Jeff Bagnall's Scipture Commentaries

3rd Sunday of Easter - 2026 - Year A

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 09:44:34 GMT

In Luke’s Acts of the Apostles, today’s first reading is the first sermon from Peter after the resurrection. The literary style is not that of a Galilean Jew, but the content is believable as a very early expression of the initial preaching about Jesus. In this first century account of the beginnings of Christianity, Peter is a key figure in the growth of the early church, together with Paul, the missionary to the Gentiles. It is significant that it is a Jewish audience in Jerusalem that Peter is addressing. Jesus is referred to as the Nazarean and there is uncertainty whether this means a man from Nazareth or one specially dedicated to God, as for example, Samson in the Old Testament, called a Nazirite. The understanding of Christian beliefs develops over time, so Peter speaks about God working through Jesus where we might be clear that Jesus is Himself God; but he does see Jesus as the fulfilment of the hopes of the Old Testament and quotes Psalm 16 verses 8 to 11, which was a song originally about someone faithful to the Lord, maybe king David, being looked after by Him; (it is used for the responsorial psalm this day). In the sermon Peter accuses the Jews of engineering the death of Jesus in an anti-Semitic way; this attitude was decried by the Church most noticeably in the 20th century in the Second Vatican Council initiated by Pope Saint John XXIII, with the words: “Furthermore, in her rejection of every persecution against any person, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel’s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.” (The Church and non-Christian religions, Nostra Aetate, Oct. 1962). But for us the positive message from Peter’s sermon is that the Spirit of God is now poured out into creation because of the resurrection of Jesus destroying the deadliness of death and the power of evil in our lives.
The second reading is part of an address to early Christians, probably Gentile converts. It is about what it means to be a Christian, noting that it is brought about by Christ – the writer uses the word ‘ransomed’, but no words can really capture the mystery of it. The mystery is that the final age has been initiated thanks to the work of God in Christ, through His life and death. The imagery of the sacrificial lamb which is used is derived from the bloody sacrifices of the Jewish Temple which at the time of this letter had been destroyed. And those addressed are living like people in exile and are urged to conduct themselves reverently in this situation; this reflects how the Jews were when they were in exile in Babylon, they had to work at it to keep themselves true to their calling. So, though we are elevated in our being through the work of God in Christ, we are for the time being in this world and must live here in a way becoming of our status.

I love the story at the end of Luke meaning that you cannot be human without relationships with other humans and to be Christian is to belong to a community. Relationships between people is often supported and sometimes begun over a meal – sometimes just a drink and a chat. Just as this encourages us in our lives so does talking and listening – learning the way others live and so working out how to better ourselves, physically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. Even in our modern times there seems to be need for lots of coffee shops, eating places and other social media – people need people. So the early Christians at once developed the practice of meeting regularly in someone’s house. There they heard about the life of Jesus and the meaning of so much of the Bible; at these times also they shared a meal – it included the ritual of breaking and sharing bread. At times like this the life of Christ was with them and increased in them through these significant meetings where they remembered the Last Supper and strengthened the presence of the risen life of Christ within them. So Luke at the end of his Good News tells this delightful story of two broken-hearted travellers meeting with a new person, discussing their situation, hearing of the meaning of God’s plan from the Bible and sharing a meal: today’s gospel reading.

See Jeff’s Jottings – It’s a vacuum

Palm Sunday - 2026 - Year A

Fri, 20 Mar 2026 11:33:30 GMT

Fr Donald Senior CP has written a whole book about the passion. In the Preface he makes this important statement: “Pain touches every human being … Suffering is both individual and communal… The struggle to understand the origin and meaning of suffering is as long as human history. It is not surprising, therefore, that the suffering and death of Jesus should have such a prominent place in the Gospels.” (The Passion of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew, Preface).

Creation is not a thing of the past, but is in continual process. So just like when you do a task (cooking /carpentry/sewing/befriending) it is never right until it is quite complete. It’s the same with God creating; we are just now experiencing something of the lack of satisfaction in our world, but God is ‘working on it;’ however He chooses to do it with our cooperation. So this time of difficulty is quite clearly not just of difficulty and suffering (like the crucifixion) but a time of working with God towards the continuing task of creating a better world.

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Jeff’s Jottings: Deadly Celebrations

5th Sunday of Lent - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:28:16 GMT

The prophet Ezekiel is around at the time when most of the chosen people are in exile in Babylon and have been for a generation. But the international scene is changing and a new leader, Cyrus, will displace the present ruler and he will have a policy of repatriation. However, many of the exiles have settled into their new surroundings and have no guts for returning to what will be the broken city and dilapidated temple of Jerusalem. Having no guts in this sense might well be what the prophet means when he says the bones must come to life again. It is a passage , however, that can be interpreted as foreshadowing the belief that there is life after death and so suitable at this time in our Christian calendar. But in the original it might be a message to us not to get settled in our way of life, but to enliven ourselves to live more Christian lives.

In this excerpt from Paul’s letter to the Romans, Paul is contrasting flesh with spirit, which we might nowadays think of as the difference between selfishness and the concern of love for others. There is in all of us I suppose, something of both flesh and spirit – but the spirit here is most challenging because it is not just living a lively life but it is the spirit of Christ – devoting oneself entirely to loving others as Jesus did and is now wanting to continue so doing through us.

The raising of Lazarus is the gospel reading . We know that in John there is always going to be a deeper meaning under the stories that he tells. And the main one here is about rising from death to living a risen life; and we know as Christians that this risen life is the life of Christ (see my jotting for more). Notice some of the significant touches in the story. The delay of two days before travelling to Martha and Mary. The different attitudes of those two ladies. The worry the disciples have of going into hostile territory. There are all sorts of difficulties climaxing even in death, yet Jesus leads his disciples into these and shows they can be overcome. These thoughts are appropriate as we draw near to Easter, to teach us something of the significance of death and resurrection in our present situations.

See Jeff’s Jottings Lent Talks Week 5

4th Sunday of Lent - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 22:37:32 GMT

The first reading is extracts from the remembered tales of the early history of the Israelites’ settling down as a nation. At first they were ruled by men called Judges (like military overlords), but then there was a general outcry to have a king like other nations. Samuel was the overall prophet at the time and he warned the people that kings can be troublesome – they raise taxes, commandeer troops, and generally ride roughshod over the people, like the absolute rulers they are; they lead the nation without consultation or consideration of others. But the people still asked Samuel for a king and through him, guided by God, a ruler was selected. He chose Saul who was a fine example of manhood (1 Sam 10:20ff). But, just as the prophet Samuel had predicted he turned out to be a bad leader as king. Today’s reading is about the prophet Samuel being sent by God to choose a better man. The point of the reading for us might well be that ‘better’ does not mean taller, more handsome or any outward appearance. The key message of the reading is that “not as man sees does God see” – God does not regard the outer externals but rather the inner being of the person, and that is how we should try to see. And David, the new king, went down in history as the ideal ruler, so that ever after the people hoped for a new king like David. The genealogies in Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels trace Jesus back to this king David.

The letter to the Ephesians , is really an encyclical letter, i.e. one that was written to be distributed around the churches and which is not concerned with issues of any particular community of Christians. In the opening address “to the saints…” many of the early manuscripts do not add the phrase “in Ephesus” and an early Christian writer (Marcion, circa 150 AD) thought it was written to the Laodiceans ; in addition it seems that some other Christian letters were encyclical; for we read in Colossians: “After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea” (Col 4:16). The grand style of Ephesians elaborates the wonderful impact of Jesus becoming one of us and the magnificent notion of the reconciliation of the whole world with God. In our short passage, the writer reminds readers that they are no longer symbolically in the dark, and encourages them to live in the light; it ends with what might be a quotation from an early Christian baptism service: Come up, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and God will shine upon you!

The gospel reading ( John chapter 9 ) is superficially the story of a man cured of his blindness and the sceptical questioning of him by the Pharisees. The man’s blindness, thought by Jesus’ disciples to be because of some sin, is an opportunity for the glory of God to be exhibited – a living symbol. Throughout the story there is a depth of meaning beneath the account of cure, of legalism and of antagonism to Jesus’ work that foreshadows the attitude of authorities to Jesus and His final death. Light and seeing are, all the world over, symbolic of inspiration and real understanding of what life is about, just as dark and blindness are of stubborn ignorance and refusal of truth. The detailed account of the cure is not unlike the ceremony of baptism, but thereafter the various dialogues expose human hesitancy, timidity and arrogance. The underlying narrative comes to the surface at the end of the passage when Jesus says: ” I came into this world for judgment, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” (This passage is omitted when the short gospel reading is used).

See Jeff’s Jottings – Lent Talks Week 4

3rd Sunday of Lent - 2026 - Year A

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:25:41 GMT

readings

The first reading is part of the story of the journey of the people away from Egypt after their escape from slavery there. Moses, under God’s guidance, had helped them across the water with his God-given rod, and now they were literally wandering in the desert to which they were not used. The reading is about the people’s quarrelling with Moses and complaining about God leading them to this place of drought and desert, called Massah and Meribah (respectively meaning “testing” and “quarrelling”). The place names become almost symbolic in the Bible of this kind of situation. We notice the simplicity of the relationship between God and Moses, and the wonder of God’s action in our world of difficulty and disappointment. This is expressed through the experience of being in an inhospitable place – the desert, and short of the basic necessity for life – water. This imagery is quite fitting for the second and the gospel readings that follow.

The reading from the letter to the Romans is from the same section we read on the first Sunday of Lent, namely, a key part of his exposition of how he sees and expresses what Christianity is essentially about. He uses what amounts to technical terms like, faith and grace, peace and hope, ungodliness and glory, which can loose their meaning either because of their strangeness or because of over-familiarity with them. He is saying that God has entered humanity as one of us in the person of Jesus Christ; a Christian tries to accept this and to live with this enhanced humanity – favoured by the life of God; and this brings the hope of sharing in the wonder of God’s life. Paul stresses the basis of this hope, using the image of water, stating that the vitality of God is poured into the very centre of our being. This transformation is made clear, he says, by the selflessness of Jesus’ life here on earth among us, lived entirely for others, even to the point of death; and this for people who were quite ungodly. This is clear proof of God’s love for us, to die for those who don’t deserve it!

This delightful story from John’s Gospel which we hear today, has so many interesting and attractive touches! Jesus is alone, as John tells us, just as he seemed to be with the learned Jew Nicodemus in the middle of the night. Here at midday He is with a lady, a lady from a mixed race disliked my decent Jews. He wants something from her: “Give me a drink.” (later she will be asking him). The conversation begins about water, but Jesus has in mind the true Spirit of life. Her way of addressing him develops, from ‘sir’, through ‘prophet’ to, possibly, ‘Messiah.’ The discussion develops into the best place to worship because of differences between Samaritans and Jews; true worship will soon be a matter of Spirit and Truth Jesus says. She has been honest about her past (the five men in her life at different times) and Jesus refers to himself honestly too with the divine name “I am.” She leaves, leaving her jar, when the disciples return. They can’t grasp what is going on. But she returns with the villagers whom she has told of her experience, and they persuade him to stay two days and they all come to recognise him as the Saviour of the world – John means that to be the whole world, all people, of any or no faith, both good and bad. What a revelation, what a story! What good news for us

See Jeffs Jottings – Lent Talks Week 3

2nd Sunday of Lent - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 19 Feb 2026 17:50:00 GMT

The first reading is about the initial call of Abraham; it is used by the editors of the Book of Genesis as the launch of an extended saga of Abraham and his offspring. He is a semi-nomad who moves around with his large extended family from place to place; in this short account of his vocation, he is summoned by God to leave the past – his ancestors – behind and set off to a place that God will point out to him and will make his own. Responding to this, Abraham will not only be blest himself but will be a source of blessing to those who come across him – indeed to all people. But God is not understood quite the way we might envisage Him today, for he tells Abraham that He will curse those who curse him.

The letters to Timothy and Titus are called the Pastoral Epistles because they take the form of guidance written by Paul to these Church leaders about how to conduct themselves and how to lead the Christian communities under their care. Just as Paul suffered in his vocation of preaching and making converts, so these ‘overseers’ of Christian communities will have difficulties to face up to – that is the pattern of life for those who try to fulfil the tasks God has for them. The developed state of the organisation of the church depicted in places in these letters is one of the reasons that many think that they come from a time after Paul though perhaps using some of his material extant at that time. They are still part of the Bible and as such express something of the Word of God to us. In our short extract from the second letter to Timothy it reminds the church leader that he is not called because of his worthiness but in order to let the strength of God work through him for the fulfilment of God’s overall plan.

In Matthew’s gospel the Transfiguration comes after Peter’s answer to Jesus’ question: “Who do you say I am?” In his account it seems that it is beginning to dawn on some of the disciples, that, despite the popular expectation of a Messiah as a political liberator, Jesus the confident but kindly person is the one sent from God as the Messiah. Matthew follows this event with Jesus’ first announcement of his forthcoming arrest, trial and death, followed by resurrection. That last phrase might seem difficult for the disciples, yet there were beliefs that Moses never quite died and that Elijah would return to earth again, before the Messiah comes. It is after these events in Matthew’s story of Jesus, that the inner three disciples are taken onto a mountain (in the bible a place of revelations) and there they had a vision (as Matthew calls it) of the glory of Jesus, in conversation with Moses and Elijah, and then comes a cloud of God’s presence, and they hear God’s voice (which often refers to thunder during a storm). An announcement comes, as made at Jesus’ baptism, proclaiming: “my beloved son” but adding “listen to him!” Hear what he has said, namely, that opposition, suffering and death will come and then new life. Matthew’s good news for you and me might be that life will not be easy all the time, but for those who can see it the deeper reality is there, and there will certainly come death, but just as surely, life after death, when we have fulfilled out vocation.

See Jeff’s Jottings – Lent Talks Week 2

1st Sunday of Lent - 2026 - Year A

Sat, 14 Feb 2026 10:10:34 GMT

The first reading is chiefly the story of the temptation in the Garden of Eden often referred to as the Fall. It is a story that must have been told in various forms throughout the history of the descendants of Abraham. Other ancient cultures had similar stories, you may have heard of Pandora’s box , an ancient Greek story. These tales are about what it is to be human, about the pitfalls of human curiosity and about the cause of all the different evils in our world. They have all been told and retold time and again to different listeners and adapted appropriately, but all make much the same point. Our version in Genesis delightfully describes the human process of temptation; it starts, with what so often is the case, with a prohibition – “you mustn’t …” It proceeds with slightly changed interpretations of what is forbidden – “was it any of the trees in the garden?” and “You shall not eat nor even touch!” Then the victim of temptation just thinks the command is wrong and selfishly given – “the moment you eat it … you will be like gods!” We can all recognise this process and it should help us combat some of the temptations to selfishness that we have. Some Christians see this as an historical account and as the beginning of sin and death in our world which they call Original Sin. The story in Genesis goes on beyond what we hear today, with a glimmer of hope, saying:

So the Lord God said to the snake,
‘Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock  and all wild animals!  You will crawl on your belly  and you will eat dust  all the days of your life.  And I will put enmity  between you and the woman,  between your offspring and hers;  it will crush your head,  and you will strike its heel.’
The enmity and crushing is like the hope found in Pandora’s box, but is interpreted by Christians as referring to Mary and Jesus her offspring.

The second reading is Paul’s letter to the Romans which is like an exposition of his understanding of what Christianity is. And in the section we hear today, we have the very central notion of the impact that Christ has on the whole of the human race. Amongst the Jews there was a sense of the corporate nature of the nation and of the tribe and the family. It is found also among some peoples and groups nowadays. It is apparent mostly in the way that retaliation was brought by one tribe against all of another tribe if one of its members had offended someone from the first tribe. It is this solidarity that Paul recognises under the name of Adam (a word he uses like the word ‘man’ in the sentence “man has landed on the moon.”) It implies a transformation, at least potentially, of everyone. All have sinned in Adam is how he might express it, but then goes on to say that all are saved in Christ. His sentences are complicated because he is anxious to stress the difference as well as the similarity between Christ and Adam, in this sense; he writes “but the gift considerately outweighed the fall.” We take from it the reversal of what we heard in the first reading. Now humanity is redeemed.

In our gospel today we have Matthew’s version of the temptations of Jesus in the desert after his Baptism by John. This links with the first reading. Here we have typical temptations. Firstly to use what power and skills one has entirely for one’s own benefit and gratification; secondly to show off and boast about oneself, in contrast to others you wish to outdo and dominate; and thirdly to gain great success in this world by ‘worshipping’ wealth, pleasure and the things of this world. We are all subject to these kind of temptations and need the help of God (through others) to overcome them. These are typical of human temptations and in Luke’s telling of them he realises Jesus was tempted at other times as well, writing: “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” (Luke 4:13).

See Jeff’s Jottings – Jeff begins a series of Lent Talks: Week 1 A

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 05 Feb 2026 22:16:21 GMT

We last had a reading from Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus) on the Feast of the Holy Family, where the title and nature of the book is introduced. Unusually there is a Prologue to the Book ( here ) which is interesting, and says it was written by his grandfather “S o that by becoming familiar also with his book those who love learning might make even greater progress in living according to the law.” It is a wisdom book, drawing on philosophy of Greek influence linked to the regular religious view of the Pharisees; the Scribes were not wanting to ‘corrupt’ their Scriptures with foreign ideas. We read from the 15th chapter out of 51; it is a very long book. While Catholics hear from this book, other Christians who follow the Revised Common Lectionary will have Deuteronomy 30:15-20. In this first reading we hear a section stressing the free choice that we have, to do what is right or what is wrong; the poetry makes it appear very black and white. We shall get our just desserts; but we are encouraged to keep the commandments and trust in God. The responsorial Psalm seems very appropriate to this reading.

In the second reading we have the sequel to what we heard last week. Paul had a good secular education and was a Pharisee who knew the Scriptures well. Now, as a Christian and a leading light at that, he feels it is his vocation to spread the good news beyond the Jewish community to all people; and the church in Corinth exemplifies his achievements. But before going to Corinth, according to Luke in the Acts of the Apostles he tried using his excellent knowledge of contemporary philosophy and thinking, to persuade an audience to turn to his God, but without any great success. Now, writing to the Corinthians, he has realised that the wisdom that Christians experience is overwhelmingly mysterious, but revealed to us in Christ through the Spirit. We have access to this great wonder to enlighten the path we should take in our lives. Paul’s quotation at the end of our reading for today cannot be found in the Jewish Scriptures nor anywhere else; he may be quoting from a popular saying or an version or text of Isaiah 64:4 earlier than we have. What is most to the point is that the revelation comes from God to “those who love Him.”

The gospel reading continues from where we read to last Sunday in Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. In the light of what we know of the variations of attitudes in early Christianity to the Jewish Law and the acceptance of Gentiles, this section is interesting. Matthew here seems to propose that what Jesus taught was that the Jewish Law and teachings should not be done away with, but should be fulfilled. He expounds this in two ways; firstly, expressing the principles and clarifying what he means by ‘fulfil’ in this matter, and secondly, by giving examples of the challenging implications of these principles. For belonging to the kingdom of heaven, the teaching of Jesus is explained by Matthew as fulfilling the Law not just by keeping the letter of it as the Scribes and Pharisees do, but by understanding and acting upon the deeper and intensified significance of it. Six examples are used to clarify what is meant, of which we hear the first four. About murder, adultery, divorce and taking oaths. It is interesting that he writes that even the liturgical rule about bringing an offering to the altar must be set aside for the purpose of reconciliation with another person. What he writes about divorce is probably less severe than what we might read in Mark’s gospel. But overall, we might express this reading’s message as, ‘fulfil the heart of the Christian rules for living rather than the letter of them!’

See Jeff’s Jottings – Exceed to succeed

5th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 29 Jan 2026 22:17:18 GMT

The first reading is from the second section in the book of Isaiah. It is the second of three prophetic poems addressing the religious revival after the return from exile. This second piece is about fasting, that is, giving up food and luxuries in order to become better people and more pleasing to God. They used to do this a lot at times of difficulty, of bereavement and at fixed religious times in their calendar. The poem wants to shift them away from these external practices, to the true spirit of living out their faith. The prophet and preacher gets down to the basics in this passage: answering the question what is it that you must do to be a light in the world that you live in? It’s no good the wealthy giving up a few things when they have so many that they don’t miss them; it’s pointless to expect the poor and hungry to give up anything at all. If you have this proper spirit of fasting, even without actually giving anything up, then you will be pleasing to God; then God will hear your prayers for the good things that you pray for; then you will be a light in the community, the light of God’s goodness. Nothing need be added, except perhaps that we need to consider whether we live in this way – for which we have an example in Jesus who is the way the truth and the life.

The second reading from the First letter to the Corinthians is from the beginning of only the second chapter out of sixteen (according to how it has been divided). Paul was well educated both as a Roman citizen and as a Jewish scholar, but in a way this played no upfront part when he preaches in Corinth or as he writes to them here. It is just before this (at the end of Chapter 1) that he expresses the humility he had in coming to the Corinthian followers of Jesus – not with cleverness or great learning but just with the life and love of Jesus. He has already written to them saying they should not be partisan by favouring one leader or another, he had mentioned followers of Apollos as an instance, a person who seems to have attracted some members by his intellectual and skilful preaching.

Now Paul develops his thoughts about this. In the verse previous to our reading Paul writes “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” The Corinthians were a lively if sometimes troublesome community, and Paul recalls that he came to them with much trepidation. But, following his own recommendations, he doesn’t boast of his success with them, but attributes any good he does to the Spirit of God working through him. This is not unlike the first reading in its stress on the spirit and the right way of doing ‘religious’ things.

In the gospel we read from what we have often called the Sermon on the Mount, which is noted for the Beatitudes (“Blessed are the poor…”), which come just before our gospel reading for today. After the Infancy Narrative in Matthew’s gospel, there are five large sections, each comprising two parts, the first a narrative of some kind and the second a report of things Jesus had taught; so our reading is from the first of these five sections. Jesus uses down-to-earth language drawing on the things with which the people he speaks to are familiar. They use salt, which just adds something, some improvement, to the food that they eat, if it didn’t do that it may as well be thrown away. The ordinary people would have one lamp per household, so that at night they could see what they needed to and could carry it close to where they needed light. Like salt, Jesus says, your Christian life should improve the lives of others, but you shouldn’t impose too much (boastfully), others should notice the improvement but not who brings it. Again your life as a follower of Jesus should shine out as an example to others and be helpful to them, and should not be hidden away – don’t hide it under a cover. It’s a fine balance we have to have, “don’t be over the top, but don’t hide.”

See Jeff’s Jottings – Acts before facts

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2026 - Year A

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:47:13 GMT

The first reading comes from a section of Isaiah which nowadays we associate with Christmas. In Advent (the 4th Sunday of Advent, cycle A) we heard a prophecy of the birth of a young lady’s first child to be called Immanuel (‘God with us’). There are two other children in this section of the book; they have equally meaningful names: Maher Shalal Hash Baz (‘disaster will come upon many’) and She’ar Yashub (‘rescue for some’). All this precedes the section we read today; and after our reading comes the source of the well-known Christmas carol, “Unto us a son is born” (Isaiah 9:6). Our reading refers to Zebulun and Naphtali, which were tribal areas in the break-away northern kingdom. It is in these areas, we read, there have been difficulties but also glorious times (perhaps in the future). Because of the editing of the book of Isaiah over many centuries, it is uncertain what the historical reference is; it could be about 733 BC when the Assyrians invaded that land, but would eventually loose power, or it could be about the 6th century BC exile in Babylon and the eventual return. But for us today, it is clearly linked with the words of the gospel: there may have been darkness but now the light begins to shine!

