top of page

The Word today, Advent4B23

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Feb 26, 2024
  • 3 min read

ree

December 25 - December 30, 2023



Isaiah 62:1-5 - For Zion’s sake I will not be silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not be quiet, until her vindication shines forth like the dawn and her victory like a burning torch. Nations shall behold your vindication, and all the kings your glory; you shall be called by a new name pronounced by the mouth of the LORD. You shall be a glorious crown in the hand of the LORD, a royal diadem held by your God.    No more shall people call you “Forsaken,” or your land “Desolate,” but you shall be called “My Delight,” and your land “Espoused.” For the LORD delights in you and makes your land his spouse. As a young man marries a virgin, your Builder shall marry you;    and as a bridegroom rejoices in his bride so shall your God rejoice in you.


Acts 13:16-17, 22-25 - When Paul reached Antioch in Pisidia and entered the synagogue, he stood up, motioned with his hand, and said,  “Fellow Israelites and you others who are God-fearing, listen. The God of this people Israel chose our ancestors 

and exalted the people during their sojourn in the land of Egypt. With uplifted arm he led them out of it. Then he removed Saul and raised up David as king; of him he testified, ‘I have found David, son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will carry out my every wish.’ From this man’s descendants God, according to his promise,  has brought to Israel a savior, Jesus. John heralded his coming by proclaiming a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel; and as John was completing his course, he would say, ‘What do you suppose that I am?  I am not he. Behold, one is coming after me; I am not worthy to unfasten the sandals of his feet.’”


St Stephen, the first martyr


Acts 6:8-10, 7:54-59 As you listen, you may notice in the account of Stephen’s death many echoes of Jesus’ death in Luke’s Gospel, such as praying for his enemies.


Matthew 10:17-22 It is clear from Matthew’s Gospel that becoming and being a Christian sometimes caused tremendous family upheaval. But the message is reassuring: in the moment of testing, the Holy Spirit will be with you.


St John, apostle and evangelist


There is a consensus in critical biblical suites that the apostle and the evangelist are two different persons. For some, this may be news and perhaps a shock. For others, it means we celebrate twice!


1 John 1:1-4 This passage from the first letter of John is very poetic and uplifting. It reminds us a little of the prologue of the Gospel of John.


John 20:2-8 Readers will notice the start contrast between the reactions of Peter and that of the Beloved Disciple. The Beloved Disciples is symbolic, showing that the “charismatic” arrives more quickly at the truth


Holy Innocents


1 John 1:5-2:2 Our reading today is both highly spiritual—God is light—and immensely practical—we all do sin.


Matthew 2:13-18 The tragic note struck by this story in Matthew’s Gospel reminds us that Christmas is also about the cross. The writer echoes the birth of Moses as well as the history of the Exile in Babylon.


St Thomas à Beckett


1 John 2:3-11 How old and how new is the Gospel? The command to love is hardly new as such—see Deut 6:4-6. But it is newly possible in the light of Jesus’ resurrection and the gift of the Spirit.


Luke 2:22-35 Today we hear a delightful vignette of the best of Jewish piety. Simeon—one of the few old people in the New Testament—is a model of piety and faith.



1 John 2:12-17 The reading addresses the hearers directly but needs careful handling. The “world” does not mean creation as such but whoever in creation is opposed to God.


Luke 2:36-40 Matching the story of Simeon, we hear the story of Anna, daughter of Phanuel. She too is a model of Jewish piety and trust in God. As a prophetess, she proclaims Jesus to all who long for deliverance.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2023b, December 24). Fourth Sunday of Advent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/122423.cfm

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


 
 
 

The Word today, Advent2B23

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Feb 26, 2024
  • 3 min read

ree

December 11 - December 16, 2023


St Damasus 1, pope


Isaiah 35:1-10 Transformation is the message today, first in images (the desert in bloom), then in physical cures (the blind shall see etc.) and finally in the human heart (everlasting joy on their faces).


Luke 5:17-26 The effort of the friend is very impressive in this story…and their efforts meet with a double response, healing and forgiveness. On a spiritual level, we can be “paralysed” too and in need of a word of mercy.


St Finian, bishop


Isaiah 40:1-11 Powerful images in this reading should awaken a deep longing in our hearts. Let us come again to the great shepherd of our souls, holding us and leading us in all circumstances.


Matthew 8:12-14 The parable of the lost sheep makes a direct link with Isaiah. Of course, the ninety-nine who don’t stray at all also don’t really exist! We are, all of us, lost sheep and in need of guidance.


St Lucy, virgin


Isaiah 40:25-31 Our reading today is really a meditation on God and in particular on the “beyond-ness” of God (his transcendence). The fact that God is so other in this reflection is a source of hope and renewed energy.


Matthew 11:28-30 “Yoke” was a term used by the rabbis to refer to the guidance of Torah, by which we plough straight furrows in life. Jesus himself is now our Law and his guidance is light.


