The Book of Jeremiah

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In yesterday’s post we took a quick look at the Prophet Jeremiah: his times and his message. One of the points made was the complexity of the book’s organization and noting that the layout of the book was not chronological. We noted that during the reign of King Josiah, Jeremiah’s ministry was supported by the initiatives of reform from the king. But subsequent kings were not Josiah and at his passing, the priests, court prophets and supporters of the next kings were definitely not in agreement with Jeremiah’s ministry or message. Continue reading →

Walking on Water and Transition

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This coming Sunday is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As noted previously, the episode in 6:16–24 when Jesus walks on the water, is missing from the summer Sunday sequence of readings.  It is striking that John’s sequence — the loaves miracle followed by that on the Sea of Galilee — is identical to that of Mark 6:34–51 and Matthew 14:13–33. In all three accounts Jesus calms his disciples with the identical majestic phrase: “It is I. Do not be afraid” (John 6:20; Mark 6:50; Matt 14:27). This phrasing, which in the Greek has no predicate, simply reads egō  eimi = I am, has strong overtones of divinity, echoing the name for Yahweh found in Isa 43:10, 13, 25. Jesus is the divine presence; the disciples need have no fear. Continue reading →

The Prophet Jeremiah

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This week all the first readings at daily Mass are from the Book of Jeremiah. The book is challenging to read and comprehend on its own and even more so when broken up into bits of narrative that do not provide context. The readings this week are taken from Chapters 13, 14, 15, 18, and 26. Naturally one might assume there is an underlying chronological order. That would be a bad assumption. For example, the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem is talked about in chapter 21 (~587 BC) but in Chapter 25 we are in year 604 BC [“…the fourth year of Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, king of Judah (the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon)” Jer 25:1]. The clear message of Jeremiah 25 is that “Babylon is coming for you!” And is just one of many examples. Continue reading →

Parallel Cycles in John

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This coming Sunday is the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time for Year B of our lectionary cycle. We had been following the Gospel of Mark’s narrative sequence of the life and ministry of Jesus. Starting last Sunday (17th Sunday of Ordinary Time), and continuing this and the following three Sundays, we hear the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6). Let us consider some context for what St. John describes. Continue reading →

Come and be changed

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The reading from Old Testament, 2 Kings, and the Gospel both described miraculous multiplications of bread that nourishes the people – such a small offering – a couple of barley loaves – yielding such tremendous results, feeding thousands upon thousands. Truly miraculous…but what effect did it have on the people who were fed? The gospel reading is just the first part of The Gospel According to John, Chapter 6 – over the following four weeks, we will read the remainder of that chapter in its entirety. We can actually take a peek ahead and answer the question. The recipients of that wondrous bread – well, they wanted more. They wanted to make Jesus king so they would always have bread. Jesus will keep trying to explain to them the meaning and the implications on what has just happened, but once they figure out that Jesus’ meaning is Eucharistic… well, they walk away. I guess it would be fair to say the whole thing did not have the effect Jesus wanted. Continue reading →

Reflections on Grace and Glory

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This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. As noted in the first post, our verses are followed by the Johannine account of Jesus walking on the water and calming the seas (John 6:16-21). Whereas the miraculous feeding miracle was performed before the crowds, this miracle is with the disciples alone. It is with that context that I offer Gail O’Day’s reflection [597-98]. Continue reading →

Joachim and Anne

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In the Scriptures, Matthew and Luke furnish a legal family history of Jesus, tracing ancestry to show that Jesus is the culmination of great promises. Not only is his mother’s family neglected, we also know nothing factual about them except that they existed. Even the names “Joachim” and “Anne” come from sources written more than a century after Jesus died. Information concerning their lives and names is found in the 2nd-century Protevangelium of James (“First Gospel of James”) and the 3rd-century Evangelium de nativitate Mariae (“Gospel of the Nativity of Mary”). Continue reading →

The Miracle’s Aftermath

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This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  12 When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples, “Gather the fragments left over, so that nothing will be wasted.” 13 So they collected them, and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves that had been more than they could eat. 14 When the people saw the sign he had done, they said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.” 15 Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain alone. Continue reading →

The Miracle

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This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.  10 Jesus said, “Have the people recline.” Now there was a great deal of grass in that place. So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.  11 Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed them to those who were reclining, and also as much of the fish as they wanted. 

As an aside, one wonders if that same dynamic is in place in our time when people offer the answer to the question as a “miracle” took place in people’s hearts. In such thinking, Christ induced the selfish to share their provisions, and when this was done there proved to be more than enough for them all. As Morris [300] notes, such a view relies “too much on presupposition and [overlooks] what the writers actually say. It is much better, accordingly, to hold … the view, that Jesus, the Son of God incarnate, did do something that we can describe only as miracle.” That said, let us return to the commentary. Continue reading →

The Setting

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This coming Sunday is the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. 1After this, Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee (of Tiberias). 2 A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick. 3 Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. 4 The Jewish feast of Passover was near.

While short in length, each verse of the introduction contributes something significant to the narrative that follows: the location at the Sea of Galilee (v.1), the theme of seeing signs (v.2), the distinction between the followers and the crowd (v.3), and Passover (v.4). These simple verses almost act as a pause, asking the reader to reflect upon what has come before. Continue reading →