The second reading gives us an insight into a part of the early church in Corinth. Paul has heard that there are divisions within the community of believers – some of whom might be from the church that meets in the house of a lady called Chloe. Among the believers there seem to be groups who align themselves with different viewpoints associated with different key persons. Some may treat Paul as their inspiration and want to follow his line of teaching and his way of living as a Christian. Some prefer a person called Apollos, who may have had a more intellectual approach to the teaching and they may consider themselves as a result more pleasing to God. Some may see Peter as the key leader of those who follow the way of Jesus and who are keen on not doing away with all that is taught in the Jewish scriptures and all that has been drawn up as rules from them. Others, seeing themselves as superior, want to go back to the simple way of Jesus. Paul thinks they are all wrong to be arguing with each other, to be thinking that they alone have it right and being antagonistic towards others. Paul adds that he doesn’t preach in any particular or sophisticated way, but just wants to communicate the meaning of the cross. What would he say to the world-wide church today of many denominations and so many different attitudes – do we all have it wrong because it is a mystery, a mystery that God’s son should end up crucified as a criminal?

In the gospel we read Matthew’s account of the actual start of Jesus’ public ministry. Before this he has written of the Infancy, of the Baptism and of Jesus’ Temptations. Matthew takes what is one sentence in Mark and imprints it with his own depth of meaning. For example, John the Baptist has been arrested by Herod and Matthew writes that upon hearing this Jesus moves away from his early years in Nazareth. He goes into an area by the sea of Galilee, a place where there are more non-Jews. This reflects the pattern Matthew has written of in his Infancy Narrative: there Joseph takes Jesus away from the threat of Herod, and it is Gentiles (the magi) who are helpful to the holy family. Matthew sees this move as God’s will and a Jewish way of showing this is to see it as fulfilling the (Jewish) scriptures. So, as in the Infancy Narratives, Matthew has a reference to a prophecy being fulfilled – the passage of our first reading (but differing slightly from both the Hebrew and the Greek originals as we know them – perhaps just remembered rather than checked!). So Jesus begins to preach, asking for a change of one’s life, for the influence of God (the Kingdom) is beginning with this start of Jesus’ public activity of teaching and healing.

See Jeff’s Jottings – A light for all

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 21:29:43 GMT

The Lord speaks to one of His spokesmen (such is a prophet), with a quite progressive message for the chosen people (for us); it announces that though they are chosen yet His purpose is to extend salvation to all peoples everywhere. This first reading is the second prophecy/poem about the Servant of the Lord, found in the part of the book of Isaiah put together during the Exile in Babylon. We have just a few of its verses read to us, but selected to make a very significant point: that the chosen servant is to be a light of the nations, so that salvation may reach to everyone – to the ends of the earth. We see this insight that struggled to develop throughout the history of the Jews before Christ, and still had difficulty being grasped in the early church – and perhaps in our church today. The universal love of God is now generally recognised in the teaching of various Christian denominations; but the practice of this love and of its implications is still a difficulty both for some sections of the church and for us individually. Imagine the situation of the Jews in Exile, hit by this message that God actually loves those enemies of theirs, and that they, being a light to the Gentiles, should show this love to them.

About the year 52 AD Paul writes to the Church/congregations in Corinth where he had originally preached. Though he intends to address some awkward issues with them, he opens the letter positively to these people called by God and prays for them to have grace and peace. He had preached the good news to them two years previously and his message was accepted by some Jews and by some Gentiles too. We note that he names his authority as him being an apostle and calls his fellow worker, brother, as Christians used to address each other. Each cluster of Christian believers is called by him Church, the original meaning behind the word is ‘gathering,’ what today we might call a congregation. The members are made holy through Christ, but are called to be holy within the wider community of all who profess the same faith. If this is the challenge they face then they need the final prayer in Paul’s opening greeting: God send you grace and peace! This was just a private letter to the church in Corinth, but it was probably read in other churches as well and hence got preserved and eventually incorporated into the collection of sacred writings seen as the Word of God to all – our New Testament. So we might read these words as addressed to our congregation, challenging us to this demanding but practical holiness – holiness, a word we might well be hesitant about.

In his Gospel John clearly reminds readers of the Baptist’s own words about the superiority of Christ. We notice that the word ‘sin’ in the ‘Lamb of God’ saying is singular and so implying all sinfulness in the world, which will be overcome by Christ. So in the gospel we have part of the account of the encounter between John the Baptist and Jesus. There were some early believers who treated the Baptist as though he were more important than Jesus; after all he seemed much more charismatic, dramatic and confident, as well as gathering a lot of attention from all ranks of society. So in this fourth gospel there is emphasis on the inferiority of the Baptist to Jesus; his role was really just to recognise Jesus, to point him out to others and to help his followers to convert from their previous way of living. Jesus has already been baptised by John and is now being pointed out to the crowd. The passage includes the well-known sentence: ‘behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’. The Jews before the destruction of the Temple were used to the sacrifice of lambs, and the Passover was a special meal of lamb commemorating the escape from Egyptian slavery centuries earlier. The fourth gospel was finalised quite late in the first century and so this phrase may refer to the Last Supper (probably of lamb) which Jesus had with his disciples and which was re-enacted in some way at early Christian gatherings and still is to this day in our churches in a less realistic way – with just a little bread and a sip of wine. That Last Supper was a symbolic expression of Jesus’ whole life given for the good of others, for the whole of humanity; it was a life shortly to be completed, ending with the crucifixion.

See Jeff’s Jottings – Your calling

The Baptism of the Lord - 2026 - Year A

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 21:13:08 GMT

The way that humans understand their role in the world varies; and the understanding that religious people have of the relationship between God and them is never the same and sometimes develops. In the lead-up to Christmas we have had many passages in which the Jews expressed their hopes and expectations of God; they thought of ideal leaders, of being gloriously successful and of leading the rest of humanity. But now we hear of other trends that they were developing, based on their experiences of bad times, of disappointments and especially of being away from what they thought of as their God-given homeland. Tentatively there arises the thought of a subservient role for themselves, even of suffering for the benefit of others. In part of the book of Isaiah from the time of the Exile in Babylon, there are four poems about a servant of the Lord and what he will do. The reading for today is part of the first of these. It is never clear who the servant is meant to be; it could be an individual saintly person, one of the prophets or all the chosen people as a group; but Christians have always seen Jesus as the one referred to in these poems; that is why this particular passage is chosen for us today. It speaks of justice for all, of gentle caring for the weakest and of miracles for those with various ills; a servant who is a promise for them and a light for all. We respond to the reading, with parts of Psalm 29 which is about the thunderous rain and lightning that is both a hardship and a blessing for this agricultural people; it is called the voice of God and it is a revelation of the glory of God and peace but also hardship for His people.

We know that Peter spent a good bit of time with Jesus, and though he got to know him, no one could ever grasp the full impact He was to have. Eventually Peter learnt to see Jesus as the Son of God who shows us God’s universal love and forgiveness. After the resurrection, Peter worked at spreading this good news (the gospel) to others. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles tells the story of the early growth of this message of Christianity; he writes how Peter began to accept that God no longer required the rules of his Jewish upbringing, for God loves all people as much as they will let Him. In our reading from Acts Luke tells us of Peter preaching about this new insight he had when he visited Cornelius whose household was not Jewish. Jesus after His baptism began to show the world that God loves all people who show to Him and to others due respect – respect is perhaps a better word than the ‘fear’ in our translation. There was a practice in the Near East that you lowered your face when meeting important people and if they wanted to check who you were they lifted your bowed head to see your face; Peter’s opening words literally say, God does not (to check who they are) lift the face of anyone (προσωπολημπτης); translated as “shows no partiality”; God loves us whoever we are! Christians have not always grasped this but it was reaffirmed in the Vatican II Council’s Document on The Church para 9: “At all times and in every race God has given welcome to whosoever fears Him and does what is right.” Quoting from our reading today.

For the Gospel we have Matthew’s story of the baptism of Jesus by John. All four gospels tell this story but not all in the same way. For Mark this is the start of the Gospel, of the public ministry of Jesus; as He comes up our of the water a voice from heaven (God) tells Jesus He is His Son, on whom the Spirit comes down in the way a dove flies down to land. In Luke the account is much the same, except the Spirit actually takes on the bodily form of a dove. But Matthew reverts to Mark’s way of putting it; yet Matthew wants to make it quite clear that Jesus is superior to the Baptist and so has John’s hesitancy to baptise Jesus – for Jesus is like other people except for sin. The baptism John preached, just like ours, was a symbol of starting a new way of life. For Jesus in Matthew’s Gospel the reader already knows that Jesus is the Son of God, but up until this point Jesus has not shown this publicly; but now it is announced and the voice from heaven is addressed to all bystanders: “Behold, my beloved Son!”

See Jeffs Jottings – Re-commit!

Holy Family - 2025 - Year A

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 22:18:31 GMT

The first reading is from the Wisdom of (ben) Sirach which is sometimes called Ecclesiaticus or even the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach; it is what might be called a deutero-canonical book because its status as part of the canon (or official collection) of Scripture was not recognised by Jews resident in Israel; Protestant Bibles follow that shorter collection of the Old Testament; though Sirach was used by Jewish scholars and is included in the early Greek version of the Jewish Bible (called the Septuagint) and it is in all Catholic bibles. A lot of the wisdom in this book is about good relationships within families, society and between people in general – the section we hear today is a good illustration of this. The nature of the society from which this came is indicated by the absence of any reference to daughters. We should, however, when we apply this reading to ourselves, include in our thinking all members of families as well as single people.

In the second reading is a real call to Christians to play the part that they should be playing in God’s world. That means a whole lot of good attitudes and ones that deliver actions to match: compassion, kindness, humility etc. and perhaps the hardest of all, is to put up with those who bother us and forgive those who offend us. These are needed for the people of Colossae, but also for us, each in one’s own situation. A suitable reading for this celebration of the ideal family life that would be good for us all.

For t he gospel we hear the last two of the five fulfillment stories in Matthew’s Infancy Narratives. They depict Jesus as the climax of the journey made by the chosen people from the time of Abraham to the entry into the promised land. Their history is about a ‘descent’ into Egypt firstly by Joseph, but thereafter by the rest them because of food shortage in their own land. Then there is the memorable escape from Egypt led by Moses through a hard and long desert journey eventual gaining their own land. So, Joseph in the New testament in accord with revelations from God’s messenger angel, goes down to Egypt and then later returns to settle in Nazareth – like a Nazarene (one specially dedicated to God). Families all make journeys in location, in the growth of their relationships with each other, and on their way to doing the will of God for them.

See Jeffs Jottings – God’s family

4th Sunday of Advent - 2025 - Year A

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:12:38 GMT

The first reading is a small part of a story loosely based on an event in the history of the Jews ( in the second book of Kings ) around 733 BC. The story tells of Aram and Ephraim (namely, Syria and Israel) in the north, joining together against Judah in the south, to try to force an alliance of the three as a defence against the threat of the Assyrian empire in the east. In Judah in the south, the prophet Isaiah has told its King, Ahaz, that he should trust God to defend his people and not worry; God even offers the king a sign to show His support, but Ahaz turns the offer down. Like a very understanding and caring negotiator, God will give him, and his court, a sign anyway, which is our first reading ( Isaiah 7:10-14 ). The message is delivered through Isaiah, God’s spokesman; “Look,” he says “that young marriageable girl there. She will become pregnant and produce a son whom she will call Emmanuel (God’s with us)” – the name is significant because people often gave their children names that express something about their situation or hopes, so Emmanuel might mean that by the time of the birth, the people will feel sure that ‘God is with them’. In fact Ahaz called upon the emperor of Assyria to help him, rather than rely on God; so Judah was safe, at least for the time being and the two northern kingdoms were beaten by the Assyrians. This story raises the question of how to proceed in life’s difficulties; whether to trust God or to take evasive or defensive action oneself; but it also points to hope and belief that one day God will be with the people in a reassuring way – with us.

In the second reading ( Romans 1:1-7 ) we have the opening address of the great exposition of the way that Paul saw the good news arising from Christ (the ‘gospel’ according to Paul). In conformity with letter-writing custom we would expect it to read “Paul, to all God’s beloved in Rome, grace and peace.” But in his letters Paul usually elaborates on this, and here we have the longest introduction of all his letters and its just one sentence in the original Greek. Of himself he says he is a worker with a remit and a special role – a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and appointed to deliver the good news. Paul has not visited the Romans yet and wants to reassure them of his credentials, and so adds a reference to an early creedal formula which they will most likely know – the good news is that through His human nature Jesus is descended from David, and by God’s Spirit has been revealed as Son of God at his resurrection. Paul wants to emphasize that he has a call from God to work with Gentiles – the majority of the Christians in Rome would come under that designation. He ends with the customary Greek salutation (here translated as grace, but meaning ‘rejoice’) and the traditional Jewish wish of Shalom (peace). It speaks to us, because we can both rejoice and have a deep inner peace because of the reality that we celebrate at Christmas.

Matthew’s infancy narrative is well structured and begins with a genealogy in three sections highlighting Jesus’ connections through Joseph, with Abraham, David and the Jews in exile in Babylon. This is followed by five sections that recount the birth, the magi, the trip to Egypt, the slaughter of babies and the return to Nazareth, each ending with a quotation fulfilled. In this whole section , Joseph plays an important role and echoes the Old Testament Joseph (the one with the coat of many colours) whose life was threatened by his brothers and who ended up in Egypt, he was the person who had meaningful dreams and his descendants, the Jews, eventually settled in the land where Jesus was born. In our gospel this day the story is of Mary betrothed to Joseph when he finds she is expecting. He doesn’t want to cause a fuss and has decided to separate quietly, but then has a dream and an assurance from an angel and the saviour is born to the couple. The section ends with the fulfilment quotation found in our first reading,. This context tells us that God’s way with the world is consistent throughout history; the story of the Jews from the time of Abraham, though the birth of Jesus is a definite and distinctive instance of this and a decisive step towards the fulfilment of God’s creation of a perfect world.

3rd Sunday of Advent - 2025 - Year A

Thu, 04 Dec 2025 22:34:20 GMT

From the last verse of the first reading (Isaiah 35:1-6a,10) it seems clear that this passage is referring to the return from exile in Babylon. We have to realise the symbolic significance of the desert; we still use the word today in our language and culture for a situation or a time of apparent hopelessness – when our world seems ‘barren’ (a similar word to desert). In the history of the Jews it begins with their escape from Egypt and their difficulties for a whole generation (as the story implies) of wandering in the desert – where God through Moses has led them. The period of exile in Babylon was a similar set-back for them as a nation but with a feeling of abandonment by God. So when the return to their own land is described it is envisioned as the blossoming of the desert. After the centuries of the editing of this book of Isaiah, we can only assume that our passage originated as a word of hope (perhaps when Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon, with his policy of repatriation). The figurative blossoming of the desert is followed with the hope of miraculous cure for disadvantaged individuals. But then, as now for us, it is a poem of the wonderful and good things that God does and will do – an appropriate reading in preparation for celebrating the birth of Christ and all that means for us.

In the second reading (James 5:7-10) we have a letter that has not always been easily accepted as of much value. It seems to be one of those books of which there were many in those days, that was attributed to a prestigious person so as to give it more weight and authority. There are a number of men called James in the early years of Christianity, the most famous being the “brother of the Lord” (could be an actual brother or just a close relative). But the contents of the book seem to be from and for the Jewish community of the Diaspora, i.e. those living away from their ethnic homeland. The image of desert which we had in the first reading is replaced by that of farming. But the overall message is appropriate for us during advent: we must be patient but while waiting must be improving the way we live, particularly in our relationships with each other.
The gospel reading begins a new attitude in Matthew’s account of the life of Jesus (chapter 11:2-11). The public life of Jesus has been progressing successfully and miracles have been performed, but now begins a more questioning and antagonistic phase of Jesus’ life. To introduce this, John the Baptist who still has some disciples though he is imprisoned by Herod Antipas, sends his disciples, with whom he still has contact, to ask Jesus if he is the Messiah. John has preached that a greater one than himself is coming and he has baptised Jesus but the revelation at that time from God saying “This is my beloved son” doesn’t seem to have registered with John according to Matthew’s gospel. In addition, in our passage Jesus doesn’t exactly reply with a straightforward acceptance of the title Messiah (the Hebrew for the Greek word Christ); it is likely that Matthew wants to leave this definite recognition for Peter, whom Matthew sees as the leader of the early Christian community. So instead Jesus says, look at the evidence of the miracles you have witnessed. The list of miracles is drawn from the Old Testament (Isaiah 29:18, 61:1 and others) but mostly from the passage we had in our first reading. Then Jesus speaks about the Baptist; when crowds went out into the desert to hear him, they didn’t find a fickle person changing his attitude according to outside pressure like a reed in the wind; and they didn’t find someone elated by the popularity they had like any court official in fine clothes. But they looked for and found a prophet – and Matthew now uses the passage used of John at the beginning of Mark’s gospel – more than a prophet, the one spoken of as my messenger making a way ahead (a quote related to Exodus 23:20 and Malachi 3:1)

See Jeffs Jottings – Advent 2022 Talk 3

2nd Sunday of Advent - 2025 - Year A

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 22:32:16 GMT

Back in the 8 ^th century BC this first reading is for Isaiah a vision and a hope based on his understanding of God and His relationship with this world. It is expressed by the prophet as best as he can as being like a dream for an ideal king, a descendant of David (son of Jesse), with wonderful gifts of spirit, like wisdom, empathy, understanding and respect for God. But also a dream of an unimaginable peace, even in nature and between humans and animals – in our eyes an impossible world. In addition, again “on that day” it is written, this peace will extend even to the Gentiles – more easily imaginable to most of us here and now, within our understanding of God’s universal love.

The second reading ( Rom 15:4-9 ) is part of the conclusion of Paul’s long letter to the Romans. It is calling for harmony, a lesson that can be learnt from Scripture (which for Paul means what we call the Old Testament) but we can learn from the New Testament. God not only became one of us, but also, for the sake of the Jews, was under their Law and all that entailed; but this self-abasement was so as to live (and die) for all people and thus give glory to God. However, Paul quotes the end of a song of king David ( 2 Sam 22:47-50 ) who ruled over many nations whom he had conquered by force.

Before today’s gospel reading from Matthew ( Mt 3:1-12 ) he has written about the genealogy, the birth with its announcement to the shepherds and the incidents surrounding the Magi with their gifts. But now the preaching of the kingdom begins with John the Baptist; it is a topic found also in the other gospels; but unlike Luke and Mark, Matthew has John straight away preaching the very message of Jesus “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” A significant word for us is ‘repent;’ it means in the Greek a change of mind, and for us a change of our way of life. Most noticeable also is the vituperative language used against both the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the suggestion that physical descent from Abraham is not an assurance of acceptance by God; so we too, if we live aright, will be within the reign of God. Then we hear John announce the coming of Jesus into public life, and who will sort things out; a process like harvesting grain – removing and burning the chaff. And it is a baptism that is the sign of this commitment, even needed for Jews; though this is not the same as Christian Baptism, but is a washing symbolic of the change of life preached with the word “repent!” It may be that the phrase “In those days” which begins the gospel reading, rather than just meaning something like ‘then,’ actually means this new time of the kingdom in which we, today, live.

See Jeffs Jottings – Advent Talks 2022 Talk 2

1st Sunday of Advent - 2025 - Year A

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 21:08:45 GMT

The book of Isaiah as it is called in the Bible, is an extensive edited collection of writings that are drawn from at least three different time periods. Using the division of chapters and verses introduced in the 13 ^th and 16 ^th centuries, the first 39 chapters are from the earliest period when the prophet Isaiah lived, namely the last half of the 8 ^th century BC. From this section our first reading ( Isaiah 2:1-5 ) expresses in its own way the vision of the glorious future that it was believed God had planned for His creation. The significant political situation at this time is that Judah and its capital city Jerusalem were under threat from other nations. Isaiah, as a court prophet, must have been aware of this as well as of the religious situation. His religious belief was that God (that is to say their god) had chosen them to be the greatest nation of all, expressed at this time as the expectation that Jerusalem would eventually be the focus for all the nations. And so the visionary poem that is our text, is an expression of hope that all the nations will submit to the Law (in the first section of the bible) and together rejoice under Jerusalem’s supremacy in the worship of God. The climax of the vision is that there will be peace among all nations expressed poetically as “turning swords into ploughs and spears into pruning hooks.”

In the second reading ( Rom 13:11-14 ) it seems clear that things are not too good for the Christians in Rome, to whom the letter is addressed. Chapter 12 starts a section dealing with the End Time, and there was enough persecution under emperor Claudius (41-54 AD) and also under Nero (54-68 AD) to give the impression to Christians that the end of this world was at hand. Paul’s letter is his exposition of the good news that others were later to express in narrative form as Gospels. The message is “Do not be conformed to this age but be transformed” (Rom 12:2). In some way, for Paul the time is already with us, especially since we have been baptised – when we first believed; so now we must live in a changed way. A good example of this transformation is found in the Confessions of St Augustine, who was very much attached to the ‘secular’ world and couldn’t tear himself away. But then came the turning point in his life when he read the last two verses of our text.

In today’s gospel reading from ( Mt 24:37-44 ) we have a section of what is written about the second coming of the Son of Man. Parts of it appear to be taken from Mark and other parts from another document (sometimes called Q) that Luke also used. Matthew’s well-structured gospel has five extended discourses attributed to Jesus and this is part of the last one. It seems that the people at the time of Noah are said to be just going about their daily business and not thinking of anything else; yet according to the Genesis story , the people at the time were wicked, so much so that God regretted having created them. So the message for us is simply about being aware of the world of God in our ordinary day to day living; and so to live upright lives, and hence be ready when the expected judgment comes. Two people can appear to both be living ordinary lives, but one can be aware of the proximity of God in his world – hence it says “one will be taken, one will be left.”

See Jeffs Jotting s – Advent Talks 2022 Talk 1

Christ the King - 2025 - Year C

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 21:30:23 GMT

Throughout most of the history of the Jewish people they developed a grand idea of their kingdom and of an ideal king; they projected this vision back onto king David and consequently a lot of the time looked forward to a new king who would be a true successor to him, or rather to their idea of him. So we read this brief extract of their history, as we celebrate Christ as our own king, with probably a different understanding from them of what the ideal is. David was thought of like a shepherd and as their commander.

In the second reading Paul writes to the Colossians because some of them are seeing this world and material things as evil and to be shunned. He wants to affirm that the Christian truth is that all of creation is God’s, and that creation is the expression of God’s reality. After a powerful reminder how God has delivered them from darkness and redeemed them with forgiveness of their sins, he quotes what almost looks like a creed in poetic form, with two stanzas. The first stanza is about Christ, who is God’s image expressed in each item and in the whole of creation, which exists in Him and for Him; the second is about His presence in the Church as His body, which is made up of those who are conscious of Christ and try to live in a Christ-like way within and together with the sacredness of the material world.

We might find it strange that the gospel reading for today is of Christ on the cross. But His kingship is not a superior and glorious dominance over people, it is a universal kingship, over all and across all time, which is manifest at the climax and completion of His life. Most of those around the cross cannot grasp this notion of kingship nor even accept the idea of life beyond death. The reference to the two other criminals is only found in Luke’s gospel and it is one of the criminals that has the idea of a kingdom after death. The word Paradise is an import from Persian into Greek, Hebrew and now many other languages. This key and distinctive saying of Jesus’ reply to this criminal begins solemnly with “Amen” and expresses the belief , even at this stage, of a life immediately after death gained by Jesus and for others – he says, “Amen. I say to you, this day you will be with me in Paradise.”

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 21:45:45 GMT

The first reading is from the last section of the book of Malachi. In the Hebrew this is Chapter 3, but in the Greek version it is Chapter 4. Cyrus, the king of Persia who became the ruler of Babylon in the 6th century BC, had high ideals for society and a policy of returning deportees back to their homelands. We know of this from the Cyrus cylinder which was discovered in 1869 in the ruins of the city of Babylon and is in the British Museum. In the Bible, the book of Isaiah the prophet interpreted this return to their own land as brought about by their God through Cyrus. But those who returned were not all as good living as they should be and so, in the book of Malachi, we hear today of God’s punishment upon them, but for those who are good or repent, God will come “with healing in his wings.”