St John of the Cross, doctor


Isaiah 41:13-20 The opening line of this poem give the key to the rest: Do not be afraid. The reading goes on to explore such deep trust using several metaphors: harvesting, drought and barrenness.


Matthew 11:11-15 So, who really was John the Baptist? In Jesus’ estimation, John was the greatest of the old dispensation. In orthodox tradition he is called the forerunner, the prodromos. Yet even he falls into the second rank compared with the least in the kingdom of heaven!



Isaiah 48:17-19 There is a great promise in this reading, but also one big “if ”: if only you had been alert to my commandments. Isaiah can tell us the rest!


Matthew 11:16-19 There’s no pleasing some people seems to be the message of this passage. Brief technical note The very last line, puzzling to us, calls for special comment. The passage comes from the Q community, who produced the Sayings Source (Q), behind Matthew and Luke. In the view of that community, John, Jesus and their members were all children of transcendent wisdom. Originally, the last verse read: But Wisdom was vindicated by her children. (Q 7:35; see Luke 7:35.) For Matthew, Jesus himself is our Wisdom and so he alters the text and continues his portrait to Jesus as wisdom in Mt 11:25-30.



Ecclesiasticus 48:1-4, 9-12 Elijah remained a figure of fascination long after his death, as we hear in this reflection. An Elijah-type figure was expected to usher in the Messiah. The blessedness of this is caught in the very unusual beatitude which closes the reading.


Matthew 17:10-13 As noted above, the expected Elijah-type figure was based on Mal 3:1. By identifying John as Elijah, Jesus affirms the significance of the present moment and his own ministry.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2023, December 10). Second Sunday of Advent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/121023.cfm

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


 
 
 

The Word today, Lent2B24

  • Writer: Admin
    Admin
  • Feb 23, 2024
  • 3 min read

ree

February 26 - March 02, 2024



Daniel 9:4-10 Daniel prays a great prayer which we could make our own today. The Psalm takes up the same theme of forgiveness.


Luke 6:36-38 Pardon is free from God — but it is truly “ours” only when we pardon in return.


St Gregory of Narek, abbot and doctor


Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 Following an opening command to wash and make ourselves clean, no fewer than seven imperatives help us to think practically of changes in our lives.


Matthew 23:1-12 Matthew is aware that religious leaders can “lose the run of themselves,” as we say. This is true in our Gospel of the Pharisees, but the the Gospel goes on to issue a warning also to Christian leaders: they are not to be called rabbi or father or teacher. Why is that the case?



Jeremiah 18:18-20 Jeremiah, an unwilling prophet, had a tough time fulfilling his ministry, with many threats and even landing in jail. His story anticipates the passion of Jesus.


Matthew 20:17-28 The sons of Zebedee have overstepped the mark, but it’s a bit rich of the others to be indignant because they are really no different. Christian leadership, rooted in the person and practice of Jesus, simply must be service and nothing else.



Jeremiah 17:5-10As often in the Bible, a choice is placed before us. As the last paragraph is aware, the human heart can be (very!) perverse.


Luke 16:19-31 The story of the rich man (Dives in Latin) and the poor man, Lazarus, is unique to this Gospel. The point is pretty clear and it would be hard to miss the message. The exploration of the parable in the last paragraph, however, is larded with irony…are we among those who would not be convinced even if someone (who?) should rise from the dead?


St David, bishop


Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 The ordinary mass goer might well ask why this reading and what is it about? The story of the rejection of Joseph by his brothers is interesting and significant of itself. Today, however, it is told to anticipate a similar rejection in the Gospel, the rejection of Jesus and his mission. In the case of Joseph, the rejected one became the saviour when there was a famine in the land of Canaan. Likewise, the rejected Jesus became a saviour but not merely to one family but to the whole human race.


Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46 In the Old Testament, there are passages which talk about Israel as God’s vineyard, a metaphor which undergirds today’s parable. The parable on the lips of Jesus may have been simpler. The version we have in the Gospel reflects the context of Matthew’s community and the later application of Psalms to Jesus’ own death and resurrection.



Micah 7:14-15,18-20 Today we hear a great prayer for forgiveness, a confident prayer because the Lord is our shepherd. It would make a terrific reflection on God’s mercy and compassion. It does prepare us to hear with fresh ears the parable of the prodigal son.


Luke 15:1-3, 11-32 As often, it can be hard to hear what is so familiar so that we are addressed again, so a special effort is needed. It might be good to focus on the stay-at home brother and his resentments. Do I find such flinty resistance in myself ? In my community? In our society? Even as we find this in ourselves, it is good to recall that the parable ends without resolution, open-ended, so that forgiveness and compassion are always possible.


References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024t, February 25). Second Sunday of lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/022524.cfm

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


 
 
 
bottom of page