My dearest brothers and sisters. Thank you for your prayers. Please keep them coming. They are truly helping. God never ceases to amaze.
During this time, I’ve been trying to finish my OT Christology Course that I teach to grade five students in CCD. One of the brothers wheels me in there every week.
OK . . . so today was my last CCD class. I gave the kids a paper with a web with all of the names that we have covered in the OT: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and David, also the covenants, the books of the Torah and the Decalogue. In the center, I placed the name of Jesus. Flowing out of the name of Jesus we have the word, LOGOS. Then an arrow away from “essential” and toward “personal”.
Now I ask the kids to explain what we learned this year. Each student contributes a piece. The OT foreshadows Jesus. Every event and person in the OT points to the LOGOS. But the LOGOS or WORD is personal, because he is a real person. Jesus is not a word. The WORD is not essential. Jesus is the second person in the Godhead. Then they proceed to explain what each of the main characters, events, books and the law of the Decalogue tells us who Jesus is. They conclude that all was created through the LOGOS, for the LOGOS and that the LOGOS existed before dinosaurs and other creatures. You have to remember that these are 11-year old kids. Dinosaurs are important to them.
So I ask them, “If you had to say, in one sentence, what the OT is about, what would you say?” The kids all jump in and each adds a piece. “The OT tells us that Jesus is the fulfillment of every covenant that God made with Israel.”
Then I ask the kids, “How do the OT writers tell us this?” They put their heads together again. “The OT writers show us how everything foreshadows the new covenant.”
“And was the old covenant ever revoked?” The kids respond, “No. God never goes back on his promises. He fulfills them. The Old Covenant was never canceled. To cancel and to fulfill is not the same thing. God promised that we would be his people and he would be our God. He has not changed his mind. Jesus made it happen.”
By this point the Director of Religious Education is practically standing on her chair cheering the kids. They did this entire course using just the bible and my notes from the seminary. I don’t like the book. It may as well have been written by Disney. It has all of the fantastic stories of the OT with none of the Christology. She tells them that they are ready to move on to the next level which is a course on the Gospels. I don’t teach that course. The kids are all excited.
Here is the grabber. We’re cleaning up. I’m sitting down, because I just came out of the hospital after suffering a TIA. I wanted to get out to teach this last class. It’s important, because it wraps up the entire course. I’m not really paying much attention to what’s happening behind me. Suddenly, someone comes up behind me, hugs me and whispers in my ear, “Brother, I love you, because now I understand.”
I turned to look. It was a little boy, age 11. He has been the quietest kid in the class. I never would have expected any sign of affection from him, not because he’s a bad kid, but because I thought him to be reserved. When I realized who it was I asked him, “What did you say?” He repeated himself. I, like an old lady, started to cry.
If I died tonight, I would feel that I have done at least one worthwhile thing in this life. God is truly a God of mercy and awe.
