I am Barabbas

For the last three days of this week, the first year missionaries had Bible Study class for 3 hours in the morning. Some of you may be thinking, "Seriously? That's a long time! I can't even handle it an hour a week!" Firstly, I'm a theology major, so anything anyone can teach me about anything remotely Catholic is intriguing. Secondly, our Bible Study classes were taught by Jeff Cavins. Yes, you read correctly. The author of The Great Adventure Bible Series came to Champaign and taught us his Bible Timeline for three whole days. Basically, we are the luckiest first year class in the history of FOCUS. 

If you haven't heard of The Great Adventure Bible Timeline, you should really go check it out. The link will take you to The Great Adventure page where you can learn about the different studies offered. Whether you are a beginner or busy and want to take the 8 week fly over the whole Bible or are ready to commit to multiple years of Bible Studies (like my parents), you will not regret taking these studies. My parents have already lead the 24-week look through the Bible (Jeff refers to it as taking a jeep ride through the country of the Bible), the Matthew study, the Acts study, the Revelation study, and they will be leading the Epic study in the fall. They really love these studies.

Jeff's study does what a Bible Study should do: tell the story of Salvation History, making connections between the different books and showing how the New Testament fulfills the old. I'll list one of my favorites here, maybe it will inspire you to ask your parish about having the Bible Timeline there. In the Old Testament, there are a lot of names thrown around as the title of God's people: Hebrews, Israel, Judah, etc. What most people don't know is that they are not always interchangeable. Around the year 930BC, the Hebrew kingdom was divided into the north, called Israel, and the south, called Judah. The name Judah, for the southern Hebrews is where we get the name Jews from. The northern group was conquered by the Assyrians and sent into 5 cities in the north where they intermarried with the natives (a big no-no for the Hebrews) and they became called Samaritans. The Jews hated the Samaritans because they had broken Hebrew law by intermarrying with the natives and had forsaken the covenant with God. But a prophet to Israel (the northern tribes) told of a day when they would be brought back into a covenant with God by a Messiah. Fast forward to Jesus (a Jew), specifically John 4: one day he enters Samaria and sees a (Samaritan aka ritually unclean) woman at a well. He asks her to draw water for him. Dialogue ensues about living water, etc. but then Jesus asks her to go fetch her husband. She says she does not have a husband. He says that is correct because she has had FIVE HUSBANDS and the one she has now is not her husband!!! Coincidence between five cities and five husbands? I think not! I never would have thought of that on my own, the Great Adventure opened my eyes to so many amazing a beautiful things in the Bible.

Here is one half of the room during the second day of the series:

One final story before this post ends and you all immediately email your parishes demanding this amazing study be offered there: In honor of the original Passover when the Hebrews escaped from Egypt, during Jesus' time, Pilate would release one prisoner to the Jews. Pilate found no fault in Jesus and assumed he could release him because of the Passover. But there was another man, Barabbas. Barabbas means "son of the father". He was a murder, a rioter, a bandit, an all around sinful and awful man, a son of the Father. Yet he is set free. I am Barabbas. I am a child of the Father. I am as Barabbas was, covered in sin and unworthy to be spared of my punishment. But Jesus and His Father chose to set me free. This is what the world needs right now, they need to be told that there is Someone who loves them so much He took our punishment so we could be with Him for eternity. There is nothing more beautiful than that.