THEO 11 - 3RD QUARTER THEO 11 - 3RD QUARTER

L1: EPIPHANY-2024 L2: INTRODUCTION TO CHRISTOLOGY

DARLENE MARIE PALANCA - 11SF (STEM) DARLENE MARIE PALANCA - 11SF (STEM)

➔ CHRISTOLOGY
January focus value: Humility - Comes from Greek word “Christos” means “Messiah or the
Anointed one” and “logos” means study.
Ephesians 4:2 - Study of Jesus viewed as the Messiah, which focuses on his
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with nature, teachings and actions of Christ who is considered as
one another in love. both fully human and divine.

➔ Humility is the proper understanding of ourselves in APPROACHES TO CHRISTOLOGY

relation to God and others. 1. Ontological Christology “onto” means “being”; Jesus is
➔ It is to find our rightful place in the divine plan and in our fully human and divine in
relation to others person.

2. Functional Christology study of work of Jesus

achieved in plan of salvation

3. Historical Christology investigates facts & evidence

of historical human Jesus. It
also includes the words
(teachings) and work
(miracles).

FEAST OF EPIPHANY 4. Dogmatic Christology according to teachings,

➔ "Epiphany" doctrines, dogma of Catholic
● comes from the Greek word Epiphania, Church.

● means "to show, make known, or reveal."

5. Christology from Below Starting from the point of
(Ascending Christology) human experience and
➔ "Theophany" or "Three Kings Day" -- recalls Christ associates with Church
revealing Himself as Divine in different ways: to the doctrine
Magi, at His Baptism, and with His miracle at the
wedding feast at Cana. 6. Christology from Above Starting with the study of
➔ The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: (Descending Christology) Jesus divinity and preached by
"Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: the Church.
every baptized person is called to be a "blessing," and
to bless.
Gospel - “godspell” which literally means good news. It is a
➔ Among the sacramental blessings (of persons, meals, religious message & source of faith
objects, and places) come first. Every blessing praises
God and prays for his gifts. ➔ 3 STAGES IN FORMATION OF THE GOSPELS
1. Jesus and his disciples
Foundational stage - gospels are deeply rooted to their
meaning and purpose
BLESSING OF CHALK 2. Disciples and early Christians
➔ "The chalk is taken home and is used to mark the year and Kerygma - proclamation of their faith to the risen Christ.
Stage of preaching and oral tradition
the initials of the three Magi over the door of the house”
3. Early Christians and its Evangelists
Evangelist - are the one who announces good news and also
e.g.: 20 *+ C + M + B + 24 are Gospel writers.

● to remind all who enter and leave through the main Reasons:
door that they also must be ready to leave all, if ● Catechism for the members of the Christian
necessary, and follow Christ. It might also be added Communities
that this is a beautiful act of faith. ● Preservation and Preparation for the future
● The ‘*’ symbolizes the star that led the wise men to generation
Jesus.
● The letters ‘C’, ‘M’, and ‘B’ signify the Wise Men, 4 GOSPELS (CANONICAL GOSPELS)
Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar.
1. MARK (Lion) Talks about the identity of
● The three crosses signify the Holy Trinity made
Jesus as Messiah
known to us through the Incarnation.
● Encompassing them all is the year we have just
2. MATTHEW (Man/Angel) Interpretation of Law (Messiah
entered into: ‘2024'. in word and deed)

3. LUKE (Ox) Suffering servant Messiah

★ Meaning of gold, incense and myrrh as gifts of the Magi 4. JOHN (Eagle) Talks about the love of Gods for
- The first, referred to in the carol 'We Three Kings', us
interprets the gifts as symbolising three aspects of
Christ's future life: gold representing kingship,
Christmas - person-centered celebration; Birth of Jesus
frankincense (worship) and myrrh (death and
mourning) - embalming oil
Fulfillment of the Prophecy
1. Mary and Joseph are Jesus’ legitimate parents
2. Mary’s Virginity - divine maternity (holy spirit)
3. Yeshua - means “Yahweh helps and God saves”
 ➔ THE JEWISH PROVINCE THEO 11 - 3RD QUARTER
● Galilee - center of agriculture and trade
L3: JESUS AND THE KINGDOM
1. Tiberias Capital city of Galilee DARLENE MARIE PALANCA - 11SF (STEM)

