Matthew’s Vineyard

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This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. Much like Isaiah 5:1-2 (the reading from the OT accompanying our gospel), Matthew’s parable has a vineyard setting (also the preceding two parables: 20:1-16, the workers in the vineyard; 21:28-32, the two sons). What does the vineyard represent? In Isaiah it represents Israel and many have assumed that that is its meaning in the gospel parable, e.g., the vineyard = Israel; the tenants = religious leaders; landowner’s slaves = prophets whom they rejected. With this interpretation, we note that the vineyard is not destroyed, but turned over to new tenants. To use another biblical metaphor, the unfaithful, greedy shepherds are removed (Mt 9:36; Ezekiel 34) and new shepherds are installed to care for the sheep. Continue reading →

Zechariah: An Overview

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The historical background of the Book of Zechariah is closely tied to the post-exilic period of Israel’s history. After the Babylonian Empire conquered Judah and destroyed Jerusalem in 587 BC, many Israelites were taken into captivity in Babylon for a period of around seventy years. Following the fall of Babylon to the Persian Empire under King Cyrus the Great in 538 BC, Cyrus issued a decree allowing the Jewish exiles to return to their homeland and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem. This marked the beginning of the post-exilic period and the subsequent waves of Jewish returnees to Jerusalem. Continue reading →

A Call for Change

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This coming Sunday is the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Lectionary Cycle A. In this section of the Gospel according to Matthew we encounter Jesus in Holy Week amidst an on-going dialogue with the chief priests and elders. These folk are not happy with Jesus as just the day before he had upset the tables of the moneychangers in the Temple area. When Jesus returned to the Temple the following day, the leaders of Judaism were there with questions about the authority with which Jesus takes such bold and prophetic actions (and interrupts the commerce of the Temple). Continue reading →

Luddites Among Us

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The Luddites have a bad reputation. These days, the word is most commonly used as an insult—shorthand for somebody who doesn’t understand new technology, is skeptical of progress, and wants to remain stuck in the ways of the past. The Luddites were English textile workers who, at the dawn of the industrial revolution, resisted the introduction of new machinery. They would sneak into factories in the dead of night and destroy the power-looms they believed were threatening their jobs. The Luddites were not anti-machinery; many of them were machine experts and welcomed the introduction of new equipment that made their work easier. Continue reading →

…and nothing more

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“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted;” a familiar verse from Luke. But that doesn’t tell us what true humility is. Merriam Webster defines humility as freedom from pride or arrogance. That’s a start; it tells us what humility is not and by implication tells us what not to do in life. St. Bonaventure offered that humility is the guardian and gateway to all the other virtues. So, humility is important for being in this life and getting to the next. Continue reading →

Talk like a Pirate

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As you know (…or don’t know), September 19th was “Talk Like a Pirate Day.” While you may have missed the celebration this year – largely consisting of talking like a pirate throughout the course of the day – it is not too late to begin training for next year’s celebration. To that end, this particular post is offering you a short lesson in the key phrases and their etymology. Continue reading →

The answer… or at least an answer

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This coming Sunday is the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time. This parable is about doing the will of God (v. 31). The question, “What is God’s will for my life?” is one that Christians often ask. However, answering that question with an unreflective “obeying God and working in the fields” too easily leads to an idea that one is able to work/earn one’s salvation. But then again, relying on faith alone can reduce action to a meaningless afterthought to one’s words. Continue reading →

Returning to the Lord

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The first readings for the beginning of this week are taken from the Book of Ezra – a book that might not be familiar to you. Here is “the big picture”: The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah are two of the historical books of the Old Testament that tell the story of the return of the Israelites from exile in Babylon and the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Ezra begins with the decree of Cyrus the Great, king of Persia, allowing the Israelites to return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon and rebuild the temple. While the Temple was dedicated in 516 BC, religious reforms were another matter. Ezra was not with the original returnees. He arrived in Jerusalem in 458 BC some 80 years after the decree of Cyrus the Great. Continue reading →