The Word today, W22B

September 02 - September 07, 2024

Monday 02 September

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 The Corinthians found Paul a poor speaker and were unimpressed. He turns this around by saying, in effect, “I don’t want you to be impressed by fine speeches and even logic, because as the centre stands the contradiction of the cross.”

Luke 4:16-30 This compact account, brought forward and expanded by Luke, is really a symbolic tableau, anticipating the ministry of Jesus, his destiny and the later expansion of the Way in the Acts. Jesus is portrayed as a prophet, whose word is penetrating.

Tuesday 03 September

St Gregory the Great, bishop of Rome, doctor

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 What should we say of the Holy Spirit in our lives? We could do worse than pay attention to the first and last affirmations of this reading: “The Spirit reaches the depths of everything, even the depths of God.” “But we are those who have the mind of Christ.”

Luke 4:31-37 What kind of authority did Jesus have? Truly effective authority, as we see in this remarkable story.

Wednesday 04 September

St Mac Nissi, bishop

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 Continuing his argument with the Corinthians, Paul starts by admitting that after his preaching there was more to be said by the likes of Apollos. Nevertheless, preachers are only those who plant and water. It is God who gives the growth.

Luke 4:38-44 Our Gospel today shows us Jesus as a very busy person who also needed to “recharge his batteries”, as we say. Luke’ underlines throughout the prayer and prayerfulness of Jesus.

Thursday 05 September

1 Corinthians 3:18-23 The Corinthians were inclined to think of themselves as spiritually advanced and, in various ways, superior. Such boasting has no place and Paul knocks it firmly on the head.

Luke 5:1-11 Usually, the call stories are stripped of all human interest. Luke make the response of the first disciples more credible is showing that they did indeed have some previous experience of Jesus.

Friday 06 September

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 Judging others, especially people in leadership, is a constant “pastime”, even in earliest communities of faith. Paul has no truck with such human assessments: only God is his, and our, judge.

Luke 5:33-39 Jesus was challenged because in his ministry he was not traditional. For example, he did not promote fasting. The early church did take up fasting and our Gospel is an attempt to explain why this is okay even if Jesus himself did not promote it. The marriage symbolism is part of the preaching of the Kingdom.

Saturday 07 September

1 Corinthians 4:6-15 Once more, Paul tries to set aside party politics in the life of the community. He gives a very moving account of the lowly role of the apostle—a tour de force. At the same time, he does not neglect to remind the Corinthians of the origin of the faith among them and he (alone!) is their one father.

Luke 6:1-5 Today’s Gospel is an funny little story and one could be bold and ask what were the Pharisees doing in a cornfield on the Sabbath!! The main point, however, cannot be missed: Jesus’ ministry was utterly new, calling for novelty in thought and practice.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024b, September 1). Twenty-second Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/090124.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/

The Word today, W21B

August 26 - August 31, 2024

Monday 26 August

2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12 A word of appreciation is always welcome! 2 Thessalonians begins with a warm prayer of thanksgiving for the church in Thessalonica and concludes with a prayer for all the believers there.

Matthew 23:13-22 The Jesus of this story is stern, but be careful not to leave it in the past. His teaching is for us today as well.

Tuesday 27 August

St Monica, wife and mother

2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 14-17 The context for this reading is excited, perhaps excitable, expectation of the end of time and the second coming of Jesus. The writers dampens these expectations down and closes with a prayer for the Thessalonian Christians.

Matthew 23:23-26 Religions can lose sight of the essentials and focus on the trivial—today, as well as in the past.

Wednesday 28 August

St Augustine, bishop and doctor

2 Thessalonians 3:6-10,16-18 It might seem strange to us, but one of the things the Thessalonians resented about Paul was his refusal to take money from them! In a way, he had insulted them, but he defends his motives with great energy.

Matthew 23:27-32 The attack on “show” religion continues fiercely. It is important to try to hear this both in the present and personally. It is much easer to leave it in the past and think of others. The last line is unexpectedly robust!

Thursday 29 August

Beheading of John the Baptist

1 Corinthians 1:1-9 Today we start reading from 1 Corinthians, one of Paul’s great letters to his most difficult community. He begins as usual with a word of appreciation in the form of a thanksgiving prayer. As we listen, we may wonder for what would Paul give thanksgiving today?

