The Word today, Lent2B24
- Admin
- Feb 23, 2024
- 3 min read
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/
Comments