In Thessalonica, although Paul had never given this impression, there were those who acted as though the end of the world was on their door-step; we have heard before that some of them even idled away their time and relied on the generosity of fellow Christians for their livelihood. So in this reading for today, Paul reminds them of his activity and self-sufficiency when he was with them and that they should imitate him and not be a burden to others. He was a tent-maker and could ply this trade as well as preach the Good News, wherever he went.

Luke tells us about Jesus in the form of a journey that He makes towards Jerusalem and towards the climax and end of His life. In today’s reading Jesus arrives in Jerusalem with its great Temple and central administration, and where there will be disaster. The reading parallels what was already written by Mark (in chapter 13), but the questions “when will this happen” and “what sign will there be” which are not really answered in Mark’s account, are used by Luke to give a lesson for life. He is writing after the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD and when Christians have already suffered persecution. The traumas of life are not a sign of the end of the world and the final reckoning, but are part of the pattern of life; a pattern going as far back as the time of the slavery of the people of the Bible in Egypt and of the Exodus brought about by God; a pattern repeated in the Exile in Babylon and their return under Cyrus to the promised land; and a pattern in Jesus’ life through trial and execution to new Risen life.

31st in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 17:14:51 GMT

The first reading is from the book Wisdom ( 11:22-12:3 ). This book was written less than a century before the birth of Jesus. It came from someone in the Jewish community in Alexandria in Egypt. Jews at the time were not just in the promised land and were quite aware of the ways of thinking in the wider community about life, gods and associated mysteries. The book of Wisdom is in Greek and its ideas are a development of earlier Jewish ideas, absorbing more contemporary notions from this wider community in which they lived. And so wisdom is very important; it is used by them to refer God Himself and their idea of life now extended to even life after death which was not previously held by Jews. Our reading exemplifies the literary quality of the thoughts poetically expressed in a theology of the relationship of God with the failings of humanity and the development of creation.
The second reading is from 2 Thess 1:11-2:2 . The two letters to the Thessalonians are the first surviving documents about Jesus that we have – the oldest writings in the New Testament – prior to the gospels that tell of the life of Jesus. Paul was a learned Rabbi in the Jewish community living away from the Jewish enclave in the Roman empire. The story in Acts of him being quite against Jews becoming followers of Jesus is quite reliable. However, this learned man later became a Christian and worked mostly in Roman communities making converts of Jews but especially of Gentiles. He had established a community in Thessalonica but the Jewish synagogue there was not receptive of his message that God was happy with Gentiles, so a mainly Gentile community of followers of Jesus was established away from the synagogue. However after he moved on from his short stay there, he wants and needs to writes to them from prison. It seems from the text we have that he may have given them a wrong idea of God’s being present to them even now and this being the time of the fulfilment of God’s plan for creation. Some of them had given up their regular work and way of life and were just waiting for the End-time to come. And someone may have encouraged them with this view. So Paul has to tell them to get back to regular life – as good followers of Jesus – the final End has not yet come. We are reminded by this that Christianity is constantly developing an understanding of life and creation, and we should be warned not to be so certain of what are basically mysteries – a danger the church has always suffered from.

The gospel of Luke that we have been hearing from over many weeks, has a distinctive focus on the reach of Jesus’ concern and dealings – most noticeably Jesus dealings with women. In today’s reading ( 19:1-10 ) Luke has this story not elsewhere in the NT, of Jesus’ attitude to a local taxman, who, the story tells us, was small but curious about Jesus. Luke portrays Jesus’ attitude to this man as nothing short of pro-active – “hurry down for I must come to your house today.” This tale, assuming it was not purely fiction, would have come to Luke indirectly from some such tale that may have be told again and again, but which either had not come to the attention of the earlier gospel writers or they didn’t consider it worth re-telling. We have to think what it tells us about Jesus that should affect us in some way – as gospel (good news).

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 10:53:23 GMT

The first reading is from a wisdom book ( Sirach 35:12-18 passim ). The prologue to it was written by someone in Egypt after 132 BC, who was translating into Greek a Hebrew book of his grandfather (whose name was Jesus). The book presented the thrust of the teachings of the Bible about the Law and the wise way to live. Manuscripts of parts of the Hebrew book itself have been found but it is not part of the Hebrew Old Testament. Despite the book’s enthusiasm for the Law, in our passage it speaks of a God who treats all people fairly; it quite poetically depicts God as particularly drawn to the poor, orphans and widows, like a Judge who responds quickly to prayers after judging what is asked for and what is right. The same thoughts are expressed repeatedly in the Psalm that follows this reading.
In the second reading we have some words from the second letter to Timothy which seem to genuinely come from Paul himself. He is clearly at the end of his tether and near the end of his life. He speaks of the sacrifice of his life as a libation – a drink poured out as an offering to a deity. He uses his favourite metaphors for life – a race, a competition. Some of his friends seem to have abandoned him at the difficult times of his trial or when he was in prison. He is willing to forgive, and trusts that God will reward him with entry into the heavenly kingdom. It seems from the use of “we” in Luke’s book The Acts of the Apostles that Luke was often a close and loyal friend to Paul.

In the gospel Jesus tells a hard hitting story. We need to realise that the Pharisees are generally depicted in the New Testament as being self-righteous; they are externally good living if judged by the religious laws that they keep and the public worship which they offer, and this was frowned on by the followers of Jesus. Yet the Pharisees were clearly not all like this, but it is typical of human attitudes to make inaccurate generalisations. However, in the parable we do have such a self-righteous, fictitious character. The other person in the parable is the tax collector. The Romans controlled the country but, perhaps because of difficulties for themselves, they had local Jewish people to collect the taxes for them; people who knew the language and those they were dealing with; they were perhaps glad of a job that was protected by the occupying forces; it is thought that they were expected to collect more than was actually required to provide a salary for their work. Obviously they were not liked by everyone else, but Jesus, as was his custom, did not follow this attitude – he had invited Matthew as one of his followers although he was a tax collector. And in this parable the humble and self-effacing tax collector has the role of an example for us all.

See Jeffs Jottings – Praise

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 06:14:07 GMT

The first reading is a story from the Book of Exodus, telling the tale of one of the many incidents from that epic journey of escape from slavery in Egypt, through many ups and downs until the entry into the promised land. The whole book was put together from various collections of stories that had been passed down through at least four or five centuries of retelling. The point of the whole and of each individual story, in general terms, is to say something about God and ‘the people of the Book’ and the relationship between the two; to teach people about their responsibility towards God and about His attitude towards them. The details in this tale about warfare and the rod of Moses, if taken literally, say nothing we would regard as true about the relationship between God and people; it was this rod that seemed to clear the sea for the people to cross when escaping the Pharaoh’s army, and this rod that produced water in the wilderness. But we get closer to the point of the story’s transmission and survival in our sacred Scriptures, if we see its significance for us today; it reminds us that the power of God is in everything, though we usually think of various sacred objects as reminding us of this.

In the second reading we hear how we should interpret the word of God that has been passed down to us. This is a message to the early Christians, especially the leaders, about how to make use of the traditions that have been passed down about Jesus and those contained in the Old Testament (since the New Testament books were only just being written and this second letter to Timothy will be one of them). It is the word of God that needs to be applied to how we conduct ourselves, and the leaders must persist in helping to make this relevant to the people in their ordinary lives.

In today’s gospel we hear from the next chapter after last week’s text. Luke records this simple parable of a pragmatic and secular minded judge, who will give a rightful hearing to the poorest of individuals if he is pestered enough by them. And this is told to encourage persistence in prayer to God. There is a note of urgency at the end of the excerpt because there is still the feeling that the final days of the world are drawing near – and if not for the world at least for any individual. In the flow of Luke’s gospel, Jesus and his disciples are approaching Jerusalem and what will be the final days for Jesus, though the disciples scarcely realise this but Jesus, who realises it, urges them to keep faith.

See Jeffs Jottings – Stick at it

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 20:22:01 GMT

These readings might speak to us when we are going through difficulties or hard times. We must trust in God, do what we should, but most of all thank God for the benefits that we do have. Naaman had to listen to his servants and not give up because there was no dramatic exhibition of a miraculous cure. The early Christian leaders, especially, had to be prepared to suffer for the work they were doing and the beliefs that they had. And like the lepers, we should be prepared to keep the rules as long as we can, but that wont save us; it is God who saves those who are faithful, as He is always reliable.
The first reading reminds us how people in the time of the Old Testament lived; there were kings or tribal leaders with nobles under them, they had servants who worked and cared for them, they had their own gods who operated in their territories, miracles and drama were part of their religions and the different small nations were uncertain of each other’s ambitions and motives. The lead up to the first reading is necessary for it to make sense; Naaman was a well-respected leader in a country adjoining Israel, who had leprosy and could find no cure; one of the servants of his wife was from Israel where Elisha was well known as a prophet and man of God; she suggested a visit to him might be helpful. The party set off with plenty of payment and gifts, but Naaman was disappointed when Elisha did nothing dramatic, but merely said go and wash in our river Jordan seven times. He was about to return home disappointed when servants persuaded him to try it all the same. And then we are into today’s reading. Elisha rejects any gift for the miracle and Naaman thinks the god in this land is powerful, so takes some of the land back with him to his own territory.

The second reading is further advice for the leader of a Christian community in the first century of Christianity when persecution was a real likelihood. The central teaching of Paul is reflected in the centrality of the resurrection, though the reference to David is not particularly his, yet he uses it when writing to the Romans . The author is quoting a Christian hymn or poem that refers to dying with Christ, recalling how they thought of Baptism but also alluding to their potential martyrdom; the reference to denying also indicates the threat of persecution. But it ends with comfort because God is faithful whatever, for it is how He is and He cannot deny His Self.

In the gospel we hear the next miracle after last week's reading from Luke. It is one of those stories found only in Luke’s gospel – the cure of the ten lepers. The Jewish law is recognised by the lepers and by Jesus in that they stand a distance away from contact with others and Jesus tells them to show themselves to the priest (which a leper must do to verify a cure). But the more significant point to the story comes later when they realise that they have been cured; it is only one that returns to thank Jesus and he was a Samaritan, a person treated by Jews as a foreigner. Although they were all cured, it is most noteworthy that it is only the one who acknowledges this and thanks God, who is saved. This puts miracles in their place; a miracle doesn’t save you but your faith does.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 25 Sep 2025 20:57:26 GMT

This is the only time on Sundays that we have a reading from Habakkuk. He was a prophet perhaps around the 7 ^th century BC, when the people were troubled by the surrounding more powerful nations. Of the three chapters in the book, we have a few verses from each of the first two ( 1:2-3, 2:2-4 ). At first the prophet expresses the heartfelt cry of the people, “How long, O Lord” is all this going on; a feeling common among most peoples at some time or other throughout all periods of human history, especially where there is an idea of a caring deity of some kind. The phrase is also used often in the psalms . But in the verses from chapter 2 that are added into our reading, we hear that God does have a vision of the future – sometime – and so we must hang on and remain loyal because, as it ends, “the upright man lives by his faith;” and this phrase is taken up in St Paul’s way of thinking and in later Christian teaching, where the word ‘faith’ is not just ‘loyalty’ but trusting in Christ and in Christ’s way of selfless service of others. In 1947 an ancient commentary on this book was found in a cave in the Dead Sea area ( see the video ), it referred the troubles to the invasion of the Romans into their land,

By the time the Second Letter to Timothy was put together from some of Paul’s words and ideas, the organisation of the early churches was beginning to develop as the apostles were growing old and diminishing in numbers. New leaders of the Christian communities were put in place by the laying on of hands; later these would come to be called overseers (in Greek, episkopoi from which we get the word ‘Episcopal’) or in English much later ‘bishops’. In the case of Timothy, he is reminded that as such a leader he must stir up his enthusiasm and must not be timid, but should live with the power of God’s Spirit and with love and self-control; he should continue the pattern of Paul’s ministry, driven by the love of Christ because the church is alive with God’s Spirit – something of the words of the reading must also apply to us..

The gospel begins with a saying to the apostles about faith, which is followed by a parable, awkwardly expressed. We are familiar with the use of the mustard seed as a reference to very small size, and in Matthew’s gospel the seed is linked to the saying of moving mountains (Mt 17:20) but here it is linked to an unfamiliar image (uprooting a tree); we shouldn’t take it literally but grasp what it means. The parable that follows is not easy to understand, it basically says that we are like servants of God, and as such cannot expect reward for doing our duty. This is a correction of a Pharisaic approach to religion which thought that we can earn favours from God by keeping the rules; this attitude has existed in the church from its beginning despite efforts of reformers (including Luther) to rid the church of it.

26th Sunday in Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 17:22:42 GMT

The first reading is from a section of the book of Amos ( 6:4-10 ); it is introduced with the opening words of the chapter: “alas for those who are at ease in Zion.” Strong words against the city dwellers come from Amos, the country fellow – words and woes against the northern kingdom of Israel. We hear the third and last woe against the excessive luxury in which they are living although their prosperity is declining visibly; they seem to live for the moment and care little of the future, even their own. They are, unusually, referred to as a group under the eponymous name of Joseph; this could be because of the account of Joseph’s interpretation of the Pharaoh’s dream (Exodus 41) of seven years of plenty followed by seven of crop failure, and his wise management under the Pharaoh of storing up supplies for the future. The exile that will come will be the disaster that follows this decadence.
In the second reading ( 1 Timothy 6:11-16 ) Timothy is addressed as a ‘man of God.’ Unlike the people of the first reading and in contrast to those addressed in this letter just before this section, Timothy is chosen and enabled by God to be a minister in the Christian community. Paul’s athletic imagery appears here also, saying “compete well,” that is, ‘run the race’ or ‘fight the good fight.’ The Christian at baptism made confession that “Jesus is Lord”, and Jesus made a similar confession before Pilate according to John’s gospel (18:37); Timothy was baptised but was also a leader in some way, and that meant not to be a covert Christian but to speak the truth even before accusers, as Jesus did before Pilate; the writer could be referring to either of these situations. The requirement to keep the commandments or ordinances is most likely not to the ten commandments of the Jewish religion but to the requirements of being a Christian or, more likely, the specific orders for acting as a minister. He must act as a servant of the King who will eventually appear, and he must be selfless in his work towards the kingdom of God.
In today’s gospel reading from Luke ( 16:19-31 ) we have the parable often call that of Dives and Lazarus; but ‘dives’ is just the Latin word for rich man. In many ways the story is straightforward once we accept the different understanding of the afterlife that it portrays. However, whereas the rich man is anonymous, the beggar at his gate is named Lazarus. Luke is writing about 40 years after the resurrection of Jesus but still there are people who aren’t believers; and John’s gospel, uniquely, has the story of the raising of Lazarus which Luke’s readers may have known; but Luke’s point is not about accepting the truth of the resurrection, of Jesus or of Lazarus, because believing is more a way of living than accepting facts – of loving God and your neighbour as yourself, which the rich man in the parable didn’t do.

25th Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 20:57:38 GMT

The Sunday readings only use the prophet Amos three times; this and next Sunday are two of those. Amos was a country man used to living a simple life: a herdsman tending sycamore trees. Somehow he came to be a prophet of God in the city of Bethel, though he wouldn’t claim the title of prophet and was different from most of them. Such a man coming from the country to the big and prosperous city just had to speak what he thought in order to deliver a ‘scolding’ from the Lord, for the hiking of prices, lowering of measures and fixing of scales (Amos 8:4-7). His natural reactions to the corruption that he saw is described as visions from God, and they are nearly always expressed with an impressive literary style: matching couplets and triplets. Yet it is the language of wrath and condemnation, though elsewhere Amos does tell of a remnant few who will be spared and at the end of the book there is a very positive prophecy though this ‘epilogue’ may have been added later to end on an upbeat note of hopefulness.

The second reading, as last week, is from the first letter to Timothy (2:1-8). In this second chapter the writer is urging the Christian communities to which it is addressed to be sensible and prayerful citizens. Prayers are of different kinds: asking for what we want, praising and thanking God and interceding for others who perhaps wouldn’t pray themselves. God wants everyone to be saved; the rulers and non-believers could easily be looked down on by enthusiastic Christians, and there were some, believing that only the Christians were pleasing to God, who regarded what they would call pagan society as evil; the writer wants to oppose this early mistaken view. The last sentence of our reading about praying with hands held high is gender specific; only men prayed in this way (which was common among other religious groups at the time as well).

The parable that is at the beginning of the gospel reading is only found in Luke. He was writing later than Matthew and Mark and addressing a wider background – Gentiles who were or were interested in Christianity. Luke, like Paul, was utterly in favour of non-Jews also accepting Jesus’ teaching. The parable itself ends in verse 8 and is followed by other and various sayings that can distract from this unique parable.

The parable makes me think of God as an ‘overlord’ of some enterprise (this is all just my view). Under him is a steward who actually does all the ‘managing’ of the business – one manager representative of a whole body of them. The business is beset with a lot of problems and so the manager is threatened with ‘retirement.’ So the manager must do what he can to persuade the workforce to improve, and is relatively successful.

I like to think that the application of this parable to life is as follows. God is the creator of the whole universe and so for our bit of it – earth. The Jews first and Christians later are responsible for this creation. Both groups (like many other religious faiths) thought that they were privileged and proud of it, neglecting or even condemning others. But God really wanted (and still wants) all to care for others and for all of His creation. People will be failing if they don’t try to make all proud and feel blessed by the world they are responsible for.

We are these stewards of God’s work and must promote its good to the utmost of our ability. We must not be like some of the Jews and many of the Christians who imagine that we are ok but others are not! We will have to give an account of our stewardship and will be praised when we make others happy and caring of the whole of creation. If we do then it will be the case, as the parable ends “The master commended the dishonest steward, because he had acted prudently.”

See Jeffs Jottings – Amos

24th Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 19:36:24 GMT

The first reading is one of the significant incidents in the tale of the exodus – the going out from slavery in Egypt towards the promised land. At this point in the story (Exodus 32:7-17) Moses has gone up the nearby mount Sinai and received the Ten Commandments from God; but he had been away forty days and during this time the people had forgotten this unknown God of Moses and remembered the golden calf worshipped in Egypt: an abandonment of the true god who brought them out of slavery. The account describes this depravity in terms of the wrath of God. But most interestingly, Moses intercedes with God on their behalf and reminds Him of the promises made to Abraham and his descendants, and that these are the people due for this promise. This story was kept alive in the people’s tradition because it was a pattern of betrayal and return that was repeated in their lives as a race and as individuals, and the Psalm chosen to follow this reading indicates this.

1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are called the Pastoral. They may well incorporate words from personal letters that Paul wrote, but study of the linguistic style indicates that they are from a different hand. They are nonetheless accepted as part of the New testament and give us some indication of Christian thinking in the late part of the first century. The extract we read today (1 Timothy 1:12-17)shows how the pattern of Paul’s life matched that of Israel in general; he was a Jew who opposed the Way of Jesus, but God loved him and brought him round to doing good and even playing an important part in the spread of Christianity. The passage includes a ‘trustworthy saying’ as do the other Pastoral letters, and ends with what is called a doxology – a paean of praise to the glory of God, to which the response is ‘Amen’ (‘hear,hear’).

The gospel (Chapter 15 of Luke) has parables told by Jesus in response to criticism by the Pharisees of His sympathetic contact with tax collectors and sinners, both groups who in one way or another were not observing the strict rules for Jewish life. The lost and found sheep and the parallel one about a coin are respectively about a man and a woman. Luke seems to have been sympathetic to women more than the other gospel writers. The point that these two stories make is about the pro-active relationship of God to the sinner – He goes out looking for them. In the light of the purpose of these in Luke’s gospel, the celebration of friends and neighbours when the lost is found, is very significant; why wont the Pharisees be glad about the work of Jesus? But these two parables are followed in Luke by the most well-known parable called the parable of the Prodigal Son, though if ‘prodigal’ means ‘generously lavish’ it is the father who has this generosity which represents God’s attitude to sinners. In the context of Pharisaic complaints about Jesus, the second part of the parable about the attitude of the elder son is quite significant; he doesn’t even acknowledge him as brother, but refers to him as ‘your son.’ This elder son has worked hard at home but has not really shown love to his father. The whole is a beautifully crafted and challenging story.

See Jeffs Jottings – Good News for us all

23rd Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 21:57:47 GMT

The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom (9:13-18), which is not in the Hebrew Bible and is known to us only in Greek. It is generally only accepted as canonical by Catholics. It may well have originated in Egypt, a centre of intellectual excellence, and like other wisdom writings is attributed to Solomon, though it probably dates from the century just before Christ. Chapter 9 begins with a prayer for wisdom that elaborates on the prayer recorded in the First book of Kings which is more closely associated with Solomon himself. Our reading is the concluding summary of the second section of the poetic prayer. It indicates the tension between the body and the soul, reflecting the Greek understanding at that time of the human make-up which has since dominated church thinking particularly through Thomas Aquinas of the 13th century. The poem ends attributing wisdom to the very spirit of the Lord.

The second reading is from Paul’s personal letter to Philemon(9-17) and as such is a unique piece of writing in the New Testament. It is the third shortest book in the Bible and only has 317 words in it. At the time of writing Paul is an old man in prison for his work, but he refers to himself as a prisoner of Christ Jesus, for he is so bound to Him in his work and his life that it seems that he has no freedom. Paul has with him a helper, Onesimus, whom he has introduced to Christianity and whom he therefore calls his son. He is writing to Philemon who is another successful convert of his and leads the local church in his household. Onesimus had been a servant to Philemon and Paul offers to return him, and hopes that Philemon will treat him as a brother, a fellow Christian. Interestingly, Paul deliberately doesn’t ‘pull rank’ on Philemon, but asks him gently if there can be reconciliation. No-one is really in authority over another.

Today’s gospel reading (Luke 14:25-33) emphasises again the journey that Jesus is making towards His fulfillment in Jerusalem. The crowd is now a large number of people excited and attracted by many of Jesus’ words and especially by the cures that He has performed – it is all too optimistic and enthusiastic; but Jesus knew that He was heading for a confrontation in which He would not surrender his cause and mission, but would face the dire consequences. He tries to warn the crowd about this; those following him were not as committed to changing the world, but thought only of joy, success and even victory. The reports of what Jesus has to say show up the problems of translation. Matthew knew the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke and so the translation in his gospel captures what Jesus meant (Matthew 10:37); but Luke does what we would call a ‘Google translation,’ namely a literal and word for word one (“If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother… ), not realising that the Aramaic could not express “loving less” except with a word which literally means ‘hating.’ We must follow Jesus before all else!

22nd Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 20:02:18 GMT

The first reading is from Ecclesiasticus ( 3:17-29 passim) also called the Book of Sirach. The Wisdom of (ben) Sirach is also sometimes called the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach; it is what is called a deutero-canonical book because its status as part of the canon (or official collection) of Scripture was not recognised by Jews resident in Israel; though Sirach was used by Jewish scholars and is included in the early Greek version of the Jewish Bible (the Septuagint) and it is included in Catholic bibles. This wisdom about how to live good lives pleasing to God is expressed so beautifully and simply in our reading. This proverbial wisdom speaks to us even today in our different situations.

The second reading from Hebrews ( 12:18-24 passim) really sets one thinking about how we view God and our response to Him. The author refers to how the Jews at first encountered God; it was a frightening experience of fire and terror; He was a mighty and powerful God and they were His people. But the author then wants to tell them to leave this behind because as followers of the Way of Jesus they now should see God differently; now they are approaching heaven, the ideal Jerusalem, where God’s Son, Jesus, has set up a new covenant – a new relationship with God – and the unbelievable is possible.

The gospel we have for today ( Luke 14:7-14 ) is introduced with verse 1: “On a Sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.” Meals were an important social occasion for the host; at a meal he could make friends with the most influential people and show off the grandeur of his living; for those invited (travelling on the Sabbath) it was an opportunity to become closer to influential people and so progress in one’s standing in society.

Jesus challenges them, pointing out how they will break a Sabbath law when it suits THEM and they are constantly looking for ways to promote themselves. Of course, they could come to the meal and take a lowly position in the hope of being promoted but Jesus would point out that their motive is still self-promotion. C.S. Lewis wisely once said, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less.” Jesus challenges religious authority to practise true humility and make those on the margins their priority. The challenge remains as fresh now as it was then.

