William Hemsworth's Blog, page 104

Another Year Concludes…Happy New Year!

I find it hard to believe that another year is rapidly coming to an end. Nevertheless, here we are on the doorstep of 2020. When I was young I couldn’t even imagine it, it was only a year that I heard featured in the Terminator movies.

This year has been one that has been amazing. Most of you know that writing is not a full time venture for me. I wish it were, but I have bills to pay and a family to feed. They are my primary vocation, and that is how it should be. I thank my wife for letting me pursue my dreams in what little spare time I have.

By the grace of God I was able to release a new book titled The Roman Canon: Its History and Theology, the Tucson Institute of Catholic Aologetics was launched, my Know the Faith, Defend the Faith podcast is being distributed by Breadbox Media (Thanks Pete), and I recently signed a writing contract (I can’t say where yet, but will soon) for a regular column.

There is much reason to be thankful, and indeed there always is. I have an awesome wife, four great kids, the best readers, and have been connecting with amazing people around the globe. I thank you all or the gift of your time and attention in checking out the things I write. If I can be of any assistance to any of you I will do the best I can to assist. God love you! Happy New Year!

Watch “Who is Jesus? A brief look at the Incarnation” on YouTube

Merry Christmas everyone. As we celebrate the birth of Christ is imperative to understand who exactly he is. In this brief episode I look at scripture to uncover who he is and what his mission was/is. Have a great week.

Understand the Old to Fully Understand the New

Understanding the Old Testament is essential in understanding the New.  Too often the Christians of today neglect the Old Testament.  It is seen as a book of laws that do not really apply because Christ established the new covenant.  Coogan states “The writings that counted as scripture for the New Testament writers are those they held in common with the Diaspora Jews: the Torah, prophets, Psalms, and assorted texts from the writings (Coogen, 475 ES).”  If our forefathers of the faith understood this to be scripture so should we.

There are around 343 references to the Old Testament listed in the New Testament.  Many of them are quoted verbatim and are listed to convey doctrine.  In the Old Testament we have the creation accounts, the fall of man, and various prophecies about how God is going to make things right.  He prepares his people little by little.  He lets them live and they disobey over and over again.

Coogan states “Matthew’s set of fulfillment quotations, which assert that events in the life of Jesus were foretold by the prophets (Coogan, 475).”  The early Christians did this in relation to the suffering of Christ on the cross.  This parallels found in Isaiah and the early Christians compares the story of Isaiah to that of the passion of Christ.  These prophecies no doubt gave the Israelites hope that something better will be coming, but they did not know when or where.  The writings of the New Testament help elaborate on the meanings of the Old and give new insights into an old idea.

It is essential that we have a working knowledge of the Old Testament to get a better understanding of the New.  As previously stated there are well over 300 direct quotes from the Old Testament in the New.  If they were not important they would not be there.  All scripture is important not just the passages that name Jesus directly.

Works Cited

The New Oxford Annotated Bible: With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, New

Revised Standard Version. Michael D. Coogan, editor. New York: Oxford UP, 2001.

Did Jesus Claim To Be God?

The title of this article is “Did Jesus Claim to be God?”  It is a question that is asked very often and it is important to have a proper defense (i.e. apologetic) to respond to this crucial question.  It is vital because if Jesus is not God in the flesh then you and I as Christians are wasting our time.  There are many passages in scripture that attribute divinity to Christ, and there are many that were spoken by the Lord himself.  The spoken words of Christ in regards to his divinity will be our focus for today’s article.

 John 5:17-18

“In his defense, Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18 For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.“

In this passage Jesus directly attributes Divinity to himself by calling God his father.  The significance of this was not lost on the Jewish leaders of the day.  They knew the Messiah would be called by various titles including the “Son of God.”  To claim divinity in the ancient Jewish world was not something that was swept under the rug, but was considered blasphemy.  In making the statement he was making himself equal to God, and for that, the Jewish leaders attempted to kill him for blasphemy.

2.  John 8:58
“Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

This seemingly insignificant verse brings with it huge implications.  It alluded to Exodus 3:14 where God reveals himself to Moses at the burning bush.  God tells Moses to confront Pharaoh, and Moses asks God’s name just in case the Jewish people ask.  Exodus 3:14 states, God said to Moses, “I am who I am.  This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”  Again the Jewish leaders attempted to arrest Jesus and have him executed for blasphemy.  By using this name, he was directly calling Himself God.

3.  John 10:30
“I and the Father are One.”

This is not just a statement of unity such as when a husband agrees with his wife, but a statement of authority.  It is a unity of purpose and of essence.  This is another occasion where the Jewish leaders knew exactly what Jesus was saying.  They knew that He was saying that he was God, and this is another occasion where they sought to destroy him.

