constancy held, and continues to hold, that the four Gospels just named, whose historical character the Church unhesitatingly asserts, faithfully hand on what Jesus Christ, while living among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation until the day He was taken up into heaven (see Acts 1:1). Indeed, after the Ascension of the Lord the Apostles handed on to their hearers what He had said and done. This they did with that clearer understanding which they enjoyed (3) after they had been instructed by the glorious events of Christ's life and taught by the light of the Spirit of truth. (2) The sacred authors wrote the four Gospels, selecting some things from the many which had been handed on by word of mouth or in writing, reducing some of them to a synthesis, explaining some things in view of the situation of their churches and preserving the form of proclamation but always in such fashion that they told us the honest truth about Jesus.(4) For their intention in writing was that either from their own memory and recollections, or from the witness of those who "themselves from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word" we might know "the truth" concerning those matters about which we have been instructed (see Luke 1:2-4).

The heart of this chapter on the New Testament is found in Article 19. It has been said that Article 19 ranks among the most important passages of the entire Dei Verbum. It speaks, after all, of the historicity of the four Gospels. And oh how important historicity is! For the four Gospels to have historical value, the books of scripture must be bound up with history and verifiable facts. Only then do we have a trustworthy and reliable knowledge of Jesus Christ, who is the object of our Faith. There is no discussion in this document about the niceties of the different theories of history-- only the essential reliability of the Gospels as historical sources.

In his talk to us on The Da Vinci Code in January last, Father O'Collins gives an example of how its author ignores the historicity of the Gospels, especially in regards to Jesus and Mary Magdalene. He states, speaking of the author Dan Brown: He "adds no fresh evidence to previous discredited attempts to establish that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered one or more children by her. Brown does not unveil any astonishing new truth. But he does unveil enormous gaps in his own education and a willingness to endorse historical lies and errors. The truth does not matter to him. What matters is creating the most successful fiction for the market. Instead of unveiling the real Mary Magdalene, he disguises and belittles her. In all four Gospels she is the outstanding figure in the resurrection stories. She stands by the cross, is there at the burial of Jesus, returns to the tomb on Easter Sunday, discovers it to be open and empty, meets Jesus himself gloriously alive and then announces to the male disciples the wonderful news of the resurrection."

Note well the solemnity of the opening sentence regarding the historicity of the Gospels! "Holy Mother Church has firmly and with absolute constancy maintained and continues to maintain, that the four Gospels just named, whose historicity she unhesitatingly affirms, faithfully hand on what Jesus, the Son of God, while he lived among men, really did and taught for their eternal salvation, until the day he was taken up."

Again we come back to "words" and "deeds"--the unique way in which Jesus revealed and continues to reveal Himself, a mirror of the Father's love, then and now to you and me. "Hand on" is another name for Tradition. Remember that before anything was reduced to writing, what Jesus said and did was the subject of the preaching and teaching of the apostles. It was a part of the living Tradition. All was for one purpose: our salvation. There is plenty of "salvation" language in Dei Verbum. Remember, with respect to the inspired texts, we speak that they "firmly, faithfully and without error teach that truth which for God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred Scriptures." (Art. 11) Nothing more.

Interesting, as if to underscore further the historicity of the Gospels, the Council borrowed generously from the Pontifical Biblical Commission's instruction on this very topic for Dei Verbum. That instruction, Sancta Mater Ecclesia, was issued in April 1964 precisely during the time that the Council was grappling with the whole question of the historicity of the Gospels. To adopt another magisterial document like this was a departure from the normal conciliar procedure. It emphasizes, however, the importance of this matter for our faith.

This article also teaches that after the ascension, the apostles handed on to their hearers what Jesus had said and done while he was alive "but with fuller understanding." This reflects the work of the Holy Spirit within them and the emerging church after His death and resurrection.

Now how did the Gospels come into existence in the written form in which we know them today?

Dei Verbum teaches that the sacred authors "selected" "synthesized" "explained" "certain of the many elements which had been handed on" to them. "Whether they relied on their own memory and recollections or on the testimony of those who 'from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word,' their purpose in writing was that we might know the 'truth' concerning the things of which we have been informed."

3 Levels of Emergence of the Gospels--

l.) Proclamation of Jesus (30) oral "words and deeds"

2.) Apostolic Proclamation (30-70)oral and written

"Jesus"--His Death and Resurrection Kerygma;
Needs of the various churches

3.) Redaction of the Gospels by the sacred authors (not specifically Mt, Mk, Lk, Jn)- (70-100) written
Final writing of the texts--born from faith of the believers

Mt--Jewish Christians
Mark--Gentile Christians in Rome
Luke/Acts--Greek mentality (universal message of salvation to all peoples)
John--presupposes well-developed Chrisitan community

Article 20: The Other Writings of the New Testament

Besides the four Gospels, the canon of the New Testament also contains the epistles of St. Paul and other apostolic writings, composed under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, by which, according to the wise plan of God, those matters which concern Christ the Lord are confirmed, His true teaching is more and more fully stated, the saving power of the divine work of Christ is preached, the story is told of the beginnings of the Church and its marvelous growth, and its glorious fulfillment is foretold. For the Lord Jesus was with His apostles as He had promised (see Matt. 28:20) and sent them the advocate Spirit who would lead them into the fullness of truth (see John 16:13).

All of this is possible because of the promise of the Lord before He ascended into heaven where He said: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." Mt 28:20 He has sent the Holy Spirit who would guide the apostles "into all the truth." The eternal presence of the living and active Jesus and the activity of the Holy Spirit guarantees eternal continuance of what the Word of God intended to convey.

And so it continues to inspire and transform each of us. The same Holy Spirit who inspired the sacred writers to reduce to writing the words and deeds of Jesus is operative in our lives especially in this holy season of Lent. We pray: "Let your word be a lamp to guide us that we may live the truth and grow always in your love."

Amen.