About the End: The Temple

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Friar Musings

The Temple in Jerusalem. The architectural entity known as the Jerusalem Temple was a complex institution. It played a central religious and cultic role in Israelite life, as well as functioning on a political level. It was a symbol of the national state of which Jerusalem was the capital during the pre-exilic period, then of the semiautonomous community of Judeans after the exile, and finally of the Jews who continued to live in Jerusalem and the surrounding territory, with sporadic periods of autonomy, in the centuries before its final destruction. Continue reading →

About the End: Being Steadfast

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Friar Musings

Luke 21:5-19. ⁵While some people were speaking about how the temple was adorned with costly stones and votive offerings, he said, ⁶“All that you see here—the days will come when there will not be left a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” ⁷Then they asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? And what sign will there be when all these things are about to happen?” ⁸He answered, “See that you not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! ⁹When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” ¹⁰Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. ¹¹There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky. ¹²“Before all this happens, however, they will seize and persecute you, they will hand you over to the synagogues and to prisons, and they will have you led before kings and governors because of my name. ¹³It will lead to your giving testimony. ¹⁴Remember, you are not to prepare your defense beforehand, ¹⁵for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute. ¹⁶You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. ¹⁷You will be hated by all because of my name, ¹⁸but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. ¹⁹By your perseverance you will secure your lives.

[The following is not part of the Sunday reading, but is often included when studies. If the above section describes the coming war and tribulation, the following text describes its destruction in 70 AD by the Roman armies]

²⁰“When you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, know that its desolation is at hand. ²¹Then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. Let those within the city escape from it, and let those in the countryside not enter the city, ²²for these days are the time of punishment when all the scriptures are fulfilled. ²³Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days, for a terrible calamity will come upon the earth and a wrathful judgment upon this people. ²⁴They will fall by the edge of the sword and be taken as captives to all the Gentiles; and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Context. Jesus’ confrontation with the Jerusalem authorities in the Temple (which began in 19:47) now shifts to the future tense. The extended dialogue concerns the:

coming persecutions and destruction of the Temple (21:5-19),
destruction of the Jerusalem (21:20-24), and
coming of the Son of Man (21:25-36)

Continue reading →

Marriage and Resurrection

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Friar Musings

Salvation Has Come: Questions on Resurrection (continued)

But along the way…. Jesus makes a statement that perhaps needs a second look:

“The children of this age marry and remarry; but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.”

Does this mean that Christians shouldn’t get married and have children? First of all, Jesus makes a contrast between “this age” and “that age”. He has made similar distinctions earlier:

And the master commended that dishonest steward for acting prudently. “For the children of this world are more prudent in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light” (16:8).
He said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God who will not receive (back) an overabundant return in this present age and eternal life in the age to come.” (18:29-30) Continue reading →

Who Interprets Faithfully?

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Friar Musings

Salvation Has Come: Questions on Resurrection (continued)

The Question. “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ ²⁹Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. ³⁰Then the second ³¹and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. ³²Finally the woman also died. ³³Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.”

The Sadducees are attempting to destroy Jesus’ credibility by raising the question of who interprets Moses faithfully, as they seek to demonstrate the alleged unreasonableness of faith in the resurrection of the dead, which Jesus shares. The starting point of the question concerns levirate marriage. Continue reading →

Sadducees and Resurrection

Posted on November 5, 2013 by Friar Musings

Salvation Has Come: Questions on Resurrection (continued)

Luke 20:28-40: ²⁷Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and put this question to him, ²⁸saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us, ‘If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child, his brother must take the wife and raise up descendants for his brother.’ ²⁹Now there were seven brothers; the first married a woman but died childless. ³⁰Then the second ³¹and the third married her, and likewise all the seven died childless. ³²Finally the woman also died. ³³Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be? For all seven had been married to her.” ³⁴Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry and remarry; ³⁵but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age and to the resurrection of the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. ³⁶They can no longer die, for they are like angels; and they are the children of God because they are the ones who will rise. ³⁷That the dead will rise even Moses made known in the passage about the bush, when he called ‘Lord’ the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; ³⁸and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” ³⁹Some of the scribes said in reply, “Teacher, you have answered well.” ⁴⁰And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Commentary. In the opening verse Luke introduced the Sadducees and that they did not believe in the resurrection. Both of these ideas need some background Continue reading →

Salvation Has Come: Questions on Resurrection

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Friar Musings

Context. Last week’s gospel, the encounter with Zacchaeus, was the last personal encounter prior to Jesus’ arrival at Jerusalem. Since early in the summer Jesus has been traveling to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51) and now has finally arrived. Yet there is much that the Ordinary Time sequence passes over between the Sunday gospels Continue reading →

Jesus and Zacchaeus – Saving What Was Lost

Posted on November 1, 2013 by Friar Musings

Luke 19:1-10. ¹He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. ²Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, ³was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. ⁵When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶And he came down quickly and received him with joy. ⁷When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” ⁸But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Salvation. Jesus’ words in v. 9 are literally: “Today salvation has happened to/in this house(hold), because also this one is a son of Abraham.” Continue reading →

Jesus and Zacchaeus – Conversion

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Friar Musings

Zacchaeus’ Speech. Zacchaeus, in spite of his reputation, is an attractive person. In our brief meeting, qualities akin to those of Peter emerge. Zacchaeus is spontaneous and impetuous, given to extravagant statements. But there is a deep genuineness. Though he is a person of some importance, his position does not prevent him from climbing the sycamore tree nor from publicly admitting his guilt and professing his repentance. Jesus says this is a son of Abraham, even if he is a tax collector. He should not be ostracized because of his failings but helped to find his way back to the flock. Continue reading →

Jesus and Zacchaeus – Seeing and Salvation Comes

Posted on October 29, 2013 by Friar Musings

Luke 19:1-10. ¹He came to Jericho and intended to pass through the town. ²Now a man there named Zacchaeus, who was a chief tax collector and also a wealthy man, ³was seeking to see who Jesus was; but he could not see him because of the crowd, for he was short in stature. ⁴So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree in order to see Jesus, who was about to pass that way. ⁵When he reached the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down quickly, for today I must stay at your house.” ⁶And he came down quickly and received him with joy. ⁷When they all saw this, they began to grumble, saying, “He has gone to stay at the house of a sinner.” ⁸But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Behold, half of my possessions, Lord, I shall give to the poor, and if I have extorted anything from anyone I shall repay it four times over.” ⁹And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house because this man too is a descendant of Abraham. ¹⁰For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save what was lost.”

Commentary. At first glance we might expect this to be another parable challenging the rich. The rich have not fared well in Luke’s gospel. Jesus pronounces woes upon the rich (6:24). God called the rich farmer a fool (12:16, 20) and required his soul of him. The rich man went to Hades while Lazarus went to the bosom of Abraham, and Jesus observed how hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of heaven (18:23, 25). Zacchaeus is a “wealthy man” (19:2) Continue reading →

Jesus and Zacchaeus – Context

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Friar Musings

Context. A long section of the Gospel of Luke is passed over as we move from the 30^th to the 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C:

18:15-17 The Little Children
18:18-25 The Rich Ruler
18:26-30 The Demands of Discipleship
18:31-34 The Third Passion Prediction
18:35-43 The Blind Beggar

For many weeks the Sunday gospels have been accounts are that are unique to Luke. At the beginning of his narrative of the journey to Jerusalem (9:51), Luke departed from the outline of Mark and began introducing material from sources either personal or common to Matthew and himself. At this point Luke begins to follow Mark again. The paragraphs below provide a very brief description of these passages: Continue reading →

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