BIBLE STUDY #148

TWENTY SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

September 1, 2013

Reading 1

SIRach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29

My child, conduct your affairs with humility,
and you will be loved more than a giver of gifts.
Humble yourself the more, the greater you are,
and you will find favor with God.
What is too sublime for you, seek not,
into things beyond your strength search not.
The mind of a sage appreciates proverbs,
and an attentive ear is the joy of the wise.
Water quenches a flaming fire,
and alms atone for sins.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2

HEBrews 12:18-19, 22-24A

Brothers and sisters:
You have not approached that which could be touched
and a blazing fire and gloomy darkness
and storm and a trumpet blast
and a voice speaking words such that those who heard
begged that no message be further addressed to them.
No, you have approached Mount Zion
and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem,
and countless angels in festal gathering,
and the assembly of the firstborn enrolled in heaven,
and God the judge of all,
and the spirits of the just made perfect,
and Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
and the sprinkled blood that speaks more eloquently than that of Abel.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel

LuKe 14:1, 7-14

On a sabbath Jesus went to dine
at the home of one of the leading Pharisees,
and the people there were observing him carefully.

He told a parable to those who had been invited,
noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.
“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet,
do not recline at table in the place of honor. 
A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him,
and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say,
‘Give your place to this man,’
and then you would proceed with embarrassment
to take the lowest place. 
Rather, when you are invited,
go and take the lowest place
so that when the host comes to you he may say,
‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’
Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table. 
For every one who exalts himself will be humbled,
but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” 
Then he said to the host who invited him,
“When you hold a lunch or a dinner,
do not invite your friends or your brothers
or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors,
in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.
Rather, when you hold a banquet,
invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind;
blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.
For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The people that Jesus eats a meal with are the one who oppose him. The phrase “to eat a meal” literally means “to eat bread.” The setting of a meal has been used for conflict stories in the past (5:29, 7:36-50, 11:37-50). The Sabbath has also been a time of conflict (see 6:1-5, 6:6-11). If Jesus eats a meal on the Sabbath with his opponents, expect there to be conflict.

In this instance, as in 6:7 and 20:20, 'close scrutiny’ has the nuance of ‘hostile observation.'

Jesus tells a parable about a wedding.  In this case, the parable is not a narrative,  but an apparent direct discourse with a deeper level of meaning.

As his opposition is watching him closely, Jesus also observes them:  "noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table."

Jesus advice seems to make sense in the context of etiquette. Proverbs 25:6-7 tells us: "Do not put yourself forward in the king's presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, 'Come up here' than to be put lower in the presence of the prince." If we were to stop here, it would seem that we only have a bit of banal advice in context of the culture of the day. But this is a parable, and we have a deeper meaning.

When read in the context of Luke's gospel as a whole, it takes on a much bigger significance. With the theme of divine reversal in the gospel, we see that those who humble themselves will be exalted, and those who exalt themselves will be humbled. Jesus isn't giving us advice on the appropriate way of getting exalted; he is addressing those that seek exaltation in any fashion. Jesus subverts the wisdom of the culture and replaces it with the demands of the Kingdom.

As disciple, we are never to seek the higher places, to look for rewards or to exalt ourselves in any way. Humility was seen s a vice in the Hellenistic world of Jesus day. Jesus tells us that humility is a virtue. We will be rewarded by God for our good deeds; we don't need the exaltation of others. True humility takes the lowest place without looking for anything in return.

Jesus came to serve and to care for the poor; we are to do the same. In Jesus day, people would invite to dinner those who could repay him; in fact, it would be expected to reciprocate. He tells us not to invite those who can repay, but to invite those in need who can't repay. We are "to be compassionate as your Father is compassionate" (6:36). We are to have a preferential option for the poor.

The first reading echoes the sentiment of humility stated in the gospel. It says, “Humble yourself the more, the greater you are, and you will find favor with God.” Humility is not false modesty. It is an honest recognition of our abilities and our place in the scheme of things the reading ends with, “Water quenches a flaming fire, and alms atone for sins.” If we atone for our sins with alms, think of how much good could be done.

