Salvation History: God's Covenant

• Salvation History is the covenant between God and humans, where God transmits his merciful love, and invites us to share in his life, aiming for permanent happiness, and salvation

Three stages of Salvation History

• Time of promise: God creates the world and man and chooses Israel to unify all the peoples of the earth
• Time of Jesus Christ: God sends his son
• Time of the Holy Spirit: Jesus, newly resurrected, sends the Holy Spirit

The first three patriarchs of the People of Israel

• Abraham was first called Abram, meaning without land, then Abraham, father of the people
• God promised him a son and a people, but his wife was barren, so he had a son, Ishmael, with his slave Hagar
• He then had another son, Isaac, with his wife Sarah, who had been informed by three people
• As a demonstration of faith, God asked him to sacrifice Isaac, but stopped him, accepting his belief
• Isaac was Abraham's legitimate son, married Rebecca, and had two sons, Esau and Jacob
• Jacob tricked his brother Esau out of his inheritance for a plate of lentils
• When Abraham died, Esau tried to kill Jacob, who fled and met Laban, fell in love with his daughter Rachel, and worked as his slave for 7 years to marry her
• Laban gave him his other daughter, Leah, who bore him 10 children
• Later, Laban gave him Rachel, who was barren until God gave her two sons: Joseph and Benjamin
• Joseph became their favorite son
• Jacob had 12 sons in total, equivalent to the 12 tribes

Joseph's role in salvation history

• Joseph was Jacob's favorite son, envied by his 11 brothers, who threw him into a well and sold him into slavery in Egypt

• A rich woman bought him, wanted to sleep with him, but when he refused, she falsely accused him of abuse, and he was sent to prison

• The Pharaoh asked him to interpret a dream with fat and skinny cows, representing seven years of abundance followed by seven years of scarcity

• When the prediction came true, he was appointed minister

• When his brothers went to Egypt to buy food, Joseph tested them, accused them of being thieves, and kept Benjamin as a hostage

• He summoned the whole family to Egypt to save them from the famine, revealing himself to his father

• His actions saved his family and Egypt, and he forgave and freed his brothers

Moses's role to Israel

• Moses was rescued by the Pharaoh's daughter from the Nile and raised by her
• One day, his people asked for his help, but he refused, accidentally killed a soldier, and had to flee
• He received the Ten Commandments to free the people of Israel, ordered by a burning bush that spoke to him
• He commanded the people of Israel to be freed, sent the ten plagues, and led them through the Red Sea

Exodus

• The Exodus is the liberation of the people of Israel from Egypt, when God gave them the Ten Commandments
• The Hebrew people arrived in Canaan with Moses and his son Joshua

Passover

• Passover is a Hebrew holiday that commemorates the liberation of the people of Israel
• Its name it means "pass over", referring to what Jesus did to protect his people from the final plague
• The Christian Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus on the first Sunday after the first spring full moon, so its date changes every year

Saul, David, and Solomon of Israel history

• Saul was the first king, but he neglected his people and was asked to resign
• The people went to Samuel to find a new king, which was David
• Saul tried to kill David for this betrayal, but David spared his life
• David was the second king and built the first temple, he had an affair with a general's wife, got her pregnant, and tried to hide it by getting the general drunk
• The general did not go to his wife, so David sent him to the front lines of the war, where he was killed
• Samuel discovered this and made David confess to his people
• Solomon was the third king of the dynasty and brought a great era of prosperity, built the second temple, but his sons fought and divided the territory after inheriting everything, and they were conquered by Cyrus

Prophets

• The prophets were messengers of God who served the people and committed themselves to justice and truth
• They transmitted God's word, spiritually guided the people, denounced injustice and falsehood, promoted conversion to a better life, and announced forgiveness and love from God, the old and new covenant, and proclaimed the coming of the Messiah

Religious environment in Palestine during Jesus's time

• Religious environment was mixed with Roman, Jewish, and Hellenistic influences
• Divided into 6 kingdoms: the Essenes, Hasidim, Zealots, Rabbis, Pharisees, and Sadducees

Economic and social hierarchy in Palestine during Jesus's time

• Society was divided into upper, middle, and lower classes
• Upper class: Roman citizens, landowners, officials, and aristocrats
• Middle class: Priests, temple servants, merchants, and artisans
• Lower class: People, slaves, outcasts, sick, and bandits

The Kingdom of God

• A way of living, where love, peace, and justice reign, achieved through fulfilling God's will, serving others, and loving without limits
• A new world, full of truth and no lies

Jesus' plan of salvation

• Jesus came to fulfill the will of God, emphasizing service and love to others
• He offered his life to achieve salvation, creating a new alliance between God and humanity through redemption

Old vs New Covenant

• The old covenant is written by God on stone, while the new covenant is created by God the Son and the people
• The old alliance is the covenant of Abraham and Moses with God, to build and unify the peoples
• The new alliance is written by Jesus during the Last Supper, sealed with his blood
• The old alliance says, "I will be your God, and you will be my people," leading to the creation of the Kingdom of God in the new alliance

The Church

• The Church is the union of the people and a spirit lives in them
• It began when the disciples were called and followed the works of Jesus, becoming new people through brotherly love
• They experienced and proclaimed the presence of Christ, so the Church constantly renews itself

Characteristics of the first Christian community

• It emerged in Jerusalem during Roman times
• Followers received the Holy Spirit, baptism, Eucharist, and shared testimony founded upon the belief in the Lord

The mission of the Church in the world

• The same wish for Gods will, to establish God's world, the salvation of humanity, and the construction of a better world
• To announce the testimonies of faith, life, and the Gospels, manifest love and solidarity, and creating a union between God and people through the values given by faith in the savior

Virtue of Faith

• The virtue is theological and supernatural that allows us to freely assent
• Human faith is believing in what others have said, and divine faith is believing in what God says

The “tripod” of Faith

• For faith to be true, it must fulfill three criteria
• Professed: Knowing what you believe
• Celebrated: Developing and enjoying your faith
• Lived: Implementing faith, not just believing it
• All is done through prayer

The Creed

• In Greek, "symbolo" means a sign of identification
• The symbol of faith is the summary of the 12 truths of faith

Difference between "religious person" and "person of Faith"

• A religious person believes in God for what they do and believes they will be rewarded if they do things well, but they get angry if what they expect does not match with God's
• A person of faith experiences God coming to meet them, so they respond to God's will
• Every person of faith is religious, but not the other way around