Word of the Week
3rd Sunday in Easter
Inspired by God: Theopneustos (Gk.): A compound adjective meaning “God-breathed.” It is formed from the noun “God” (theos) and a verb meaning “blow” or “breathe out” (pneo).
Sacred Scripture is comprised of the “books which contain the truth of God’s revelation and were composed by human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit …Biblical Inspiration is that gift of the Holy Spirit which assisted a human author to write a biblical book so that it has God as its author and teaches faithfully, without error, the saving truth that God has willed to be consigned to us” (CCC glossary, 868).
Inspiration (Biblical) is found explicitly in 2 Tim.3.16 and similarly in 2 Pet.1.20-21. Inspiration of the biblical text speaks directly to the fact that the Word of God is exactly that: God’s word to his people! In the Pauline text on inspiration, Paul charges Timothy to move forward in the Christian faith and exhorts him to willingly be persecuted for Christ’s sake (2 Tim.3:11-14). He goes onto to confirm that Sacred Scripture, inspired by God, will guide and equip him for every good work (2 Tim.3:17) and that the “Sacred Writings…are profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, and training for righteousness” (2 Tim.3:15-16). Paul offers his good friend Timothy an encouragement in his time of trial, namely, that Scripture is God’s instruction manual to ascending the heights of holiness.
As we reflect into the meaning of the Bible as an inspired text, the gospel account of the Road to Emmaus (Lk.24:13-49), in this Third Week of Easter, encourages us to advance in our understanding of how to interpret Sacred Scripture. In the Road to Emmaus, Christ reveals himself as the key to unlock the mysteries of salvation history. Consider his words, “And beginning with Moses and all of the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself” (Lk.24:27) (cf. Lk.24:44-45). It is important to note that the use of ‘scriptures’ here speaks directly to the Old Testament. There was no written NT document until 20 years after Christ’s death. In this passage from Luke, Christ is teaching us how to teach Scripture, reputably, to read every page of the bible, including the OT, with the vantage point of Christ. Therefore, we are to read the biblical text, both OT and NT, as Christ significant. In this way, the grace of divine sonship begins to pulsate, and our Christian inheritance is awakened within us.
In close, I would like to revisit this very rich theme of God breathing. The “breath of God” in Scripture has always evoked the divine presence of God and his creative power. Recall, it was the ‘breath of God’ that “breathed life” into Adam (Gn.2.7), likewise, it was the breath of the spirit that raised an army of corpses to new life in the book of Ezekiel (Ezek.37:9) (Hahn and Minch, 56). Moreover, in the NT, we read of Christ breathing upon the Apostles when he was sending them forth to forgive sins (Jn.20.22). When God wanted to initiate his divine power within man, ‘breathing’ was involved. It follows suit, that when we read Sacred Scripture, inspired by God under the breath of the Holy Spirit, the spirit within us is awakened by grace in truth.
“Just as Christ is fully human and divine, so Scripture is fully human and divine.”
--Scott Hahn
Primary Texts Consulted
• Catholic Bible. Suggested trans. Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition.
• Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2nd Edition, 1997.
• Hahn, Scott and Minch, Curtis. Ignatius Catholic Study Bible: The Gospel of John, RSV, 2nd ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003.
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