Fr. Phil

BIBLE STUDY #147

TWENTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

August 25, 2013

Reading 1

Isaiah 66:18-21

Thus says the LORD:
I know their works and their thoughts,
and I come to gather nations of every language;
they shall come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them;
from them I will send fugitives to the nations:
to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan,
to the distant coastlands
that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory;
and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations.
They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations
as an offering to the LORD,
on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries,
to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD,
just as the Israelites bring their offering
to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.
Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2

Hebrews 12:5-7, 11-13

Brothers and sisters,
You have forgotten the exhortation addressed to you as children:
“My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord
or lose heart when reproved by him;
for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines;
he scourges every son he acknowledges.”
Endure your trials as “discipline”;
God treats you as sons.
For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?
At the time,
all discipline seems a cause not for joy but for pain,
yet later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness
to those who are trained by it.

So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.
Make straight paths for your feet,
that what is lame may not be disjointed but healed.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel

Luke 13:22-30

Jesus passed through towns and villages,
teaching as he went and making his way to Jerusalem.
Someone asked him,
“Lord, will only a few people be saved?”
He answered them,
“Strive to enter through the narrow gate,
for many, I tell you, will attempt to enter
but will not be strong enough.
After the master of the house has arisen and locked the door,
then will you stand outside knocking and saying,
‘Lord, open the door for us.’
He will say to you in reply,
‘I do not know where you are from.
And you will say,
‘We ate and drank in your company and you taught in our streets.’
Then he will say to you,
‘I do not know where you are from.
Depart from me, all you evildoers!’
And there will be wailing and grinding of teeth
when you see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God
and you yourselves cast out.
And people will come from the east and the west
and from the north and the south
and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.
For behold, some are last who will be first,
and some are first who will be last.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

The first sentence of the Gospel reminds us that we are in the great journey narrative of Jesus, headed towards Jerusalem and Jesus impending suffering, death, and resurrection. As he travels, his main activity is prophetic teaching.

Jesus is asked, “Lord, will only a few people be saved?” In the Jewish sense, it could be referring to the relationship of historical Judaism to the people of God. In other words, were all those people calling themselves Jews really a part of the chosen people? The concept of a remnant chosen out of the larger group was common. For example, the Essenes saw themselves as the ones saved and scorned other Jews, calling them “the ungodly of the covenant.”

In the Christian sense, Jesus has been preaching about repentance, forgiveness, and turning around lives if one is to inherit eternal life. In Luke 10:25-28, we have the great commandment to love God and each other which ends with “do this and you will live.”

Jesus doesn’t answer directly, but indicates that the ones who “strive to enter through the narrow gate” have the possibility of being saved, but it will be difficult. Why is it difficult?

Have you ever seen the movie “The Mission?” It stars Robert DeNiro as a mercenary and slave trader in South America in the 1750’s who has a conversion experience and goes to live with the Spanish Jesuits. In a poignant scene, DeNiro is climbing up a steep rock face carrying a sack containing all the equipment he used as a mercenary and slave trader: helmet, sword, shield, armor and the like. He won’t let go of the sack as he climbs up the rock face, and every time he nears the top, he drops it. He then climbs back down and retrieves his sack and tries again. It is only when someone cuts the cord on the sack, allowing it to fall down to the bottom, that DeNiro is able to get to the top. We see him looking down at the sack at the bottom of the rock face, but he lets it go and accepts the hand of a friend who helps him up to the top.

The reason why we will find it difficult to enter through the narrow gate is because we carry too much baggage, preventing us from going through. In the old wall surrounding the city of Jerusalem, there is a gate called the Narrow Gate, and if a camel is to go through the gate, it must be unloaded first to be able to enter. What proves difficult for us is letting go of past hurts and sins, forgiving those who have wronged us and forgiving ourselves for our own mistakes. Even though God forgives us, we hold onto the baggage of sin and refuse to let go.

It’s also difficult to change, admitting that we need to grow and get closer to God. Sometimes we’d rather stay where we are than face the challenge of the unknown. We hold on to the past because we are scared of the future.

Jesus says that “many will not be strong enough” to enter the gate. They won’t be strong enough to, as the AA people say, “Let go and let God.” They won’t be able to let go of anything holding them from the kingdom.

Jesus also indicates that the door won’t be open forever. The master of the house will lock the door and when we ask to enter we will be told “I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers!”

We will claim to be part of his company but he will tell us again to depart, and call us evildoers.

We won’t be recognized because we weren’t doing God’s will, but our own. Like the old saying goes, “God made us in His image and likeness, and we’ve since returned the favor.”

