Category Archives: Scripture

Nunc Dimittis

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The gospel for today is one of my favorite passages: Luke 2, the Nunc Dimitis, or the encounter with Simeon in the Temple. The moniker of the passage comes from the opening words in the Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible: “Nunc dimittis servum tuum Domine, secundum verbum tuum in pace” – 29 “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation,31 which you prepared in sight of all the peoples,32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel.”  (Luke 2:29-32)

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Visitors from the East

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Next Sunday is the The Epiphany of the Lord. You can read a complete commentary on the Sunday Gospel here.

1 When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of King Herod, behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star at its rising and have come to do him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was greatly troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: Continue reading →

All in a dream

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Today’s gospel is the traditional reading for the 4th Sunday of Advent (year A) but here in Year C, it is placed to tell part of the story that just precedes the birth of Christ. These familiar episodes set the stage for one of the Bible’s best-known passages, the story of Christmas. This reading aligns well with the readings of the seven days of Advent that immediately precede Christmas. Not only do the readings for the daily Masses just before Christmas include the beginnings of the Gospel infancy narratives (Matthew 1 on Dec. 17-18; Luke 1 on Dec. 19-24), but we again get to hear the traditional “O Antiphons,” at Mass. It all begins to answer the question of Advent: who is coming? The reading contribute to the larger answer: Jesus Christ, son of Mary, adopted son of Joseph, son of David, named Jesus, the one who will save his people from their sins, and Emmanuel…God with us. Continue reading →

Not Just Another Genealogy

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Today’s gospel is taken from the opening verses in Matthew’s gospel. Apart from the argument of which gospel is the first or the oldest, the placement of the Gospel of Matthew as the first book encountered in the New Testament is brilliant. The opening verses “connect” the story of Jesus to the whole of the Old Testament through the genealogy. We know the biblical VIPs: “the son of David, the son of Abraham” and we know a few more: Isaac, Jacob, Judah, and Jesse and Joseph…but most are hard pressed to know many more on the list. Continue reading →

Elizabeth’s Praise

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This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Advent in cycle C of the lectionary. The gospel, the final words from Elizabeth are: “Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.” (Luke 1:45)

Several weeks ago a blind man shouted out to Jesus, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” (Mark 10:47). Similarly, words of Elizabeth are “cried out” (anaphoneo) with a “loud voice” (krauge megale). First Elizabeth “eulogizes” Mary and the “fruit of her womb.” Literally, the word eulogeo means “to speak well of,” then “to praise,” then “to bless,” and finally, it can refer to deeds that bring blessings, “to act kindly towards.” Continue reading →

Filled with the Spirit

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This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Advent in cycle C of the lectionary. Our Gospel is taken from Luke 1:39-45:

39 During those days Mary set out and traveled to the hill country in haste to a town of Judah, 40 where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the infant leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth, filled with the holy Spirit, 42 cried out in a loud voice and said, “Most blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43 And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb leaped for joy. 45 Blessed are you who believed that what was spoken to you by the Lord would be fulfilled.”

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Bethlehem and Micah

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This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Advent in cycle C of the lectionary.

Thus says the LORD: You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times. Therefore the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne, and the rest of his kindred shall return to the children of Israel. He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God; and they shall remain, for now his greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth; he shall be peace. (Micah 5:1-4a)

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Bethlehem

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This coming Sunday is the 4th Sunday in Advent in cycle C of the lectionary. On this last Sunday of Advent, we come to another familiar prophetic passage, familiar at least in part because it plays a prominent role in Matthew’s story of the birth of Jesus. When the magi from the East come to Jerusalem expecting to find the king of the Jews, King Herod’s scribes quote this passage from Micah as evidence that the Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem (Matthew 2:5-6): “You, Bethlehem-Ephrathah too small to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel; whose origin is from of old, from ancient times” (Micah 5:2). Continue reading →

The Theology of History

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. Yesterday’s post completed the commentary on the coming gospel and noted the coming Messiah “will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” (Luke 3:16). The Sunday gospel emphasizes John the Baptist but also points forward to Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This is one of many passages that are taken together to consider what has become known as the “Theology of History”. St. Bonaventure wrote about it in the 13th century and it was the topic of Pope Benedict’s doctoral dissertation. Continue reading →

Spirit and Fire

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This coming Sunday is the 3rd Sunday of Advent in Year C of the lectionary cycle. In the previous post, in the face of the coming wrath (Luke 3:7), the people have cried out “What should we do?” (v.10) John answers that each person, where they are in life and the work they have, is to be compassionate and perform their job faithfully, especially in the way they treat others. How we treat others is a litmus test for how we are responding to God. As Jesus says later, “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Continue reading →