The Word today, W15B

July 15 - July 20, 2024

Monday 15 July

St Bonaventure, bishop and doctor

Isaiah 1:10-17 Like many another prophet, Isaiah notices the gap between worship and living, between what we say and what we do. God’s assessment is graphically described and the responsorial Psalm is absolutely perfect.

Matthew 10:34-11:1 This passage can surprise and even offend. The sword, however, is not the sword of judgment but the sword of decision, as the following verses show.

Tuesday 16 July

Our Lady of Mt Carmel

Isaiah 7:1-9 A terrifying moment of threat is described: the hearts of the people shuddered as the trees of the forest shudder in front of the wind. It calls for a word of God and that word is strong: God is and will be faithful if you remain faithful.

Matthew 11:20-24 Again, a difficult passage. It portrays Jesus the prophet, encountering rejection. Yet, like the prophets of old he continues to announce his offer, even if in blistering terms.

Wednesday 17 July

Isaiah 10:5-7,13-16 The Assyrian assault was interpreted as God’s reaction to injustice and idolatry. In our reading a merely political or military reading is excluded. Instead, God made use of foreigners and even invasion to call Israel back to fidelity.

Matthew 11:25-27 Jesus exclaims a powerful prayer to God. To understand it well, we need to remember that the learned and the clever are powerful while children are powerless. Thus Jesus’ message is for the oppressed.

Thursday 18 July

Isaiah 26:7-9, 12, 16-19 Today we hear a marvellous cry from the heart. Both the human condition and grace of God come to poetic expression. It would be good to take this passage home and read it quietly to yourself.

Matthew 11:28-30 In Jewish tradition, the Torah or the Law was regarded as a (very) welcome yoke, that is, guidance which you help the faithful plough a straight furrow in life. Jesus’ yoke or burden is, in addition, easy and light.

Friday 19 July

Isaiah 38:1-6,21-22,7-8 A king is seriously ill and bargains with God. We would probably all accept the deal he gets!

Matthew 12:1-8 At a surface level, this passage contrasts in a familiar way legalism and sensible flexibility. At a deeper level, it takes to to the identity of Jesus himself, “something greater than the Temple.”

Saturday 20 July

St Apollinaris, bishop and martyr

Micah 2:1-5 Like Isaiah and many of the prophets, Micah is very much against injustice, exploitation and oppression. He does not mince his words!

Matthew 12:14-21 The historical Jesus did, of course, encounter opposition. (He could hardly have said what he said and done what he did and escape severe criticism.) The historical Jesus may very well have grasped his destiny of suffering in the light of the prophets, and in particular in the light of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah, as in our reading.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024e, July 14). Fifteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/071424.cfm

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

The Word today, W14B

July 08 - July 13, 2024

Monday 08 July

St Kilian, bishop and martyr

Hosea 2:16, 17-18, 21-22 Until Thursday, we read from the prophet Hosea, known for his use of marriage as a symbol of God’s love for his people. This emerges rather touchingly in today’s reading.

Matthew 9:18-26 This is Matthew’s brisk telling of a story familiar from Mark. The “sandwich” technique here creates suspense: he can heal the sick, but can he raise the dead?

Tuesday 09 July

St Augustine Zhao Rong and his companions, martyrs

Hos 8:4-7, 11-13 The worship of idols was a constant threat in the ancient world. Idols were more tangible and visible. In case we dismiss the risk too readily, it may help to remember the words of our Lord: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

Matthew 9:32-37 A sinister note is registered in the first paragraph of this reading. After that, Jesus the healer brings people God’s compassion.

Wednesday 10 July

Hos 10:1-3, 7-8, 12 This plaintive text is very powerful. It begins with the traditional image of the vine and goes on to ask penetrating questions. The final paragraph surely speaks today: it is time to go seeking the Lord until he comes to rain salvation on you.

Matthew 10:1-7 The Twelve were a symbol of Jesus’ mission to Israel, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. This focus of Jesus ministry becomes really clear in the last paragraph.