 I love today’s Gospel because it says so much about the exclusiveness we find in some religious people. This isn’t only in Catholicism, but can be found anywhere people think that they are better than others or are more privileged than others. Jesus talks about an inclusive kingdom where people “come from the east and the west, the north and the south,” and we will see “Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God, and you yourselves cast out.” Who was Luke talking to? The Christian community! This is a warning to all who think they have it made, those who think they don’t have to change, or who think they are saved but others who don’t think and believe like them aren’t saved. We may be surprised who we will find in the Kingdom; the biggest surprise may  be others in the kingdom seeing us! Jesus tells us to “strive to enter through the narrow gate.” What does it mean? To do our best to be disciples of Jesus. Don’t worry about what others do; worry about yourself and you’ll be much better off. I have a shortcut to entering through the narrow gate; focus on the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) and the Great Commandment (Matthew 22:34-40) and we will go a long ways towards entering the narrow gate.

The first reading from Isaiah takes place shortly after the end of the Babylonian captivity, toward the end of the 6^th century BC. They had been in exile for about 50 years, and when the Persians let them go to Jerusalem, many decided to stay because Jerusalem had been destroyed in 586 BC. Anyone returning would be committing themselves to a lifetime of rebuilding. Many thought staying in Babylon to be a better option. Isaiah encourages them to return to build a better and more glorious Jerusalem, one that will be a beacon of faith not only to the Jews, but to all people.

In the second reading from Hebrews, the author is encouraging the people to see their difficulties in their discipleship not as obstacles to their faith, but to regard their difficulties as a way that they are being honed by God to carry out God’s will. He tells us that instead of being discouraged, we should look forward to being strengthened. As another old saying goes, “Whatever doesn’t kill you will make you stronger.

Fr. Phil

BIBLE STUDY #146

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

August 18, 2013

Reading 1

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10

In those days, the princes said to the king:
“Jeremiah ought to be put to death;
he is demoralizing the soldiers who are left in this city,
and all the people, by speaking such things to them;
he is not interested in the welfare of our people,
but in their ruin.”
King Zedekiah answered: “He is in your power”;
for the king could do nothing with them.
And so they took Jeremiah
and threw him into the cistern of Prince Malchiah,
which was in the quarters of the guard,
letting him down with ropes.
There was no water in the cistern, only mud,
and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

Ebed-melech, a court official,
went there from the palace and said to him:
“My lord king,
these men have been at fault
in all they have done to the prophet Jeremiah,
casting him into the cistern.
He will die of famine on the spot,
for there is no more food in the city.”
Then the king ordered Ebed-melech the Cushite
to take three men along with him,
and draw the prophet Jeremiah out of the cistern before
he should die.

The Word of the Lord

Reading 2

Hebrews 12:1-4

Brothers and sisters:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
For the sake of the joy that lay before him
he endured the cross, despising its shame,
and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God.
Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners,
in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.
In your struggle against sin
you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.

The Word of the Lord

Gospel

Luke 12:49-53

Jesus said to his disciples:
“I have come to set the earth on fire,
and how I wish it were already blazing!
There is a baptism with which I must be baptized,
and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!
Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth?
No, I tell you, but rather division.
From now on a household of five will be divided,
three against two and two against three;
a father will be divided against his son
and a son against his father,
a mother against her daughter
and a daughter against her mother,
a mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Reflection

What is prophecy? We mistakenly think that it is predicting the future. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could win the football pool at work or pick the winning lottery numbers because we are prophets!

Prophecy is really the normal biblical way of discerning God’s will in our life. A prophet is one who seems to be blessed with knowing God’s will in certain situations. Faithful people were supposed to identify these prophets, listen to them, and carry out their message.

In biblical times prophecy was considered so important that those in authority created official prophets to discern God’s will. In the end, they proclaimed the will of the king or other ruler, but rarely the will of God.

So how does one tell a true from a false prophet? Writing in the Preaching Resources part of ‘Celebration: a Comprehensive Worship Resource,” Rev. Roger Vermalen Karban defines the meaning a true prophet. “There are five characteristics of a real prophet: The true conscience of the people will always take us back to the beginnings of our faith. He or she can never profit from prophecy. On the contrary, the authentic mouthpiece of God will always suffer for engaging in such a ministry. And those who carry out their words will also suffer. Finally, when pressed, most people can tell the difference between the real prophets and the fakes, but because of the suffering aspects attached to following real prophets, they hesitate to acknowledge them.”

