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Mark 12:1-13: Cornerstone – Part IV

Posted in Comparing Scripture, Web site included, tagged , , , , on March 9, 2024| Leave a Comment »


Mark 12:1-13: Cornerstone – Part IV

Saturday, March 9, 2024

James Tissot: The Pharisees and the Herodians Conspire Against Jesus

James Tissot: The Pharisees and the Herodians Conspire Against Jesus

 Again we hear the Parable of the Tenants in Mark’s Gospel but today we focus on the aftermath of Jesus’ teaching.

And have you not read this scripture, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is made the head of the corner: By the Lord has this been done, and it is wonderful in our eyes. And they sought to lay hands on him, but they feared the people. For they knew that he spoke this parable to them. And leaving him, they went their way. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Herodians; that they should catch him in his words. (DRA)

We know that Jesus came to bring us the Good News, and we also know that his stories were not always welcomed. Those in control of the power structure did not want their carefully constructed world to crumble. They had forgotten – or perhaps had never learned – the lesson that Jesus comes to set us free from our old hatreds and fears. They rejected – or perhaps feared – the promise that we are all equal in the eyes of the one who created us. They dissembled – or perhaps lied – to achieve their ends. For this reason, it is important for us to take this parable in once again; it is vital that we watch the aftermath that follows. We must look for signs of rejection and deceit for when we see them, we will know that those who look out for themselves are building walls of hate and fear between us. They are plotting to catch us out with our words. But it is our very words that – when spoken with and in Christ – will set us and the world truly free.

When we spend time with the aftermath of this Parable of the Tenants that we begin to know and have confidence in the reality the rejection of the cornerstone is an act that sets us free. If this Douay-Rheims translation does not suit us, we can use the scripture link and drop-down menus to explore other versions. 

For more on the Pharisees, religious leaders, and the Herodians, political leaders visit biblehub.com: http://biblehub.com/topical/p/pharisees.htm  and http://biblehub.com/topical/h/herodians.htm

The Herodians family tree can be found at: http://www.bible-history.com/herod_the_great/HERODThe_Herodians.htm

Tissot image from: https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/4489

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Matthew 5:38-48: About Revenge – Part I

Posted in Mini-Noontime, tagged , , , , , on February 25, 2024| 1 Comment »


Matthew 5:38-48: About Revenge – Part I

Sunday, February 25, 2024god-is-love1

For the next several days we will explore Jesus’ words from his Sermon on the Mount. Today, what does Jesus tell us about the freedom we find when we stay clear of the temptation to seek revenge?

Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: “Eye for eye, tooth for tooth”. Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: “Don’t hit back at all”. If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. (MSG)

Jesus challenges us to live generously; yet what does this mean?

This is impossible, we say to ourselves as we hear his words. And a life lived in this way will never work. Who will protect me and my loved ones if I do not? How will I keep the bullies at bay? And how will I avoid being everyone’s doormat? This is impossible we repeat.  And then . . .

confucious-revenge-two-gravesGod says: I am quite aware that many of you see Jesus’ suggestion as an idealistic, and even ridiculous, plan for living. You see the Law of Freedom as a threat to your autonomy. You see the world viewed from this perspective of love – without defenses and using liberal amounts of revenge – as childish. But I say to you that it is childlike. I do not ask you to go into the world completely open to assault; rather, I ask that you use my enormous power, presence and love as a bulwark and as your rock of safety. I ask you to trust me more than you trust your own resources and your little powers. I also ask that you replace your bluster and bravado with my own call to love those who hate you and wish you harm. When you surrender to my Law of Freedom, you give up all pretense of power – and yet you will have more power than you ever imagined. When you remain in and with me, you need not build the walls you falsely believe will protect you. I ask that you put away your childish ways of dependence of self and replace them the childlike life of generosity and openness. I tell you that this new interaction with the world brings you a new freedom and even a new authority, the authority of my love that surpasses all.

Jesus challenges us to live generously. Do we see ourselves as willing to follow this call?