Thursday 11 July

St Benedict, abbot, co-patron of Europe

Proverbs 2:1-9 For the feast, we interrupt the readings from Hosea and read from Proverbs. Where can we find wisdom, truth, virtue, justice, understanding and fear of the Lord? According to Proverbs—and later according to St Benedict and many other holy men and women—these things are to be found by taking the Word of the Lord to heart.

Matthew 19:27-29 The Gospel—chosen for the feast—is really about those who have followed Jesus in leaving behind all “sensible”, “normal” forms of security and happiness for the sake of the Good News.

Friday 12 July

Hosea 14:2-10 This is a great invitation to conversion of heart. The first part is the call to come back to the Lord. The second part spell out the super-generous response of God to our response to him.

Matthew 10:16-23 Jesus was not naive. Sending out the Twelve was sending them into danger. Probably we over hear some of the experiences of the later church in the details, as there is no evidence that these things took place during the ministry of Jesus.

Saturday 13 July

St Henry of Bavaria

Isaiah 6:1-8 Beginning today, we have a week of readings from Isaiah. To start, the lectionary offers us the foundational vision of the prophet, a fabulous vision of the holiness of God, both awesome and alluring. You may recognise words we say at every Mass.

Matthew 10:24-33 Under the general heading of the mission discourse, disparate sayings are offered, reflecting a variety of concerns. Sometimes, the word is threatening; other times, it is consoling. A sense of anxious urgency hangs over the whole teaching.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024c, July 7). Fourteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/070724.cfm

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

The Word today, W13B

July 01 - July 06, 2024

Monday 01 July

St Oliver Plunkett, bishop and martyr

Amos 2:6-10, 13-16 Economic prosperity was built on the back of the poor. The prophet does not hesitate to name it as it is. God is a liberator God who wants justice and freedom for his people.

Matthew 8:18-22 The conditions of discipleship are daunting and, yet, the stories are unfinished and open-ended…

Tuesday 02 July

Amos 3:1-8, 4:11-12 Severely, Amos reminds us that everything has its cause and purpose.

Matthew 8:23-27 The storm and the boat symbolize the experience of the church. The prayer of the disciples could easily be ours today.

Wednesday 03 July

St Thomas, apostle

Ephesians 2:19-22 This short reading is rich in resonance: it presents the Christian life as a home coming (something most of us have experienced), a being built into a house of God.

John 20:24-29 It is interesting that this story survives in p o p u l a r m e m o r y a s “ d o u b t i n g Thomas.” And yet, the central point is his tremendous faith and confession: my Lord and my God, the highest confession of Jesus’ identity in the entire Gospel of John.

Thursday 04 July

St Elizabeth of Portugal

Amos 7:10-17 Amos disturbed the powers that be and in response they tried to silence the prophet. The higher clergy collaborate with the king to get at him, but Amos never falters. The silencing of prophets might perhaps have a special resonance for us at this time.

Matthew 9:1-8 The question is a good one: it is apparently much easier to say your sins are forgiven because the effects are unseen!

Friday 05 July

St Antony Mary Zaccaria, priest

Amos 8:4-6, 9-12 Here is a classic prophetic cry. Amos reminds the people that economic prosperity is a passing illusion and won’t last. Rank injustice, a fruit of that false flourishing, will come to the attention of God. Above all, God’s wants justice for all the people.

Matthew 9:9-13 This story is well remembered and with good reason. After the negative reaction of the Pharisees (who seemingly don’t dare to confront Jesus himself), the Lord speaks three sentences, each worth a meditation in itself.

Saturday 06 July

St Maria Goretti, virgin and martyr St Monnine, hermit

Amos 9:11-15 Prophets can seem predominantly negative and certainly Amos had negative things to say. But even these are expressions of God’s faithfulness. In today passage, it is that very faithfulness of God which is the focus: in spite of everything, God will restore his people.

Matthew 9:14-17 The real focus of this little dispute is the sheer novelty of the proclamation of Jesus, a novelty marked by a break in religious practice. Apart from the forty days in the desert, it seems Jesus did not fast and this scandalised some. But old practices were not adequate to celebrate the radically new teaching of Jesus.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024bb, June 30). Thirteenth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/063024.cfm

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