Jesus certainly fills the bill for a true prophet, as he does in today’s Gospel. He creates a prophetic passion and urgency when he says, “I have come to set the earth on fire.” This saying recalls the prophet Elijah who drew down fire from  heaven against the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18:36-40. In Luke 9:54 the disciples wanted Jesus to call down fire from heaven against the Samaritans who did not welcome them, but Jesus refused.

This is sufficiently obscure to allow for more than one interpretation. Setting the earth on fire is the eschatological (end time) judgment predicted by John the Baptist: the tree not bearing fruit in 3:9 is cut down and thrown into the fire, the chaff is thrown into the first in 3:16, and fire as the instrument of judgment in 17:29. Luke also associates fire with the gift of the Spirit. In 3:16 John the Baptist, referring to the Messiah, says, “I am baptizing you with water, but one mightier than I is coming…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And in Acts 2:3, we see the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost as fire.

The baptism Jesus is referring to also allows for 2 meanings: it could refer to Jesus death (see Mark 10:38) or to the baptism of the Spirit at Pentecost.

The division that Jesus brings seems to be in contradiction t0 the infancy narrative accounts of him as one who brings peace (see 1:79, 2:14, and 2:29). To the one who accepts Jesus, there will be peace. The ones who don’t are separated from the ones who do accept Jesus, and this causes division in the family.

In the first reading, Jeremiah is certainly a true prophet. He is trying to change ‘the system’ which he sees as corrupt and not following God’s will. As the years pass, he sees little hope of anything changing because the leaders are too corrupt and entrenched. The only answer is for the present leadership to be destroyed and replaced by a new one. When the Babylonians laid siege to Jerusalem, Jeremiah encouraged the defenders of the city to give up and go into exile, prompting a new leadership faithful to God. Jeremiah was seen as treasonous, and they threw him in a well in an attempt to kill him. A court official, Ebed-Melech, intervenes to save him, but Jeremiah’s suffering continues throughout his life.

In the second reading, the author of Hebrews is a prophet in the sense that he brings us back to the beginnings of our Christian faith.  He encourages us to “persevere in running the race that lies before us, while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.”

Fr. Phil

BIBLE STUDY # 145

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

August 11, 2013



Reading 1

Wisdom 18:6-9



The night of the passover was known beforehand to our fathers,

that, with sure knowledge of the oaths in which they put their faith,

they might have courage.

Your people awaited the salvation of the just

and the destruction of their foes.

For when you punished our adversaries,

in this you glorified us whom you had summoned.

For in secret the holy children of the good were offering sacrifice

and putting into effect with one accord the divine institution.



The Word of the Lord



Reading 2

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19



Brothers and sisters:

Faith is the realization of what is hoped for

and evidence of things not seen.

Because of it the ancients were well attested.



By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place

that he was to receive as an inheritance;

he went out, not knowing where he was to go.

By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country,

dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise;

for he was looking forward to the city with foundations,

whose architect and maker is God.

By faith he received power to generate,

even though he was past the normal age

—and Sarah herself was sterile—

for he thought that the one who had made the promise was

trustworthy.

So it was that there came forth from one man,

himself as good as dead,

descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky

and as countless as the sands on the seashore.



All these died in faith.

They did not receive what had been promised

but saw it and greeted it from afar

and acknowledged themselves to be strangers and aliens on earth,

for those who speak thus show that they are seeking a homeland.

If they had been thinking of the land from which they had come,

they would have had opportunity to return.

But now they desire a better homeland, a heavenly one.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God,

for he has prepared a city for them.



By faith Abraham, when put to the test, offered up Isaac,

and he who had received the promises was ready to offer his only son,

of whom it was said,

“Through Isaac descendants shall bear your name.”

He reasoned that God was able to raise even from the dead,

and he received Isaac back as a symbol.



The Word of the Lord



Gospel

Luke 12:32-48



Jesus said to his disciples:

“Do not be afraid any longer, little flock,

for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.

Sell your belongings and give alms.

Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out,

an inexhaustible treasure in heaven

that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.

For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.



“Gird your loins and light your lamps

and be like servants who await their master’s return from a wedding,

ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.

