Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.
Nguyện xin lời của Đấng Christ ở đầy trong lòng anh em, và anh em dư dật mọi sự khôn ngoan. Hãy dùng những ca vịnh, thơ thánh, bài hát thiêng liêng mà dạy và khuyên nhau, vì được đầy ơn Ngài nên hãy hết lòng hát khen Đức Chúa Trời.
The first four books of the New Testament are the Gospels, which describe the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and record His teaching. However, the Gospels were not the first written books. Actually, the Gospels were written about 20 years after Jesus death and after the letters of Paul.
Gospel comes from the Old English word for "good news", a translation of the Greek word ευαγγέλιον, evangelion. The word "gospel" was used by Paul in his letters to the churches, before the Gospels were written. Paul who once persecuted the early Christians, became Christian himself when Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus. Paul’s letters taught the readers about Jesus’ teachings in bits and pieces, but they did not give a clear, organized story of Jesus and His life. That is what the Gospels do.
At first nothing was written down about Jesus’ life because many early Christians believed that the end of the world would come soon. So they told oral traditions of Jesus’ life instead. Jesus’ words and deeds passed on by word of mouth from the original eyewitnesses to those who were brought into the faith. These traditions were used to teach new Christians, in various forms, miracle stories, parables of Jesus, stories about Jesus, Jesus’ teachings, etc. As the end of the world didn’t come and the community kept growing, the original eyewitnesses were getting old and beginning to pass away, so a few people, with the help of God and the Holy Spirit, decided to write down these cherished traditions so they would last forever.
The first Gospel writer, Mark, took the stories he’d heard and learned and wrote them into a continuous story of Jesus’ life. From there Luke and Matthew used Mark’s Gospels, and the stories they heard, to write their version of the Gospel. And last, is John’s Gospel; John chooses just a few stories about Jesus’ miracles (similar to those in the first three Gospels) and then takes the stories he knows and his ideas about Jesus and writes the last Gospel. John only has about 8% of the stories from the other three Gospels, the rest is his own.
The gospels are a very special kind of literature. They’re not history books, or biographies of Jesus’ life. The gospels are confessional documents, not to tell history, although they use history to tell their message, but to awaken and uphold the life of Christian faith. The writers, called evangelists, which means bringers of good news are believers and enthusiasts. They want to tell the story of Jesus’ ministry, but they also want to tell the story of the change that took place in Jesus with His resurrection from the dead so that He still lives and is open to a living relationship with anyone who believes in Him. That is why the Gospels are so important compared to any other historical writings about Jesus. Lots of historians during early Christianity wrote about Jesus, but only the Gospels stir up our faith, and bring us together as a community of Jesus’ followers.
Because the Gospels are so special, whenever a Gospel is read in Church, we stand when listening, but whenever any other passage from the Bible (like the Old Testament or the letters) we sit. The Gospels are also typically read by the priest or deacon. A Gospel passage is read in the Divine Liturgy on every Sunday or feast, and at daily services during the week. The reading is determined according to the annual liturgical calendar.
David is a 25 year old Catholic Vietnamese man. He has a friend name Mary that is not Catholic but would like to be. So David gives Mary a Bible, and talks to her about reading the Gospels. He tells her that the Gospels show us Jesus’ teachings so that we may know how to live. Mary reads the Gospels, and was touched by the messages portrayed in them. She had a better understanding of Jesus and God which made her want to be Catholic even more than before.
John sometimes feels very lost and confused. He’s angry with people and doesn’t know what to do with his life. His mother suggests that he reads the Gospels to get some ideas from Jesus on what to do about his problems. John sees the passage where Jesus says 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself' in Mark’s Gospel and realizes that he shouldn’t fight or be angry with people, because it only makes himself unhappy, and makes God sad. As John reads through the Gospels, he sees that Jesus teaches about almost everything in life, marriage, love, laws, everything. John realizes that the Gospels were written as a gift from God to guide us.
When we go to Mass, we should listen to the Gospel reading, with our hearts, our minds, and our souls. We are blessed to be able to hear the Word of God, read to us every week. When we listen to the readings, we should pay attention to what Jesus is trying to tell us and what his message wants us to do. We should also listen to the priest’s homily afterwards, because he will use the Gospel reading to try to teach us also. The priest helps give us an in depth explanation of the Gospel; how it relates to us, how we should use it to help us, etc. When you put the Gospel together with the priest or deacon that gives the homily, they become like cheerleaders of God, they try to keep us believing in God as well as help our faith grow. They’re telling us how great Jesus and God are, and how we should keep trying our best in all that we do so that we can get to heaven.
Try reading the Gospel on your own too. There are great stories in there about Jesus, and great stories that Jesus tells in the form of parables and teachings. When you read a passage, you might even want to try to imagine yourself a character in the passage, sitting there and listening to Jesus first-hand. Wouldn’t that be cool? Do your best to remember what Jesus’ message is and what He wants from us.
Just like we need the Eucharist for our soul’s nourishment, we need the Gospels as well. They teach us and help motivate us, and are a gift from God that we must appreciate and hold close to us. The Gospels’ purpose is simple, it tells us how awesome Jesus is and how much Jesus loved us. Without the Gospels, the Catholic faith may not be what it is today; we wouldn’t know how to live, and what to do, and what God’s laws were or anything.
Gospel means “Good News”, but we know that Jesus is the “Greatest News” we ever got, because through Jesus, we can have everlasting life in heaven with God as His children.
Dear Lord, help me to read and appreciate the Gospel and its messages. Help me to use the Gospel so that I may love you and live a good life like you want me to. Thank you for giving us the Word, in Jesus and the Gospels, so that we may know you. Amen.