All Scripture Is Inspired by God

Homily for Friday of the Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

St. Paul writes to Timothy: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for refutation, for correction, and for training in righteousness…” It is important for us to remember that these words were written while the Christian Scriptures were still being composed. All of St. Paul’s letters were written before the Gospels that we find at the beginning of the New Testament. Consequently, St. Paul is speaking specifically about the Hebrew Scriptures, or the Old Testament. There is always a danger that we take the Scriptures for granted; we’ve heard most of the Scriptures often. As they say, “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

Oftentimes I hear people ask why we read from the Hebrew Scriptures so frequently. The point that St. Paul is trying to make is that the word of God has great potential for our “training in righteousness.” The person who is righteous is, in the correct understanding of the word, a person who is in a right relationship with God. The Old Testament is the story of how God engaged in self-revelation to the people of Israel. Consequently, we must regard the Hebrew Scriptures as important in our quest to come to an understanding of our relationship with God.

The short passage from the Gospel of St. Mark, which we proclaim today is an important part of God’s self-revelation. Jesus is teaching in the temple area. He is revealing that he is not only the son of David, but also the Son of God. The passage from Psalm two can be confusing. It reads, “the Lord said to my lord.” To better understand this line from the psalm, we must remember that all references to the name of God were removed from the Hebrew Scriptures. The word “Adonai,” which is translated Lord, would originally have cited the name that God revealed to Moses through the burning bush. If you look at the actual citation, you will notice that the first instance of the word “Lord” is capitalized while the second use of that word is in the lowercase. The original text would have read, “Yahweh said to my lord.” Because the Jewish people would not speak the name of the Lord aloud, the text was altered. Consequently, David is speaking of the fact that the Messiah, the expected one, was not only the son of David, but also the Son of God.

Jesus is both God and man. Paul is writing to Timothy to encourage him to remain faithful to the Gospel that he has been taught, a Gospel that reveals that Jesus is the Word of God incarnate. As we prepare to share the. In this Eucharistic banquet, let us ask the Lord Jesus to nourish and deepen our faith in him.