Category Archives: Scripture

Preparing the Passover Meal

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This coming Sunday, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The episode of the preparation of the paschal meal is parallel in structure with Ch. 11:1–7 – in fact the first eleven words in Greek are identical. The commissioning of two disciples for the performance of a task, the precise knowledge of what they would encounter, and the exact response to be given to the responsible party are features familiar from the earlier account. The two incidents are entirely independent but they have been described according to a common scheme. Continue reading →

A Wrinkle in Time

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This coming Sunday, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. One of the reasons to “study” Scripture is to realize the gospels are not newspaper reports, historic documentation (although it sometimes does just that), or even eye-witness accounts.  Most often the gospels are the writing down, under divine inspiration, the oral accounts of the early Christian community about Jesus the Christ. This is worth noting because, when asked about the Last Supper, most Christians will reply that it was the traditional Passover meal, referencing the opening verse of our gospel: “On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” (Mark 14:12) Yet this verse gives us a somewhat ambiguous “time stamp.”  William L. Lane, William (The Gospel of Mark) offers an interesting analysis of this ambiguity which is included in what follows.  Continue reading →

Covenant

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This coming Sunday, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The story of the “Last Supper” is an account quite familiar to Christians. The version in the Gospel according to Mark certainly recounts many of the familiar features. Perhaps so familiar that we are not always attuned to the deeper currents present in the gospel account as well as the readings which accompany the Solemnity. Continue reading →

The Solemnity

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This coming Sunday, The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – is more popularly known as Corpus Christi, Latin for the “Body of Christ.” From one perspective, every Sunday is a feast of the Eucharist, because by participating in the Mass, and in receiving Communion, we are honoring and celebrating the Eucharist. Still, the celebration of Corpus Christi has its own history. Continue reading →

All in All

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This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. One should be struck by the repetition of the word “all” in this passage:

  1. Jesus has been given all power (v.18).
  2. Disciples are to be made of all nations (v.19).
  3. Disciples are to obey all that Jesus commanded (v.20).
  4. Jesus will be with the disciples always (literally “all the days”; v.20).

The universality of Jesus’ power and his continuing presence provide the dynamic for the universal discipleship mandate. The disciples will be able to make disciples of all the nations only as they recognize that Jesus has been given all authority and that he will be with them all the days until the end. The universal task is daunting, but it can be done because of the continuing power and presence of Jesus. Continue reading →

Doubt/hesitation

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This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Many English translations offer “but some doubted.”  Unfortunately the word “some” does not appear in the Greek text.  The only two valid translations are “they worshiped, but they doubted (hesitated)” or “they worshiped and they doubted (hesitated).”  It is hard to avoid the simple statement of the text: those who worship are also those who doubt. Continue reading →

Being Sent

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This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. 16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:16-20) Continue reading →

Trinity

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This coming Sunday is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. 16 The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. 18 Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,  20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt 28:16-20) Continue reading →

A Final Thought

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This coming weekend is Pentecost Sunday.  The first reading is from St. Luke’s Acts of the Apostles. The story Luke describes is full of details that challenge the imagination.  Tongues of fire.  Rushing wind.  Bold preaching.  Mass baptism.  But at its heart, the Pentecost story is not about spectacle and drama.  It’s about the Holy Spirit showing up and transforming ordinary,  imperfect, frightened people into the Body of Christ.  It’s about the Spirit carrying us out of suspicion, tribalism, and fear, into a radical new way of engaging God and our neighbor. Continue reading →