In those days: John the Baptist

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Friar Musings

Matthew 3:1-12. ¹In those days John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea ²(and) saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” ³It was of him that the prophet Isaiah had spoken when he said:
“A voice of one crying out in the desert,
‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight his paths.’”
⁴John wore clothing made of camel’s hair and had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵At that time Jerusalem, all Judea, and the whole region around the Jordan were going out to him ⁶and were being baptized by him in the Jordan River as they acknowledged their sins. ⁷When he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸Produce good fruit as evidence of your repentance. ⁹And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you, God can raise up children to Abraham from these stones. ¹⁰Even now the ax lies at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire. ¹¹I am baptizing you with water, for repentance, but the one who is coming after me is mightier than I. I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the holy Spirit and fire. ¹²His winnowing fan is in his hand. He will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.” Continue reading →

Joseph of Cupertino

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Friar Musings

Joseph of Cupertino was a Conventual Franciscan Friar (OFM Conv.) and is recognized and honored as a Christian mystic and saint. He is the patron saint of aviation, astronauts, mental handicaps, test taking, and students.

His Life. Joseph was born in the village of Cupertino in Italy in 1603 in a none-too-auspicious beginning. Ill fortune seemed to have set its seal on Joseph before he was born. His father, a carpenter by trade, was a good enough man in his way, but he was a poor hand at dealing with money; what little he earned seemed to slip at once through his fingers. At the very moment when his son came into the world his house was in the hands of bailiffs, and his effects were being sold up. Joseph was born in a shed at the back of the house, where his mother had hid herself out of shame. With such a beginning Joseph had very poor prospects.

By all descriptions Joseph was not a good student. He was described by his early teachers as easily being the dullest child in the village. He was absent-minded, awkward, and nervous; a sudden noise, such as the ringing of a church bell, would make him drop whatever he had in his hands. If ever a child began life with nothing in his favor it was Joseph; he had only one hopeful and saving quality—that he knew it.

The family, beset by its own problems, sought any means by which to give Joseph a trade. He was apprenticed to several tradesmen. His year as a shoemaker’s apprentice ended and he had not learned to make even simple repairs. Each trade endeavor ended with Joseph being dismissed. He was easily distracted, not always of good disposition, and was given to wandering off.

First Meeting the Friars. When he was 17, a Franciscan friar came into the village begging. His parents thought that if Joseph could not be a student or learn a trade, at least he could be a friar. His parents approached family members who were already Franciscans, but their local houses were unwilling to entertain the idea of Joseph sharing their life. After knocking on many friary doors, Joseph was accepted by the OFM Capuchins.

The brothers found that Joseph was a true test of their patience. Not only was he very dull and difficult to teach, but his fits of piety and abstraction were troublesome. He had a way of suddenly standing still in the midst of some task and forgetting everything. He would go down on his knees in the most unlikely places, utterly oblivious of everything around him. On one occasion, while carrying food into the dining hall, he suddenly dropped everything in a great crash. In the hope of curing him, bits of the broken plates were fastened to his habit, and he carried them about, as a penance, and as a reminder of his task of service. His stay with the Capuchins ended, as had all his apprenticeships.

Round Two with the Friars. His mother was not at all pleased to have the 18-yr. old Joseph back home again, so she finally got him accepted as a simple servant at the Franciscan monastery. His primary task was working in the stables and taking care of the horses. Slowly, Joseph began to change. He grew more humble and gentle, more careful and successful at his work. He also began to practice penance. After several years of work he had impressed the local friars with his simplicity, lightheartedness, and devotions, and was admitted to the Franciscan Order, eventually being ordained a priest.

Patron of test takers. You may wonder how someone who was seemingly ungifted intellectually would be able to study and pass his tests in seminary, passing courses in philosophy, theology, liturgy, scripture, and more. Perhaps there is a clue contained in the traditional prayer:

O Saint Joseph of Cupertino, who by your prayer, obtained from God the blessing to be asked at your examination only the questions you knew: Grant that we may, like you, succeed in the exams.

