Yesterday I completed a course on the Old Testament: Pentateuch and the Historical Books. I've been a devoted reader of the Bible since becoming a Christian at age 16. This course was life-changing.
Fr. Mark Avila is, without a doubt, the best instructor at the Angelicum and one of the best I've ever seen anywhere. I just want to say, WHERE HAS HE BEEN ALL MY LIFE? His course is the most demanding I've had at the Ange, with heavy assignments (a quiz on 21 books of the Bible every class period, which is 2x a week). I read the 21 books at least twice and often 3 times. I was reading with a busy household whirling around me, or standing in the cold darkness before sunrise waiting at the station, or standing like a sardine on a rush-hour train. Sometimes I awoke at 4:30 or 5am just to read for another hour before starting my day.
What was so great about the course?
First, it was a true encounter with God. To read the historical books of the OT straight through gave me a different perspective. The Bible, it turns out, is about 1 figure: God. When you read about Abraham, Moses and Ruth, the main character of the story is actually God. You lose that view when you read the stories discretely. You think you are reading about David or Hannah, and God might be one character in the story. But when you read the historical books from start to finish (a merism!), it becomes abundantly clear that God is the "main character"--and this is a wonderful opportunity to get to know Him.
I have a completely new relationship with God, having encountered Him through the sacred Scriptures. The reading carved deep wells of reverence into my heart. They impelled me to get on my knees and worship God, not out of fear but out of total adoration. Having encountered God in the Old Testament changes and enriches my understanding of Him in the New. Who Christ is and what he accomplished, what the Eucharist is and what it means to follow the commandments (especially the greatest one) are all the more real to me now.
Additional take-aways:
God enjoys creation. Scripture depicts God playfully engaging with the earth He made. I now notice the beauty of trees and the sky and see God's enjoyment (I am now completely enraptured by trees which get special mention in Genesis).
God loves women. Fr. Avila pointed out the midwives at the beginning of Exodus engaging in the first case of civil disobedience (resisting the slaughter of Israelite babies). He asked why we know the names of two such midwives, but never even got the name of the powerful Pharaoh. God's sense of importance (who is really worth mentioning and who is not) wins my heart. I was also transformed by reading the Book of Judith. God loves women! There are terrible sins against women in the OT, to be sure (some made me actually nauseous). But God put a crack in the wall of sin against women and His justice and love shine through. I love how every king listed in the Bible is named along with the name of his mother. The queen mother was a huge role in Israel's monarchy. I had known, but did not fully realize!
The Old Testament is constantly de-mythologizing the myths of the ancient world. I've always been taught that the OT is full of myths. But Fr. Avila's thesis is that the OT is a de-mythologizing initiative, one story at a time. Oh how true. And how that changes EVERYTHING!
If you have not read Tobit, Esther, and Judith, read them! Tobit and Judith are my 2 new favorite books of the Bible.
Favorite kings: Jehoshaphat (I love his prayer) and Hezekiah (I love his reforms). Solomon fairs better in the account of him in Chronicles than in Kings (ha!). David, however, won my heart anew. He is just so lovable, and you can see God's affection for human beings when you read about David in 2 Samuel. Samuel and Nathan are awesome prophets--so bold how they spoke to kings. Favorite priest? Phinehas. And Ruth--that she was a Moabite is now a much bigger deal to me, having read that the second great apostasy of the Israelites was about marrying Moabite women (Numbers 25)! What a statement of God's incredible mercy and willingness to use the weakest, the worst, those with the greatest stigma. Being a "Ruth" myself, this awareness gives me great love for God and His marvelous ways.
I could go on and on.
I got home after my exam on Friday. When I looked at my Old Testament book (Intro to OT, by Bergsma and Pietre), I actually shed a tear. I dreaded putting it back on the shelf, which I know I must do in the days to come because life goes on.
I cannot thank Fr. Avila enough for being a holy man, inspiring us with his love for God and complete devotion to Christ; for the way his reading of the Hebrew text shows the insufficiency of translations into English and how he masterfully reveals that (without even requiring us to know Hebrew); For his 200+ slides, elegantly presented along with masterful lectures; for his kindness, respect and loving attention he gives every single student; for his ridiculous sense of humor (reminding me of the optimism and joy that is intrinsic to the faith--if you are not laughing, you are not yet living the full Christian life); for his contagious passion for the Word of God and for the poor but marvelous vehicle through which it is delivered (human language).
Thank you, Fr. Avila!
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