Jesus’ parable is about our relationship with God and the religious way we should live; because of our humility we should not expect reward although we believe in the grace of God. So here, as in the passage from Hebrews in the second reading, the message is about the contrast between one way of life and the way it should be for Christians, whose righteousness comes from God and for whom self-righteousness, as of the Pharisees, is not the way forward: you cannot deserve or earn salvation and God’s love.

21st Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:30:53 GMT

The first reading is from the last section of the book of Isaiah ( 66:18-21 ). The Jews have returned from captivity in Babylon, and exiles from all-over are returning to Jerusalem; and not just them it says but all nations, people referred to as Gentiles, will be welcomed by God into his Jerusalem. This is an expression of the universality of God’s love; it is for all people whatever religion or nationality they are; this is an idea that was much debated among the Jews and has been among Christians even to this day – but it seems quite clear here in the Old Testament. The psalm that follows the reading in Christian services, with its refrain, “Go out into the world and tell the Good News” continues this theme of the universality of salvation.
The second reading ( Hebrews 12:5-13 passim) follows on from last week’s second reading with a reminder to those felt hard ‘done by’ by God; it quotes from the book of Proverbs ( 3:11f and 4:26 ). The writer seems to have two parallels for the way God treats us and the way we should react. The first is a parent who must discipline the child to help them to mature; it is an act of love. The second is the physiotherapist prescribing exercises to be done which are often hard to undergo but worth it for the overall good result. Both of these images would be known to the original readers and are understood equally by us today. Though it is a hard lesson to learn when we appear to suffer from our parent or trainer!
In today’s gospel reading ( Luke 13:22-30 ) we are back with Luke’s theme of presenting Jesus as on a journey of preaching and work for the kingdom of God that will climax in Jerusalem with His arrest and execution. But the striking bit is a question from ‘someone’ and the reply. Luke has other sections stimulated by a ‘someone’ (a lawyer/a woman); the person here raises the question which has surfaced again and again in the history of the Jews about the restriction of salvation to a few when there has been a general lapse from devotion to Yahweh, their God. The reply that Luke has Jesus make is a collage from various Christian traditions at that time, both oral and written, about Jesus’ preaching – getting through a narrow door, a house master shutting out people unknown to him, the expectation of the Jews to be saved by ‘their’ man Jesus, the bitterness of the Jews left out while others from across the whole world join the heavenly banquet – finishing with the contrast of the first and the last – thoughts expressed in Matthew and Mark as well. The whole represents the situation Luke has experienced, namely, the first chosen people, the Jews, seem generally not to have accepted Jesus, though hopefully they will in the end, but for now it is the second people, the Gentile Christians, who are the prominent followers of the Way of Jesus.

20th Sunday In Ordinary Time - 2025 - Year C

Fri, 15 Aug 2025 17:01:32 GMT

The first reading is verses taken from from Jeremiah . The man of this name was a prophet round about 600 BC, with a very difficult message to deliver but nonetheless a necessary truth. Because the people in general had abandoned their faith and were worshipping false gods, Jeremiah had to say that they would be punished and eventually this was to be their defeat and the capture of many of them and their exile in Babylon. Obviously people were not pleased with this message and Jeremiah was often threatened and sometimes even imprisoned, and all for just doing what God wanted of him – telling them of their forthcoming downfall. Today’s extract is about one such incident. It makes better sense to read from the beginning of the Chapter rather than the extract in the lectionary (verses 4-6 and 8-10), although then one encounters a number of names perhaps difficult to pronounce. The psalm that follows seems appropriate for Jeremiah’s plight.

The second reading from Hebrews ( 12:1-4 ) comes after last week’s reading which was about faith, with outlines of examples of Old Testament characters who showed great faith, thinking they realised what God’s will was and set out to make it real. In this week’s reading Jesus is held up as the paragon of faith in the life that He led, but climactically in the manner of His death. Like Jeremiah in the first reading, Jesus’ message may have been shocking to many people – we only have records of it from those who saw the positive side of it; but it must have come across as very disruptive and critical, particularly to the leaders of a society which focused on wealth, power and the externals of living out religion. So He is the prime example for us, the hero who encourages and thus enables us to live our lives of faith.

The gospel we have for today ( Luke 12:49-53 ) follows naturally the previous ones, because of the drastic situation that it talks about using the words fire and baptism to describe these experiences. It may relate to the recorded announcement by the Baptist that Jesus would bring a new baptism of Spirit and fire. The divisions that Jesus is said to foretell in this reading are serious splits within families and between generations; it is not something which we experience or at least not so extremely, as is predicted. For early Christians at the time Luke is writing (about 70 AD) being a Christian was often risky and caused family splits and opposition from one’s society; the words Luke uses here might be influenced by these experiences.

Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles

Wed, 18 Jun 2025 09:28:13 GMT

The Readings

In the Acts, Luke is writing the remarkable account of the expansion of Christianity and the development of the church; and this is despite external opposition, even persecution, and their leaders’ inadequacies and failings. The story is built around the two different characters in the early church of Peter and Paul. Whereas Peter was a headstrong, simple Galilean Jewish fisherman who followed Jesus throughout His public ministry, Paul was a well educated Jew and Roman citizen living outside of the Jewish territory, who after a brief encounter with Jesus turned from antagonism to christians to be come an apostle to the Gentiles. The phrase “in those days” at the beginning of today’s reading, alludes to the time when the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem and the surrounding area expanded and even included followers of Jesus’ Way who were not Jews – they were Samaritans or even Gentiles. It was this expansion that began to cause disturbances in Jerusalem. Herod, the local ruler, wanted to keep the peace in order to retain favour within the Roman empire, and so began to arrest the Jewish Christian leaders who were the source of the trouble. So our reading concerns the imprisonment of Peter; it was during the feast of unleavened Bread – a sacred time in Jerusalem – so he would be executed after the Passover, as James had been earlier. The story of his escape was passed down by word of mouth – and with significant elaboration – that is what is related here by Luke. This is a good story illustrating how faith can lead us into difficulties and yet God can save us; and there is a delightful incident about Rhoda (in our language Rose) which follows our reading which you might like to read here .

The two letters to Timothy and the one to Titus are together called the pastoral epistles. They may well date from about the year 100 AD at a time when the organisation of the body of Christians was developing and the difficulties of admitting Gentiles and the like were overcome. But at that time part of the difficulty was the distance in time since Jesus, and even since the time of the disciples who knew him. So these letters are about life and practice in this later church. But the letters do include some passages that seem most likely to come from Paul himself, and our reading today is from one of these sections. In the first paragraph Paul writes about himself in later life as he looks back on the devoted life that he has led and looks forward to his expected reward like that of all who work for the fullness of coming of Christ on earth. The second paragraph in the original begins with a “But” because the text tells of the loneliness and difficult situation of Paul – even being unsupported when taken to court – which explains the ‘but’ before our second paragraph. On this feast of Peter and Paul, this reading shows Paul as a saint in the sense of the word, someone that we would do well to emulate; we should be pouring out our lives for God’s work and confident that the Lord is with us even at difficult times and that we shall eventually get our reward.

Peter acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah is told in the three synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). But Matthew, which we read today, adds a commissioning of Peter to be a leader of the church. This may be because the churches for which Matthew is particularly writing had a special respect for Peter their founder and leader for a time. He is called a rock, which is what Peter means. Nevertheless he also was the most headstrong disciple who so often let Jesus down. This is why he is an admiral saint – someone we can look to emulate in some way because even when we mess things up we can be sorry, be forgiven and still go on to do good things. He was eventually executed for his faith in Rome. Catholics particularly view him as the first overall leader of the Church worldwide – a Pope.

The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 20:34:25 GMT

The first reading from Genesis ( 14:18-20 ) is an isolated anecdote in the story of Abraham, which may have indicated belief in a universal god outwith the race and descendants of Abraham. There is also reference to this ‘king of the most high’ in psalm 110 celebrating the kingship of David over the Jews. The idea of a god over all the people of the world and over all creation was used in the New Testament book called Hebrews ( 6:18-7:22 ) and applied to the priesthood of Jesus as understood by Christians.

The second reading is from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. ( 11:23-26) . This passage is about what Paul learnt from the early Christian community when he joined one group for a communal meal together. We learn from the gospels, written later than this, that Jesus had shared in meals with friends and others who invited him – he was living the very best way a human can – sharing and befriending all. This was how He just gave His life for others! Not only were there those Jews who were annoyed by what He was doing and saying – upsetting their authority, but also many of His followers easily misunderstood him: some thought of Him as a potential leader against the occupying Romans, some in addition that He might be the longed-for leader who would raise the Jewish nation to great height in the world, bringing God’s plan for them (as they saw it) to completion. It was these attitudes that would lead to His death. When Christian groups came together later, they wanted to emulate the life of Jesus. Like all like-minded groups among both the Jewish world and the wider, so-called, pagan empire, they met together and had a meal. At such meetings Paul learnt how the shared bread and wine were thought of as the life and death of Jesus both given for others. He was now reminding the Corinthian Church of this, because they were somewhat missing the point of the shared meals.

The gospel comes from Luke: most of 9:11-17 . It is about the feeding of a huge crowd. This is appropriate today so that we don’t think that Jesus’ last supper was the only time he thanked God and broke food with His ‘fans’ and friends. More than the others, Luke tells of Jesus’ meals with all sorts of different persons: a banquet in the house of Levi with tax-collectors and sinners, dinner at Simon’s place including Pharisees and a ‘sinful’ woman, at the home of Martha and Mary and invited by Pharisees and lawyers. Luke portrays Jesus as a friend of everyone, sharing Himself with them and showing them the love of God. On this feast when we celebrate the ‘last supper’, we must not think of it as like a mass, but rather as a get-together giving thanks to God (which is what ‘blessing’ the bread and cup means) and showing His true self as living and willing to die for others – for all kinds of others.

The Most Holy Trinity - Year C

Tue, 03 Jun 2025 16:30:40 GMT

The first reading is from the book of Proverbs ( 8:22-31 ), which is classed as wisdom literature. The section we have for today is a poem spoken by wisdom herself, Sophia in the Greek. The whole passage is chiefly about the presence of wisdom while God was creating. Among the nations surrounding the chosen people there were other collections of what may be called wisdom writing. Here she is an aspect of God before, during and even after the process of creation. In Christian circles this developed and Wisdom came to be identified eventually as one of the three that comprise God – the doctrine of the Trinity; but this took time and is still a mystery. Despite all this theology and doctrine we see in it, the reading is a quite delightful poem.

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Romans ( 5:1-5 ), the most structured of all his writings. He had had difficulties of various kinds in his life as a Christian, and here he tries to express what he has learnt from this. It is a suitable reading for Trinity Sunday because he explains something of the relationship of God to us Christians. It is through the presence of God in Christ with us in our humanity that we who are enabled to believe, realise our right relationship with God (which is what the word ‘justification’ means in Paul). He wants to ‘boast’ of this, but maybe being proud would be a more appropriate way of saying it. When a believer has hardship one is strengthened and builds up a great hope – if for nothing else, for a share in the glory of God; and this strength is the very Spirit of God within us bringing us a deep peace through it all. Thus our life is involved in the very threeness of God, through Christ and the Spirit.

The third reading is from John’s gospel ( 16:12-15 ) which is clear from its style. The words attributed to Jesus express both the unity of Father, Son and Spirit, and also the promise that the understanding of the significance of this threeness will develop through time. It can develop for us as individuals in different ways or areas of our lives; for some it might be in an intellectual way with the use of words and thoughts, but for others in a devotional way as they grow loving Jesus or experiencing His Spirit, and for some it might work out in their practical living like Jesus, living for others and with the energy of God’s Spirit. For the Church as a whole it developed the Creed with its faith in the Trinity, but this doctrine, will always be a mystery, although what is important is not so much any grasp of the meaning, as living out the practical implications of being spirited.

Pentecost Sunday - Year C

Tue, 27 May 2025 21:35:05 GMT

The first reading is Luke’s account of the first Christian Pentecost ( Acts 2:1-11 ). The Jewish feast (called the feast of Weeks) started as a harvest festival, thanking God for the fruits of the earth, but its meaning changed gradually into a celebration of the reception of the Law as part of their covenant with Him. The Greek word Pentecost which we use refers to the fiftieth day after the celebration of the Passover. The reading is the basis for this Christian feast that celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. Luke writes of the disciples, the women and all the brethren – 120 people – gathering together. In the references to wind and fire there are echoes of accounts in the Old Testament of God’s contact with His covenant people, especially through Moses on Mount Sinai ( Exodus 19f ) for the giving of the Ten Commandments. Luke writes that it celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit which enabled them to speak out, he says, “in different tongues.” According to the first letter to the Corinthians it seems some of them had been ‘speaking in tongues’ (called glossolalia) during worship gatherings (as some charismatics do to this day) but Luke has different languages in mind because he wants to make the point that the Good News is for the whole known world, hence his long (traditional) list of different places and peoples; this might be a sign of the reversal of the communal pride and godless aspirations in the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis Chapter 11.

The second reading is from 1 Corinthians ( 12:3-7,12f ) which opens with the basic fact that what makes a person a Christian and able to have Jesus as his Lord, is the gift of the Spirit. This Spirit can effect different people in different ways (many omitted in the reading). But variety does not cause the church to be broken up, rather it enables harmony to come from the different gifts people have. This is said because there were different views and different ways of expressing prayer and of following Jesus. Paul wants them to see themselves as a body that needs different parts to make it what it is. We know from the beginning of this letter that there were groups in the church that differed in their understanding of what it was to be a follower of Christ. We should be guided by the Spirit, but be careful to be in harmony with the body of believers.

The gospel is the same as that for the 2nd Sunday of Easter:
The gospel passage ( John 20:19-31 is the conclusion of this great gospel of John (chapter 21 reads as a later addition). Jesus comes to the weak and scared humans; He comes with renewed life, physical but also transcending the physical – the resurrected Christ. John always emphasised that Jesus is sent by God, is obedient to God’s will and empowered by God’s Spirit. Now Jesus passes to His followers this same commission; to bring deliverance to all who can accept it. This moment is like a new creation, with a renewed infusion of the Holy Spirit, as at the first creation. Then the gospel brings in the story of doubting Thomas – the sceptic who wants evidence but who makes a baptismal confession “My Lord and my God” when he sees Jesus; and the masterful conclusion which speaks to us all “Blessed are those who have not seen, but have believed".

7th Sunday of Easter - Year C

Tue, 20 May 2025 20:19:54 GMT

The first reading ( Acts 7:55-60 ) is Luke’s ending of the story of Stephen the first martyr in his story of the beginning of Christianity. In chapter 6 he tells how the community of Christians in Jerusalem were. asked to choose seven helpers for the work of serving and extending the number of believers. Luke then tells of Stephen who was one of the seven chosen by the people and commissioned by the apostles. But it was not long before his preaching was opposed by some of the Jews accusing him of defaming holy Jewish leaders of the past etc. Stephen is tried and sentenced to death. Luke has him deliver a long speech and we listen to its ending in our reading. He fogives those opposed to him and Luke tells us that a young lad was guarding the clothes of those who stoned him to death – this was Saul better known later as Paul and by us as Saint Paul.

The second reading is extracts from the last chapter of the book of Revelations ( 22:12-20 ) omitting verses 15,18 and 19. The writer has described the Glorious Future – the fullfilment of God’s plan for creation with the imagery of a New Jerusalem. He uses ideas from the literature and hopes of the people of Israel found in what Christians call the Old Testament. The future will be a home for all nations like a New Jerusalem described here as a bride – it’s like a wedding feast that is coming soon (they thought). it finishes with the prayer preserved in the very language of the early Jewish followers – maranatha – which is used sometimes in Christian worship in our own time; it can mean “Come Lord!” or “the Lord has come.”

In John’s gospel, a number of chapters are used to express what Jesus would pray for to His Father while still in this world but leading up to his final moments. Some think that because the period leading up to what we call Easter differed in length depending on the lunar calendar, different passages of this long section provided the readings for the liturgy that they had at that time. Today ( 17:20-26 ) it culminates with a prayer expressing Jesus’ great desire for the unity of all followers; and this was a unity with each other, but brought about by the more important unity of believers within the very life of God, addressed by Jesus as Father. The characteristic of this unity can best be expressed as love.

6th Sunday of Easter - Year C

Tue, 13 May 2025 22:09:55 GMT

In the first reading ( Acts 15:1-2, 22-29 ) we hear of an important development in the early Church. Jesus was a Jew, it was the God that the Jews believed in Who was the God of Jesus, and He and His Father were equally God. It was this God who chose the Jews and gave them certain guidelines by which to live and to distinguish themselves; among other things the men were to be circumcised. But now, with the preaching of Paul and Barnabas, many non-Jews had come to believe in Jesus and join His followers. It seemed to most Jews that if Gentiles accepted their God, then the they should accept His requirements, including circumcision. But this was not the view of Paul who had come to see following Jesus as a radically new phase in God’s plan of salvation – salvation for all. It was because of the great increase in the number of Gentile converts that the issue became urgent and was taken to the centre for Christianity at the time in Jerusalem. The reading omits verses 3-21 where Luke tells us how the matter was considered. The reading we have takes up again with the letter that was sent accompanied by delegates to confirm the message – circumcision was not required of male Gentile converts. This gives us a hint of how Luke saw the development of centralized authority in the early Church.

The second reading as last week is from the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse ( 21:10-14, 22f ). It is a further description of the glorious completion of God’s creation in heaven; some verses which elaborate on the description are omitted from our reading. It is a vision of a place somewhat in terms of the city of Jerusalem, which was a recognised symbol of God’s chosen people considered as a whole community; but this is the ideal, the heavenly Jerusalem. It is seen as the fulfillment of the Jewish religion, the heavenly gathering of the twelve tribes. But it is renewed since the work of Christ through his apostles who are spoken of as the foundations of this new Jerusalem. It is a city that has entrances in all directions throughout the world; the six verses that follow our reading indicate its openness to all nations. It is a city of light, a further symbolic word for all that is open and wonderful; it is a city with no need for a special temple where God may be found, a city suffused with God’s presence. The whole description is a vision of what this world in which we live today is in process of becoming.

The gospel of John is a well-developed exposition of the life and death of Jesus and consequently often has a depth that we cannot easily plumb. But this passage ( 14:23-29 ) chosen for the reading today is perhaps meaningful to us for two reasons. Because of the celebration this week of the feast of the Ascension and also because in two weeks’ time we celebrate Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. In the reading Jesus tells his disciples that he will be leaving them and they will no more have Him to teach them in the way that he has up to now. But the Holy Spirit will come to them once he has gone; they will be supported in their work as disciples by this Advocate who speaks now for Jesus just as Jesus spoke the words of the Father. Those who live by these words will be loved by God. The passage also is copied in the prayers used just before the Peace in our Sunday service ‘Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.’ The common Hebrew word 'shalom’ for peace has also the rich and deep meaning of fulfilment and completeness.

5th Sunday of Easter - Year C

Fri, 09 May 2025 20:25:54 GMT

Acts 14:21-27

Revelations 21:1-5

chapter 13 of the fourth gospel

4th Sunday of Easter - Year C

Fri, 02 May 2025 16:34:42 GMT

In the Acts of the Apostles Luke presents his view of Christianity in the 70’s or 80’s AD by writing about the even earlier history of the church. Our first reading ( Acts 13: 43-52 ) comes after Luke’s account of Paul and Barnabas preached by invitation during the synagogue service in Antioch in Pisidia. Paul himself was a well-educated Jew, confident in his religious beliefs about the chosen people and enthusiastic in his efforts to live in the way he felt sure was right – Judaism. But he was open to change and to questioning how things were; this enabled him, quite suddenly and dramatically to be converted to Christianity; however the church was suspicious of this one-time enemy of theirs, Paul. Barnabas was a Cypriot Jew with a sense of caring and pastoring others; it was he who befriended Paul in this difficult situation and the two became real friends and worked together for a time. But as Peter had opposition from Jews in Jerusalem (last week’s first reading) so, we read in Acts that Paul and Barnabas had similar difficulties from the Jews in the diaspora (outside of the Jewish homeland).

The second reading is, as last week, from the Book of Revelation ( Rev 7:9, 14b-17 ). After expressing in visionary language the presence of people of all kinds in heaven before God, an explanation of the multitude of the saints in heaven is given in today’s reading by one of the elders. It was a time of great tribulation when many Christians were suffering and even being put to death because of their beliefs. The vision is of the reward that these people now have in heaven; the martyrs are like Christ Himself, who was executed really because of his loyalty to the will of the Father. But the pattern of history that this picture shows is one that will repeat itself for many individuals and groups throughout history; it is the case that those who live selflessly for others can be persecuted one way or another by others; so the vision reminds the readers that they must brace themselves for this as they also try to follow the life of Christ – to consciously share in His Life.

The gospel of John ( Jn 10:27-30 ) uses many images of God, none of which can capture the mystery of His Being nor even of His relationship with us but all show something of it. Perhaps because humans at one stage of their development where like shepherds looking after flocks of animals, the image of shepherding was used by many peoples for their ruler or deity. In the Jewish religion, we think back to king David and the psalm attributed to him which is so popular, ‘The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll not want.” In our reading from chapter 10 Jesus makes this application of shepherding to Himself and affirms that He and the Father are one, God, stressing the commitment of the shepherd to his sheep and the safety in which they can be confident. This expresses something of the relationship we reside in, between God and ourselves.

3rd Sunday of Easter - Year C - 2025

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:56:31 GMT

In the Acts of the Apostles ( Acts 5:27-41 passim ), Luke tries to present to us his ideal vision of the church. He writes from a time when the number and placement of Christians has grown and spread into the wider world; a time when it has become distinguished from its roots in the Jewish religion and, through the initiative of Paul, opened up to the Gentiles. But he writes from this later standpoint about the beginnings of it all in the early days in such a way as to express and address his contemporary issues. So it seems awkward to us in our different situation and after centuries of developing thinking about the impact of Christ on everything. We now want to distance ourselves from any hint that the Jews were responsible for the death of Christ; for we see the way humanity both in the centuries before and after Christ has fallen short of all that it should be and appears to thwart the creative intent of God. Notice that a section of what Luke wrote is left out of the lectionary reading; the missing verses tell of the wise conclusion that the Jews came to about this matter.

The second reading is from the Book of Revelation ( 5:11-14 ) (or as I explained last week, the Apocalypse). We saw in last week’s reading that the writer can produce a visionary description in a style of writing that is as unfamiliar to us as the cartoons and computer games of our days would be to him and his original recipients. Here he tries to picture the glory of heaven where Christ is now present after the success of His earthly life and, especially, death – the completion of His life’s work. From our standpoint it is a vision of the future that we expect to experience but it is a setting which we already key into at times – we become a remote part of this heavenly scene symbolically when we celebrate together in communion with the saints, but also when we live out the life of Christ by applying His attitude of loving care and forgiveness in the ordinary meetings we have with people daily. It is in these that we are amongst all the creatures and the thousands that worship in this scene of heavenly praise. However, the people that lived nearer than us to the time of Jesus had no difficulty with his humanity, but him being divine was all the more difficult to comprehend; so in this scene, there is no mention of the Holy Spirit, but rather an emphasis on Jesus being praised and worshipped as God.

The third reading is from chapter 21 of the fourth gospel ( John 21:1-19 ). Chapter 20 ended “All this has been written so that you may believe … and believing may have life;” that ends the original work, but then a final chapter was added. It has an account of Jesus meeting the disciples after a night’s unsuccessful fishing – have they not yet settled down to the task of founding a new community of the followers of Jesus? Yet they do have a large catch and the net isn’t broken, which may symbolize the growing community (and no one really knows the symbolism of the 153 fish for certain). The chapter also has the purpose of confirming the leadership position of Peter; he was the one that in the passion account denied having anything to do with Jesus – three times! Now, in a touching tale, the risen Jesus asks him three times, “Do you love me?” and Peter is able to counter his denials, saying at last, “Lord, you know everything, you know I love you!” In our present time, we notice the role of leadership in the church is meant to be one of feeding the followers.

