This week we are reading from the Book of Job. In yesterday’s reading we are first introduced to Job as a “blameless and upright man” (Job 1:1) and shown examples of his extreme piety. He loves God and his family so much, he offers sacrifices for the “hypothetical” sins of his children (Job 1:2-7). Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. It is clear that it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife. However, the law as written did raise an important question: “What constitutes ‘something indecent?” There were different answers to that question. R.T. France (The Gospel of Mark, 378-88) has a paragraph full of quotes about the marriage: Continue reading
“In the land of Uz there was a blameless and upright man named Job, who feared God and avoided evil.” (Job 1:1) With these words the Bible introduces one of its most memorable characters. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, lectionary cycle B. Although not included in our reading, Mark 10:1 indicates that Jesus is again on the move: “He set out from there and went into the district of Judea (and) across the Jordan. Again crowds gathered around him and, as was his custom, he again taught them.” Jesus is leaving his native Galilee and is on the road to Jerusalem. The tense of the verbs indicate that these are crowds that are habitually following Jesus. Perhaps these people were following Jesus in Galilee, have crossed the Jordan, and are moving towards Jerusalem. Continue reading
The first reading today is taken from Numbers. It is during the time of the wilderness trek when Moses and the people have long since departed from Egypt but have not arrived in the Promised Land. There are lots of people on the trek and as you might expect, there are lots of problems and complaints. The Lord directed Moses to select 70 elders to help with the burden of leadership. As promised, the Lord gave the elders the gift of the Spirit and they immediately began to prophesy. At the same time there are two others, not selected as elders, who receive the same Spirit and they too are prophesying. Do the elders rejoice because the Spirit of the Lord is spreading among the people? Seems not. I guess human nature being what it is, the elders complain that the two are not officially elders. I guess their thinking is that the gift of the Spirit is only for elders. Moses corrects their misconception: “Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!” Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. “Greatness in the kingdom” is an odd expression given we are to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8) but then that is rather Jesus’ point in this Sunday’s gospel. We are all able to cite: “the first shall be last and the last shall be first,” but none of us really wants to be at the end of the line. One only needs to think of the boarding process for any airline. Before the “boarding group” numbers are called people are already crowding closer to the gate. A few years ago on a flight from DC to San Diego, when the attendant called for anyone who needed a “little extra time in boarding”, a very elegant, tanned, fit and handsome couple presented themselves offering that they were “retired.” They seemed a bit oblivious to nearby people in wheelchairs, on walkers, and a mom traveling with two small children and twin infants. Part of accepting others is to first notice them. Continue reading
As a confessor you encounter all kinds of people whose perspective on sins runs the gamut from everything is sin (most mortal!) to “well… I haven’t killed anyone, so I must be good.” Of course there are very few who inhabit the extremes. Most folks are somewhere in the middle, trying to be Christ-like in all things and all times, and like us all, falling short now and then. The folks “in the middle” try to be attentive to their life of prayer, worship, and service. They are reflective about their lives and come to the Sacrament of Reconciliation to confess, get some perspective, and above all to receive the healing grace of forgiveness. Continue reading
The end of the Sunday gospel reading makes several references to Gehenna beginning in v.43. Gehenna is derived from the Hebrew ge-hinnom = “Valley of Hinnom”. In that place some of the less-than-holy kings of Judah engaged in forbidden religious practices, including human sacrifice by fire (2 Chron. 28:3; 33:6; Jer. 7:31; 32:35). Jeremiah spoke of its judgment and destruction (Jer. 7:32; 19:6). King Josiah put an end to these practices by destroying and defiling the high place of the valley of Hinnom (2 Kings 23:10). Probably because of these associations with fiery destruction and judgment, the word “Gehenna” came to be used metaphorically during the intertestamental period as a designation for hell or eternal damnation. Perhaps more than a place (the place of the dead is usually called “Hades” in the NT); it represents a state of judgment and punishment. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In seminary exegesis courses one is taught to look for details that indicate a change of scene, location, or other markers to indicate the boundaries of a particular pericope (a technical word used in exegesis meaning “narrative” – and a word that auto-correction keeps wanting to change to “periscope,” which given my history serving on nuclear submarines is kinda’ interesting.). There are no such markers in the text. It is a safe bet to assume Jesus is still in Capernaum, surrounded by the Twelve, with a child in their midst (9:33-37). The expression “little ones” may well also include those given a cup of water because they bear the name of Jesus (v.41). Continue reading
The first reading for today is from Ecclesiates (Qoheleth; the Hebrew title) is a book in the Old Testament classified as Wisdom literature. Wisdom literature in the Bible include the Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job and Sirach. Each offers a different view of “wisdom.” Such literature tends to be read in “bits and pieces” with a focus on particularly memorable verses. But all wisdom literature is more than a collection of verses. While wisdom literature is a collection, that collection is assembled in a way that offers a coherent message. Continue reading
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