Tag Archives: theology of history

A final thought

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This coming Sunday is the celebration of the Baptism of the Lord. The reading is from the Gospel of Luke (3:15-16, 21-22)

It is interesting to note that Luke relates no encounter between Jesus and John. In fact, before we are told about Jesus’ baptism, we are informed that John has been put in prison! A traditional way of understanding this order of events is that Luke (the rhetorical historian) divides history into three separate and distinct eras.This is something that has been noticed since the Patristic period, in the middle ages, and was the doctoral dissertation of Pope Benedict XVI. It is called the theology of history. Continue reading →

About the End: The Divine Plan for Discipleship

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Jesus from the Deesis MosaicTime and The Divine Plan – A Theology of History. “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” The broad scope of the question in v.7 is significant, since a judgment of Jerusalem that wipes out the temple suggests a time of great catastrophe and a turning point in the nation’s history and identity. Such an event can only signal that God’s plan for the nation is underway. Though Luke’s form of this question is more focused on the temple than the questions in Matthew 24:3 and Mark 13:4, its implications clearly cover the same span. Continue reading →