Images from: http://faithbaptistauburn.org/god-is-love/ and https://uk.pinterest.com/explore/revenge/

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Psalm 112: Rising in the Darkness

Posted in Comparing Scripture, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2024| Leave a Comment »


Psalm 112: Rising in the Darkness

Monday, February 19, 2024candles

Whether we know it or, once we commit to loving God as we see God in others, we begin to generate light in the darkness.

Those who love the LORD rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.

We may be unaware that others are watching us but they are. When we say that are committed to Christ, do our actions betray or support our words?

It is well with those who deal generously and lend, who conduct their affairs with justice.

If we hope to make a mark in human history, all we need do is follow Christ. In this way we will find ourselves in the story of hope and generosity rather than the story of fear and exclusion.

For the righteous will never be moved; they will be remembered forever.

Once we begin to think and move in Christ, all fear falls away for we know that we are not in charge and that the long arc of human history is moving toward the light of Christ.

They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.

lightWhen we feel ourselves moving in that great tide of humanity that yearns for universal justice, impartial freedom and eternal peace, we will know that all is well.

Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid; in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

The honor we seek is not the reward of this life; it is the quiet, humble, everlasting honor that Christ bestows when we follow after him.

They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor; their righteousness endures forever; they are exalted in honor.

We cannot think that our progress is smooth for the way of discipleship is difficult in the best of circumstances.

The wicked see it and are angry; they gnash their teeth and melt away; the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

And we must remember that in our gladness of living and loving in Christ, we are called to invite all those who weary from their journey of opposition, mistrust, and manipulation to join in this great generation of life and light and love.

Those who love the LORD rise in the darkness as a light for the upright; they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.

candles-burningWe give thanks for the times when are the light. We ask forgiveness for the times we have brought darkness to others and ourselves. And we remember to look for the face of Christ in every soul that passes our way.

When we spend time with various translations of this psalm, we find that our hearts are lighter, our path more easily seen and trod, and our journey more full of peace.

Images from: http://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/lifeatuoft/2014/12/10/amnesty-international-u-of-t-cities-for-life/ and http://indianapublicmedia.org/amomentofscience/a-candle-in-the-dark/ and http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-1247-p-14.html

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Deuteronomy 15:12-18: Slavery

Posted in Favorite, Web site included, tagged , , , on February 7, 2024| Leave a Comment »


Deuteronomy 15:12-18: Slavery

Wednesday, February 7, 2024qumran

A Favorite from January 23, 2009.

We experience all sorts of slavery in our lives: slavery to work, slavery to ideas, and slavery to people. Paul characterizes himself many times as a slave of Christ, obeying to the utmost, owning nothing, being strength itself in his earthly weakness and poverty.

Gossip repeated commits us to a kind of slavery. The speaker can never move out of an entrenched opinion; the victim remains stuck in an unpleasant characterization. The irony of slavery is that it reduces the owner more than the slave; and perhaps that is why we see the recommendation in today’s reflection that the slave be set free . . . For remember, you were once slaves in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God ransomed you.

At the time the book of Deuteronomy was written, and also in Jesus’ day, slavery was an accepted fact of life. Only the Essenes of Qumran rejected it in principle (Achetemeier 1031) as we can read in the works of Josephus, a Jewish historian. The famous stoic philosopher Epictetus was a slave, as was the family of St Paul. Slaves in Old Testament days were mainly for domestic service, and they “played a minor economic role in the ancient Near East” (Achetemeier 1029). Crown and temple slaves were usually captured during war; private slaves were defaulting debtors and their families, or indigents who resorted to self-sale. In New Testaments days under Roman rule, slaves comprised as much as thirty five percent of the population. Poor masters were to be punished; slaves were to participate in the Sabbath rest. Many of the rules regarding slaves were established in an effort to maintain the dignity and humanity of these human beings; but no matter its form or purpose, slavery is something to be abolished. It meant “social death” in ancient times (Achetemeier 1030) and remains so today – cutting the slave off from family, friends, homeland and resources.

To what are we slaves today? Who do we enslave by our words and actions? How might we free ourselves and others from chains real or unreal?

The only freedom that is eternal and redeeming is that which comes when we give ourselves over to God’s love. Placing ourselves in the compassionate hands of Christ is the single most effective method of ensuring that we are slaves to no one and to nothing; for when we place God before all else in our lives we put ourselves in a place which no shackle can chain.

