Today is the feast day of St. Josephine Bakhita. Born in Darfur-Sudan, she was kidnapped as a child at the age of 7 and was enslaved. She was bought and sold several times before arriving in the Sudanese slave market. Along the way, she forgot her family name, and was given a name by the Arab slave traders: bakhīta, Arabic for ‘lucky’ or ‘fortunate’. She was forcibly converted to Islam. Her life enslaved was horrific. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time. Today we will consider some elements of Jesus’ sermon in the gospels of Matthew and Luke, especially why Luke’s narrative goals differ from Matthew’s evan as they recount the same episode from the public ministry of Jesus.
17 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon (18 came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.
In the first reading today, we witness the Ark of the Covenant being moved into the Temple built by King Solomon. To know the story of the Ark of the Covenant is to enter into a geography and history lesson regarding Israel.
From its making in the foothills of Mt Sinai (Mt. Horeb), the Ark resided in a tent during the 40 years of wandering in the desert, finally crossing into the promised land with Joshua, and finding a home in Bethel, and eventually Shiloh – but still in a tent. Continue reading
This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle C. It is St. Luke’s version of the Matthean Sermon on the Mount, but referred to as the Sermon on the Plains (a stretch of level ground). In the 5th Sunday readings (Lk 5:1-11) we have the account of the calling of the first apostles from their labors as fishermen: “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (v.10). Luke 5 quickly recounts miracles that we see as Messianic signs (curing a leper, curing the man on the stretcher/forgiving sins, answering why He ate with sinners), and then moves into Luke 6 where he narrates encounters with the Pharisees and scribes who question Jesus on the Mosaic Law. And then, Jesus “reconstitutes” a new Israel as he calls 12 apostles.
Luke places the choice of the Twelve just before the “Sermon on the Plain” so that it can take on the character of an official instruction for the whole church assembled under its leaders. The importance of Jesus’ decision in selecting the Twelve is underscored by mention of his all-night vigil. Luke’s account sets forth Jesus’ apostolic instruction/ethic for daily life in detail. The sermon begins with a recognition of the disciples’ blessing as a result of God’s grace. The rest of the sermon gives the ethical response to being such a beneficiary. Disciples are to live and relate to others in a way that stands out from how people relate to one another in the world. They are to love and pray for their enemies. Righteousness requires that they respond wisely to Jesus’ words by building their lives around his teaching. In sum, disciples are to live and look different from the rest of the world, even as they reach out compassionately to that world.
With verse 17 (and the missing vv.18-19) Luke sets up the sermon by summarizing Jesus’ ministry activity (4:14-15, 31-32, 40-41).
17 And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon (18 came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. 19 Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.)
Jesus’ ministry reflects the compassion and love he claims God has for humanity. So he heals people with disease and casts out demons. The text emphasizes the power that flows out from him. Whether they are apostles, disciples or part of the crowd, all sorts of people receive Jesus’ ministry. Jesus’ teaching and ministry extends beyond insiders. He attempts to reach those outside his new community.
A note: the posts this week on the Sunday gospel are longer than average, go a little deeper, and I hope offer you some food for thought.
In this morning’s readings, we see King Solomon going up to the high mountain to offer sacrifice to the Lord. This is at the beginning of 1 Kings 3. This follows upon Chapter 2 which recounts the passing of his father King David and the succession of his son Solomon to the throne. It is important to know that the end of David’s reign was one of court intrigue, sedition, and betrayal. Solomon inherited the results of all this and spends the remainder of the chapter taming the sedition of what appears to be a large and unruly contingent of those who would seek the halls of power. Continue reading
In the years well before the 16th century Protestation Reformation in Germany, things were already afoot in England and Czech lands of the Holy Roman Empire. Among those helping to “stir the pot” was John Wycliffe (1320-1384), most often noted for his early translation of the Latin Vulgate scripture into English. Working with several others, they produced the “Wycliffe Bible” which, although unauthorized, proved quite popular. The church was said to not approve his project of translation. That and other frustrations drove him to ignore the church because Wycliffe believed that studying the Bible was more important than listening to it read by the clergy. Continue reading
In today’s gospel we heard the well known account of the beheading of John the Baptist. I have to admit, I wonder if John should have played the long game. He didn’t need to call out King Herod. It is not as though Herod was popular with Jewish people. He was thought to be Jewish in name only as he was of Idumaean ancestry, a conquered people forced to convert to Judaism in order to keep their status and wealth. While Herod publicly identified himself as a Jew, this religious identification was undermined by his decadent lifestyle which earned him the antipathy of observant Jews. Continue reading
At the end of the encounter in the gospel for the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time: “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.” Tannehill (Luke, 101 – found in Stoffregen) presents the economic and social implications of this leaving:
“Leaving everything” means leaving the family (cf. 14:26) and leaving one’s means of support. The family was the primary producing unit in antiquity. Whatever economic security there was came through the family. In leaving their families these men were abandoning family responsibilities and their own security. However, we will see later that they moved from an original family to a “surrogate family,” the community of disciples (cf. 8:19-21), as the primary group. This decision did not suddenly make the disciples individuals in the modern sense, but it would take some strength and independence to decide against the group to which society gave the highest value.
In today’s gospel, Jesus “summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two” (Mark 6:7). I wonder what Jesus thought – not in summonsing or sending, but while watching them head down that long road. I wonder if there was the divine thought revolving around the urgency and rightness of the mission to proclaim the Kingdom of God to the world. Right there alongside the human response of “they’re not ready….”? Continue reading
The last scene we considered in the gospel for the the 5th Sunday of Ordinary Time was Peter’s reaction to the tremendous catch of fish. Peter begs Jesus to depart from him; what’s the point Peter recognizes his own sinfulness. Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” 11 When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him.
Many bibles add a small title to this account: “Calling Fisherman.” In the parallel accounts found in Mark 1:16-20 and Matthew 4:18-22, Jesus calls out to Peter, Andrew, James and John, “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Luke’s tradition tells us a, perhaps, more nuanced account. Continue reading
friarmusings 