2nd Sunday of Easter - Year C - 2025

Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:49:32 GMT

Luke, in this extract (Acts 5:12-16) has awkwardly put together allusions to tales about Peter in the early Church. He wants to impress us with the power of the resurrection and the expansion of the number of believers. They gather together in a public place sheltered from the weather, where people generally could meet as friends, for business or for learning from expert teachers; so the gathering Luke describes shows the believers as such a group but highlights the miraculous power of the leader (the power of Peter’s shadow sounds legendary to our ears); but this is often the attitude of religious people to their senior representative.

The second reading is from the last book of the Christian bible, called the Book of Revelation (1:9-19 passim) or, by some, called the Apocalypse (meaning momentous or catastrophic). It is attributed to John though its style is different from the Gospel and letters attributed to him. It is from the last decades of the first century when the Christians where suffering persecution within many parts of the Roman Empire under Diocletian. The author indicates that he is in exile on the island of Patmos as a result of this. The text is tightly written in places as we hear, “I share with you the distress, the kingdom and the endurance we have in Jesus;” referring to the difficult times they are in, but also the joy of belonging to the kingdom of God and hence being able to put up with the situation successfully with the power of Jesus in whose life they share. Then the literary genre turns visionary as he writes about the seven churches – bright lights in these dark times – to each of whom he has a message latter on. He describes an encounter with Christ, affirming the new life he now has with God and the influence of this life in the whole of creation; it is this that urges him to write this book.

The gospel passage (John 20:19-31), is the conclusion of this great gospel of John (chapter 21 reads as a later addition). Jesus comes to the weak and scared humans; He comes with renewed life, physical but also transcending the physical – the resurrected Christ. John always emphasised that Jesus is sent by God, is obedient to God’s will and empowered by God’s Spirit. Now Jesus passes to His followers this same commission; to bring deliverance to all who can accept it (in Chapter 9 Jesus met people who could not receive faith). This moment is like a new creation, with a renewed infusion of the Holy Spirit, as at the first creation. Then the gospel brings in the story of doubting Thomas – the sceptic who wants evidence (but who makes a baptismal confession “My Lord and my God” when he sees Jesus; and the masterful conclusion which speaks to us all “Blessed are those who have not seen, but have believed.”

Easter Sunday - Year C - 2025

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 22:23:51 GMT

The Acts of the Apostles is the second volume of Luke’s writings; his intention is to write a view of the development of Christianity from the Ascension (where he ended his Gospel) to its spread into Rome and its territory; and he wanted to write it as an encouragement to his readers about the successful growth of believers in Jesus under the guidance of the Spirit. In chapter 10 he tells how Peter’s view expanded to see Jesus’ work as applying also to the Gentiles. Cornelius, a non-Jew, had asked Peter to visit him, and when he arrived Luke tells us (Acts 10:34-37 passim) “Then Peter began to speak: ‘I now realise how true it is that God does not show favouritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God…’; ” but the section in italics is omitted from the reading we have today; namely the point that Jesus’ work of salvation is for all people. This is not just what Luke is saying to his readers but is also an important message for Christians today as we look at the many good people (who do what is right) in our secular world. The message attributed to Peter certainly reads as though it is not simply Luke’s summary of the written gospels, but a traditional statement handed down in the church; and interestingly, at the end of the speech, we have the conclusion “that everyone who believes in him will receive forgiveness of sins through his name.”

The first 4 verses from chapter 3 of Colossians is the conclusion of a section in which Paul is trying to correct those who thought that there were many rules about what they can eat and what they should do, passed to them by higher beings than themselves; they have lost sight of the liberation that Christ brings. The conclusion which is the reading for today, is an attempt to bring them back to the reality that Christ is for them, that they live a life not restricted by any earthly rules and regulations; this is symbolised in their baptism – going down into the water and rising from it in Christ; the passage concludes with a reference to the final coming of Christ which seemed imminent to early Christians but which we have not just pushed into the distant future but out of mind.

John chapter 20 opens with a very brief account of the discovery of the empty tomb; there are more and different details about this in the other gospels. Here, Mary Magdalene alone makes this discovery; she concludes that the body has been stolen but after this account in John, she is in the same place where she meets Jesus in an account unique to John’s gospel. It seems that in this gospel the empty tomb is not taken as evidence of the resurrection; although it says they believed, this belief doesn’t yet launch them into a confident new life announcing the resurrection. Just as Peter and John, the reading tells us, did not really understand about the resurrection, for us too it is a mystery of our faith. We need, however, to consider its implications for how we live out our lives.

Palm Sunday - Year C - 2025

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 22:23:23 GMT

In the first reading ( Isaiah 50:4-7 ) the prophet is lyrical about his own experience, He has faithfully heeded and delivered God’s word, but it is met with rejection and physical abuse,. Yet he has faith that all will be well in the end. His words are easily applied to Jesus’ life and are appropriate at this season of the Liturgical year. Because God is ‘a stable character’ people are treated in basically the same way by Him in whatever century, though differently according to their circumstances and response; in this way the suffering but faithful life of a past individual, like Isaiah, can be seen as a foretelling of how God deals especially in His Incarnate Son, Jesus, but also with us in our corporate and individual lives. The responsorial psalm shows the same pattern and personal anguish and hope.

The second reading ( Philippians 2:6-11 ) is part of a hymn expressing Christian belief about the Divinity of Jesus. It is difficult to translate the words used to describe this enormous mystery. So the phrase “being in the form of God” (King James Version) is quite a literal translation of the original Greek, but our understanding of the Incarnation is better expressed as “His state was divine”( Jerusalem Bible); it is interesting to look at various translations of this opening phrase. The hymn that this reading is part of, goes on to say that Christ took on human life and became like us; and this meant he was involved in and effected by all the messiness of human life and all the struggles and temptations it brings. But, as He held firm to his calling by the Father in the face of enormous difficulties, so we could expect to be elevated to be with God in glory if we hold to our call as Christians through the difficulties of our lives.

The Passion narrative in Matthew ( selected from chapters 26f ), generally follows that of Mark. In recent decades the Catholic Church has emphasised the resurrection and the element of joy and glory more than the trials that led up to it. Yet as well as this great message of hope and new life, it is almost reassuring to know that what leads to this is a life dedicated to the good of others and of the world, and this means a life subject to great disappointment and, for many, much suffering both emotional, psychological and physical. With this in mind we follow the story of the completion of Jesus’ life. Passion is not just suffering, Donald Senior points out, that passion is also a great enthusiasm for something you believe in – so each of us can consider, what is my passion?

5th Sunday of Lent - Year C - 2025

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 22:40:03 GMT

The first reading from Isaiah chapter 43 speaks to a people being brought home by their powerful God; this despite their many faults and failings. Yahweh is the name He uses of himself, but also announces himself as their redeemer and saviour as well as their original creator who formed them into a people. No god could be imagined as great as Him who can bring his own through all manner of difficulties. They need have no fear now but can sing His praises. The whole chapter is worth reading to get the full force of this message and there we have the words of a well-known hymn “ Do not be afraid " which expresses these sentiments for us today.

In the second reading , Paul reminds the Philippians that he himself was once a Jew who, like the Pharisees and all devout Jews, aimed to win God’s favour by keeping all the precepts of the Law and, like them too, failing in the attempt. But he adds that he has put that aside now, lost this burden of trying to keep the rules because he has found a new insight into God through his encounter with God’s Son, Jesus Christ. He knows that righteousness (being in a good relationship with God) must come from God not from the human recipients of His love. But what he is trying to do, is to imitate the sort of life Christ lived; a life devoted to God to the very end; but this is an ongoing enterprise that he has to pursue through whatever difficulties of life – it’s all well worth it. He is most likely saying all this because there are some in the church in Philippi who have a more Pharisaic approach to their religion and perhaps want to impose it on others.

The Gospel is from John but is not unlike the sort of accounts that Luke writes. It is the well-known story of the woman taken in adultery. It develops the theme from the second reading, about the inadequacy of the Law to gain righteousness, and the priority of God’s love and forgiveness. In that place and time it is the woman that is to blame for the adultery – nothing is said about the man involved. Jesus, with the love of God for all, says that the one who has no sin can cast the first stone towards her execution by stoning; but notice that Jesus is the only one there who has no sin, yet it is He who shows forgiveness towards her – He is the one who shows us what God is like, as we try to see what He is like and what He wants of us.

4th Sunday of Lent - Year C - 2025

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 20:52:15 GMT

The first reading is Israel’s oft told story of a transition moment in their history. They were brought out of slavery in Egypt, and that is referred to by the word ‘reproach, and the name Gilgal which can mean ‘rolled away;’ they have been troubled for a generation wandering in the desert, where they displeased God but were also protected by Him; and now they have just set foot in the land they believed God had long promised would be theirs ‘flowing with milk and honey.’ Moses, who led them for so much of this physical and spiritual journey, had disappeared from the scene once they were in sight of the end. Joshua has taken over as leader, and with the help of God, and stepping stones, they cross the river Jordan, perhaps swollen from the melted northern mountain snows, reflecting the crossing of the ‘sea’ to escape the Egyptians forty years previously. So with great joy they celebrate with the fruits of their new land, a new Passover into a new future. Their bread was fresh from the wheat and hence had no time to leaven, so thereafter it became a symbol of entering the promised land, replacing the manna (meaning ‘what is it?’) that they took as a short-term miraculous food from God in the desert.

The well-chosen second reading is also about transition, this time for the Christians. It is with remarkable depth that Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, describes the radically new situation that we are now in, writing “who is in Christ is a new creation!” And he goes on to say that it is our job to bring this new being into the world – that’s the whole world, not just our own folk or just the Jews. God joined our sinful humanity in Christ, so that all humans would be in a good relationship with God, described as God’s righteousness. The old has passed away and the new reality created.

The Gospel gives us a parable unique to Luke which he says Jesus told to the scribes and Pharisees, because they were quite disturbed by His association and even goodwill towards tax collectors and sinners. We call it the parable of the prodigal son. It is about the relationship of a father with one of his sons when he returned repentant after going off and wasting his inheritance and his life and coming on extremely bad times; he runs to greet and forgive him even before he has said he is sorry. God is like that father towards people who go astray and only seem to regret their folly when things go all haywire. There is also another son who has been faithful and at home all the time, and who feels quite unfairly treated by the lavish reception given to the prodigal, but that’s what we can be like as well. It is a powerful, though simple illustration of what Jesus wants to show His Father and ours is like.

3rd Sunday of Lent - Year C - 2025

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 20:58:47 GMT

There are lots of phrases used in this well-told story ( Exodus 3:1-15 passim)that give rise to expansive thoughts. The situation is that Moses had been brought up in the Egyptian Pharaoh’s household but had also learnt of his ancestral religion, and had to leave hastily when he was wanted for the murder he had committed against an Egyptian bullying one of his own race. In the desert East of Egypt, he had settled as a herdsman working for his new father-in-law. Moses is near the mountain where later in the story of Israel, God will present the Commandments. When God calls he makes the classic response: “Here I am.” There he has seen a bush which burns but doesn’t burn up – the motto of the Church of Scotland. The very ground is holy and to be trodden with care and God is caring for his suffering people and will lead them to a most desirable place. Moses only knows from his upbringing of the God of his ancestors and so God gives out His name: Yahweh. Moses is chosen to lead the people out of the slavery they are in. However, the journey will be fraught with difficulties, failings as well as God’s help and protection.

The second reading ( 1 Cor 10:1-12, passim ) illustrates how Christians, and specifically here Paul, interprets the texts and incidents of the past to make them relevant to the present situation – something that we should be doing with the Scripture readings we have. So in Paul’s application, the way Yahweh led the people out of Egyptian slavery across the desert is called baptism and the food and drink which was provided miraculously by God in the desert would make Christians think of their weekly service of celebration. But, as in history so, as Paul writes, the people still fail themselves and their calling and many are destroyed. Paul concludes with this method of interpretation, showing its relevance in the present: “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” This is receiving the Word of God in Scripture and applying it to the here and now.

The chapter divisions in the bible are not part of the original writing; Luke chapter twelve is about the uncertainty of the End and the need for repentance; a theme that continues into today’s reading from the next chapter. The two unexpected disasters referred to are not known through any other source; the cruelty of Pilate against Galileans in the Temple would increase Jewish hatred of the Romans but Jesus doesn’t go down that road; instead the report of the incident is used in the same way as the natural disaster of the collapse of the tower at Siloam. Jesus makes the point about the uncertainty of the hour of death or the end of the world. Luke then adds his own version of the parable of the fig tree like that in Matthew and Mark; here it doesn’t bear fruit, even over three years and so deserves destruction; or does it need another chance? We need to see our responsibility to a loving god, and act appropriately; Lent is the right time to try anew and harder.

2nd Sunday of Lent - Year C - 2025

Fri, 07 Mar 2025 22:27:21 GMT

Previously in chapter 12 of Genesis we read that God spoke to Abram and told him to uproot and go to where God would lead him, and that his descendants would be many, although his wife was barren. Today ( Genesis 15:5-12, 17-18 ) we have a second encounter between God and Abram, who is now in the land between the Euphrates river and the Mediterranean sea. God says that he will have his own offspring and the descendants will be as many as the stars in the sky; and this promise is sealed with what is thought to have been a traditional covenant ceremony usually symbolising that both parties stake their lives and their relationship together, but here it is a unilateral promise from God Who alone passes between the carcasses. These stories in Genesis are recorded after many decades of verbal transmission and inevitably after adaptation to different situations and developments in belief, but they are held as part of the Sacred Scriptures of the Jewish people – and now part of the Christian Bible.

We read from Paul’s letter to the Philippians on the second of Advent last year where there is some background information about this letter. In this extract Paul seems to be addressing the problem that some of the Christians there, were acting as though what they did in their material existence on earth had no impact on their spiritual lives. So Paul wants to stress the reality of the Christ’s embodiment on earth and even his death on the cross – Paul himself is suffering confinement in prison as he writes, but he believes in the value of the physical because of the glorified body which we will have after death. He has a hope in seeing his Saviour soon; we do not know whether this is referring to his own death or to the climax and End of the world. Though he has to correct them, he still expresses his love for this mainly Gentile community of Christians that started in the house of Lydia.

The Gospel is the story of the transfiguration ( Luke 9:28-36 ), which links well with the second reading from Philippians. A few verses before our reading Jesus has spoken about the true attitude to have to life this side of eternity: “What does it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose or forfeit themselves?” Older translations use the word ‘soul’ but this misrepresents the meaning in our times when many think of a person as divided into body and soul, whereas in Jesus’ culture, the word referred to the whole self – its true value. These verses are suitably followed by a vision of Jesus in the after-life, where the body is glorified and the person will be in the company of all. In the stories about Moses, the end comes with him just disappearing from the scene, and as for Elijah the prophet, the story goes that he was whisked away to heaven in a chariot. The disciples are quite lost as to what to say or do, but the lesson in the context of today’s readings, is in some way about the grandeur of the human person (body and soul).

1st Sunday of Lent - Year C

Tue, 25 Feb 2025 22:17:39 GMT

The first reading ( Deuteronomy 26:4-10 ) is about the Jewish spring festival of Unleavened Bread (Matzah), quoting the creedal statement about the past dealings of God with themselves, His people. Their Aramean ancestor was Abram the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel; their crop failures took them down to the well-stocked Egypt where Joseph already was; but there they became slaves and only escaped under the leadership of Moses with God’s help. Wandering in the desert they were not too pleased with their God nor He with them, but after a generation (40 years), God brought them into their present (Promised) land. It was here that they could celebrate the first fruits of the harvest again. Their creed about God was not a list of doctrines, but rather about God’s treatment of them over time – His care for His people.

Paul’s letter to the Romans begins with him saying how he loves the Jews, but how they have strayed from their original creed and now seek to gain righteousness by keeping the Law (and lots of other rules); he says: “But now the Law has come to an end with Christ, and everyone who has faith may be justified.” The passage read today ( chapter 10: 8-13 ) follows this; it is about the right relationship that we should have with God, that it comes from God, is not earned by any effort of ours and that it leads to our salvation when we die; it is by faith that we trust in God and his goodness to us. Although Paul quotes the book of Deuteronomy (30:14) he stretches its original meaning, and also when he later quotes Isaiah (28:16); but he finds what he believes about the universality of God’s love in Joel ( 2:32 ).

The Gospel is Luke’s account of the temptations of Jesus ( Luke 4:1-13 ). He has been baptised where a heavenly voice declared him Son of God, but what does this mean and how will it work out – that is where the temptations come in. Will He use His power to satisfy the various hungers of human beings (for easy sustenance, life and prosperity), or will He submit to any evil in order to become the King of kings (ruler of all the nations), or, finally, will He use His protection from God to win people with superficial, miraculous powers? Luke treats the public work of Jesus as a journey towards Jerusalem (and all that happened there), and so he differs from the order of the temptations in Matthew’s gospel to have Jerusalem as the last one and also he implies that Jesus will get tempted further during the rest of His life.

8th Sunday C

Fri, 21 Feb 2025 11:44:35 GMT

The first reading is Sirach 27:4-7 –“When a sieve is shaken, the refuse appears;  so do a person’s faults when he speaks.  The kiln tests the potter’s vessels;  so the test of a person is in his conversation.  Its fruit discloses the cultivation of a tree; so a person’s speech discloses the cultivation of his mind.  Do not praise anyone before he speaks,  for this is the way people are tested.”
It is plain to see that this is not just a wise statement but delightful poetry with a thought-provoking message. Like the whole of this long book of Sirach it draws on both the moral ideals of the Bible teaching and on the wisdom and culture of the Greek/Hellenistic world. It is thought to have originally been written in Hebrew but come to the West only through the Greek version of the Bible called the Septuagint (LXX for short). It is for this reason that it is not present in the general Bible but only in the Catholic versions; also it is classified with a diminished reliability and is called deuterocanonical because of this secondary nature. It also goes under the name of Ecclesiasticus.

The second reading is from 1 Cor 15:54-58. “When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:
‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.’  ‘Where, O death, is your victory?  Where, O death, is your sting?’
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labour is not in vain.”
This is the penultimate chapter of this letter of Paul and is really the end of his theological message, the last chapter being mostly just practical matters. With Paul’s education in the Scriptures he considers death to be unnatural, seeing it as a punishment for sin – the first sin of Adam and Eve as related in Genesis at the beginning of the Bible. We might today see death rather as the natural completion of life, which only has a regrettable aspect to it because of our weakness in faith in the beauty of the after-life – a weakness to be expected because of sin making us unworthy of the gift of life forever within God. But we do have faith in the real meaning of the after-life.

The gospel is Luke 6:39-45. “ He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.
‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.”
A powerful message here about being careful not to overlook our own weaknesses and only recognise and even to point out the weakness of others. This is not to say that it is not appropriate and helpful sometimes to offer correction to others, like a parent with a child or one friend with another. But let us never do this imagining ourselves impeccable.

6th Sunday C

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 21:26:08 GMT

In the first reading ( Jer 17:5-8 ) we have a very straightforward message which applies to our time as much as to Jeremiah’s. This passage is in the form of a typical wise message which is also found in some psalms (including the responsorial psalm for today). We must remember that the way the writings attributed to Jeremiah came together was not that he wrote them, but that some of the remembered preachings of his were later recorded and only eventually added to and structured as we have them today. There is an early Greek verion of the OT called the Septuagint which in places has slightly different texts. Indeed the main force of our reading is also found in the ancient writings recorded of the Egyptian wise man, Amenemope (see here ).

The second reading is from 1 Cor 15:12 onwards omitting verses 13-15. There was no real certainty throughout the OT that there was any life after death (perhaps this is why some saintly charaters were attributed very long lives). And it seems from our reading that even some Christians were a little uncertain about this, despite stories of Jesus appearing to people after His death. It is for this reason that Paul has this clear message in his letter here. It would have also been a comfort in the early church where Christians in some contexts were being put to death for their beliefs. It is now a comfort to us that just as with Jesus, so also when someone dies, their life is not so much ended as brought to completion – fulfilled,

The gospel is from Luke 6:20-26 preceded by verses 17,18a (“ He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases “). This introduces what we now call the beatitudes – each starting with the word “happy,” followed by what we might call “woes” now translated as “alas for you who…” This is an uplifting message for those who need cheering up or just re-assuring. but also a warning for those who see themselves as well-off in worldly things.

5th Sunday C

Fri, 31 Jan 2025 14:01:38 GMT

The first reading ( Isaiah 6:1-8 )pictures Isaiah in the Temple (about 700 years BC). Either he has a vision, or the singing and smoke-filled dim atmosphere heightens his prayerful state and he feels the call from God to be a prophet – or this is a developed anecdote retold by his followers and eventually recorded. It is from this account that we have our chant of “Holy, holy, holy …” The presence of God in the Temple was signified by an empty slab between the huge statues of the seraphim (angels). Isaiah, feeling this presence, inevitably becomes aware of his unworthiness and that of the people to which he belongs. But God purifies from sin and Isaiah is then bold enough to accept the task that he feels called upon to undertake, in the words which we have adopted for one of our hymns “Here I am Lord,” a common response to God in the Old Testament, classically in the story of the call of Samuel.

In the second reading ( 1 Cor 15:1-11 ) Paul is gently reminding his readers of the central beliefs that he taught them originally, and chiefly that of the resurrection of Jesus. The verses following our reading seem to make it clear that some of them didn’t really accept this doctrine. It is likely that they had the notion that the body was quite separate from the soul and that it was of little value relative to it. Later in the Church there would often occur heresies that had this Manichean tendency; it is like being quite different on Sundays from how one is for the rest of the week, or like separating the secular from the religious in our lives, or even like imagining one can love one’s neighbour without doing anything about it. Clearly, the Resurrection shows us that this is not the way Christians should think or act. Part of the text of our reading still influences the creed that we say: “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures; that he was buried; and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.”

After the visit to Nazareth which we read over the last two Sundays, Luke comes then to the place in his gospel where he recounts the calling of the first fishermen ( Luke 5:1-11 ); he chose to elaborate what he read in Mark, and precedes it with Jesus preaching from Simon’s boat and with the story of the miraculous catch of fish similar to a story which is told in John 21, where also we hear of Peter, after denying Jesus at the time of His arrest, being made the figurative shepherd of the early church. Luke also wants to make this point about Simon Peter and ends with the figurative phrase about becoming “fishers of men.” At the time Luke is writing, there has been an expansion of the followers of Jesus and a need for some structure among the leaders and followers; the miraculous catch of fish could be taken as a figurative tale of this expansion.

The Presentation of the Lord

Tue, 28 Jan 2025 10:25:51 GMT

In the first reading we have good news for people who may well have just got back into their own land after being exiled by a foreign power. They may have felt that their God had abandoned them – though can any one of them deny abandoning God in one way or another? However in this pssage God says “Behold I am sending my messenger”. in the Hewbrew original it would be read as “Hi-ni so-le-ah ma-la-ki” and you might recognise the name of the (author of the) book – Malachi – the messenger. But the message is a forecast of one like a envoy being sent to sort things out – and this will seem harsh – like a refiner or thorough polisher. If we apply this to the coming to us of Jesus then if we are honest we expect that there will be difficulties for us as well as welcome – for we all have something good about us and also somthing that is ‘disappointing’ for God.

The second reading from what is called Hebrews, gives a quite early understanding of Jesus from a Jewish standpoint but with understanding also of non-Jewish thinking and viewpoint at the time. He emphasised that Jesus is really human – using the phrase flesh and blood to express this humanity which we all have in common with Him. Not the flesh and blood ideas that catholic christians especially associate with their celebrations of the last supper but Jesus shares in our humnaity. He was tested and tempted as all are, but never gave in to temptation and so death was a transportation of this human into the afterlife with God – and as such is like a high priest among us humans.