His Visions. Joseph had experienced ecstatic visions as a child. What later came to be understood as a wonderful gift of seeing God and the supernatural in all things was seen first as an oddity and burden. Now when he was a friar, and a priest besides, the visions grew stronger; it seemed easier for him to see God indwelling in His creation. Joseph could spend whole days lost in wonder and ecstatic prayer.

Patron of Aviators and Astronauts. One might also wonder how this 17^th-century saint became the patron of aviation and astronauts. In the midst of some of his ecstatic moments, Joseph would rise from the ground, and move about in the air. Within a church or friary chapel he was seen to fly towards the altar or over it. The moments were not limited to church, but occurred in the friary dining hall and even outside when suddenly he would fly into a tree. The patronage of flying things was perhaps a natural.

The Trials. But his levitation had a downside. In the 17^th century, this special gift of God was also seen as being connected to witchcraft. This led some friars to denounce him. His Franciscan superiors transferred Joseph to another friary for close observation and scrutiny. As one might expect some brothers believed, some did not. The opinions were that he was a saint or a fraudulent troublemaker – there was no in between. He eventually was called to appear before the Inquisition in Naples.

The inquisitors examined him; after close testing they were unable to convict him of anything. Still they would not dismiss him; his case was at least doubtful, and they sent him for further examination to the Minister General of the Franciscan Conv. Order in Rome. Father General saw his humility; he began to doubt whether all was true that was said against him. In the end the lack of any clear consensus about Joseph lead to an agreement between the Inquisition and the Franciscans that Joseph was to be confined and kept in seclusion. And so he remained for 25 years. He died on September 18, 1663. He was just sixty years of age.

The Advent of Vigilance – Hopes and Dreams

Posted on November 28, 2013 by Friar Musings

Matthew 24:37-44: ³⁷For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴²Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. ⁴³Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

What disciples should be doing. The practical conclusion to be drawn from vv. 36–41 is that of constant readiness, which will also be the focus of the rest of the chapter and of 25:1–13. The point of vv. 36–42 is summed up in a little parable (paralleled in Luke 12:39–40). If house-breakers (broken into is literally ‘dug through’, an easy mode of entry into a mud-walled house) gave prior warning, no-one would be caught out. In a rather bold analogy, the Son of man, like the burglar, does not advertise the time of his arrival. The only precaution, therefore, is constant readiness. In view of such plain statements as this it is interesting that some Christians still attempt to work out the date of the parousia.

But this is Advent… So far we have looked at this gospel in its Matthean context. But what about it use on the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the Liturgical Year? If last Sunday (Christ the King Sunday) represents a culmination of things – when Christ reigns above all – then what are we to make of the First Sunday in Advent? Do we go back to the beginning and again work our way through the year until Christ is again King?

Yes…in way. The beginning is not the birth of Jesus. The beginning is the advent (the coming) of Jesus as the fulfillment of the promise of God and thus the hopes and dreams of the Jewish people. This is the first Sunday of Advent, the Sunday of Expectation and Hope. The Old Testament Lectionary reading for this first Sunday of Advent is Isaiah 2:1-5.

This is what Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. In days to come, The mountain of the LORD’S house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it; many peoples shall come and say: “Come, let us climb the LORD’S mountain, to the house of the God of Jacob, That he may instruct us in his ways, and we may walk in his paths.” For from Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; One nation shall not raise the sword against another, nor shall they train for war again. O house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the LORD!”Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”

Israel had a troubled history. She was a tiny nation wedged between huge and ambitious empires that were constantly vying for superiority. Israel had few times during her 700-year history in which she did not live under threat. Wars were almost constant, some were devastating. For much of her existence she lived under the sovereignty of some other nation, unable or sometimes unwilling to establish her own existence in the world as God’s people.

In the time of Isaiah of Jerusalem, Judah was a vassal state of Assyria. During Isaiah’s lifetime the Assyrians would sweep in and totally annihilate the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and threaten to do the same to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Judah had weak leaders who saw it more politically expedient to appease the Empire than to be faithful to God.

