About Friar Musings

Franciscan friar and Catholic priest at St. Francis of Assisi in Triangle, VA

Widow’s mite: scribes

Posted on November 4, 2015 by Friar Musings

There is always a pause when I read this passage. Being a Franciscan Friar, I go around in long robes, inevitably accept greetings as I move out and about, whether I want it or not, I end up in the places of honor at banquets, and in the church, and I occupy the ‘big chair’ reserved for the presider at Mass. During Mass, some parishioners might accuse me of reciting lengthy homilies (hopefully not as a pretext). The only part for which I am hopefully safe is devouring the houses of widows. Perhaps it is cautionary pause. Continue reading →

Widow’s Mite: poverty

Posted on November 3, 2015 by Friar Musings

⁴²A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents.

Widows. Lurking in the background of our reading is the first-century Jewish system of levirate marriages (Gen 38 and Deut 25:5-10). In short if a man dies without leaving a son, his widow is forbidden to marry outside his family. One of her deceased husband’s brothers must assume the duty of the levir, taking her as his wife. The first male of this second union is considered the son of the deceased brother. Continue reading →

Widow’s Mite: context

Posted on November 2, 2015 by Friar Musings

³⁸In the course of his teaching he said, ‘Beware of the scribes, who like to go around in long robes and accept greetings in the marketplaces, ³⁹seats of honor in synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. ⁴⁰They devour the houses of widows and, as a pretext, recite lengthy prayers. They will receive a very severe condemnation.’ ⁴¹He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. ⁴²A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. ⁴³Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, ‘Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. ⁴⁴For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.’ (Mark 12:38–44) Continue reading →

Saints, known and unknown

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Friar Musings

Today we celebrate, remember, and honor all the saints, known and unknown. Back in the earliest days of the Church, martyrs were especially esteemed. The local church celebrated the anniversary of a martyr’s death in the name of Christ – on the anniversary date and in the place of martyrdom – it was all part of what people just knew. By the 4^th century the list of martyrs was very much longer and the Church was caught between its desire to remember and celebrate the martyr’s witness and death, an ever-expanding geography, and the practical matter of finding days to set aside to celebrate. Very soon there was a movement to find a common day to celebrate martyrs that were important to the Church while leaving the local communities to set aside days for martyrs that loomed larger in local memory. Continue reading →

Practice, practice, practice

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Friar Musings

I am often given to repeating St. Bonaventure’s wise counsel: humility is the guardian and gateway to all the other virtues…and the first evidence of it is gratitude. We can all have moments in which we are profoundly grateful, but are we grateful people? The first is a description of a moment in time, deeply remembered; the second is an intrinsic condition of who you are as a person. It is at the root of your being, it is the lens through which you see the world, and it is the mode by which you engage the world. Even as I write that last sentence, I am thinking, “Gosh, I want to be that person!” Continue reading →

All Saint: both and

Posted on October 31, 2015 by Friar Musings

One of the things I do is to keep reading, to refresh old thoughts, garner new thoughts and perspectives, and to continue to fuel soul, mind, and imagination. Sometimes the reading materials are books and sometimes – increasingly more often – articles garnered from the internet. One sight that I always “thumb through” is Journey With Jesus. The site is self-described as “A weekly webzine for the global church.” One of the primary authors on the site is Dan Clandenin. He comes from a Protestant perspective, but he brings good insight – insight and perspective that I have found advances pathways for Christian denomination to find common ground.

Sometimes Christians are “it is either this or that” with the implications it can’t be both. This is true to Protestants, Reformers, Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Catholics, and any moniker I have left out. In our best days, we acknowledge that in the realm of mystery, it is most often “both-and.”

That is why I particularly like Dan’s article Saints and Sinners. I might tweak a phrase here or there – but then that would be my take on such things. Overall, I love the trajectory – and I hope you enjoy the article.

Beatitudes: blessings

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Friar Musings

The Second Stanza – Promises of Reward to the Virtuous

All the beatitudes in Matthew 5:7-10 are best interpreted as promising eschatological rewards to people who exhibit virtuous behavior. The second stanza does not, however, represent a logical departure from the thought that undergirds the first, for the virtues that are rewarded with blessings are ones exercised on behalf of the people mentioned in Stanza One. In other words the people whom Jesus declares blessed in 5:7-10 are those who help to bring to reality the blessings promised to others in 5:3-6. Continue reading →

Beatitudes: mourn and meek

Posted on October 29, 2015 by Friar Musings

Those who mourn. This is not necessarily the bereaved, or even the penitent. Boring (178-9) notes that at one level Matthew here taps into the deep biblical tradition that one of the characteristics of the true people of God is that they lament the present condition of God’s people and God’s program in the world (see Lamentations; the lament Psalms; etc.). In Isa 61:1-11, on which the beatitudes are based, the community laments the desolation of the holy city. Those who mourn do not resign themselves to the present condition of the world as final, but lament the fact that God’s kingdom has not yet come and that God’s will is not yet done (6:10) ). Continue reading →

Beatitudes: structure & stanza

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Friar Musings

Altogether there are nine beatitudes in 5:3–12, the ninth (5:11–12) is really an expansion of the eighth (5:10). Some scholars opt for a structure with three sets of three, the first eight exhibit such a tightly knit parallel structure that it is more likely that we should understand them as two sets of four. This is most consistent with Hebraic poetry forms which seem to be the literary background of the Beatitudes. Still there is an internal consistency within each “stanza/verse” as seen in the form of each pronouncement:

Continue reading →

Beatitudes: their fabric

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Friar Musings

The 4^th Sunday (Year A) and All Saints Day includes (a) the setting of the entire discourse and (b) the opening section, universally known as the Beatitudes. Beatitudes are found elsewhere in Matthew (11:6; 13:16; 16:17; 24:46) and more frequently in Luke. They are based on a common form of expression in the poetical books of the Old Testament (e.g. Pss. 1:1; 32:1–2; 40:4; 119:1–2; 128:1), but nowhere in the Old Testament or other Jewish literature is there so long and carefully constructed a series as here. A beatitude (Latin) or makarism (Greek) is a statement in the indicative mood beginning with the adjective makarios, declaring certain people to be in a privileged, fortune circumstance. It is not original to Jesus but occurs frequently in the OT as well as in non-Scriptural Jewish and pagan writings. Used here, the beatitudes reflect the Jewish use and setting: wisdom and prophecy. Continue reading →

friarmusings

the musings of a Franciscan friar…

Author Archives: Friar Musings