God always rescues; he always keeps his promises. As the prophet Zechariah tells us (8:7-8): Thus says the Lord of hosts; Lo, I will rescue my people from the land of the rising sun, and from the land of the setting sun. I will bring them back to dwell within Jerusalem. They shall be my people, and I will be their God, with faithfulness and justice.

No matter where we are or what our condition, we are well-loved by our creator. When we turn to him and agree to serve him only, we live in a state of freedom which can never be enslaved. Would it not be wonderful if we might set ourselves and others free from the chains in which we have entrapped them?

From this morning’s MAGNIFICAT intercessions:

For those who feel hopelessly trapped by the habits of sin: grant them forgiveness and peace.

For those who fear your anger: show them also your love.

For those who delay examining their decisions and habits: let them see how quickly life passes.

God in heaven, deliver us, rescue us, set us free from all that keeps us from you. Amen.

Achetemeier, Paul J. HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE DICTIONARY. 2nd edition. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1996. 1031. Print.

Cameron, Peter John. “Prayer for the Morning.” MAGNIFICAT. 1.23 (2009). Print.  

For more on the Essenes of Qumran, click on the image above or visit: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/essenes.html

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Job 3: Misery

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , , , on October 18, 2023| Leave a Comment »


Job 3: Misery

Wednesday, October 18, 2023peace-in-christ

We continue our reflections on peace and we find that even in the depths of misery, there is peace. 

In the Biblia de América, the commentary refers to the technique used in this book as a dialog of the deaf. This certainly explains how we so often feel misunderstood, misheard, misspoken, misunderstanding. As humans, we are often poor at expressing ourselves clearly – and we are equally poor at hearing well. Job’s three friends, in an effort to either console Job in his misfortune or to justify themselves in their good fortune, do not fully comprehend the depths of Job’s misery. He is innocent. He has followed God’s precepts well. He has done nothing wrong. He has done all things well; yet he suffers tremendously. This does not fit the Old Testament thinking that if we do as we are asked to do, we will not suffer. Goods and good times come to us as a reward. Suffering and pain come to us as a punishment. Job struggles to find the logic in what has happened to him, and here in the opening chapters he is clear about his grief; yet his friends will reply as if they have not heard the idea their friend struggles to communicate – he has done nothing wrong and still he suffers greatly. Job, looking for justice and compassion, will find only preaching and separation from his friends. It is not until the end of this travail that he will see the wisdom and awesome power of God. And for his fidelity and his willingness to suffer, Job will receive compensation beyond his imaginings.

Still, we are struck by the phrase: a dialog of the deaf. Is this the way we listen to one another? Are we bent on finding answers? On ending pain? On bending circumstances to our own will? Why do we not hear? Perhaps the other’s experience is beyond anything we can imagine. Perhaps others frighten us and we fear contagion. Perhaps we do not want to admit that discipline from God is necessary and that our role is to abide by those who suffer. Perhaps we are not willing to become co-redeemers with Christ and enter into the salvific pain which redeems us as well as our enemies when we pray for their conversion.

Job speaks of wishing he had never been born. This is true misery for this admits that we would rather be without God and free of pain than with God and suffering with God. Yet we only become truly free when we give over our self-control to the guiding hands of God. We can only become truly happy when we agree to live a life which depends on God’s plan for our happiness rather than our own.

True freedom and true joy can wipe out the kind of misery Job expresses here. Authentic faith, enduring hope, genuine love – these are the antidote for deep and inconsolable misery – and these come from God alone. As sufferers here in this life we can listen more to one another, we can abide more with one another, and rather than recriminations, accusations or platitudes, we might offer God’s peace to one another.

This is the power, the mystery and the comfort that comes from saying to one another . . . may Christ’s peace be with you. For it is the only peace that knows the depth of pain that cries out . . . if only I had not been born. It is the eternal peace of God with which God graces all life. If only we might find a way to listen.

Adapted from a reflection written on February 17, 2009.

