Your average Catholic only needs to stand next to a born-again, evangelical Christian to understand how private we are about our life in faith. Of course, you’re thinking, “All that public praying and witnessing, that’s their thing. Our faith was more discrete, more private, more, well…… more sophisticated than asking someone in the local WalMart if they had been saved. Ours is a faith steeped in tradition, liturgy, sacraments. This is how we serve the Lord.” Continue reading
In Matthew 10 we can read: “Jesus said to his Apostles: “As you go, make this proclamation:
‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” I think when lots of people hear that their first thought is … well, sometimes I have no idea of their first thought. Makes me wonder….
The challenge of those few lines brings one to the intersection of responsibility and desire.As a Christian, do you think it is your responsibility to proclaim the Kingdom of heaven at hand? Do you think, “well… that is the job of the priest or the religious sister or brother.” Pretty sure that command is for the baptized. We are all called, be it by word or deed, to be part of the infusion of excitement and energy about the Faith into the lives of people. Continue reading
In today’s gospel Jesus when a paralytic’s friend bring him to Jesus, the first response is: “‘Child, your sins are forgiven. Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves, ‘Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming. Who but God alone can forgive sins?‘” (Mark 2:5-7). They understood exactly Jesus’ claim. They didn’t accept that Jesus could forgive sins, but they completely understood what Jesus was saying. The Pharisees had been taken to the crossroads with three choices. Jesus was either liar, lunatic or Lord. They were not leaning towards option #3. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we looked at some of the verses that speak to John the Baptist as witness to the Messiah. In today’s post we will continue that line of thought as he gives a summary reason for his ministry of Baptism at the River Jordan. Where Mark’s gospel asserts it was “proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4), John simply offers “I came baptizing with water … that he might be made known to Israel.” (John 1:31) Continue reading
From our earliest days we were told the story of Adam and Eve’s temptation by the serpent in the garden. In children’s books there is often the quick explanation that the serpent is the devil/satan tempting the first humans. To be clear this earliest of accounts in Genesis 3 does not refer explicitly to Satan (which by the way is never used as a proper name in Scripture). The tempter is simply called a nāḥāš, which is a common Hebrew word for a serpent, used a total of 31 times in the OT. There is perhaps a sinister nuance possible as seen in the Hebrew word for serpent (nāḥāš) if it is to be connected with the verb nāḥaš, “to practice divination, observe signs,” a verb that appears eleven times in the OT. In the ancient Near East such divination formulae frequently involved a serpent. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we considered the expression “Lamb of God.” In today’s post we look at the verses that speak to John the Baptist as witness. One of the distinct features of the Fourth Gospel is the Evangelists’ use of martyreo (“bear witness”). The verb occurs once in Matthew, once in Luke, none in Mark, and 31 times in John including the five use in the first chapter (vv. 7, 8, 15, 32, 34). This should not be surprising as we were already told in the Prologue that “He came for testimony, to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.” (1:7) Continue reading
The first readings for this week are taken from the Letter to the Hebrews. The psalms are ones that speak of the covenant of God with his people. The gospels are taken from the earliest days of Jesus’ public ministry when he confronts the chaos, disorder and evil in the world, seen in the unclean spirits, illness, leprosy, and paralysis to which he brings release, freedom, and restoration of what God intended – that man be whole. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. In yesterday’s post we looked a little deeper into the scriptural context of John’s gospel. In today’s post we begin to look in depth at the text that follows after John’s interrogation by priests, Levites and Pharisees, the evangelist tells us, The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ Continue reading
The first reading for today is taken from the Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 2 that begins an exhortation to remain firm in the faith and not simply drift away. The exhortation is rooted in Hebrews 1 which argued that since the Son is superior to the angels, the message of salvation he brought is even more to be obeyed than the law of Moses, which came through angels. Here in Chapter 2, the argument takes a new angle to argue that Christ is superior to the angels. Previously it was argued that Christ was superior as the Son of God; here he is superior because he is a human being. Continue reading
The two semifinal games in the college football playoff (CFB) series were great games for fans and spectators alike. There was lots of exciting plays and the games came down to nail-biter finishes. Last night’s championship game did not share those characteristics as the University of Georgia (UGA) overwhelmed TCU. I watched the first half finish with a score of 38-7 and then decided to read a book for the rest of the evening. A few moments later I received a text from a friend who wondered if the 2nd half television advertisers were going to receive a rebate/discount as non-UGA fans began to turn off the broadcast. Turns out it is a flat-fee arrangement, but what the future holds in terms of rebates or discounts, … something to wonder about. Actually, I’ve already spent too much time on the topic.
friarmusings 