And yet there were those like Isaiah who could envision a different reality, who could hope for a time when Israel would be faithful and allow God to be God. Israel was weary of war and threat, weary of the divisions that had torn her country apart after Solomon, weary of the instability of a world in which power and the oppression that it brings were the controlling factors in the world. Some like Isaiah knew that God’s vision of the world was much different. They knew that the God they served was the same God who had heard the cries of oppressed slaves in Egypt and entered history to relieve their oppression. And they knew that because God was such a God, he would not forever tolerate oppression in the world.

And so they hoped. And they dreamed. They dreamed of a time when God would enter the world and bring an end to war and suffering, when he would establish his reign on earth and restore all creation to what he intended it to be. They dreamed of a time when the division that had torn their people apart and divided them into north and south might be healed, and they could once again be a whole people under God.

This is the context of the cautionary tale of Matthew’s gospel on this first Sunday of Advent. Those things hoped for and dreamed about are at the door – so “Wake Up!” and be prepared for the time when we will “allow God to be God.” And be prepared that God will be God – even if it is in ways we cannot imagine. A King in swaddling clothes. Who’d have thought.

Notes

Matthew 24:37 it will be like it was in Noah’s day. Humans living in the days preceding Jesus’ return will be as unaware of it as Noah’s contemporaries were of the flood (Gen 6:5ff; Isa 54:9; cf. 2 Pet 2:5; 3:6). The timing of God’s judgment in both instances is totally unanticipated. The analogy with the days of Noah suggests that judgment is to be a feature of the coming of the Son of man. But the main point is the unpreparedness of Noah’s contemporaries. Whereas Noah and his family were ready, everyone else carried on oblivious to the threat of judgment, and so, while Noah was saved, they were swept away. The implication is that it is possible to prepare for the parousia, not by calculating its date, but by a life of constant readiness and response to God’s warnings and teaching. There will apparently be only two categories, the prepared (and therefore saved) and the unprepared (and therefore lost).

Matthew 24:37 coming: parousía The general meaning of parousía is “presence,” specifically “active presence” (e.g., of representatives or troops, in person; cf. 2 Cor. 10:10). In Hellenistic writings it referred to the visit of rulers or high officials. The word has no exact parallels in Hebrew, but similar terms (“to be present” and “to come”) are plentiful and point to the coming of the end of time (Lam. 4:18), end of evil (Prov. 1:27), or of the day of redemption (Is. 63:4) or recompense (Dt. 32:35). Above all, God comes draws near to his people. (e.g., Gen. 16:13–14; 28:18; 2 Sam. 24:25). The entry of the ark is God’s coming (1 Sam. 4:6–7). But God is not tied to places; he may come in dreams (Gen. 20:3), theophanies (18:1ff.), clouds and storms, visions, the quiet breath (1 Kgs. 19:12–13), and in his Word or Spirit (Num. 22:9; 24:2). The OT refers to God’s coming as World King (Dt. 32:2ff). He is king forever and ever in Ex. 15:18. He will finally assume full kingship (Is. 2:2). His coming as world king will mean the creating of a new heaven and earth (Is. 66:15) and universal peace and joy (Is. 2:2ff.; 65:21ff.; 66:10ff.). The concept also refers to the coming of the Messiah whose main task is to establish peace (Zech. 9:9–10). This coming has a universal sweep and is historical, but with eschatological aspects (Dan. 7:13). In the Psalms the stress is on God’s coming, not that of the Messiah. The place of the parousía concept in the NT is that Jesus has come already, but so strong is the hope of his coming in glory that the word is not used for his first coming. There is not a twofold parousía.

Matthew 24:37 Son of Man: In Matthew, as in all the other Gospels, the title which Jesus uses to describe his own mission is usually ‘the Son of man’. Matthew’s recording of this title differs little from that by Mark and Luke. None of them use it themselves in narrative or comment, but all agree that Jesus made frequent use of it, and, most remarkably, that when the title ‘Christ’ was offered to him, he substituted ‘the Son of man’ (26:64).

