Epiphany - Year B

Jeff Bagnall • 5 January 2024

Isaiah chapter 60, verses 1-6 is the beginning of a poem that is probably from the time when the exiled Jews had just returned to find their homeland and their city in a sorry state of abandonment. The Jews were the chosen people of God. They generally thought that being chosen meant being blest with superiority, prosperity and security from their enemies and at times their history could give this impression. But at the time of this poem, they had been captured and taken into exile by their enemies, their city of Jerusalem left to deteriorate and the grand Temple building was dilapidated. This exile was seen as punishment from God for their abandonment of His laws and their association with other gods. The prophet in the poem still has faith in God. He tells them to pull themselves up and share his vision for the future – their grandeur restored and, surprisingly, the surrounding nations coming to support and even join them; so the vision is part of what they would want but perhaps disappointing that their God would be shared by foreigners (though they imagined they would be the top nation).

In Ephesians Chapter 3, verses 2 to 6 passim , we read of a vision different from the Old Testament view; a vision of the New Testament times. It is a mystery, but it does include an openness to the non-Jews, the Gentiles, who now share the benefits of Christ and of being chosen; they are heirs now equally with the Jews and in fact there are more Gentile converts than Jewish ones. But the openness to the inclusion of theses ‘pagans’ was a particular insight of Paul who differed from even Peter at times on this issue. It makes one think of how Roman Catholics used to think they were the only proper Christians, and how Christians still often think of other faiths and atheists although they too usually have a vision of what is a good life and a hope for some better future.

The Gospel from Matthew chapter 2, verses 1-12 , is part of what people know as the Christmas story. It was written at a time when a majority of the Christians seemed to be Gentiles rather than from the Jewish community and it has many allusions to the Jewish Scriptures. Certainly in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life the Jews, especially their leaders, were antagonistic towards Him. Matthew recalls many incidents from what we call the Old Testament, like the warning dreams of Joseph, the flight into Egypt ( Genesis 42 ) when his brothers were suffering from poor crops, the threat of the Pharaoh to the baby Moses ( Exodus 1 ) and more. This story of Matthew’s also introduces the life of Jesus who showed concern for non-Jews like the Centurion and the Canaanite woman, who seemed to be welcomed at first by the Jews but at His trial the Leaders were against Him and even Peter denied knowing Him. The star might draw on the prophecy of Balaam in Numbers 24 (see here), but astronomical phenomena were thought to accompany the birth of kings and emperors. Is this pattern of betrayal and of the unexpected still the way things are in the world since Christ?

Jeff’s Jottings Epiphany

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Jeff Bagnall was a lecturer for many years at Craiglockhart College teaching RE to many future Catholic Primary teachers.

6th Sunday of Easter - 2026 - Year A

by Jeff Bagnall • 8 May 2026

The first reading is from the point in Acts where Luke tells of the extension of Christianity beyond the confines of Judea and the limits of the Jewish religion. Christianity is spread by Philip, one of the ‘deacons’ appointed to help the Hellenists in Jerusalem (see last week’s first reading). He goes to the Samaritans, who had become separated from the Jewish faith when they intermarried with non-Jews centuries earlier, and who were despised by the Jews. We have mixed reports about them in the Gospels: Jesus sent the chosen twelve out saying “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans” (Matthew10:2-6); Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25ff); and in John’s Gospel (Chapter 4), Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman and many Samaritans come to believe in him through her testimony. Philip had been commissioned through the laying on of hands by the Apostles specifically to pastor the Hellenists in Jerusalem, but now we see him as a missionary (sometime translated as an evangelist – one who preaches the Good News) to the Samaritans. He is successful Luke tells us, because of his words and the miracles attributed to him; many of them are baptised; we recall that Peter had told the Jews, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38f). Peter’s words imply that baptism brings the gift of the Holy Spirit and is open to “whomever God will call.” But when the Apostles in Jerusalem hear of this they send Peter and John to lay their hands on the Samaritans for them to receive the Spirit. Behind this we might detect some edginess between the ‘mother’ church’s leaders and the successful evangelist, Philip, though it is not made explicit, for Luke when he was travelling with Paul stayed with Philip at his house in Caesarea (Acts 21:8-10). We learn from this reading about the growth of the Church both as a community of the Spirit and as an organised body (of Christ); the process will always be difficult and is still going on in the worldwide context of the Church to this day – we all play a part in this.

5th Sunday of Easter - 2026 - Year A

by Jeff Bagnall • 1 May 2026

In the reading from Acts ( Acts 6:1-7 ) we have an example of the early development of the institutional aspect of the Church. The instigation for this was the increase in the number of Christians from among the Hellenists – Jews who lived in the Diaspora, that is, outside of the Jewish homeland. The need for development resulted from a complaint from these Hellenists that the pastoral care of the members of their community was not being met because of a shortage of staff who might provide this. There was a general meeting and the Twelve leaders said that their particular responsibility was for prayer and preaching the word of God, and so they suggested that seven other people should be selected for the pastoral work that was needed. Those selected should have the appropriate qualities: good reputation, wisdom, and a life with God’s Spirit. They were selected by the people, and the Eleven laid their hands on them to commission them for this task. The passage concludes with Luke again telling us of the increase in numbers – the growth and development of the Christian communities was the main instigation for the writing of the Acts of the Apostles. We learn from this that the Church needs to develop and adapt to the different needs and circumstances that arise; this is much more complex and yet also more urgent now, for the church as we know it now is not only broken into different denominations but also is spread worldwide and the most numerous of all religions.