4.  Mark 14:61-62

“But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

62 “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

The Jewish leaders were successful and were able to arrest Jesus.  He is asked point blank in this verse if He is the Son of God, and his answer is so much more than “yes.”  He calls himself the Son of Man which alluded to Daniel 7:13-14.  This prophecy in Daniel is about the Sovereign reign of the Son of God, and his preexistence before all time.  By stating this, Jesus is saying that he was around before the creation of the world.  Not only that but he will be the judge of it, and its redeemer!

There are many more places where Jesus claimed to be more than a man.  There are also many more verses in which the inspired writers claim him as God as well.  One such passage is Titus 2:13 which states, “while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”  Some will say that Jesus did not say the words “I am God.”  Because of that, they will say that he was not, but we must read things in their context and ancient works, such as scripture, must be read in their proper context.  When done so Jesus claimed over and over to be God in the flesh.  We are just scratching the surface and the biblical proofs of Christ’s divinity as there are many more verses in the Old and New Testaments that can be looked at.

What Is The Incarnation?

In sacred scripture, we read that man was created he had a perfect relationship with God.  Man is the pinnacle of creation. God gave man everything.

In return the Lord asked man not to each of one tree in the garden. Man did not listen, rebelled, and had to face the consequences of sin for the first time.

The sin of our first parents also applies to us.  We all have sinned, and the penalty for that sin is death.  Saint Paul had the same opinion in Romans 6:23 which states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.  However, the second person of the blessed Trinity, Jesus himself became incarnate to atone and redeem us from our sin.

Incarnation—Bridge from us to God

The Incarnation was needed because we could not atone for our sin on our own.  Only someone who was perfect, and without sin could do that.  As I write this it is the final days of Advent.

The time of preparation for the birth of Christ is soon coming to an end.  Soon we will be celebrating his glorious birth.  The second person of the Trinity loving us so much that He became man.  He lived as we did with hunger, fear, betrayal, and even death.

Hebrews 4:15 sums this idea up perfectly when the inspired author writes, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.”

This far we have seen that Jesus can sympathize with our weaknesses, but this doesn’t completely answer who he is.  Who He is the ultimate gift that we experience this time of year.

Identity of Jesus

So who is Jesus?  This question goes back to some of the greatest controversies in the early church.

There were some, such as the Arians, who tried to explain Jesus as being the first thing created.  The problem here is that Jesus, as the second person of the Blessed Trinity, has always existed.  There are many verses that show this and John 1:1 is one example.  That passage of scripture states, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

He always was, yet he took the form of a man, and was born in the humblest of conditions.  In our society we have been conditioned to view the manger scene in a very sanitized way.  That manger that the divine Son of God was laid in after his birth was a food trough used for livestock!

The creator of the universe became a man because he wants us to live.  His love for us is that immense.  In the letter to the Philippians St. Paul writes, “Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness and found human in appearance he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8).

Fully Man and Fully God

While on Earth he did not appear as a man, nor was He a spirit that possessed man until the point of the crucifixion as the Docetists and Gnostics would say.  From the time of His conception in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary he was both fully God and fully man.  This was stated by many church fathers, declared at the Council of Nicea, and at the Council of Chalcedon this became known as the Hypostatic Union.  Jesus was not either or, but He has BOTH a human nature AND a divine nature.

That is why the Incarnation is so amazing, and to be perfectly honest this barely scratches the surface.  As you gather with your families over the next few weeks and exchange gifts and hugs may we remember the ultimate gift.  That ultimate gift is our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.  The second person of the Blessed Trinity, who became man, and experienced everything that we did but was without sin.  He died as the perfect offering for our sin because He loves us that much and he thinks that we are worth being with for eternity!

 

[I originally wrote this for The Simple Catholic.  You see the original article here.

Three Things You Can Do To Show Appreciation for Your Priest This Christmas

I love this time of year. Advent is in full swing, Christmas is on the horizon, the kids are getting excited, and we begin to visit our friends and family. This is a busy time of year and sometimes we get caught in the hustle and bustle of it all. This is a busy time of year and sometimes we get caught in the hustle and bustle of it all. We get so busy that perhaps we start to take things for granted. It is a busy time for us, but it is also a busy time for the church. Our priests work very hard and should be included in our Christmas plans. They work hard year-round, but this time of year is much busier than normal. Here are three ways that we can make that happen.

 

1. Invite Them Over

 

How many of us can think of someone of hand who may be alone for Christmas? How many of us invited someone in the past who was all alone for the holiday? How many of us have ever invited our priest over for Christmas dinner? I confess that I am guilty of not doing this. Sometimes we get wrapped up in our family gathering that we forget that our spiritual father may not have any family in town. Inviting them over goes a long way in showing that they are appreciated and valued.