This is not the place to give a full account of the voluminous and continuing debate about this title. Even the description of it as a ‘title’ is controversial, as the phrase ‘a son of man’ in Hebrew and Aramaic means simply a human being. When God addresses Ezekiel frequently as ‘Son of man’ (Ezek. 2:1, 3; 3:1; etc.) it is as ‘man’ in contrast with God, almost meaning ‘little man’! (Cf. also Pss. 8:4; 80:17.) In later Aramaic a similar phrase came to be used sometimes, rather like the English ‘one’, to refer to oneself or (occasionally) someone else, in contexts where modesty or prudence made a direct statement undesirable. But the phrase ‘the Son of man’ seems to demand a more specific content than that, especially when it is seen that Jesus uses the phrase predominantly in discussing the nature of his specific mission, not the lot of men in general.

But there is no clear evidence that the phrase ‘the Son of man’ was used thus as a title in any Jewish literature before the time of Jesus. It is therefore likely that Jesus developed this strange usage himself, perhaps deliberately in order to avoid a familiar title (such as ‘Messiah’) which would already have carried its own meaning for Jesus’ hearers.

It is a strange usage: the Greek phrase ho hyios tou anthrōpou is as unnatural as the English, and the Aramaic phrase bar-nāšā’ would not normally be used, as Jesus always used it, with a definite article. It seems most likely that Jesus ‘coined’ the title on the basis of the vision of ‘one like a son of man’ in Daniel 7:13 (a passage to which he frequently referred in explaining his mission: see on 10:23; 16:27–28; 19:28; 24:30; 25:31; 26:64; 28:18); in Daniel this is no title, simply a description of a human figure (as opposed to an animal) in a vision, but Jesus’ definite article functions virtually as a demonstrative, ‘that Son of man’, i.e. the one described in Daniel 7:13–14, which Jesus clearly saw as a figure for his own mission.

But while the phrase was probably derived from reflection on Daniel 7:13f., Jesus’ use of it as a title for himself extends far beyond what that passage suggests. In addition to the future glory and triumph depicted in Daniel 7:13–14, Jesus uses the phrase particularly in predicting his own rejection, suffering and death, a theme which Daniel 7 alone would not have required. Further, he speaks of his ministry on earth, both in its humiliation (e.g. 8:20) and in its authority (e.g. 9:6; 12:8), under this title. It is, then, a wide-ranging term whose content is fixed not by any predetermined meaning as a title (for it had none), but by the breadth of Jesus’ own understanding of his unique mission. [France, 46-47]

Matthew 24:41 taken: paralambánō. the term is used for the reception of Christ by the world (Jn. 1:11) and for acceptance into the kingdom of Christ

Sources -Commentaries

Eugene Boring, The Gospel of Matthew in The New Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. VIII (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1994) pp.
Warren Carter, Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2000) pp. 486
R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary in the Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Vol. 1, ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1989) pp.351-2
Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 1 of Sacra Pagina, ed. Daniel J. Harrington (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1991) pp. 341-47
Daniel J. Harrington, “Matthew” in The Collegeville Bible Commentary, eds. Diane Bergant and Robert J. Karris (Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 1989) p.897
John P. Meier, Matthew, New Testament Message 3 (Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1990)
D. Turner and D.L. Bock, Matthew and Mark in the Cornerstone Biblical Commentary, vol. 11 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2005) pp. 319-20
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, UK: Baker Academic; Apollos, 2007) pp. 373-76
Brian Stoffregen, “Brian P. Stoffregen Exegetical Notes” at www.crossmarks.com

Dictionaries

G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley & G. Friedrich, eds. ,Theological dictionary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995).
G. Delling, paralambánō, 4:5-15.
A. Oepke, parousía, 5:858–71

Scripture – Scripture quotes from New American Bible by Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC.

The Advent of Vigilance – in the days of Noah

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Friar Musings

Matthew 24:37-44: ³⁷For as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. ³⁸In (those) days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. ³⁹They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be (also) at the coming of the Son of Man. ⁴⁰Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴¹Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left. ⁴²Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come. ⁴³Be sure of this: if the master of the house had known the hour of night when the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and not let his house be broken into. ⁴⁴So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.

