The Word today, W30B

October 28 - November 02, 2024

Monday 28 October

Sts Simon and Jude, apostles

Ephesians 2:19-22 Our reading opens up a fundamental question: what or who are we as Christian believers? Using a building metaphor, the identikit is rich, to say the least.

Luke 6:12-16 Luke makes it plain that Jesus prayed before the choice and appointment of the Twelve. It is important to note that the Twelve function, in the ministry of Jesus, as a prophetic action, underscoring Jesus’ programme which was the restoration of Israel. Cf. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matthew 15:24 NRSV) By the time Luke is writing the restriction to the Jewish people of Jesus’ ministry was already in the distant past.

Tuesday 29 October

St Colman

Ephesians 5:21-33 This reading—if read at all—calls for very careful handling. Within the patriarchal context of the time, the roles of husbands and wives are differentiated. We may note that challenges are laid before both the wife and the husband here. The non-Pauline Ephesians is somewhat different to the totally equal treatment in 1 Corinthians 7:1-7 (which also calls for careful handling).

Luke 13:18-21 The mustard seed was proverbially the smallest of seeds and so serves for a comparison. It is intriguing to notice that the mustard seed comes up again, this time in relation to the size of faith of the apostles!

Wednesday 30 October

Ephesians 6:1-9 Our reading reflects a common type of writing, the “household code.” Even though conventional and not as revolutionary as one might hope, still the values of the Gospel shine through.

Luke 13:22-30 It is often said that preaching is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable! There’s a bit of that in today’s Gospel, as Jesus’ upends expectations with his own, very different, way of looking at things.

Thursday 31 October

Ephesians 6:10-20 The writer is aware that being a Christian is a struggle, even a battle at times. Using the imagery of warfare and armour, he builds up a dynamic picture of what it means to be a Christian.

Luke 13:31-35 The Herod in this Gospel is not Herod the Great but his son Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee during the ministry of Jesus. He was well capable of cruelty as his killing of John the Baptism does (in Mark and in Mathew, but not in Luke). The second paragraph express the desolation of Jesus as he contemplates the fate of the prophets and, indeed, his own.

Friday 01 November

Friday 02 November

All Souls

The wide choice for the first two readings makes detailed notes impractical.

Mark 15:33-39, 16:1-6 The lectionary offers a sharp juxtaposition between the death of death and the empty tomb proclamation (it would be good of offer the full reading, 16:1-8). The juxtaposition is true to the spirit of Mark’s Gospel, written during the capture of Jerusalem, a time of immense turmoil, dispersion and suffering. Abandonment and Easter reassurance are the opposing yet supportive poles of discipleship in Mark’s Gospel.

References

-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2024s, October 27). Thirtieth Sunday in ordinary time. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102724.cfm

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