2. Caesarea Northernmost town in Palestine

Philippi
STORY: “The Soldier’s Spider”
3. Nazareth Simple guard post of the Romans ➔ Robert the Bruce, a young soldier, found himself in a
terrible battle during the Scottish Reformation
4. Capernaum Village of Nahum around 1300. The enemy was soundly defeating this
young man's army. He and his comrades found
5. Bethsaida House of fishing
themselves hastily retreating from the battlefield in
6. Cana Wedding feast
defeat, running away in fear of their very lives.
➔ The enemy gave chase. This young man ran hard and
7. Sepphoris Capital province of Galilee fast, full of fear and desperation, and soon found
himself cut off from his comrades in arms.
➔ He eventually came upon a rocky ledge containing a
cave. Knowing the enemy was close behind, and that
Samaria
he was exhausted from the chase, he chose to hide
- Highly discriminated groups in Palestine (unclean)
there. After he crawled in, he fell to his face in the
- Mt. Gerizim - sacred place
darkness, desperately crying to God to save him and
protect him from his enemies.
Judea
- Return of the Exiles from Babylon
➔ When he looked up from his despairing plea for help,
1. Jerusalem (economic strength)
he saw a spider beginning to weave its web at the
- Most important city in Palestine
entrance to the cave.
2. Emmaus
➔ As he watched the delicate threads being slowly
- Apparition of the risen Christ
drawn across the mouth of the cave, the young
3. Arimathea
soldier pondered its irony. He thought, "I asked God
4. Bethany
for protection and deliverance, and he sent me a
5. Jericho
spider instead. How can a spider save me?
6. Qumran
➔ His heart was hardened, knowing the enemy would
7. Bethlehem
soon discover his hiding place and kill him. And soon
he did hear the sound of his enemies, who were now
THE CONTEMPORARIES OF JESUS: GROUPS AND FACTIONS
scouring the area looking for those in hiding.
➔ One soldier with a gun slowly walked up to the cave's
INTERNAL TO JUDAISM
entrance. As the young man crouched in the
1. Sanhedrin it is the highest Jewish council; religious in darkness, hoping to surprise the enemy in a
nature not political last-minute desperate attempt to save his own life, he
felt his heart pounding wildly out of control.
2. Highest priest it is the head of the powerful Sanhedrin ➔ As the enemy cautiously moved forward to enter the
cave, he came upon the spider's web, which by now
3. Sadducees comes from “Zadok, Solomon’s priest
was completely strung across the opening. He
backed away and called out to a comrade, "There
4. Pharisees the laymen
can't be anyone in here.
5. Scribes they are persons who acquire professional
ability I reading and writing ➔ They would have had to break this spider's web to
enter the cave. Let's move on." Years later, a young
man wrote about that ordeal: "Where God is, a
ETERNAL TO JUDAISM spider's web is as a stone wall. Where God is not, a
1. Essenes Group who looked at the corrupt stone wall is as a spider's web."
priests
REFLECTION:
➔ Like in the story, the kingdom of God is a saving
2. Baptists Are those who baptized people reality. God made man in the person of Jesus has
come for one unique purpose- to establish the
kingdom of God. It is the central moral message of all
his teachings in the Gospel. However, to accept the
message of the kingdom of God, it demands from the
POLITICAL FACTIONS
individual a change of ways and faith- to believe in
a. Roman Empire
the Good New
b. Zealots
c. Herodian

The leasts, outcasts and sick

The poor, Women, Public sinners

TEMPLE
- Is central to the conduct Jewish faith because it is a place
of prayer, worship and offering.

SYNAGOGUE
- Place of meeting; it is intended for education and
instruction
LESSON and liberation.
➔ The kingdom of God is a saving reality. God made man, in
the person of Jesus, has come for one unique purpose: to THE KINGDOM OF GOD FOR JESUS ✝
establish the kingdom of God. ➢ During Jesus’ time, the pronouncements of Isaiah were read,
➔ It is the central moral message of all his teachings in the studied, and meditated on in synagogues and schools, if we
Gospel. However, to accept the message of the kingdom of read the gospels, it is apparent that Jesus was familiar with
God, it demands from the individual a change of ways and many of the passages from Isaiah we noted earlier.
faith — to believe in the good news. ➢ Isaiah’s proclamations originally spoke of the good news of
God’s kingly power freeing the oppressed Jews from
POPULAR IDEAS CONCERNING THE KINGDOM Babylonian exile. In the gospels, Jesus addresses this good
● There are several dominant ideas in the popular news of God’s kingdom to the people of his time.
understanding of the kingdom. A good number of people
consider the kingdom of God to be a place where people THE KINGDOM These messages contain good news of peace
go after death. AS GOOD NEWS and bad news of destruction or punishment.
● The kingdom of God becomes equivalent to heaven, The undue emphasis strikes fear in the hearts
understood as somewhere above the clouds where God of people. Unfortunately, this can lead to the
dwells and where we will enjoy total happiness after suffering belief that Christianity is a religion of gloom,
on earth. suffering, punishment, and burdensome
requirements. So different from many of us,
● It is a place of joy we long for after our sojourn in this
Jesus announced good news. He proclaimed a
valley of tears. Perhaps some of us have already heard this in God who cares for the very concrete needs
our childhood catechism. of his people. This is the basis of his
understanding of the kingdom.