Commentary. Our gospel combines several pictures in order to describe the arrival of the Son of Man (v. 37). The Noah parable (vv. 37–39) contrasts Noah and the other people of his generation. The flood came upon them suddenly and had dire consequences for many. The pictures of the two men in the field (v. 40) and the two women grinding meal (v. 41) emphasize the suddenness of the coming and the separation that it will bring. Since the exact hour of the coming is unknown, the only appropriate attitude is constant watchfulness (v. 42). This attitude is encouraged further by the story of the homeowner (v. 43). If a homeowner knows when a thief is coming, he exercises watchfulness at that time. But since the time of the Son of Man’s coming remains unknown, the watchfulness must be constant (v. 44). Continue reading →

The Advent of Vigilance (continued)

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Friar Musings

Matthew’s Pastoral Concerns. John Meier (Matthew,291) notes that a good part of Ch. 24 in Matthew is spent in attempting to calm off-based eschatological (end-time) fervor and calculation. Something that even in our day has become a cottage industry as folks pore over Daniel and Revelation attempting to “crack the code” about the end-time when/where. The three rapid-fire parables in our gospel reading attempt to establish a proper eschatological fervor (watchfulness). The three parables (the generation of Noah, the two pairs of workers, and the thief in the night) announce the major theme of the second part of the discourse: vigilance and preparedness for the coming [parousia] of the Son of Man. Continue reading →

Evangelii Gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Friar Musings

Pope Francis has issues an apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, “The Joy of the Gospel.” You can find the full text of the document here. I am in the midst of reading it, but I suspect other such as Fr. James Martin, SJ, will have far more insightful thoughts. So far here is one of my favorite lines: “The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open.”

Here are preliminary thoughts from Fr. Martin’s Facebook page. I think he will publish later on the “American Magazine” website Continue reading →

The Advent of Vigilance

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Friar Musings

This text is part of the fifth discourse in Matthew (24:1-25:46), which centers on the coming of the Son of Man – and that does not necessarily imply “end times” as in end of the world. The theme for the 1st Sunday in Advent for all three years is preparedness – in the everyday of life as well as for the end of life. What is common to all times is the victory of the reign of God. Continue reading →

The King of Hearts

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Friar Musings

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joshua – some of the great names of Israel’s history. And none of them were king. Yet under the leadership of God, they led Israel from slavery to the freedom of the promised land. Deborah, Gideon, Samson – none of them were kings, yet under the leadership of God, these Judges united Israel to defend itself and identity against the other nations. To be the qahal Yahweh– the people of God. And the last of the judges was Samuel. It was to Samuel that the people came and said “Now that you are old, and your sons do not follow your example, appoint a king over us, as other nations have, to judge us.” When Samuel prayed about this before the Lord, God said in answer: “Grant the people’s every request. It is not you they reject, they are rejecting me as their king.” Continue reading →

End Times and Becoming

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Friar Musings

Thirty-Third Sunday Ordinary Time

Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven,
when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble,
and the day that is coming will set them on fire,
leaving them neither root nor branch (Mal 3:19)

This is the kind of reading that brings back memories of growing up in the South. I would sneak off to summer tent revivals and listen to the pastors preach up a holy firestorm of hell and damnation. There was such passion, rhythm, and vitality – it almost as though they were the Sirens to my Ulysses. It was a preaching that left no doubt that the end was near, to get right with God, and to make amends. Continue reading →

About the End: The Divine Plan for Discipleship

Posted on November 14, 2013 by Friar Musings

Time and The Divine Plan – A Theology of History. “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” The broad scope of the question in v.7 is significant, since a judgment of Jerusalem that wipes out the temple suggests a time of great catastrophe and a turning point in the nation’s history and identity. Such an event can only signal that God’s plan for the nation is underway. Though Luke’s form of this question is more focused on the temple than the questions in Matthew 24:3 and Mark 13:4, its implications clearly cover the same span. Continue reading →

friarmusings

the musings of a Franciscan friar…

Category Archives: Catholic