Mark 6:17-29 The gospel—special for the feast—tells the story of the death of John the Baptist. It is a grisly end for a great prophet, facing death at the whim of his enemy.

(There are some inaccuracies and improbabilities in the Gospel account as well as echoes of the Books of Esther and Judith. The version by Josephus seems closer to the Realpolitik of Herod Antipas, who was not a king. See Jewish Antiquities 18:116–119.)

Friday 30 August

St Fiacre, monk

1 Corinthians 1:17-25 It seems the Corinthians overestimated the value of eloquence and even logic, while neglecting the crucifixion, a paradox at the heart of Christian faith. Paul describes this paradox is very arresting language.

Matthew 25:1-13 Today’s parable is a reminder that there are some things which only we can do for ourselves.

Saturday 31 August

St Aidan, bishop and missionary and the Saints of the Holy Island of Lindisfarne

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Paul illustrate the paradox of the cross in the lives of the Corinthians. The “foolishness” of the cross confirmed by the “foolishness” of the Corinthians—a rather high risk strategy of persuasion!

Matthew 25:14-30 Today’s parable is undoubtedly severe, especially towards the end. The overall message, however, stands: we have all receive graces and gifts—but how do we use them?

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bn, August 25). Twenty-first Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/082524.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/

The Word today, W20B

August 19 - August 24, 2024

Monday 19 August

St John Eudes

Ezekiel 24:15-24 The prophets are called sometimes to illustrate their teaching with an action. This is perhaps the most disturbing prophetic gesture—and the message could hardly be clearer.

Matthew 19:16-22 A failed calling is always tough to listen to. It does remind us that we become disciples not because we choose it but rather the Lord chooses us.

Tuesday 20 August

St Bernard, abbot and doctor

Ezekiel 28:1-10 Today we hear a fierce critique of absolute rulers who set themselves up as gods over their people. “Being swollen with pride,” they are now severely corrected by God.

Matthew 19:23-30 The “eye of an needle” is not to be allegorized (there was no such “gate” in Jerusalem). Instead, we have grossly exaggerated image to make the point with wit and inescapable clarity.

Wednesday 21 August

St Pius X, bishop of Rome

Ezekiel 34:1-11 Ezekiel—whose ministry took place just before and then during the great Exile in Babylon—read that disaster as punishment for the total failure of leadership, both political and religious. He is very hard (rightly) on the shepherds who feed themselves instead of feeding the flock.

Matthew 20:1-16 Our parable today has not lost its capacity to shock and disturb. Originally, it was aimed at those who objected to God’s gracious inclusion of Gentiles in his plan of salvation.

Thursday 22 August

Our Lady, queen and mother

Ezekiel 36:23-28 Eventually, Ezekiel comes to the question of renewal and restoration. In a marvellous passage he describes this as a conversion of heart, achieved not by human effort but by God alone. Long before transplants were thought of, Ezekiel portrays God as a heart surgeon.

Matthew 22:1-14 To “get” this parable, it is vital to hear it on two levels. There is the level of the historical Jesus, using traditional festal and nuptial imagery for the kingdom. There is the level of church, looking back and what actually happened to Jesus, the messiah and prophet.

Friday 23 August

St Rose of Lima; St Eugene, bishop

Ezekiel 37:1-14 We need a double lens to listen to this reading. First a political lens: the vision is a parable of restoration after the disaster of the Exile in Babylon. In other words, another generation will rise and return. At the same time, the metaphor of resurrection works only because some people were already coming to some kind of faith in life after death.

Matthew 22:34-40 In a memorable encounter, Jesus goes to the heart of the Gospel of love. This great teaching is never, ever “out of date.”

Saturday 24 August

St Bartholomew, apostle

Apocalypse 21:9-14 What will heaven be like? Using a rich array of metaphors—marriage, jewelry, a city, the twelves tribes and the Lamb of God—our reading offers a stunning, vibrant and inviting portrait.

John 1:45-51 In this Gospel, the spread of the Good News is a kind of wildfire, with one person drawing another in. Symbolically, the fig tree referred to knowledge of God and evil and hence to the Torah which gives us this knowledge.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bl, August 18). Twentieth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/081824.cfm

-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings/