The three questions

Posted on August 21, 2023 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lectionary Cycle A. In this gospel a large part of the Matthean narrative is devoted to the tripartite question: (a) who is Jesus, (b) what does it mean to be his disciples in the light of his identity, and (c) what choices will you make because of his call. In previous two Sunday gospels we have seen these questions addressed in the pericope of Peter walking upon the waters (Mt 14:22-33) and the encounter with the Canaanite woman (15:21-28) – and both episodes move Jesus to comment upon the faith of the disciple. These stories serve as the immediate context for our gospel about Peter’s confession and what it will mean for him in his on-going role of discipleship. Continue reading →

Crossing Over to the Light

Posted on August 20, 2023 by Friar Musings

September 1965 should have been a great year. I was a rising 8th grader at St James school in Orlando – you know, about to become king of the school. That’s when geography dealt a cruel blow. Both my older sisters were going to Bishop Moore HS – which was the opposite direction from St James. In a moment, my fate was sealed. I had to transfer to St. Charles which shared a campus with the HS. I was exiled from all my friends to attend a school filled with kids who thought they were too cool, who wore all the new clothes, who bought all the right albums, who won all the school championships. Continue reading →

Why do cats land on their feet?

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Friar Musings

Not that we drop cats for experimental purposes, but in the course of life the average person has witnessed the phenomena. Did you ever wonder at the physics of why free falling cats land on their feet? Probably not, but then you can read this blog for the every-now-and-again post of things scientific. Continue reading →

Universal Salvation

Posted on August 19, 2023 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The careful reader of Matthew should be mindful that there have been persistent hints. From the beginning of the Gospel, Matthew begins to make it clear that the community of the Messiah is formed from unexpected sources. The mention of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba (1:3, 5, 6), all evidently Gentiles with overtones of scandal in their backgrounds, prepares the reader for Jesus’ association with the sinners of his own day. Continue reading →

Ever have an inkling?

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Friar Musings

From the good people at Merriam-Webster: “Inkling refers to a slight, uncertain idea about something, or to a slight amount of knowledge about something.” Do you have an inkling of the origin of the word? Continue reading →

How are We to Understand Jesus’ Response?

Posted on August 18, 2023 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The disciples’ request, Send her away for she keeps calling out after us need not be understood as disapproval of her request, but simply a desire for peace and quiet (cf. 19:13?). In fact, if Jesus would just grant the petition, they all can rest. Many scholars hold this content makes Jesus’ emphatic objection (v.24) more cogent. But rather than take the path of least resistance, there is a principle to be highlighted. The principle is the same as that of 10:5–6, of a mission restricted to Israel (during Jesus’ earthly ministry): “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The statement here is Jesus’ explanation to the disciples of his unexpectedly unwelcoming response to a woman in need; she herself need not have heard it, as it is only in v.25 that she approaches Jesus closely. Continue reading →

Offering forgiveness

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Friar Musings

In today’s gospel we witness this encounter with Jesus: 18:21 Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?”22 Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times.

One should note that the passage begins with the same sense as 18:15 – a brother or sister has sinned against another member of the community. In this case, however, the person listened to the individual, group or the church and (presumably is seeking reconciliation) – but what is this is a recidivist person, continually seeking reconciliation for the same transgression. How many times should such a person be forgiven? Once again Peter serves as the spokesman for the group and gives what he imagines to be conventional or perhaps a very generous answer to his own question: seven times. Continue reading →

A Framework to Understand the Response

Posted on August 17, 2023 by Friar Musings

This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is believed that the etymology of “Hebrew” comes from the Semitic root ‘apiru, which refers to those who cross over. It is an apt description when one considers the journeys of Abraham and Sarah, the travels of Jacob/Israel and his 12 sons, and the Exodus of the Jews to Israel – a narrative history of people who were “other” and yet willing to “cross over” because of the call of God. And paradoxically, the disciples are not willing to “cross over” to console this woman who is “other.”

This “otherness” has to understood in the context of Mt 14 and Mt 15:1-20. Continue reading →

Rhymes with Orange

Posted on August 16, 2023 by Friar Musings

When I am inspired to offer a really bad joke, I ask, “What’s the only word in the English language that rhymes with ‘orange.'” People quickly move through their internal cache of words and come up empty. That is when, in a terribly fake Cockney accent, I offer: “door’inge.” I did say that it would be a really bad joke. But did you know there is also a nationally syndicated comic strip named “Rhymes with Orange”?

The daily, nationally syndicated cartoon, often has a wry view of the world. Today’s edition was particularly good. You can view the cartoon here ( Aug 16 only). The single panel scene depicts a young girl’s bedroom with a doll house – each room of which is brimming with furniture. The doll house is located right next to a 3-unit toy self-storage facility…. also brimming with furniture and stuff. Just saying…

The Canaanite Woman