⛪
THE GOOD NEWS - Our society is performance oriented. We
THE KINGDOM OF GOD: THE CHURCH OF THE always demand something from others.
➢ Sometimes we equate the kingdom of God with the church. KINGDOM DOES - We accept people depending on their
We maintain an out-of-context interpretation of the claim NOT ASK FOR capacity to pass our requirements: intellectual
PERFORMANCE capacity, good looks, moral uprightness,
that “outside the church, there is no salvation.”
relevant experience, and other qualifications. In
➢ We cannot enter the kingdom without becoming a member the religious sphere, we think and behave
of the church. And we may argue that we can become similarly.
full-fledged members of the church only by receiving the
sacraments, especially baptism. THE KINGDOM In a society where so much power is
➢ We are familiar with grandparents who insist on having their AS AN END TO concentrated in the hands of a few, the
grandchildren baptized as soon as the umbilical cord is cut. POWER tendency for massive oppression is greater.
This is necessary to make the baby a member of the church RELATIONSHIPS
This seems to be the case in the Philippines.
and God’s child from the moment of birth. In this way, entry The few powerful people are lording it over the
of the child into the kingdom (salvation) is assured in case the masses. Many common people are trying to
child dies soon after. grab a share of this power in order to improve
➢ The church, being God’s kingdom, is expected to be holy their economic, political, and social standing
because it is a sacred reality. The church is a heavenly by showing their “loyalty” to the power-holders.
institution coming directly from God. These people are usually branded as sipsip
➢ The ministers of the church are looked up to with reverence (people who make a show of their loyalty to
because they are seen as mediators between God and somebody in order to gain something). They
people, between the sacred and the profane. enjoy the advantages of being close to
power-holders but are criticized by many for
THE KINGDOM OF GOD: THE END OF THE WORLD their blind loyalty. This “loyalty” is that kind that
➢ Some people also think that the coming of the kingdom of makes a person subservient to the will and
God is a time of great calamity never before experienced by whims of the powerful.
human beings.
➢ In other words, it is the end of our present world. The earth THE KINGDOM IS - They are those who have so much concern
will be destroyed. During that time, God will pronounce OFFERED TO ALL with rank or status, those who want to use
judgment over people. The righteous will join God in the their status to gain or maintain an
heavenly place, and the bad will be thrown into the eternal advantage over others. (the advantage may
fires of hell. be economic, political, social, cultural, or even
religious.)
★ This is a favorite line of the present day, “prophets
- We are already familiar with the oppressive
of doom.”
distinctions within Jewish society during the
➢ The day after the 1990 earthquake that heavily damaged key time of Jesus. The rich, the righteous, the
cities in Luzon and killed hundreds of people, one of these educated, and the law abiding were on one
prophets of doom went around different cities proclaiming: side of the fence. The poor, the sinners, the
“Magbago kayo! Magugunaw na ang mundo!” (Repent! The ignorant, and the lawbreakers were on the
world is going to end!) other side. These distinctions were even
justified and maintained by a one-sided
THE KINGDOM OF GOD: THE HEBREW BIBLE 📖 interpretation of the law and religion.