LA BIBLIA DE LA AMÉRICA. 8th. Madrid: La Casa de la Biblia, 1994. Print.

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Luke 8:1-3: Ministering Women – Part III

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , on September 29, 2023| Leave a Comment »


Luke 8:1-3: Ministering Women – Part III

Friday, September 29, 2023

Carracci: Holy Women at the Tomb

Annibale Carracci: Holy Women at Christ’s Tomb

A Favorite from September 6, 2008.

As the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest to settle her young, my home is by your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God.  Psalm 84:4

Men and women disciples accompanied Jesus to Jerusalem, to the Cross, and to the Grave. Women and men sought Jesus at the empty tomb and witnessed to the truth of Jesus’ resurrection. Their perseverance and fidelity were rewarded by many encounters with the Resurrected Christ. We too, have the opportunity to encounter Christ as we move along our own Jerusalem road. We too, might build nests beneath God’s altars as we stop along the way.

We are all God’s ministering children. Let us, with courage then, take up our personal burden, greet one another with a Christian Kiss of Peace, and join Christ on the road back to freedom. Let us go up to Jerusalem – women and men together – and minister to one another. For in this act we will encounter Christ. In this act we will find our own infinity.

For more on women at the tomb, click the image above or visit: https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2014/04/11/women-empty-tomb/ 

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Joshua 18:1-10: Taking Steps

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , on September 24, 2023| Leave a Comment »


Joshua 18:1-10: Taking Steps

Sunday, September 24, 2023canaan3

How much longer will you put off taking steps to possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

When the Hebrew people make their exodus from Egypt they are going back to the land that has been promised them by Yahweh. In today’s reading we arrive at the part in that story where several tribes have yet to realize their inheritance. Archaeologists have not found traces of the enormous migration described in scripture but what they do see is evidence of cultures merging and reshaping as the peoples in the region struggle to survive through periods of famine and drought. The peoples sometimes unite against invaders. They sometimes strike out on their own to take over city-states and their surrounding territory.

Today we read about the precision and care the Israelites take in acquiring the land promised to them through the covenant established between Abraham and Yahweh. We also read about the care they take to include God’s influence and authority in their own plans. We might learn a good deal from this as we practice how to not put off taking steps to possess that which the Lord God has already given us.

We are given the gift of freedom; yet we sometimes allow ourselves to become trapped by the shackles we insist on acquiring.

We are given the gift of faith; yet we sometimes respond more to fear than reliance on God.

We are given the gift of hope; yet we sometimes sabotage our own possibilities of realizing potential.

We are given the gift of love; yet we sometimes hide this gift for fear of losing it.

We are given the gift of life everlasting; yet we sometimes cling more to life temporal in this world.

How much longer will you put off taking steps to possess the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?

The Lord has promised us God’s care, God has assured us that we are the Lord’s, and God has already given us our inheritance. Do we abide with God in confident expectation? Do we take steps to explore and inhabit the land which God has promised? How much longer will we put off the taking of these steps?

A Favorite from September 26, 2009.

Image from: http://www.keyway.ca/htm2014/20140214.htm

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Judges 11 and 12: Shibboleth

Posted in Favorite, tagged , , , , , , on February 4, 2023| Leave a Comment »


Judges 11 and 12: Shibboleth

Saturday, February 4, 2023

The Crack (Shibboleth): Doris Salcedo - The Tate Modern, London

The Crack (Shibboleth): Doris Salcedo – The Tate Modern, London, UK

From WIKIPEDIA: “In numerous cases of conflict between groups speaking different languages or dialects, one side used shibboleths . . . to discover hiding members of the opposing group . . . Today, in the English language, a shibboleth also has a wider meaning, referring to any ‘in-crowd’ word or phrase that can be used to distinguish members of a group from outsiders – even when not used by a hostile other group”.

As we read today’s Noontime, we see how the early tribes of Israel struggled to retain autonomy; we also see that they lived in a world which required people to evaluate loyalty. Their daily survival depended on this.