 

2. Thank Them

 

Think of a time in your life when you did something so often for someone that you stopped getting a thank you. They started to react as if the thing you were doing was expected. Yes, being a priest is their calling and vocation, but that does not mean they don’t need to hear words of encouragement. At this period of time the great priests that we have sometimes get lumped in with the scoundrels and that is unfortunate. A great majority of priests live holy lives and go above and beyond the call of duty for us. They are true spiritual fathers who work tireless hours because they love us and want us to get to Heaven. Take some time whether it be after Mass, an email, card, or phone call to say thank you for what they do.

3. A Small Gift

 

Priests are people to and enjoy gifts. If you have a good relationship with your priest, then it is acceptable to get him something he will enjoy. My parish priest is a huge lover of American history, especially the development of the constitution. A book or DVD on the subject is appropriate and shows that he is valued. In most cases a gift card or cash is acceptable since priests live on a very modest income. If your priest is part of a community then any cash gifts will go there. Avoid something large and cumbersome unless there is a specific need or request for it.

 

There are many other things we can do for our priests in addition to these three. There is always need for volunteers. Perhaps you can ask your priest where there is a need and you can volunteer your skill. My point here is that our priests are also our family. They are there for us so let’s be there for them during this great season. Being a priest is not an easy job in today’s world. A small token of our gratitude will go a long way to encourage our priests for the vital mission that they have been given by God.

Chalcedon and the Condemnation of Nestorianism

William Hemsworth

The Council of Chalcedon took place a mere twenty years after the Council of Ephesus.  Its impact on Christology and doctrine is one that cannot be understated.  The council came about because of a new teaching on the nature of Christ by a monk by the name of Eutyches.  To summarize his view, he taught that Christ had two natures, but after they were united they were only one.  He was an opponent of Nestorius, and his way of describing the nature of Christ was damaging.  This way of putting it seems to destroy both the humanity and the divinity of Christ. Sadly, this is not far from the belief of many Christians today.

Chalcedon affirmed that the natures of Christ do not change, and in doing so they avoided Nestorianism.  However, the story of the council started before that with the afore mentioned story of the monk Eutyches.  Upon…

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A Genealogy That Packs a Punch

“This is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah the son of David, the son of Abraham.”-Matthew 1:1

This is the time of year when most of us read or hear the genealogy of the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is full of words that are hard to pronounce, and at its surface seems like a tedious task with little meaning.  Today’s verse shows us that is far from the truth.

Matthew is writing to a Jewish audience, and he puts two huge names before all the others, that of David and Abraham.  Maybe it was to get the attention of his readers, but the next sixteen verses are very important and often overlooked.  The genealogy contains a murderer (David), a prostitute (Rahab), and shows the fulfillment of a  promise that God made to Abraham and David.  From this line that contains various sins and people that were looked down upon came the savior of the world.  We often miss that when the passage is read.  Take some time to read not only today’s verse, but the whole genealogy of Christ.  In it you will find rich treasures that will give a whole new meaning to the Christmas story.

My apologies that this post is so short, but I want to encourage you to not simply skip over the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel.  Look into it, study it, ponder it, and you will see how amazing it is that Christ the King came from a line that included grave sinners.  It add a whole new dimension to salvation history.

The Early Church Fathers and Catholic Doctrine

https://www.podbean.com/media/share/pb-mi62s-cba1dc

This week’s program is my appearance Gary Michuta’s radio program titled “Hands on Apologetics” on Virgin Most Powerful Radio.  We discuss a few passages from the early church fathers and how they point to Catholic doctrine.  These quotes include authority, apostolic succession, and the eucharist.  To learn more about Gary’s work visit handsonapologetics.com.

Book Review: Stop Googling Yourself by Orlando Javien Jr

We need to be honest with ourselves.  If we sit back and reflect we can clearly see how the business of life has been a distraction from what is truly important.  I will be the first to admit this.  If I’m at home and not engaged in recording or writing I feel like I’m not doing anything productive.  It is a feeling that I fight often, but the author pointed something out to me.  It is something that we have all heard, and to be honest it is something we understand.  However, applying this principle can be a lot harder than it sounds. Being a better spouse and parent is something that needs to be intentional, it takes work, and we must take the time for it.

In this book author Orlando Javien Jr. gets personal about this development in his life.  The things that he experienced are common in one way or another to all of us.  The book was a call of action for me to be a better husband, father, and Christian.  The book is a call of action to reflect deeply on what is important in out lives.  It is a call of action to spend more time in prayer and scripture reading.  To aid us in this the author has included a reflection and Bible passage at the end of each chapter.  In fact, each chapter is written in such a way that one chapter only takes 5-10 minutes of our times.  It is a great book that I am confident you will benefit from.  Check it our here.