➢ The idea of the kingdom of God developed from the

THE KINGDOM - The kingdom, as understood by Jesus, has
experiences the Israelite people had of Yahweh, their god. AS FUTURE AND future and present aspects. In talking about
Through history, they experienced Yahweh as giving them PRESENT these aspects of the kingdom, some
salvation. theologians use the seemingly contradictory
➢ They understood the salvation of Yahweh as taking on many statement “already but not yet.” The kingdom
forms: deliverance from slavery, possession of land, victory is at the same time a present and future reality.
over enemies, fertility of the land, prosperity of the family, the
gift of wisdom, the expectation of a messiah, and life beyond ➔ There are texts in the gospels indicating that the kingdom of God
death. is something that takes place in the future: others will sit at tables
➢ In order to verbalize and communicate these experiences of in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from
salvation, they made use of a political expression: kingship. north and south. (Luke 13:29) Jesus sees a vision of a future reality:
➢ God made Israelites understand that their primary task of it is a sight of men and women, adults and children, of all races,
their kind was to lead them and to make them into a nation who will be streaming towards the feast of the kingdom from all
in which justice and equality would reign. But their kings parts of the world.
failed in their duty. ➔ Truly, I say to you, I will not taste the fruit of the vine again until the
➢ They grabbed for themselves the riches of the land given to day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.” (Mk 14:25) At the
all. The prophets castigated the kings because of their greed last supper, Jesus foresees that the next time he will share wine
and announced that after a period of trial and suffering, God with his disciples will be in the future Kingdom of God. Your
Himself would come to rule over Israel. He would truly be the kingdom come! (Mt 6:10) The principal petition in the Lord’s Prayer
King of Israel, who would lead the nation to justice, equality, is for the kingdom to come. It is still in the future. Hence, for Jesus,
abundance, and well-being. Several centuries before Jesus, the kingdom is a new and future world full of life-blessings.
the prophet Isaiah was proclaiming this vision of salvation.
Salvation for him is the coming of God’s reign of justice
THE KINGDOM IS A MESSAGE ABOUT GOD’S GRACIOUSNESS 🤍 THEOLOGY QUARTER 3 ⋆｡° ✮
➢ Behind Jesus’ idea of the kingdom is an experience of God.
Earlier in the preceding learning packet, we described Jesus THE WAY OF THE DISCIPLES
as a spirit person, as somebody who has an intimate SOPHIA PENADO 11SF (STEM)
encounter with the world of the sacred, with God. His
understanding of the kingdom flows right from this
encounter. WHO WERE THE DISCIPLES?
➢ This brings up the question of how Jesus experienced God, 1. Peter (Simon) - he is bastos/suplado, a fisherman, and the brother
the God of Israel. The prophets of Israel saw God as the one of Andrew
who saves. God was known as “he who brought Israel out of 2. Andrew - fiery temperament
Egypt.” Their God was a God who acted on behalf of his 3. John (the youngest, wrote the book of revelation, and was the
suffering people. beloved)
➢ It was this idea that Jesus lived by and preached. The 4. James the great (son of zebedee) - he preached to the Jews
Kingdom of God is a message about God relating graciously 5. Matthew (tax collector; his first name is levi)
(nagmamagandang-loob) with his people. God is concerned 6. Philip
with people. He is on the side of human beings, especially the 7. Bartholomew (nathaniel)
powerless (the masa). This is why Jesus was so at ease with 8. Thomas, the doubter
calling God abba, itay, tatay. Many of the parables of Jesus 9. James, the less
unabashedly point to this idea of God. 10. Jude thaddeus
11. Simon the zealot
12. Judas the Iscariot (the person who replaced him after he
★ ASH WEDNESDAY betrayed Jesus was matthias)
➔ Marks the start of the lenten period leading up to ➔ The twelve (12) disciples were ordinary men from different
Easter, when Christians believe Jesus was walks of life. Some were fishermen, one was a tax collector, and
resurrected. others were activists. One had a much different idea about the
➔ The ashes symbolize our mortality, “Remember you Messiah. Despite their constant failings and struggles, God was
are dust, and to dust you shall return.” able to use these disciples, who remained faithful to Jesus, in a
➔ The ashes are made from burned palm leaves used mighty way.
during the previous year’s palm sunday services, ➔ The apostles were chosen by Jesus to spread his message and
which commemorate Jesus’s arrival to Jerusalem a establish the early Christian church. They were witnesses to
week before he was crucified and resurrected. Jesus’ teachings, miracles, and resurrection, and they were
★ COUNCIL OF NICEA responsible for passing on his teachings to others. The
➔ To address arianism (declared christ is not truly apostles traveled extensively, preaching and teaching about
divine - bishop arius) Jesus and his message.
★ COUNCIL OF TRENT
➔ To lessen the corruption of the clergy
★ COUNCIL OF EPHESUS
➔ Announced that mary is the mother of god JESUS CALLS US ALL TO DISCIPLESHIP
“theotokos” ➢ The second Vatican Council teaches that the call to holiness is
➔ Jesus is both GOD and MORTAL. universal, and all are called to be saints in whatever local
➔ This counters the nestorianism (against the environment God has called them to. We are all called to be
incarnation of christ) disciples today.
★ COUNCIL OF CHALCEDON ➢ Jesus called his first disciples from the middle of their daily
➔ lives to follow him. While they were initially enthusiastic, they
eventually discovered that the path they were called to follow
was not one of gaining earthly power and prestige.
➢ QUITE THE OPPOSITE: Jesus was calling them to follow the
path of being servants to others, culminating in the way of
the cross. (Matthew 20:27-28) for most of the disciples were
shocked that Jesus’ arrest, torture, and crucifixion were too
great to endure, and they abandoned him on the way to
Calvary.
➢ When we leave everything to follow Jesus, in reality, we love
nothing. Jesus gives us everything. He gives us what truly
matters in our lives—what our hearts truly desire and yearn
for. If we leave everything to receive all that we need from
Jesus, we will be filled and overflow to give ourselves to
others.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DISCIPLES OF CHRIST