The gospel is taken from Luke who writes something about Jesus that fits in well with what the letter to the Hebrews had been saying. Jesus is a real human and indeed a Jew and so goes through the natural procedures for a Jewish baby. But Luke has this story of the praise of the baby but also an expression of Jesus’ true humanity -facing dificulties to come. And the recognition of Jesus by Simeon and aged Anna in the temple in Jerusalem. We read part of Luke’s narrative of the birth and infancy of Jesus. In the alternative shorter reading we have part of the story generally called the Presentation. We must remember that the Gospel is ‘Good News;’ it is the good news about Jesus and made available for all, and that’s what we must look for in it. Luke is not too familiar with all the rules and rituals associated with the birth of the first male child to a family; he seems to confuse the purification of the mother, requiring sacrifice of two birds, with the redemption of the boy child at the cost of two shekels. But he stresses time and again that they did all that was required of Jewish parents, for Jesus was a Jew who fulfilled all the central requirements of that religion. But Jesus was also the one who brought the fulfillment of all the expectations of the Jewish religion by his life and for all of us to aim for. As the poem of Simeon states, this child brings the consolation expected by the Jews (referred to in the later chapters of Isaiah) and the glory for all people – and a light for the Gentiles too. The details of Luke’s story here recall something of those about the birth of Samuel to Hannah (1 Sam 1:20-28). So, the message for us might be consolation and glory, but it also includes the struggle of conformity to what is right. The longer reading includes a prophetic statement from Simeon about this difficulty and general problems. At the time of Luke’s writing of this, towards thw end of the 1st century AD the followers of Jesus had already experienced arguments about conformity to the Jewish requirements and persecution from the Roman secular authorities and something of this has been with the history of the Christians ever since – problems with church regulations, with societies’ standards and with the weakness of our own selves.

Jeffs Jottings – Flesh and blood

3rd Sunday C

Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:40:44 GMT

The setting of the first reading ( Nehemiah 8:2-10 omitting long lists of names), is back in Jerusalem after the Exile but before the Temple or any synagogue is usable. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah together give us information about the restoration of the physical and political structure, and of the religion of Jerusalem and of the whole of Judah. Today we hear of Ezra the great religious leader who brought the people back to respect the Law of God. He solemnly reads from the scroll of the Law; the people worship the Lord present in the words of the Bible; they listen and it is interpreted to them. The Bible is a deep and ancient piece of literature as well as being the Word of God Who remains a mystery to all; some interpretation is needed because of the time and culture difference between that of the original and of the time of its reading; it is also necessary in order to grasp how it might apply to the current situation – the same might be said about this reading and us today; what will a preacher say, what does the Law of God mean for us in our time and situation?

In the second reading ( 1 Cor 12:12-27 verses 15-26 might be left out) we hear of Paul’s image of the church as a body; whatever the word might mean today, at that time and in their culture it is more likely that the ‘body’ is the way the reality of the whole person is present in the world and to others; the body of the community of believers has many parts seemingly quite diverse, but they make up one presence of Christ; present in us, in our particular church and in the worldwide Church. We each have our part to play in maintaining and developing this presence of Christ in our world. This is different from His presence in the sacred words of the Bible, recognised by the hearers in the first reading though the Word of God in the Scriptures plays an important role in our developing faith.

In the gospel passage for today, we jump awkwardly from the stylised introductory verses ( chapter 1 verses 1- 4 ) to beyond the infancy narratives, the baptism and the temptations to ( chapter 4 verses 14-21 ). In the introduction Luke indicates that after research, he has a plan for his writing to highlight what he thinks is the true message of the Good News. We hear that Jesus in the synagogue of his home town reads from the scroll of the Prophet, Isaiah (61:1f), and amazes the people by saying: “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.” He is announcing the year of favour. It is noticeable that in Luke’s the quotation is from the LXX (the Greek Septuagint version of the Bibe), with the use of ‘the blind’ where the Hebrew Masoretic Text has ‘the prisoners,’ and (according to some manuscripts) with ‘he opened’ rather than the Hebrew original’s ‘he unrolled’ the book. Also in Luke’s text a line from Is 58:6 is included in the quotation and the last two poetically joined lines at the end of that passage in Isaiah 61 are missed out, namely “and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn.” Because elsewhere Luke is generally very accurate in quoting the LXX, it may be that this part of the story about Nazareth is taken by him from a previous piece of writing or from oral tradition. Because the section read today is not the whole story (we shall hear the rest of it next week), the significance of what we hear today is different from what it would otherwise be. Here, his preaching in the synagogue must be taken as an upbeat affirmation of the start of a new era for us, an era of favour with God, which will elevate us and bring us release, freedom and renewed vision.

2nd Sunday C

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 04:49:34 GMT

The background situation to the first reading is really the same as that for last week’s, and the message is again an encouraging one. But there is a distinctive and interesting element. As happens today for a newborn baby in many cultures, the selection of the name is done thoughtfully in order to express something of the parents’ hopes for the child. But sometimes in later life a different name comes to a person and for different reasons. At school a child may get a regularly used nickname to describe something of the character, hopefully but sadly not always, a positive notion welcomed by the recipient. Sometimes even an adult may change name to express something of which they are proud – such as an actor or other public figure. You may well know that in the gospels we are told that Jesus changed the name of Simon to Peter, a word that meant rock, because he was to be a foundation stone of the early church; and in the Old Testament, Abram’s name is changed to Abraham when he is chosen by God. In our reading, female names play an important role; they are applied to the people and the land; the name will be changed from a bad one to a very special one (from Azubah meaning forsaken, to Hephzibah meaning my delight, and the land from Desolate to Espoused). The passage goes on to suggest that God will marry the renewed and delightful bride, this is a remarkable image of the relationship of God to us – worth singing a new song about (Psalm 96).

In the passage from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians ( 12: 4-11 ), he writes about the many and wonderful spiritual gifts that the people in the church there have. I think there may have been some ill-feeling; some claiming or clearly thinking that their particular talent was superior to that of others. But at the start and at the end of the passage read today, Paul emphasizes the unity that there should be because all the gifts are from the same Spirit, the one God – so there should be no disharmony among them. Paul lists nine gifts here, but the Catholic Church has in the past taught that we Christians have seven special spiritual gifts.

The Gospel may well have been chosen because after the celebrations of the birth and baptism of Jesus, he begins his public ministry, and this miracle at Cana is presented in John’s gospel as the first of his signs. But most of the content of John’s gospel carries within it a deeper meaning. It is because of this that many anomalies appear if it is read at surface level; for example in this account it says at the end that Jesus revealed his glory and yet as far as the story tells us, only the servants knew that what was being drunk had moments before been water. The early Christian recipients of the gospel might see in the ceremonial water jars and in the wine a reference to the replacement of Jewish religious rituals with the Christian Eucharistic celebration. A marriage relationship was used to explain the love of God for his chosen ones, as in the first reading. There is more to it than just this however, and you might examine some further depths of meaning here or elsewhere on the world wide

The Baptism of the Lord

Fri, 10 Jan 2025 04:41:45 GMT

The way that humans understand their role in the world varies; and the understanding that religious people have of the relationship between God and them is never the same and sometimes develops. In the lead-up to Christmas we have had many passages in which the Jews expressed their hopes and expectations of God; they thought of ideal leaders, of being gloriously successful and of leading the rest of humanity. But now we hear of other trends that they were developing, based on their experiences of bad times, of disappointments and especially of being away from what they thought of as their God-given homeland. Tentatively there arises the thought of a subservient role for themselves, even of suffering for the benefit of others. In part of the book of Isaiah from the time of the Exile in Babylon, there are four poems about a servant of the Lord and what he will do. The reading for today (Isaiah 42 passim) is part of the first of these. It is never clear who the servant is meant to be; it could be an individual saintly person, one of the prophets or all the chosen people as a group; but Christians have always seen Jesus as the one referred to in these poems; that is why this particular passage is chosen for us today. It speaks of justice for all, of gentle caring for the weakest and of miracles for those with various ills; a servant who is a promise for them and a light for all. The psalm with which we respond to the reading, is about the thunderous rain and lightning that is both a hardship and a blessing for this agricultural people; it is called the voice of God and it is a revelation of the glory of God and peace but also hardship for His people.

An alternative first reading is from Isaiah chapter 55 . This passage originated, perhaps, towards the end of the exile, when hope could be raised for a return to the promised land, but it is also about the need for people to embrace this gift of God i.e. the return to the homeland. As it stands it is a poem of three main sections; God addressing everyone with needs, the poet urging the people to heed God’s word and then God announcing His plans and their utter reliability. Firstly, some people know their needs but others think they will be satisfied with things that are not actually good for them; they should accept the promise of God in a covenant that will never be revoked – and the poet adds the notion that this is open to people of all nations. Secondly, the poet calls us to respond while we can, with words echoed at the time of Jesus in the Baptist’s call to repentance – turn your life around now! And the poem concludes with beautiful similes, as God speaks about the surety of His plans – his word that is not compromising but as certain “as the sky is above the earth… as the rain and the snow fall downwards and water the land…” We should be moved by this poem to renew our commitment to live in accord with God’s plan for us, especially at this time of New Year resolutions.

The second reading is from the first letter of John ( 1 John 5:1-9 ). This short section at the end of this so-called epistle is a neat summary of much of what has been covered in earlier chapters. The whole ‘letter’ is more an essay about faith in Jesus Christ and our living response to and involvement in God’s plan. The reading is an example of the intensity of the wording found also in the Fourth Gospel, equally attributed to John. It is about believing, loving and doing whatever God commands; about us Christians, being children of God and free from the control of any worldly deficiencies (just referred to as ‘the world.’ There is a link between being obedient children of God and freedom from the downward drag of ‘the world.’ It is all dependant on Jesus Christ, a genuinely human being, who went through the process of baptism by water, through the trauma of shedding His blood for us and who lived with the Spirit of God. The Christian is similarly engaged with the life of God through baptism, the Eucharist and the gift of the Spirit. All this should cause us to reflect on our faith and its practice in loving!

In this cycle (B) of readings, the gospel is from Mark ( Mark 1:7-11 ) about the baptism of Jesus. John the Baptist was the sort of person who these days would make the headlines in the news for his unconventional behaviour, with his message of dramatic conversion symbolised with emersion in the river Jordan; he drew crowds of all different types of people. Some early Christians at the time of the writing of this gospel were more attracted by John than with Jesus, who was a much calmer and gentler character, though He did propose some hard sayings. So it is that Mark tells of John himself declaring the superiority of Jesus to himself; indeed that Jesus was the very Son of God on whom the true Spirit of God had descended, and who had the grace and favour of God. So the Baptism of Jesus which these readings are chosen to celebrate, speaks to us of faith and love and obedience to God, all through our union in humanity with Jesus and hence with God Himself – we have the power to fulfil God’s plan for us if we just choose and stick at it.

Feast of Holy Family

Thu, 19 Dec 2024 13:11:23 GMT

The Wisdom of (ben) Sirach is sometimes called Ecclesiaticus or even the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach; it is what might be called a deutero-canonical book because its status as part of the canon (or official collection) of Scripture was not recognised by Jews resident in Israel; Protestant Bibles follow a shorter collection of the Old Testament; though Sirach was used by Jewish scholars and is included in the early Greek version of the Jewish Bible (the Septuagint) and is in Catholic bibles. A lot of the wisdom in this book is about good relationships within families, society and between people in general. The section we have today is a good illustration of this. The nature of the society from which this came is indicated by the absence of any reference to daughters. We should, however, when we apply this reading to ourselves, include in our thinking all members of families as well as single people.

Another possibly first reading is based on 1 Samuel 1:20-28 (omitting verse 23). This book is classified as a history, but like nearly all interesting history writing and also because it is part of sacred Scripture, its main aim is not to recount mere matter-of-fact details but to say something about us humans and in this case our relationship with God. Its beginning aims to introduce the person of Samuel as a chosen one of God, a dynamic leader during troubled times and a prophetic voice of God to the people. His birth is made to relate to that of Abraham’s son Isaac born to Sarah (when she was too old), and to Manoah’s son, Samson, when his wife was barren but visited by an angel ( Judges 13 ). Hannah, one of the important Elkanah’s wives had a lowly place because she was barren, but prayed to the Lord and became pregnant with Samuel. God can do miraculous deeds! This story so impressed Luke the evangelist that he tells of the birth of John the Baptist and of Jesus with these stories in mind; and he even has Mary sing a song (the Magnificat) similar to that which Hannah sang ( 1 Samuel 2 ) after she became pregnant.

The second reading is from 1 John which is the first of three short letters to Christians in the tradition of John’s Gospel; it seems to be written by one who has an oversight of a number of Christian communities, and that there may have been two groups who interpreted things differently. The writer is trying to encourage faithfulness to the early teaching and to the tradition that goes back to Christ himself. Because people were beginning to express the message of Jesus in terminology not restricted to a Jewish context, there appears some development in the very teaching itself. It seems that the ‘elder’ writing the letter was upbraiding those whom, he thinks, have taken this development too far, though in exactly what way is not clear. But in the section we read today (Chapter 3 verses 1-2, 21-24) , the emphasis is on the great confidence that Christians can have as children of God through their relationship with Christ and His Spirit. Since they live with this new life what they ask will be in accord with the will of God and so they can be sure that their prayers will be answered. And if this is fantastic, the future coming of Christ will be even more incomprehensibly wonderful.

The gospel is the story which we call the ‘Finding in the Temple’ ( Lk 2:41-52 ) is both delightful and surprising. It is grouped within what we generally call the infancy narratives but is about growing up. It moves from Jesus with his parents doing what a devout Jewish family would do, through the account of him amazing the Rabbis in the very heart of their religion, then causing anxiety to Mary and Joseph which highlights their wondering who he is and what his life is about, and then the story is about him claiming God is his father, finishing with Him returning to a life back home to grow and mature further. The passage before our reading ends saying how Jesus grew bodily, intellectually and spiritually; and this may suggest what the passage we read might mean to us and what Luke the ‘church historian’ was trying to tell the early church, for the passage ends with the same notion of his growth. Jesus, practising his religion, travels to the heart of it, listens to and asks questions of its learned teachers, seems lost even to those who love him, but after a spiritually dark period (“three days”) is found and remains to grow further into maturity. Is this not like an outline of the gospel? In Jesus’ life He moves on after baptism, teaching and doing good and gently challenging the way things are; but His message is enigmatic and remote to his followers until after the end of his life when he rises after three days and then has a new presence on earth, in the nascent church, which begins to grow in numbers, in spiritual strength and in favour with God – and is still growing. And for the history of the church, still in our present time, is not this the pattern of its difficult growth towards the completed kingdom of God? And how does this pattern match our own lives and our own development each of us in our own situation?

4th Advent Sunday Cycle C

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 14:10:58 GMT

Although the prophet Micah operated at the time of Isaiah and others in the 8 th century BC, some of the material reads as though it is from a later time – either as addition or alteration – and there are similarities between his time and that of the exile in the 6 th century. The reading we have is part of a prophecy preceded by others of a similar format, namely the present time of disasters to be followed by a much better situation. But our reading has only the upbeat part, the one verse before is about the bad times. There is promise of a new ruler to come; one who will be like the ideal king David, who was the most unlikely choice and the youngest in the family. The new ‘ruler’ (not the same word as for the disappointing kings) will be from David’s lineage and even from his insignificant town of Bethlehem. At that time the northern kingdom of Israel had broken away from the jurisdiction of the southern king in Jerusalem, and in the passage they are probably what the ‘rest of the kingdom’ (the remnant) refers to, whom the new ruler will restore to the whole. The pregnant young maiden referred to who will produce the new ruler, may be the nation personified as (daughter of) Jerusalem, or the unknown girl in the Emmanuel prophecy of Isaiah 7:14 . This new ruler will deservedly take on the image of shepherd, so often used of kings for their attitude to the people – or even of God as the psalm of David sings – “the Lord is my shepherd…” in psalm 23. It will be the Lord who will support this new ruler and his reign, we naturally apply this to the celebration of the birth of Jesus at Christmas.

In the reading from Hebrews , the writer is interpreting verses 6 – 8 of Psalm 40 , to make a point about the unwanted Temple sacrifices and the unique achievements for us of Jesus who lived his whole life for others – for us and for God (the Father). It is clear that this is a quite different order of sacrifice when the connotation of the word ‘body’ is realised to be the whole of human life from birth to its completion; Jesus’ whole life in accord with the will of God is portrayed in the gospels; there it is seen by others as a radical stance, with challenging words and actions so much so that the authorities, both secular and religious, brought it to an end with his execution on the cross. It is the start of this life that we celebrate at Christmas.

The gospel is what we call the Visitation from Luke’s Gospel; Mary has just responded to the message from God that she would conceive and bear a son named Jesus, saying “Be it done to me according to your word.” Luke is not writing history or a biography of Jesus, nor is he writing a delightful fable that is untrue; he is writing to tell an important truth about Jesus who is the Son of God, and as part of the New Testament his writing is the Word of God to us. It is a delightful tale about a young woman who has the life of Christ in her and therefore whose main concern is to visit her cousin who is pregnant – to help her and to tell her of her own news; it is a lesson for us who try to live good Christian lives with concern for others; but it goes on to make the point that Jesus is way more important than the Baptist, – a necessary message to the early Christians who could easily favour the dramatic preaching and style of the extravert Baptist rather than the selfless and generally forgiving nature of the humble Christ.

3rd Advent Sunday Cycle C

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 18:51:14 GMT

The first reading is from the minor prophet Zephaniah. This relatively short book records material mostly from the 7 th century BC. At that time the people's faithfulness to the covenant and their moral living was deplorably low, so that the prophecies are mostly of doom and disaster. But added onto the end of these is the message we read today of great joy. It often seems to be the case with a section of preaching against the low level of faith and practice of the Jews that in the books of the prophets there is added an upbeat message to bring a section to an end. Whether this is a later addition or not it carries a truth about God’s dealings with creation and especially with human beings. So we have this day the delightful poem, or song, addressed to the daughter of Zion, the city of Jerusalem, which is a personification for the people of Israel, and this use of ‘daughter’ could almost make it look like the successful arrangement of a marriage between them and God.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians Chapter 4, verses 4-7 is part of a letter that Paul wrote to them after receiving a gift from them (most likely of money) brought to Paul in prison by Epaphroditus. It expresses great thanks to his friends and also words of encouragement – for he and they both think that it will not be long before the end of this era and the second coming of Jesus to claim His own for His heavenly kingdom. If you started reading from the beginning of the chapter you would read of some internal arguments going on in the community, because it is clearly part of a different letter from Paul to them at a different time. Altogether there may well be parts of three letters from Paul to them in what we have in our Bible as the letter of Paul to the Philippians. But the joy of today’s reading is appropriate for this time of the year that we Christians celebrate nowadays.

The gospel reading from Luke, follows that of last week. John the Baptist has made quite an impression by his radical character and style of life in the desert, and his call to all Jews to change their attitude to life (to ‘repent’). Here, he is asked what the details of this might be by different groups; it’s different for the rich and well-off, the tax-collectors and the soldiers; what would be said to us if we asked? All four gospels have much the same record of John’s preaching, especially the relationship of himself to Jesus – he is insignificant compared with the true Messiah he foreshadows. Washing (which is what baptism is) is used symbolically in other religions as well Judaism and now Christianity but here it is in their river Jordan, which in their history was the crossing they made from the eastern desert into the promised land and now is a symbol for changing the way of life for the better. But the symbolism of Christian baptism is described here as more like the winnowing separation in the wind (i.e. the spirit) removing the chaff from the wheat grain as well as the purification that comes from fire.

2nd Advent Sunday Cycle C

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 15:48:08 GMT

The first reading is from the book of Baruch which is not part of the Jewish Hebrew Bible but is included in the Greek Bible originally used by Greek speaking Jews in the Diaspora; Catholics have books from this source in their Bibles under the heading Deuterocanonical books, but many other Christians have bibles without these extra books. The Greek version of the Bible was made about 200 BC in Alexandria in Egypt which had a large Jewish population and was a great centre of learning at that time. The first reading appears to be about the city of Jerusalem, but it is the idea of ‘Jerusalem’ as the mother of the Jewish people. So the reading sounds, at one level, as though it is from a time when the Jews had been in captivity in Babylon for about a generation, and obviously were feeling downcast – you may remember the song by Boney M, ‘By the Rivers of Babylon’ based on psalm 137 in which the people bemoan their lot; the expectation is announced that God will bring them back in triumph. And yet this passage could equally well have meaning for a later date when the city or the people were further distressed due to domination by the Greek empire, then it would have a similar meaning, or perhaps in Roman times under the oppression of those claiming the one and only god – and later especially Christianity. The upbeat theme is similar to the well-know passage from Isaiah (Chapter 40:1-5) and the classical presentation of it in Handel’s Messiah , a passage also quoted in the gospel; readers today will be able to put their own interpretation on the passage to match their present circumstances, taking it as a sign of hope in whatever difficult times.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians actually looks like a combination of extracts from three separate letters to them. In the passage we read today ( Philippians 1:4-11 passim ), Paul is writing from prison in Ephesus, where he was being held quite restrictedly. And yet he would have needed access to someone who could write for him since his Greek and Jewish education would not have taught him to write very well and we know he used secretaries for others of his letters. Also it seems that Epaphroditus had visited him and brought gifts from Philippi. There was a very active house Church in Philippi that was hosted by Lydia who had been among the small Jewish group that Paul preached to at their meeting place on the fringe of the town. At this early stage of his ministry, Paul and all the Christians felt that the end was near and Christ would shortly come again. This is an upbeat tone applauding their faithfulness and encouraging their continuance and preparation till the End should come.

By the time of the writing of the gospel of Luke, the delay of the ‘Second Coming’ was accepted and hence the view that Christians just have to work on following the way of Christ to the best of their ability. So the passage we have today makes three points. Firstly, it sets the coming of Christ on the stage of history, by following the way history was written in those days – dating according to the year of the Emperor’s rule; some of Luke’s information in this section doesn’t quite square with what we know of the history of the time from other sources, but the point he tries to make is clear: Christ came at a particular time into our world and this was significant for the great Roman empire as well of for the local Jewish people. Secondly, the message of John the Baptist prepared for the coming, but is basically relevant also to all who want to be good Christians: it is a message of conversion, of starting to leave old ways behind and to change one’s attitude to life; this is the meaning of the word translated as ‘repent.’ Thirdly, in the words of Isaiah, there is the message to prepare, in quite a radical way, for the coming of Christ.

1st Advent Sunday Cycle C

Sat, 23 Nov 2024 00:46:33 GMT

The first Reading is from the Book of Jeremiah in the Jewish Bible which Christians call the Old Testament. However the passage ( chapter 33:14-16 ) is actually not found in the Greek version of the Bible (known as the Septuagint often written as LXX) which was probably based on an earlier edition of the Book of Jeremiah and it is mostly the same wording as Jeremiah 23:5f. Although Jeremiah operated in the 7th century BC, this bit was added in the following century when the Jews had practically lost their land to the Babylonians and needed an upbeat message of hope, grounded, as always, on the belief in the faithfulness of God to His original promises to them. They referred to this quality of God as His righteousness. So the message of the prophet was that there will be a king, a branch of this royal House of David, who will be righteous and who will rightly be called ‘the Lord is my integrity,’ words which in Hebrew are the name Zedekiah, the name of a king who “did evil in the sight of the Lord” (2 Kings 24:19ff).

The Second reading is part of Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians ( chapter 3:12 to 4:2 ) after hearing from his friend Timothy that the Christians there were doing alright. He had established the church there particularly among the underprivileged, and it was they who smuggled him out hastily when the authorities became suspicious of his rapid and sizeable success. So with good news from Timothy he is able to write encouragingly to them. These early Christians were expecting the second coming of Christ at any moment and so this was both a reason for joy and for encouragement in good living according to the will and teachings of Jesus, which Paul had originally conveyed to them.

