Category Archives: franciscan

Then what should we do?

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10 And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” 11 He said to them in reply, “Whoever has two cloaks should share with the person who has none. And whoever has food should do likewise.” 12 Even tax collectors came to be baptized and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He answered them, “Stop collecting more than what is prescribed.” 14 Soldiers also asked him, “And what is it that we should do?” He told them, “Do not practice extortion, do not falsely accuse anyone, and be satisfied with your wages.”

The basic question is asked three times: what should we do? The questions come from the crowd, tax collectors and soldiers – and later in Luke’s writings by a lawyer (10:25), a ruler (18:18), a Jerusalem audience in Acts 2:37, a jailer (Acts 16:30), and a zealous Jew, Saul (Acts 22:10). The fundamental response will be “What behavior is appropriate to those who claim to have repented?” Continue reading →

Isaiah’s Promise and Challenge

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The first readings for these beginning days of Advent are all taken from the Book of Isaiah. It is a complex book in many ways and it is one of the most cited books of the Old Testament by New Testament writers indicating the importance and esteem it holds in the scriptural imagination. You can read a short introduction to the book here.

Today the first reading is taken from Isaiah 2:1-5, whose opening is duplicated almost exactly in Micah 4:1–3. Like Isaiah, Micah was an eighth-century prophet of the southern kingdom. Both prophets held Mount Zion to be a sacred mountain, the center of the earth, and important for the whole world  – the same sentiment expressed in Psalms 46–48.

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Kings on Trial

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This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of Christ the King. The gospel reading for this year is the scene of Jesus on trial before Pontius Pilate during which the nature of Jesus’ kingship and kingdom is revealed. It is worth noting that as a rule, kings usually do not stand trial. They rule until their deaths. They are in charge of everything that happens in their kingdom. There are times when a king may die an early death — when another king with a more powerful army conquers the king or when the king’s subjects rebel. When such things happen, the defeated king is seldom given a trial. He was just killed. Continue reading →

The Kingdom

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This coming Sunday is The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe. The gospel reading for this year is the scene of Jesus on trial before Pontius Pilate during which the nature of Jesus’ kingship and kingdom is revealed. It is important to understand that as we consider the nature of  Jesus as King of the Universe, we must also consider the “Kingdom of God” and Jesus’ role in establishing it. The idea of the “Kingdom of God” or “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Reign of God” – all have a foundation in history. Continue reading →

Lost along the way

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Today’s first reading is from the always mysterious, often misunderstood and frequently misinterpreted Book of Revelation. Perhaps the centerpiece of the book is the letter to the seven churches of Asia Minor from which we hear the letter to the community as Ephesus.

The letter opens by praising this community for its endurance and its resistance to false teachers who claim to be apostles – most likely traveling missionaries carrying an apocryphal message. Though not in danger from false teachers, the Ephesian community has to be recalled to its former enthusiasm. The Sacred Writers accomplishes this by first reminding the listener of the source of the message: “The one who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks in the midst of the seven gold lampstands.” Continue reading →

The Widowed Prophet

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This coming Sunday is the 32nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, the story of “The Widow’s Mite.” Today’s post is from a writer, Debie Thomas, whose work I always enjoy and find insightful. The words of this post are entirely hers. Enjoy.

“The Widow’s Mite” is a classic Gospel story — a go-to for churches during Stewardship Season. Who hasn’t heard the moving account of the widow who slips quietly into the Temple, drops her meager offering into the treasury, and slips away? Who hasn’t squirmed when a well-meaning pastor saddles the story to its inevitable “so what?” question: “If a poor widow can give her sacrificial bit for the Lord’s work, how can we — so comfortably wealthy by comparison — not give much, much more?” Continue reading →

It is personal

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When Jesus answers the scribe, He uses the second person singular form of the verbs: “You shall love..” Jesus is telling this individual what he should do. In this way it is not a dissimilar encounter with the earlier episode of the rich young man who asks what he must do to inherit the Kingdom (Mark 10:17-22). Although the man goes away sad, he clearly understood that this was an answer to what he, personally, must do. When the scribe responds and virtually repeats what Jesus had said he makes it impersonal. He doesn’t say, “You’re right! I should love ….” It is as though the initial question was somewhat “academic” as opposed to personal; an intellectual exercise for the scribe as opposed to seeking a guide to this life and the Kingdom to come. Even Jesus notes that the scribe has answered “with understanding” perhaps acknowledging the goodness of the answer. Continue reading →

Hear, O Israel

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This coming Sunday is the 31st Sunday in Year B. Mark alone among the evangelists reports that Jesus introduced his answer with the opening words of the Shemaʿ: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone!  (Deut. 6:4), a prayer and confession of faith said every morning and evening by pious Jews. The words of the Shema’ indicate that the command to love God is an obligation which stems from his uniqueness as God and his gracious favor in extending his covenant love to Israel. Continue reading →

What’s on your refrigerator

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The gospels for today’s daily Mass readings have been taken from Luke 12:49-53:

49  “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! 50  There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three;  53 a father will be divided against his son and a son against his father, a mother against her daughter and a daughter against her mother, a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

Not exactly the magnet saying you’re going to put on the refrigerator in the family kitchen. Continue reading →