1. THE DISCIPLES ARE CALLED.
- LUKE 5:11 illustrates this perfectly. God always
makes the first move! Jesus approached the
fishermen and invited them.

2. THE DISCIPLES RESPOND CONSCIOUSLY TO THE CALL OF

JESUS.
- We are called; a disciple responds positively to the
call. If Peter had not abandoned his nets and
followed Jesus, he would not be a disciple. You
can’t go on if you don’t make a choice! Leave any
idolatry, to follow Jesus.
3. THE DISCIPLE LOVES
- This is the first sign of a disciple. The love of God
and the love of others. Jesus says that others will
know that we are his disciples because of our love
for our neighbor (Jn 13, 35). It is the main
 commandment of God. POINTERS:
4. DISCIPLES BEAR FRUIT ● Epiphany-2024
- In fact, Jesus says that bearing fruit shows that you ● Introduction to Christology
are his disciple. ● Approaches to Christology
- FRUITS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: ● Jewish Province
1. Love ● Contemporaries of Jesus: Groups and Factions
2. Joy ● Contemporary Search for Salvation
3. Peace ● Lenses for reconstructing the Jesus in the history
4. Kindness ● Jesus and the Kingdom
5. Generosity
6. Self-control
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Patience

5. THE DISCIPLES ARE OBEDIENT.

6. DISCIPLES LISTEN AND LEARN.

- In the Scriptures, we constantly find Jesus’ disciples
learning from him. They listen and then apply his
teachings to their lives (or at least try to). The life of
a Christian disciple is a life of listening and learning
throughout life, as we see from the early Church in
Acts of the Apostles. We listen to him in prayer; we
need to live in an intimate relationship with God.
7. THE DISCIPLES FOLLOW HIM.
- Our life of discipleship begins by following Jesus,
we must do what he did, love as he loved, and
choose what he chose. To be his imitators, as Saint
Paul asks us.

8. THE DISCIPLES HAVE THEIR EYES FIXED ON HEAVEN.

- Our current life is not our definitive home. We have
been created to live with God forever in eternal
happiness. This heavenly home is determined by
our decisions in this life. Heaven’s prize is a gift we
must keep our eyes on. No one comes to the father
except through me.
9. THE DISCIPLES CARRY THE CROSS EACH DAY. JESUS SAID
IT THIS WAY:
- “Whoever wants to follow me must deny himself
and take up his daily cross and follow me.” LK 9:23
10. DISCIPLES MAKE OTHER DISCIPLES.
- Lastly, we have to do what Jesus did, which means
“make disciples”. It was his last mandate and the
only one that we cannot avoid fulfilling personally.
Good news, a liberating experience cannot be
silenced; it needs to be transmitted and shared
with others.

“𝜗𝜚 ﹐, SIDE NOTES! ; ⟡” - BY SOPH

★ SABBATH DAY - this day is the lord’s day which is on sunday.
★ The holiness is for all people.
★ Jesus called his first disciples from the middle of their daily
lives to follow him.
★ The disciples’ pathway is being a servant to others.
★ The disciples have their eyes fixed on heaven. (heaven’s prize)
★ Jesus Christ chose his disciples, and they stayed faithful to
him even during their last breath during their execution.
★ SOL - first king
DAVID - won many battles
SOLOMON - wisdom
★ most detailed gospel is John
★ 40 days of lent, 3 temptations
★ Significance of fasting is sacrificing for self-discipline