The gospel from which we generally read in this third year of the cycle of three (it is part of the Common Lectionary which many Christian denominations use) is from Luke. It is a passage ( chapter 21:25-36 passim ) which Luke has probably seen in Mark’s gospel; Mark was written earlier about the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, an event which was quite a shattering catastrophe especially for the Jews and Jewish Christians but this disaster gave a newness of life to many Jewish believers. Two decades later, Luke still refers to disasters as a way to encourage the Christians, assuming they are faithful, to expect the Coming of Christ as a cosmically dramatic occasion. For people in those days, as for us today, the movement of the sun, the moon and the stars was quite predictable, unlike the weather and the political situation, and so the deviation of these from their normal paths was a good symbol for the remarkable future event of the coming of Christ in glory and the fulfilment of the kingdom of God.

Solemnity of Christ the King

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 22:08:25 GMT

The first reading is from Daniel, as it was last week. In chapter 7, we have a description of a dream in which there are four beasts who are, perhaps, representative of the four nations that dominated and suppressed the Jewish state. Israel thought of itself as the favourite nation of God and so found this oppression particularly devastating. But in the dream God overcomes the power of these beasts and in their place sets up a human being. This may well have referred to the hoped for the elevation of Israel. The meaning is confused and uncertain, however, because in the original language of Daniel the phrase for the human being (who replaces the beasts) is ‘son of man.’ Though it makes some sense in the context of a dream for a human to replace the beasts, when the phrase is translated word for word it can make one think of a particular individual who might save the people – and it is used in this way of Jesus himself both in our reading ( Chapter 7:13-14 ) and according to the other gospels,. But the extremely interesting notion in our reading, is that it is not just Israel that is favoured by God but absolutely all people; this is a radical vision for the Jewish author in the second century BC – the universality of salvation!

The second reading relates well to the above interpretation of Daniel’s dream. It is from the book of Revelation sometimes called the Apocalypse in Catholic literature – the two words mean much the same. The book begins with what we might see on the dust cover of a book nowadays – something like “This book by John is a revelation he had from Jesus, delivered by an angel; its about what will happen in the near future. It will be a blessing to all who heed its message.” The text goes on in the manner of a letter (in those days the name of the sender first); something like “John to the seven churches in Asia, grace and peace to you from God and from Jesus…” and there our reading ( chapter 1:5-8 ) begins. It follows with a prose and then a poetic statement from God the beginning and end of everything (Alpha and Omega); firstly, praise to Jesus whose life (His blood poured out) has saved us all from sin and, secondly, the announcement of his coming to us all; then a statement that everyone may see His glory, but seeing this can also make one sad. The author doesn’t say why we mourn, but maybe because He was literally pierced and this reveals the sin and inadequacy of us humans that brought it about.

In the gospel Jesus is questioned about His kingdom by Pilate who is, of course, in charge of the Kingdom of Israel at the time. The trial(s) of Jesus are represented in the Gospel of John, with a report of the exchanges between Jesus and the High Priest, particularly about his teaching; then He is brought before Pilate and this is extended considerably in this Gospel, where Pilate wants to hand the matter over to the Jews themselves – these verses are found on the very oldest fragment that exists from the New Testament writings ( see here ). Taking Jesus back inside, the evangelist puts into words an imagined conversation of Pilate with Jesus, which makes up the reading for today ( chapter 18:33-37 ) about the kingship of Christ – what kind of king is He? The reign of Jesus is spiritual, over the realm of truth – the verse following our passage has the dramatic words from Pilate “What is Truth?” This is a most apt reading for this feast day and also climaxes nicely the two previous readings.

33rd Sunday Cycle B

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 23:44:58 GMT

The first reading is from Daniel, a book positioned differently in different versions of the Bible. It is also unusual in that the earliest versions that we have of it show parts written in Hebrew, some in Aramaic (the language Jesus spoke) and parts in Greek, the language of the Jews in the Diaspora (outside of the land of Israel). The word Daniel means ‘God is my judge’ and this neatly sums up the passage we read today. It is one of those writings sometimes called apocalyptic which were around from the year 200 BC to 200 AD. Apocalyptic writing is usually full of allegory and dramatic revelation concerning the dealings of God with the world through remarkable events and the activity of angels, it especially relates to the future culmination of world history and God’s final judgment and fulfillment of it. Probably the influence of the literature of other nations helped the development of the traditional thought of the Jewish people with new ideas. In today’s reading ( 12:1-3 ) we see for the first time in this development two ideas that would play an important part in the belief of Christians; firstly there is a reference to life after death in the text “those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake” and secondly the reference to eternal life in the phrase “some shall live forever.”

The second reading ( Hebrews 10:11-14,18 ) continues the thoughts about the priesthood of Christ. The high priests of the Jewish Temple offered sacrifices to God in the belief and expectation that this would destroy/appease sin. But it is only the self-sacrifice of an individual that can achieve this sanctity. Jesus, our example and rescuer, is such a person of total self sacrifice; His role is already completed and He sits at the right hand of God waiting for this success to work itself out in our world by the gradual (and sometimes violent) entanglement with evil. Our salvation is won, but we have to take it up. This is the ambiguity and duality of our situation – saved, but still to be worked out in our life here on earth; the enemies must be subdued, we must give ourselves complete in love.

Mark chapter 13 is what is called apocalyptic writing. It uses sometimes obscure and extravagant language, it is about disasters and evils that we shall encounter; it tells of the imminent and cataclysmic end of the world with the condemnation of evil and the triumph of Christ (the Son of Man) for those who are chosen – it is these for whom it is written. Since the section we read ( Chapter 13:24-32 ) is about the triumph after the fearful signs of its coming, it is a message of Jesus’ completed work; this work is spelt out in different stages in other gospels as Incarnation, Life, Passion, Death and Resurrection followed by Ascension and Exultation at the right hand of God; but here, the sequence of his life is all spoken of as one great victorious event. Mark sees this as one great action of God in relation to us and our world, completed from God’s standpoint but still to emerge within the turmoil of our lives. At the time of his writing Christians generally seem to have thought that the End of the world was imminent, but as time goes on this needs re-interpretation. In the 16th century some Christians realised that these events are in some way ongoing throughout the life of the Church and the well-known Protestant reformer John Calvin wrote:

“Whenever, therefore, we perceive the Church scattered by the wiles of Satan, or torn in pieces by the cruelty of the ungodly, or disturbed by false doctrines, or tossed about by storms, let us learn to turn our eyes to this gathering of the elect. And if it appear to us a thing difficult to be believed, let us call to remembrance the power of the angels, which Christ holds out to us for the express purpose of raising our views above human means. For, though the Church be now tormented by the malice of men, or even broken by the violence of the billows, and miserably torn in pieces, so as to have no stability in the world, yet we ought always to cherish confident hope, because it will not be by human means, but by heavenly power, which will be far superior to every obstacle, that the Lord will gather his Church.”

(Calvin’s Commentaries Ch 33, part 3; tr. by John King)

32nd Sunday B

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 15:19:52 GMT

The first reading ( 1 Kings 17:10-16 ) is from a group of books in the Bible called History. History writing is always subjective and selective, as the author or editor wants to make some point or other; stories and anecdotes are retold to fit in with what the writers or editors think and want to tell their readers. The story we read today is to illustrate how God deals with people; Elijah His prophet had to announce the drought on the land as God’s response to the peoples’ unfaithfulness, but he himself would be cared for by God through a good-living woman whom God would reward appropriately. We could speculate what tale is behind this and how it got into this history, and it may help us get something of the message, but more important is what it now says to us. It is a message about God’s care for those who are chosen by him and for those who care for their fellow human beings whatever their situation is; and it says something about the ‘natural’ disasters that might be caused by human misuse of earth’s resources.

The second reading ( Hebrews 9:24-28 ) continues the thoughts about the Jewish Temple priesthood and the role of Christ in our salvation. It is an exposition of the relationship between the time and activity of Jesus with the period before His coming and the fulfilling of His human life – the difference between the Jewish situation and that of the Christians; the former is like a shadow and the latter is the real thing itself. So there is just one death to seal the covenant (the agreement between God and people) instead of regular sacrifices by different priests; the old covenant is replaced by the New Testament era. There is now hope for those who die, of forgiveness and life with God after death, secured by the entry of Jesus as one of us into heaven whence He came. Once the Jewish Temple was destroyed in the year 70 AD their religion left behind all this activity of sacrifice and benefitted from the change; but a Christian’s sacrifice should be the way one lives for others – not a death but a way of life!

The third reading ( Mark 12:38-44 ) expresses the Christian teaching about the style of life one should have, and its driving force. So Mark tells of Jesus speaking against those Scribes who gad about in fine attire, seek the admiration of people and honour amongst others, who take advantage of the defenseless and perform elaborate prayers. But Mark doesn’t mean this to apply to all Scribes for he has written just before this how Jesus praised one of them (the gospel for the 31 st Sunday cycle B). But Mark’s story is drawing towards the end of Jesus’ life and it is becoming more urgent for certain points to be made. Hence Jesus goes on to praise a demur and self-effacing approach with minimal material value yet expressing a genuine and generous religious attitude; He goes on to contrast the supposedly religious experts and officials with a financially poor yet spiritually devout widow. This expresses in practical terms what was expressed more theoretically the the reading we had from the letter to the Hebrews.

See Jeffs Jottings –

All Saints

Fri, 25 Oct 2024 16:27:08 GMT

see Jeffs Jottings – Blest and happy

The first reading is from the Book of Revelations; the writing is to a large extent visionary, utilizing Old Testament interpretations of history, images of heavenly realities and hopes for the future completion of God’s creation. At one point the author dreams of the opening of seven sealed documents about disasters in the history of the world, past, present or future; but just before he reaches the perfect number seven, he inserts the passage from which we read today ( Revelations 7:2 -14 ). This opens with the suspension of the stormy elements of disaster brought by the four angels, and the signing with a seal for rescue on those to be saved; at first the perfect number of 144,000 is given for the tribes of the chosen people as those to be saved (the mention of each tribe is omitted from the reading), but that is followed by a countless number of every variety of person one might find in the world; all are rescued by the Lamb of God – salvation from the great disaster – for which there is celebratory thanksgiving.

The second reading is from 1 John 3:1-3 (the first of three short letters to Christians in the tradition of John’s Gospel); it seems to be written by one who has an oversight of a number of church communities, and that there are two groups of Christians who interpret things differently and have split from each other. The writer is trying to encourage faithfulness to the early teaching and to the tradition that goes back to Christ himself. But the message of Jesus and the beliefs of Christians were from the start developing to suit differing contexts and to express further reflection on the mysteries of God and Incarnation. It seems that the ‘elder’ writing the letter is upbraiding those whom, he thinks, have taken this development too far, though in exactly what way is not clear. This short passage is stressing the changed relationship that Christians have with God through the reality of the Incarnation; he uses the word ‘children’ to express this though admits the mystery of what this will be in the future when Christ reveals Himself in some fuller way. However he contrasts the Christians with other people (‘the world’) in a way that might shock us nowadays; at least in the Catholic Church for the last 50 years the values of others have been respected: “The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons [ and daughters ed .], that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions… they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among them.” ( Nostra aetate ).

The third reading is Matthew 5:1-12a expresses the qualities, attitudes and actions that we should strive for if we are to be truly happy (be blessed), usually referred to as the beatitudes. Although you might count nine or even ten of them Matthew has put the first eight of them poetically together in a section opening and closing with the same second part of the couplet: “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” They are drawn to a large extent from thoughts in the Old Testament (Matthew’s Bible). The setting is from a mountain which is a place of special revelation, for example at the transfiguration (chapter 17) and after the resurrection; the disciples are close to Jesus to learn about the new laws for life, just as Moses received the Commandments on mount Sinai; Jesus sits, which is the customary way for a Rabbi to teach; His teaching is to be passed – the last words of Jesus to His disciples in this gospel are a commission to pass His teaching on to others ( Matthew 28:16ff ). Matthew clarifies what is mean by poor – it is not necessarily those on low income, or beggars, but those living a simple spiritual life free from attachment to earthly goods. Being pure in heart might mean avoiding desires of a sexual or avaricious nature (lust or greed) but the phrase can also mean having a healthy and spiritual vision of what one is to do with one’s life. The rest of the chapter might expand on the beatitudes in the reverse order of the eight.

29th Sunday B

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:06:56 GMT

The middle section of the long Old Testament book of Isaiah is particularly about the peoples’ sorry state in exile in Babylon and the encouragement forf them that all will be well eventually. The section begins at chapter 40 with comforting words and ends in Chapter 55 with a confidence for the future . And the section contains four songs about the servant of the Lord. In the first song (Isaiah 42:1-9) the servant will gently bring peace to the people and to all nations in line with God’s intentions. The second is at the beginning of chapter 49, about the nation of Israel itself as in some way the servant accomplishing God’s will. The third song in chapter 50 speaks of the servant as an individual prophet announcing the good news of God in the face of all difficulties. And our reading today is just a small part of the final song ( Isaiah 53:10-11 ); it speaks of the servant as a righteous person overcoming all sinfulness so all might be righteous. Christians apply many of the descriptions of the servant in these songs to Christ Himself, for He, through much suffering, maintains His righteousness and enables it freely for all to attain; we see Jesus as the ultimate case of unselfishness and suffering that benefits others.

In the letter to the Hebrews the author interprets the history of the chosen people with all its ups and downs, and constantly points out the message it has for the Christians he addresses. The second reading is the next three verses after last week’s reading ( Hebrews 4:14-16 ). It develops this Christian interpretation of the suffering servant, but sees Jesus as the genuine priest, unlike all the others with their own sins, for He has not just symbolically entered the inner sanctum of the Temple, but has actually entered heaven itself. Being one of us, Jesus has won the possibility of ultimate success for everyone – the culmination of God’s creative act of unselfishness and risk-taking.

Mark wrote the good news of Jesus Christ for the early followers of the Way of Jesus. The purpose of this gospel is to give the people some understanding of the transformation potential that Jesus should have on the readers’ lives. Mark does this through the format of a report of the public life and death of Jesus, his sayings and his deeds and the reaction of those around him, especially the disciples; it expresses his understanding of the significance of it all for life in his time (and in ours today). The third reading ( Mark 10:32-45 ) we have for today is one of undoubted reliability, for no gospel writer would have portrayed the disciples in such a bad light had it not been past down to them from the disciples themselves, who admitted their unworthiness. The story is made public here so as to remind us Christians even to this day, that we can easily get the message of the Kingdom of God quite wrong because of our self-confidence and selfishness. The disciples thought the kingdom was to do with earthly power politics and selfish promotion. They just had not understood the main message Jesus was trying to put across to them; until He had actually died and it began to dawn on them what it was all about then they began to see things differently..

see Jeffs Jottings – here

28th Sunday B

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 11:06:06 GMT

The first reading is from the Book of Wisdom. We had a reading from this book on the 25 th Sunday of Ordinary Time and comments there explained something about the book in general and the first 5 chapters in particular. The books that are in the Christian bible are called canonical (from the Greek κανων meaning rule or standard), because they are approved by the Church as giving reliable teaching about God and how we should live. However, non-Catholic Christians generally don’t recognise the Book of Wisdom as belonging to this group, as it was only regarded as special by the Jews living outwith Israel. For this reason it is regarded as of secondary value and is called deutero-canonical. The passage we have today ( 7:7-11 ) is all about the gift of true wisdom which Solomon prayed for and from which we learn how true wisdom surpasses many things that might tempt us. The name ‘Sophie’ comes from the Greek for wisdom which is personified as a lady.

The second reading is just two verses from the Book of Hebrews ( 4:12f ). The author of the letter to the Hebrews as a knowledgeable and thoughtful Christian in the first century after Christ, has taken historical events and theological ideas from the Old Testament and used them to express his religious ideas . In the unit that is our short reading he begins with the relevance and vitality of the word of God, referring ambiguously between the words of the Hebrew Scriptures that he knows so well and Jesus Christ the very Word of God incarnate into our world: literally “Living indeed (is) the word of God and effective…” This Christ is dynamically challenging to the way of life that we lead: “sharper than any two-edged sword”; not just to the way that we live in this secular society: “penetrating into (the) division of soul and spirit” but also sensitive to the inner thoughts and intentions that we have: “judging of thoughts and heart’s intentions”. And it is to Him that we have to give a report, literally “the word,” thus rounding off this poetic passage with the word word with which he began. The writer must think that the convert Jews whom he addresses are getting lax even by the standard of the Wisdom in their Book of that name; so he speaks of the wise word of God that strikes at their inner attitudes (and seems to find them wanting).

The third reading is a unit from the gospel of Mark ( 10:17-30 ) as his account draws towards the final days of Jesus in Jerusalem. He is wanting to focus the reader more on the essential core attitude of being a follower of Christ, telling us how Jesus tries to bring his disciples to some sort of understanding. The unit is not difficult in itself but two points might be noticeable. The man seeking advice from Jesus refers to him as “Good teacher.” We live in a time when there has been some sorting out of the language we might use about God in relation to the three Persons of the Trinity and to the divinity of Christ; so that when Mark writes that Jesus replies “No one is good but God,” we are given cause for pause. Matthew, when copying this story into his gospel avoids this difficulty altogether with “Then someone came to him and said, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good…” (Matthew 19:16f). We are reminded by this that the revelation of the Incarnation and of the Trinity presents us with a mystery that only through the centuries has come to be expressed in what we think of as precise and clear wording. In addition to being reminded of this mystery we might also be surprised by Jesus referring to the disciples as children. It was, we are told, fairly normal for a Jewish teacher to refer to his ‘students’ in this way, but it can also remind us of our relationship with God in Christ, as disciples – people not only struggling to understand, but also to follow in the way that we live.

see Jeffs Jottings – here

27th Sunday B

Fri, 04 Oct 2024 11:01:45 GMT

The first reading comes at the beginning of the Bible ( Genesis chapter 2, verses 18 to 24 ), just after the beautiful poem about God’s work of creation which He saw as very good. The passage is an extract from a story about the creation of people and their fall from grace. The extract tells of God after creating a man, making all the animals, but finally forming a woman as a suitable partner for him; it ends with an expression of the most desirable arrangement for marriage in the situation of the writer and of the original hearers of the story, with the need to keep their numbers up and to have a close knit community – “.. a man leaves his father and mother and joins himself to a wife, and they become one body;” a similar family situation is the blessing of the Psalm ( 128 ) which is used as a response to the reading.

Singing of the wonderful works of God in Psalm 8, the Jews would recall that humans were made just a little lower than angels and were to be crowned with glory and splendour. But the writer of our second reading (Hebrews, chapter 2, verses 9 to 11) realises that prior to the coming of Jesus humans had failed to live up to this grand position they had been given in God’s creative scheme. As a Christian with knowledge of the Hebrew bible, the writer chose a legitimate alternative translation of ‘a little lower than’ and applied verse 5 of psalm 8 to Jesus, writing that He was ‘for a short while made lower than the angels and is now crowned with glory and splendour’ – the Son of God was made man (human), lived and died and is now risen and seated at the right hand of God. The reading then says that now there is a human like ourselves, Who can lead us who are failing, along the way to salvation – that Person is Jesus Christ, the Word of God.

In the gospel reading ( Mark, chapter 10, verses 2 to 16 ), Mark tells his readers of Pharisees coming to Jesus to question Him about divorce. There were at the time two different views among Jewish groups, both accepting that a man could give a writ of divorce to his wife according to the Law ( Deut 24:1ff ), but one group thought this was only in the case of her adultery, the other in the case of much lesser dissatisfaction. Mark writes that Jesus replied by referring to the original plan of God that was written in Genesis (and is the last part of the first reading) adding that the Law they referred to was only an inferior application because of human weakness. In the story, the disciples are surprised and quiz Jesus when they are alone, but He re-affirms his original reply and even adds that a woman shouldn’t divorce a man (something not really thought possible by most Jews). It is likely that this whole issue was a matter of some discussion in the early church, for in Matthew’s gospel, in a parallel story, Jesus seems to support the Deuteronomy ruling. Much earlier, when Paul thought the plan of God was about to be completed and the world come to an end, he wrote that it was best not to marry at all, though if one did, the rights of husband and wife over each other were equal. So even in the early church there were different views about marriage and divorce..

see Jeffs Jottings – here

26th Sunday Cycle B

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:37:35 GMT

The first reading is from Numbers chapter 11, verses 25-29 . The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Pentateuch which is a name for the first five books of the Bible, called by the Jews, the Law. Probably largely put together in the 8 th century BC, the Pentateuch has the pattern of the whole creative plan of God: it starts with creation then the failings of the human race, and so God choosing a group of humans for special attention to try to begin to recover the situation; this is followed by migration to Egypt and their being enslaved there; eventually they are rescued by God and, wandering through the desert for years are, supposedly, made into a better people, ready to enter the Promised land, a title which stands for the completing of God’s whole plan for the universe – not that it has worked itself out yet. The same pattern is poetically expressed in the poem at the beginning of the Bible (Genesis chapter 1). In the first reading the organisation of the group in the desert is developing – is developing problems; for there are some ‘unauthorised’ charismatic people playing a part in their emerging organisation; many think that the gift of God should be limited to those at the head of the structure, but Moses, in our account, thinks not, but rather that the spirit should be on all.

From the reading of James (5:1-6) we get a glimpse of some of the problems with some of the people who count themselves as Christians. It is an easily understood passage, not unlike a lot of the messages in the books of the prophets and even in preaching to this day. Positively it is an encouragement to social justice – a message that is appreciated by the less well-off more than by the richer people; but it is they who are the real targets of the diatribe. The reference to “the murder of the righteous one”, could well refer to the crucifixion of Jesus, but it might also apply to suppression of the talents of those who are innocent, which is partly the message of the gospel reading.

The gospel reading ( Mark 9:38-48 ) brings together in an interesting way, two passages that at first seem quite disconnected, and includes a universal proverb. The first incident is very like the message of the first reading; it is about someone who has not been appointed to do so (to exercises a spiritual power), who is casting out a devil in Jesus’ name; and when the disciples complain to Jesus about this, He makes much the same judgment about it as did Moses in the book of Numbers in a somewhat similar case (in the first reading); He uses the proverb ‘who is not against us is for us;’ so Mark represents Jesus’ view as not seeing the followers of Jesus as an exclusive group, nor even one with a monopoly on doing good, and even using the power of His name. The second part of the reading is about scandalising a child, where it is quite possible that ‘child’ refers to a disciple or to an innocent enthusiast; if this is the case then it makes more sense in this context and even could link with the end of the reading from James. It goes on then to stress how radically we must act in order to rid ourselves of any evil we have.

see Jeffs Jottings – about grace – sanctifying grace.

25th Sunday Cycle B

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 13:39:10 GMT

The book of Wisdom from where the first reading ( Ch 2:12, 17-20 ) comes, is from the first section of the book (chapters 1-5) which illustrates the attitude that others might well have towards the believing Jews, who think themselves superior. The whole book seems to have been written originally in Greek and probably in Egypt where there was a ‘colony’ of Jews; it probably dates from the first century BC. The reading suggests that the way of the ‘godless’ may be troublesome to the Jews; but these were not really godless in the sense of being wicked people, many of them had good standards of behaviour both private and public, and what they wanted out of life was a pleasant and satisfying life for themselves and for others. The Jews in Israel at the time of Jesus did not accept this Book as part of their Scriptures and even now it is Catholics, not the Protestants, who have this book in their Bible. However, the writer is picking up on a theme in Isaiah and elsewhere, that those who are righteous will be opposed by others who will treat them badly and even condemn them to death (as we saw in the suffering servant song in last week’s reading from Isaiah). The responsorial psalm is the congregation’s response to the reading and is very aptly chosen.

The reading from James ( 3:16-4:3 ) comes across like preaching in the early church and has the same pattern and general sense as Paul’s letter to the Galatians (5:19-23) namely, a longish list of sins then “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness…” where James has “But the wisdom from above is first of all pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy…” But it is the list of evils and sins that makes us wonder at the state of the early followers of the Way of Jesus – it seems that they were not all the saintly enthusiasts we might imagine.

