Competing Canons

Reading the Sacred Scripture at Mass

11/12/2019

Wisdom 2:23–3:9 God formed man to be imperishable; the image of his own nature he made them. But by the envy of the Devil, death entered the world, and they who are in his possession experience it. But the souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; Chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; They shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love:Because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.

I have never been a big fan of studying history; it was my least favorite subject in school, right below math. I have discovered, though, that I cannot effectively study the bible without studying history. Think about it: the bible itself covers all human history from Creation to the Second Coming. The bible, however, is concerned with conveying “salvation history” as opposed to the “secular history” we learned about in school. Nonetheless, both salvation history and secular history are two components of human history, your history and my history, indeed, everyone’s history.

Now, here’s the hard part about studying history – both sacred and secular – namely, the farther back you travel in time, the numbers become more nebulous. Dates, names, and places go from being very scientific to being very symbolic, from being hard, to being soft, from being firm facts to being good guesses. Just take one familiar example from the book of Genesis. The seven days of creation are not intended by the inspired author to convey 24-hour periods of time as scientists might suppose. Instead, the number “seven” symbolizes the covenant with God – seven was the number of the covenant – and therefore his creating in seven days meant he created a covenant with us, through our first parents, Adam and Eve. In other words, whenever you study history, especially salvation history, keep in mind that numbers carry a symbolic value and not just a scientific value. These soft numbers give rise to not a little scholarly debate.

Now let me say a word about the evolution, the history, of the bible itself, especially the 46 books of the Old Testament. Did you know that in the three centuries prior to Jesus’ Incarnation, there were two competing canons, or official lists, of the Old Testament? The Jews living in Jerusalem compiled one canon called the “Hebrew Bible” containing 39 books. The Jews living in Alexandria, Egypt, one of the greatest centers of learning in the Ancient World, boasting the impressive Library of Alexandria, compiled another canon containing 46 books written in Greek. Now, you might think: who cares about two competing Jewish canons of scriptures. Why get involved in some intramural squabble of Jewish scholars? That’s their business, not ours. Not so fast.

When we read the New Testament and Jesus and Peter and Paul refer to “the scriptures” which canon do they mean: the list of 39 books or the list of 46 books? There is wide scholarly consensus that Jesus and the apostles, especially St. Paul, were using the Greek Old Testament with 46 books as their “scriptures.” Indeed, there was no debate about using the Greek Old Testament for 1,500 years. Do you know what ecclesiastical earthquake occurred in 1517 that changed the Church’s landscape forever? Martin Luther published the first Protestant bible that used the Hebrew canon of 39 books for the Old Testament and declared the 7 books not in the Hebrew bible uninspired by the Holy Spirit. Luther wrote: “These books are not held equal to the Scriptures, but are good and useful to read.” That would be like saying my last book of homilies called Oh, Lord, Have Mercy is not equal to the scriptures but they’re still good and useful to read. With one stroke of his pen, Martin Luther undid the work of the Holy Spirit in inspiring seven books of the Holy Bible. He declared them uninspired. That’s why we cannot effectively study the bible without also studying history.

Do you know what one of those seven books jettisoned from the Protestant bible is? It was our first reading today, the book of Wisdom. We read these comforting words: “The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them.” After the lector concluded the reading, she added solemnly: “The Word of the Lord.” The congregation dutifully answered in unison: “Thanks be to God.” But if Martin Luther had been sitting in the pews today, he would have coughed, “No it’s not!” Can you see and feel what is at stake in determining which of these two competing canons comprises the Old Testament scriptures? It is not merely an academic question for spectacled scholars to debate ad nauseum, but it concerns all Christians, and indeed the substance of divine worship.

In sum, should we read Tobit, Wisdom, Judith, Sirach, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees at Mass as the inspired Word of God, or leave them out of the liturgy? Studying the history of the bible can answer that question better than studying the bible itself can. Why? Because otherwise, how do you know which bible to study?

Praised be Jesus Christ!