Blessed are those servants

whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.

Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,

have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.

And should he come in the second or third watch

and find them prepared in this way,

blessed are those servants.

Be sure of this:

if the master of the house had known the hour

when the thief was coming,

he would not have let his house be broken into.

You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect,

the Son of Man will come.”



Then Peter said,

“Lord, is this parable meant for us or for everyone?”

And the Lord replied,

“Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward

whom the master will put in charge of his servants

to distribute the food allowance at the proper time?

Blessed is that servant whom his master on arrival finds doing so.

Truly, I say to you, the master will put the servant

in charge of all his property.

But if that servant says to himself,

‘My master is delayed in coming,’

and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants,

to eat and drink and get drunk,

then that servant’s master will come

on an unexpected day and at an unknown hour

and will punish the servant severely

and assign him a place with the unfaithful.

That servant who knew his master’s will

but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will

shall be beaten severely;

and the servant who was ignorant of his master’s will

but acted in a way deserving of a severe beating

shall be beaten only lightly.

Much will be required of the person entrusted with much,

and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.”



The Gospel of the Lord



Reflection



Today’s Gospel begins by telling us “not to be afraid.” This same theme was echoed centuries later in our own era by Blessed John Paul II when he told us to not be afraid to live out our faith every day and share it with others. Pope Francis echoed this theme in the recently concluded World Youth Day by telling over 3 million young people to not be afraid to stir up society with the Good News of Jesus Christ. If you want to follow Pope Francis, a good website is www.news.va, which is news from the Vatican. Jesus uses the term “little flock.” The disciples form the little flock which is the nucleus of the people forming around Him.



The Father gives us the kingdom: eternal life is a free gift of the Father. We can’t earn it, merit it, or deserve it. How do we respond to that gift? There are many ways, and we see one way here: “Sell your belongings and give alms.” We are encouraged not to be so attached to the things of this world that we become greedy (see last week’s gospel), but are willing to share our blessings with others.



Another response: “Provide money bags for yourselves that do not wear out.” Be a ‘Kingdom’ person: be a person of prayer, sacraments, good works, and minister to those we meet everyday. Then we will have “an inexhaustible treasure in heaven, that no thief can reach nor moth destroy.” We will show our readiness for the kingdom by being a ‘Kingdom’ person.



“For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.” How true is that! Whatever comes first in our lives, that’s our God. Have you ever noticed that when something or someone is important, no matter how busy we are, we can find the time? Where is God on the list of importance?



We now see a very advent type of theme, concerning judgment at the end of days. “Gird your loins and light your lamps” derives from Exodus 12:11, describing the readiness required in the Passover. As a servant awaiting his master’s return, we must be ready for the coming of the Lord. He will come at an unexpected hour, and hopefully we will be awaiting his return. If we are like the servant who recognizes that the master is delayed, and beat the maidservants and manservants, and eats and gets drunk, then we will be severely punished. In other words, if we are not living in the kingdom and sinning when the Lord returns, we will forfeit eternal life.



The last sentence should make us stop and think: “Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.” As members of the church, we are entrusted with not only keeping the faith, but spreading it around. Are we taking this responsibility seriously?

The earliest followers of Jesus thought that he would return in their lifetimes. The Gospel today seems to indicate a delay in Jesus return. Why did it take decades for the Gospels to appear in written form? Three reasons: 1) not many people could read, so why put it in writing?; 2) the people also felt that Jesus would be coming back in their lifetime. Therefore, those on fire with the Word needed to go out and spread the Good News prior to Jesus return; and 3) If there were any questions about Jesus message, the eyewitnesses to Jesus ministry were alive and could settle any questions that arise concerning Jesus message. After awhile, it seemed evident that Jesus return was being delayed. The eyewitnesses to Jesus mission and ministry were dying off, and the Gospels were written to preserve Jesus message. Today’s Gospel from Luke tells us to wait in anticipation of Jesus arrival. No one knows when that will be, so we need to be vigilant, because “at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” We also need to be vigilant and prepared, because we don’t know the hour that Jesus will come to lead us over the waters of death and bring us home to our heavenly Father. We also need to be open to Jesus coming to us every day through sacraments, prayer, scripture, other people, and in any way that He chooses to come to us. Are we ready? Are we looking?

Fr. Phil