Monthly Archives: July 2023

Whenever you begin work…

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Today is the Feast of St. Benedict of Nursia (480-521 AD) the founder of the Benedictine Order. He was a monk, a scholar, and a theologian. His most enduring work is the “Rule of Benedict,” a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason  Benedict is regarded as the founder of Western Christian monasticism. Continue reading →

Context

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This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the previous post we considered the definition of a parable. In this post we’ll consider the context leading up to this gospel. Last Sunday’s gospel was composed on the final pericope in Matthew 11; today our gospel begins with Mt 13:1.  One can rightly ask, “What happened to chapter 12?”  As it happens, Matthew 12 is not used on any Sunday or Solemnity in the church’s celebrations – and with respect to bible study, that is a critical omission because Mt 13:1-23, the Parable of the Sower along with its explanation, is Jesus’ response to the events of chapter 12. Continue reading →

Repurposing

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In the first reading, Jacob, having fled from his brother Esau’s wrath, finds himself at a shrine, where he rests for the night, using a stone for a pillow. It is here that Jacob a divine revelation comes in a dream. Jacob sees a stairway going from earth to the heavens. It was believed in the ancient world that there were certain places on earth where the divine and earthly realms met. One such place was Bethel. Continue reading →

Mosquitos

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It’s that time of year again. Summer is upon us and we are drawn to the back porch, the deck, or whatever forms the backyard of your place. It is time to barbeque, hangout, or just enjoy the evening with family, friends, and the uninvited guests: the culicidae  – aka, mosquitos (…. and yes “mosquitoes” is also an acceptable spelling according to Merriam Webster). Continue reading →

Parables

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This coming Sunday is the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle A. We read from Matthew 13, known as a “day of parables.” What is a “Parable”? Definition: “At its simplest a parable is a metaphor or simile  drawn from nature or common life,  arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness,  and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.” (C. H. Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom, New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1961, p. 5)  Less accurate, but perhaps more to the point – when heard, a parable should give you pause and turn your world upside down. Continue reading →

Lessons from the trail

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Back in the day, I camped and backpacked in the wilds of Virginia and West Virginia. Generally, it was just for a weekend – maybe two or three days – along with a group of friends. We would carry everything in/out. I remember having fun, enjoying it all, but I always felt like I needed a day to recover. Perhaps it was the infrequency of carrying a load, the hiking, and all that goes with the adventure, but come Monday, there was always a stiffness about my neck, arms, shoulders, upper back and all the rest that is connected to those parts.  I could still feel the aftereffects of the pack’s burden.  “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” It sounded like the perfect scripture for the post-camping Monday mornings. Continue reading →

Jesus’ Invitation

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28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.” 

The last three verses of the chapter contain many echoes of the invitation of Jesus Ben Sira (Sir 51:23–27; cf. also Sir 6:24–31) for men to come and learn from him and take up wisdom’s yoke, so that they may find rest. No doubt Jesus and his hearers knew and valued this book, but Jesus’ invitation reveals a higher authority: it is his own yoke that he offers, and he himself gives the rest which Ben Sira had to win by his ‘little labors’. Continue reading →

Jesus’ Declaration

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27 All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him. 

It is important to note that Jesus is not depicted as a religious genius who has discovered the divine mysteries. Simply put, Jesus is the beloved Son who is on intimate terms with the Father.  It is the divine initiative of the Father who has given all things (v.27) to the Son.  This is not a message or a relationship that Matthew suddenly thrusts upon us as an assertion on the part of Jesus.  Matthew’s narrative has prepared the reader by means of preceding declarations about Jesus. Continue reading →

The Dog Days of Summer

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The expression the “dog days” gives rise to the humid, hot days of summer when we are all just looking for a cool, shaded spot to wait out the sweltering day. I assumed that our canine friends got singled out and tagged with the expression. Turns out it was something different.

The dog in dog days is the Dog Star, aka Sirius, the star that represents the hound of the hunter Orion in the eponymous constellation. The star has long been associated with sultry weather in the northern hemisphere because it rises simultaneously with the sun during the hottest days of summer. (Thanks to Merriam Webster for this tidbit of etymology)

An Opening Prayer

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25 At that time Jesus said in reply, “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.

These words are not a prayer of praise for the ignorant, as elsewhere Matthew regards wisdom and understanding as positive attributes of the disciples themselves (7:24-27; 13:51;23:34; 25:1-13).  Rather Matthew affirms that those who recognize Jesus do not do so on the basis of superior religious status or individual intelligence, but by revelation, as the gift of God to those who are open and unpretentious. The childlike have no real basis for claiming knowledge of God, yet they are the very ones to whom the divine revelation is given as a gift of the Father’s gracious will (v.26). Continue reading →