In our own world, we will use our own shibboleths ­ – either consciously or unconsciously – and when we do, what are the results?  Do we find ourselves closer to God or more distant?  Are we moving toward serenity and union with God, or away from the eternal peace brought by Jesus?  Do our shibboleths introduce us to the freedom bought by Christ or do they sell us out to an imprisonment which stifles us?

The story of the chieftain Jephthah reads like the script of a television drama – full of twists, promises, ironies and secret shibboleths.  Loyalties are tested, wars are waged, outcomes are weighed; yet in the end it is the spirit of the Lord that prevails.  Jephthah makes a vow to the Lord and loses his beloved daughter Mizpah; he also conquers nations in the name of his God.  Much of this is difficult to understand; most of it is hard to take; all of it is – in some way or other – the way we live today.

Children peering into the shibboleth at the Tate Modern in London

Children peering into the shibboleth at the Tate Modern in London

As we move through our own cycle of coming and going, let us examine the vows we swear, the skirmishes in which we engage, and our manner of waiting on the spirit of the Lord.  And when we begin to winnow the valid from the false in order to survive, let us examine the shibboleths we choose.

A Favorite from Friday, February 12, 2010.

 As we move toward spring with the call for atonement, the promise of redemption, and a time of inner reflection, we have another opportunity to explore God’s yardstick in our lives, and to put aside the false shibboleths that mislead us.

Images from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shibboleth_%28artwork%29 and https://marymagdalen.blogspot.com/2014/05/shibboleth.html

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Wisdom 11:2-5: Special Providence in Exodus

Posted in Advent, Favorite, Prayer, tagged , , , , , on November 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »


Wisdom 11:2-5: Special Providence in Exodus

First Sunday of Advent, November 27, 2022exodus-gods-and-kings-review-biblical-epic-plagued-with-flaws-jpeg-198729

The Book of Wisdom prepares us for Advent, our time of Exodus from darkness into the light of truth, hope and love. God is always with us, guiding and protecting; yet in a special way God accompanies us closely when we move out of a place of comfort where our unhealthy behaviors are enabled into a place of health, where we work on our rough edges. When we make this kind of transition from being prisoners of a habit to being free to hear the surprising new behavior God has in mind for us, we place ourselves at risk. We take a leap of faith, believing that as we shed our old safety net, God will place an even better one beneath us. When we journey from a state of slavery to a state of freedom, we are accompanied by the pillar of smoke by day, the column of fire by night. God provides for his faithful in a very special way as they make themselves vulnerable for his sake.

And so we pray . . .

They journeyed through the uninhabited desert, and in solitude they pitched their tents . . .

When we feel most alone we are most attended. When we suffer we walk in the company of God’s angels . . . for we are especially loved and kept by God.

They withstood enemies and took vengeance on their foes . . .

The faithful do not need to fight; rather we need only witness to the story of God’s coming among us. The rest we leave in the hands of God who turns all harm to good.

When they thirsted, they called upon you . . .

When we are in misery, anxiety, fear of any kind there is only one place to turn. To God.

And water was given them from sheer rock . . .

Then we are to expect the unexpected, the inverse, the surprising, the paradox.

Assuagement for their thirst from the hard stone . . .

gods providenceWe are precious in God’s eyes, made in God’s image.  We are stones of a living temple to be rejected by those who build upon the sand, but placed upon a strong foundation by the one who endures.

For by the things through which their foes were punished they in their need were benefited. 

We will know how to interact with our foes when we look to their suffering rather than our own. We can expect God’s guidance and protection as we work to become God’s disciples. And so we pray.

Good and watchful God, 

We enter into our exodus journey to you. We know that you will not allow a foot to be dashed upon a stone. We believe that you will not desert us. We trust that you sustain us from your goodness. We believe that you teach us through our many trials. We ask your continued patience with us when we doubt, your continued love for us when we err, your continued hope for us when we falter. We who are made in your image strike out from a foreign land of enslavement to move homeward in freedom. Call us constantly back to you when we stray. Keep us close by you. Always. Amen.

Images from: https://www.perfectbrilliantstillness.org/what-is-page-3/hand-holding-planet-earth-crop-and-darken/ and https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/exodus-understanding-one-of-the-bibles-major-themes

A favorite from December 2, 2008.

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