The gospel reading ( Mark 9:30-37 .) takes us further into the second half of the Gospel the beginning of which we had last week. The plot is moving now towards the fulfillment and completion of Jesus’ life on earth. We read a second prediction of Jesus’ passion and resurrection; it is what might be expected by those who have grasped the message of the first reading; so Jesus is now worried about too much public exposure and especially about the use of the word Christ which has for most of his contemporaries the implication of some grand almost secular political power on the side of the Jews. We see this as we read of the disciples, upon hearing the prediction, arguing about who will share positions of power in the coming kingdom. Again and again Mark indicates that the disciples just don’t understand what Jesus is talking about. But the message of Jesus is not to be understood so much as to be lived out in our attitude to others different from ourselves “whoever wants to be first must be last.”

see Jeffs Jottings – here

24th Sunday Cycle B

Fri, 06 Sep 2024 21:54:04 GMT

The first reading is the third of four ‘Servant Songs’ found in this part of the book of Isaiah. These songs focus on and develop the idea of being a servant of God and of others – of living for other people. They introduce the notion of inevitable suffering, of disappointment, difficulties and even disaster; these must be faced up to with dignity and with faithfulness to the cause of serving others whatever the trials or troubles encountered; the aim of the servant is the good of others. Sometimes these songs may have been applied to a prophet who had the role of pointing out in words and by the example of his own life, the message of God and the way that folk should live. Prophets often suffered for their delivery of an unwelcome message so that these poems sometimes merit the title ‘Suffering Servant Songs.’ But at other times these songs may apply to the nation of the Jews as a whole; for they fell into the temptation of thinking that being chosen by God was a privilege that elevated them above others and should defend them from foreign interference, whereas being chosen is being challenged with the humble task of living for the good of others and suffering any consequent troubles. Christians, following the lead of the New Testament writers, applied these songs to the life of Jesus, God who became a man to dwell among us in order to benefit the whole of humanity for all time, but whose message was disturbing to many, especially the leading lights among the Jews at the time – those in authority, the Scribes and the Pharisees; some of the words of our reading today from Isaiah 50:5-9 have been used in describing the passion and suffering of Jesus.

The second reading from James 2:14-18 deals with the relationship of faith and good works, which must have been something of a contention between Christians in James’ day, as it was at the time of the Reformation; but the issue can arise for any of us at any time when we think that because we have faith it means that we are safe and secure, and when this confidence leads to a neglect of living how we ought to live – living for the sake of others – as Jesus gave his whole life for the love of us all. Believing is not just accepting certain doctrines, nor just an emotional devotion to the person of Christ, but more than anything it is living in a particular way.

The gospel reading is the central turning point in Mark’s Gospel ( Chapter 8: 27-35 ) where Mark has Jesus explicitly moving towards his passion and death. With regard to the name Christ which for Mark, his readers and all Christians may be taken as a sort of surname of Jesus or as referring to the sum of one’s beliefs about this Son of God made man; but for Peter at the time and most of the crowd that followed or heard of Jesus, it would have had the connotation of an earthly leader who would establish Israel in its ideal grandeur and forcibly subdue all opposing regimes bringing the expected time of fulfillment foretold in their Scriptures. It must be partly because of this expectation that Mark has Jesus wanting to keep this hush-hush yet not to deny the title a more spiritual meaning. Jesus doesn’t really fulfill the earthly expectations of a glorious King like David was imagined to be; but Jesus is much more the suffering servant who lives and dies for others. Like most Jews, Peter couldn’t accept this notion of being a servant, especially a suffering one. And we notice that when Jesus says to Peter “Get behind me” it is an ambiguous phrase, and could equally mean ‘back me up’ or ‘be a follower of mine.’ Indeed the same Greek phrase is used by Mark later when he has Jesus say “if anyone would ‘come after me’ let him deny himself…”

see Jeffs Jottings – nine eleven

23rd Sunday Cycle B

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 18:34:44 GMT

At the end of the creation poem in Genesis chapter 1, we read that “God looked at all He had done and behold (it was) extremely good.” But the rest of the Old Testament is largely about the mess that people are making of this creation. It was probably when Moses led enslaved tribes out of Egypt to freedom, that they adopted Yahweh as their God – or rather he adopted them. It sowed the belief that God would always see them alright. But about 500 years later, after a lot of ups and downs, they lost the land they believed God had given them and almost lost faith too. But a prophet, one of the guardians of the faith, in his role of discerning the original and future plan of God for creation, told the people in dire straits that God would one day restore them to prosperity; we read of this expectation of the restoration of damaged creation in poetic and symbolic form in the first reading from Isaiah 35:4 – 7 – the blind will see, the deaf will hear etc.

About 600 years after Isaiah’s pronouncement, and after many disappointments and disagreements amongst the Jews, Jesus became one of them – one of us. It is probably a cousin of His who wrote the letter of James, where chapter 2, verses 1 – 5 are an example of the many wise things that he points out to those Jews living outwith their homeland and who had become followers of Jesus’ Way (Christians). Although he tells them to treat people fairly, he makes no mention in the whole letter of the non-Jews among whom they were living. Yet we know that Paul had worked widely in the area particularly welcoming Gentile converts. This might be one of the many aspects of this letter that made the early church hesitant about adopting it as part of their scriptures. However James’ suggestions for relationships with others is good and applicable also to us today, and we would even want to develop the idea to cover relationships with people of other faiths and of none, and extend them to cover people with other differences from what we might feel is the norm.

We know that Paul and Peter didn’t always see eye to eye about what attitude to have towards Gentile converts – Peter wanting to hold on to his Jewish customs and regulations. Mark was more in favour of Paul’s liberal attitude, but when writing his Gospel he could find little evidence of Jesus’ attitude to non-Jews. But he does tell the story of a Syro-phœnician woman where she says, even the dogs can eat the scraps under the table; and he improves on that in today’s gospel reading ( Mark 7:31-37 ), where Jesus cures a deaf mute in Gentile territory. In this passage Mark seems to have in mind the words of the prophet that were in the first reading; indeed, Mark uses the same, vary rare word for the speech defect (μογιλαλον) that is in Isaiah. Yet he may not have also knowingly reflected the words of God at the end of the creation poem (quoted above) when he writes about the onlookers of the miracle, saying “He has done all things well.”

see Jeffs Jottings – the good news

22nd Sunday Cycle B

Thu, 22 Aug 2024 20:29:31 GMT

The reading, Deuteronomy 4:1-2,6-8 , is from the fifth and last book of the first and most important part of the Bible, which the Jews refer to as the Law, and Christians call the Pentateuch (the five scrolls). The book of Deuteronomy is written as five long speeches of Moses to the people before they enter into the ‘Promised land.’ It was written down at least 300 years after that and comprises mostly a re-presentation of many of the laws and regulations found in earlier parts of the Pentateuch. The insistence on keeping the many laws and customs 2500 years ago would be considered today to be a suppression of the rightful individuality of each person with a particular role in life and vocation from God. But aside from that the reading has a supercilious attitude towards other nations, their ways of living and their own religions – an attitude of superiority to all others. The verses presented in our reading omit verses 3 – 5 which tell of their God destroying those who don’t accept Him and of God helping the Jews to conquer the land they have been promised to inhabit. This makes us realise how our religious thinking has developed over the centuries.

The reading from the letter of James 1:17-18,21-22,27 fits in well with the other readings. The church took quite a while before it finally agreed that this Letter should be part of the New Testament; and many since then have thought it rather trivial, with Luther referring to it as straw – pretty insignificant stuff. The Letter is addressed to a number of churches made up of Jews who are now Christians and who are not in the land of Israel, but are living in what is called the Diaspora – they are the dispersed Jews. Reformed Christians often maintain that they are saved by faith – by believing in Jesus as the saviour and Son of God; whereas Catholics seem to value many practices like devotions, rituals and other ‘good works.’ This Letter of James actually says that we are saved by works not just by faith. Thankfully, both Catholics and other Christians generally don’t have any disagreement about these matters any more. But what our passage here stresses is that the word of God is actually within us – the laws written in our hearts; and the examples of what we need to do are what we all should hear – being humble, meek and serving the needs of others.

With the gospel reading we have returned to Mark again ( Chapter 7, verses 1-8, 14-15 and 21-23 ) and the chosen passage fits in well with the previous two readings; the first about strict observance of all the rules and the second about helping the needy. We can imagine the situation in the early Church that Mark is addressing when he chooses to relate this story in which some of the important Jews come to Jesus and accuse his disciples of breaking the rules about when and how to eat food; Jesus replies quite confidently that the infringements of these rules doesn’t make anyone irreligious, but it is what a person says and does that might affect their relationship with God. We know that there were arguments among the early Christians about the extent to which the regulations of the Jewish religion apply to Christians – especially convert Gentiles; we know also that Paul and Peter had different views on this matter. Even to this day different ‘shades’ of Christianity and different individuals in various denominations hold rules and regulations in varying degrees of importance.

Jeff's Jottings – Being human

21st Sunday Cycle B

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 14:30:57 GMT

The first reading from the book of Joshua (24:1-2,15-18) is well chosen. The nomadic people with their desert God, Yahweh, have survived the wandering in the Sinai wilderness and have crossed the river Jordan and invaded the land of Canaan. The story started to be preserved and felt relevant when the tribes began to settle. The conquered Canaanites have agricultural and fertility gods and their religion serves them well for they are successful farmers. But the invaders want to settle and live off the land they have conquered. As well as the attraction of this other religion, they see that its adherents are much more successful farmers. The temptation is strong to move to their religion, but the reading describes Joshua calling for a reaffirmation of commitment to Yahweh by all of the tribes. This is surely a story that deserved being preserved in their bible and is thought-provoking for all of us, even to this day. The 12 verses omitted in our selected reading recount the numerous times that God enabled the people to conquer other tribes and nations and showing the superior power of their God.

The second reading is the next short section from the letter to the Ephesians (5:21-32) after those which we have had over the last few Sundays. The start of the reading for today is part of a sentence that began two verses earlier. The writer has said (verse 19 and 20) that you shouldn’t get drunk on alcohol but should be filled with the Spirit; he goes on to explain what this implies, that is, singing each other’s praises with hymns etc. to the Lord, giving thanks to God and (where our reading begins) “showing respect to each other in awe of Christ” and the sentence continues “ladies to their men as to the Lord.” Some of the modern English translations show something of our problem today with the apparent subordination of wives to husbands. The writer is elaborating for (new) Christians the implications of their new-found beliefs; it’s the practical details of life within one’s community and particularly within the family – husband, wife, children and servants. This is not unlike the recommended best within the secular society of their time and location, but the principal purpose is not the support of the state but the building up of the church, the Body of Christ; and Jesus showed these attitudes in His life on earth, lived out for others even to the point of death. But when applied to us these old accounts in our Sacred Scriptures need their essential message extracting and re-locating in the contest of our culture and indeed within the lives of each of us. The core message surely is, that there should be harmony between people, for Christians should know that they are the physical presence of Christ in the world today (i.e. the Body of Christ) and should relate to each other accordingly, (and to other people and the environment).

The Gospel reading from John (6:60-69), puts the call to commitment in a Christian context. After the explanation of Himself as the true bread of life, i.e. the wisdom and the way for us to live, Jesus has said unless you eat this flesh of mine you shall not have life within you – that’s the ‘hard saying,’ that the disciples refer to: ‘the intolerable language’. That was last week’s reading but listen to this reading advising us not to take this literally, when it says the flesh profits nothing, it’s the spirit that is important, it’s the spiritual meaning that makes sense; and through Jesus the Spirit is present in our matter-of-fact world. And Jesus is the Son of Man, the ideal human who in the future will be joined by all. So our celebration of Communion is a time to take to ourselves the life of Jesus, committing ourselves to live how he would live if He were in our shoes (which in a non-literal sense He is!). If the Body is the physical presence of a person, then the whole of creation is in some way the body of Christ.

19th Sunday Year B

Fri, 02 Aug 2024 22:04:27 GMT

From the First book of Kings we learn that Elijah was the great prophet when the nation was settling in the promised land. He had performed dramatic miracles and successfully confronted the prophets of the pagan queen Jezebel. Our reading ( 19:4-8 ) tells of his journey into the desert, to flee the wrath of Jezebel who had put a wanted notice out for his death; he is hoping to die alone naturally and settles down exhausted under a desert bush; but he is woken twice by an angel who gives him food to carry on to the mountain of God, which eventually he does. It is a story that was passed down through the generations partly because of its deeper meaning about the spiritual journey of life, with all its failings and then support from God and the need to press on all the same. This is a message that the hearers and readers of John’s gospel must learn as well, for all humans are on such a journey to find and face God. It is an adventure which often becomes more difficult as we progress in doing what God wants of us. But what do we expect to find? Moses was led to the Mountain where He encountered God in a still small voice rather than in the expected noisy whirlwind, earthquake or dramatic fire often associated with the divine.

The second reading is from Ephesians ( 4:30 – 5:2 ) after last week’s second reading. Here the writer is trying to explain the consequences of the truths that he has expounded earlier, and trying to urge the churches that Paul had set up, to keep their faith alive. In these final chapters of Ephesians there are practical instructions on how Christians should live in the light of what they believe about Christ and His life; details are given of what not to do and of what should be their way of life: they should try to live as Jesus did, for he gave his very life for others – for them. They are reminded of this central message of course in their celebration of the Lord’s supper when they receive Him anew in their meal – a fact referred to at the end of the gospel reading as a springboard into next week’s gospel topic! – “the bread that I shall give is my flesh, for the life of the world.”

The Gospel is taken from John 6:41-51 . We have over the previous two weeks read from this chapter about the miraculous feeding of the multitude and the way the crowd were excited about the miracle but missed the deeper significance of it – a reading ending with the misunderstanding of the new bread from heaven and with the provocative claim by Jesus to be the true bread from heaven. In today’s gospel reading we have for the first time in this chapter the people present are referred to as ‘the Jews’ rather that just the crowd. The author has in mind the Jerusalem officials in their religion who are naturally suspicious of Jesus and His challenging words and actions. The dialogue here has its deeper meaning about faith and the truth that Jesus expounds; and this is elaborated partly under the surface of a discussion about bread and life – even eternal life – for the word ‘bread’ was used by Jewish teachers as a word for the important truths of their religion and their recommended way of life, it is a little like the way we sometimes use the word ‘meat’ to mean some information that is very deep and important (we are more familiar with calling Jesus the Way – the way we should live for the purpose of God). This section connects to last week’s with the topic of the manna in the desert, but we are led to think also of the simple way God communicates with people in the incident of the first reading (see above).

Jeff's Jottings: Spirit not rules

18th Sunday Cycle B

Tue, 23 Jul 2024 17:54:54 GMT

The first reading is taken from the book of Exodus. It is a story that had been handed down verbally through a large number of generations before being formed into this textual version in the Bible. It is the story of the journey of the tribes after they had escaped from Egypt, being led by Moses in the desert from which eventually they came to settle in the land of Canaan which they took as their Promised Land. Life is full of ups and downs; the escape from slavery in Egypt seemed liberating, but then in the Sinai desert, they found life very difficult and the conditions harsh, to say the least. But things turned out well again when they found a new source of food in the manna that appeared there each morning for them freely to gather and eat. Our first reading ( 16:2-4, 12-15 ) illustrates for us the way occurrences can be interpreted as miracles, when there is no known explanation for them; in fact this manna was a natural phenomenon, known even to this day by the Bedouin in the desert; it is the resin deposit of insects after feeding on desert plants and it has to be gathered at dawn before other creatures get to it; manna is the Hebrew for “what is it?” Moses had lived quite a time in the desert and probably knew all about this. We now realise, as they did, that nature is marvellous – even miraculous – and is all the work of God, celebrated also in the selection of verses (3,23-25 and 54) in the responsorial psalm.

The second reading, as in previous weeks, is from Ephesians. This week’s ( 4-17, 20-24 ) is a part of this general letter to Paul’s churches about how these Jewish and Gentile converts should live. It draws on the dichotomies, in Jewish thought between light and dark, good and evil, now and the hereafter; but it relates more closely to the Greek way of thinking as the ordinary world and the ideal world; what we might call the superficial and the sublime – in religious terms the natural and super-natural, in more modern speak the commonplace and the extraordinary. The writer thinks that the Gentiles lived in the natural and plain realm, but when they learnt about Christ they learnt to live in the supernatural and extraordinary – within the family of God; so he writes: put off the old and live with a new self. Today, some Christians make this same distinction between themselves and the ‘secular’ world, but maybe our experience of life should smooth out these differences, after all there are Christians who fall far short of the ideal and non-Christians who lead exemplary lives!

The Gospel is another section from chapter 6 of John’s Gospel ( verses 24-35 ) which will continue on the following Sundays. This reading develops ideas after the feeding of the multitude in a way typical of this gospel; namely, there is a plain sense of the text which holds a much more sublime meaning which might easily be missed. For example when the crowd ask Jesus “When did you come here?” the text can also mean “How did you come to be here?” and then we can see the two levels of meaning: plainly, they had seen the disciples take off on a boat to this side of the lake and they came this way themselves so wonder how Jesus got here; but there is a deeper meaning about Jesus’ origin to which the answer would be, He was sent by God and is God’s Son. In this gospel miracles are called signs because they are not just what appears at first sight but have a far deeper meaning. The crowd had experienced the feeding of the multitude but had not seen the significance and deeper meaning of it. So Jesus points out to them that they should put their minds to higher things that are not perishable (superficial); but they should take in the food of eternal life which is that brought by the Son of Man – an expected future saviour sent from God in the fullness of time. If they would do this then they would have life – a share in the higher life of God by living a life of faith.

17th Sunday Cycle B

Fri, 19 Jul 2024 14:56:14 GMT

The first reading is from the Second Book of Kings ( 4:42-44 ). This is one of the many history books of the Old Testament. But it is not history as we like to think of it. These accounts are not written to tell us accurately about the past; the Jewish compilers of these works believed that they were chosen by God who at their best reflected in their activities and way of life the relationship of God to people, one chiefly of love and care but also sometimes of reprimand and being taught a lesson. These ‘history’ books are to make us think about what we should do in the present, here and now. This reading is from a small collection of miracle stories associated with the prophet Elisha from the ninth century BC. These tales remind us that the whole world is miraculous, and that there is always more to things and events than the immediate and prosaic interpretation that we thoughtlessly make of them; God is active in everything except sin. The reading illustrates that God’s care even exceeds our natural expectations of things.

The second reading is from the general letter called Ephesians ( 4:1-6 ), attributed to Paul. It contains an impressive expression of central Christian teaching for the people of that time. It begins with an exhortation to unity and follows with the basis for this ideal of unity in the commonality of our belief. Whatever the specific vocation of each Christian it must be conducted in a self-effacing, tolerant and loving manner – Paul himself is a prisoner for following his calling from the Lord. The feminine Greek word often translated as humility has the connotation of self-effacement. The seriousness of this imperative that Paul is urging on the readers arises from the acceptance of one hope towards the ultimate unity of all in God, Who is in everything that is good. This is significant for us today when it is read as the inspired word of God. The world is seen by the writer as a remarkable unit and the arena for the enterprise of God’s continuous and creative presence among us; a single unit of great complexity but complicated by the freedom that we humans have with respect to our calling in it. It tells us that we humans are all related to each other and to the rest of creation; we have a part to play in all of this and we now know the attitudes necessary for us to contribute to the overall plan of God for us within the family of humanity.

The beginning of Chapter 6 in John’s gospel ( verses 1 to 15 ) relates the story told in all the gospels of the miraculous feeding of a multitude with food and producing an excess of leftovers. With the setting of the mountain and of the feast of Passover it clearly relates to the great event of the Exodus; this was the focus of the Paschal meal that recalled this miraculous start of the journey of the people of God from slavery towards the promised land; it was on this difficult journey of life through the desert that God surprisingly nourished the people with water from rock and bread (the manna) from heaven; for the Jews it was celebrated each year as a recall of God’s relationship to them and of the journey of their life towards the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom. Its importance in this Gospel is this journey towards the promised land and beyond to the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom. The crowd see Jesus as anticipating or bringing this to completion and want to make him king – he escapes this mistaken intention. Over the next few Sundays we shall read more of John’s development of ideas in this chapter.

16th Sunday 2024 year B

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 19:00:27 GMT

The early ancestors of the Israelites were nomadic and moved with their flocks from one to the next pasture, and even when they first settled in what is sometimes called the Promised Land, sheep-keeping continued as well as farming various crops and trees. As their society became more structured there was still shepherding, though it became the task of the youngest son(s) or even of servants. Most famous of these was the young lad David, who not only defeated with his sling the enemy Goliath (a giant of a warrior), but also became a highly honoured and well remembered king. Leaders of people and kings were called shepherds and their task was to care for their people with all the dedication that a shepherd has to have in pastoring his sheep; indeed this analogy was also used to refer to God and his relationship to the people. Even today we use the word pastor to refer to a religious leader – the bishops crosier is based on the crook that was used to keep a sheep from fleeing. The prophet Jeremiah uses this imagery in the first reading today ( chapter 23 verses 1-6 ). This is at the time when some of the leaders of the people where being taken into exile by the Babylonian empire in Mesopotamia. It was a sad period in the history of the Jews. The cause is both the decline in morals and religious involvement that the people had, but also the corrupt and inadequate leadership in matters of policies and religious ceremonies. It is these shepherds of the people who are berated by the prophet Jeremiah. But he expects that the things will be better in the future, and interprets this basic hope into the expectation of the return of all to their original homeland where there will be prosperity. There is added also a messianic expectation of an ideal leader. All this is suitably followed with the responsorial psalm: the Lord is my shepherd (psalm 23).

Even centuries before the time of Christ there were splits between Israelite Jews and other Jews living elsewhere; but the future healing of this rift was hoped for in the book of Isaiah (57:19) where it says, “Peace, peace, to the far and the near, says the Lord; and I will heal them.” Paul in Ephesians ( 2:13-18 ), our second reading, may have had this passage in mind. At the time this was written (maybe thirty years after Christ), the passage seems to celebrate the potential unity and peace between Jewish Christians and Gentile ones brought about through the sacrificial life of Christ. This is encapsulated in the words “by the blood of Christ;” this has a different connotation when we realise that ‘blood’ was seen as the life of a person rather than the actual liquid in the sacrifice of animals used in some religions and even in the Temple in Jerusalem until its destruction about 70 AD. Our reading seems to us, perhaps, a bit over harsh when it goes so far as to say that the Jewish laws are no longer relevant because in Christ there is “a new humanity” in which people can exist and live. But it is this notion of the new humanity that is behind the ecumenical thinking in our days; Catholics are recommended to be more irenic in the proclamations of Vatican II approved by about 2000 Catholic bishops just over 50 years ago.

The gospel comes from Mark 6:30-34. The disciples have been busy touring the villages commissioned by Jesus in last week’s gospel reading, and now they need some time for rest and reflection after what seems to have been remarkable success. But when the enthused followers are crowding around them Jesus takes the twelve away by boat to a lovely place for a well-earned rest. But the enthused crowd find them in their retreat and Jesus feels the responsibility to teach them as the shepherd looks after his sheep. Religious ‘shepherds’ have such and many responsibilities . The image of sheep needing shepherding is the reason for this choice of reading to link with the other texts read today.

Jeff's jottings: Christian Groups

15th Sunday Year B

Thu, 04 Jul 2024 10:42:58 GMT

Many would have thought of Amos as a fairly uneducated peasant farmer, but it was this man who was called to go into the cities and reprimand the people for their lifestyle. In the book of his name he seems to have done this in a very skillful way; he felt called by God but was also drawing upon his natural dislike for their fancy way of living in the city. At the time of our reading he was preaching in Bethel in the northern kingdom of Israel; he has heard threats from God of a plague of locusts to punish them, then of a fire burning up the land; but Amos begs God and He relents, but then God has had enough of people failing His expectations and Amos has to convey this message – the king will die, the people will go into exile. At this point the priest addresses Amos in our reading for today ( Amos 7:12-15 ); he tells him he is not a real prophet and should leave them alone and go back to where he came from; but Amos retorts that it is not by choice that he does this but is impelled by a command from God Himself. In the words of the responsorial psalm (Psalm 85: 8-14) we seem to overlook any message Amos might have for us, expecting rather God’s mercy and forgiveness.

The second reading is from Ephesians 1:3-14 . This passage is just after the usual Christian opening to a letter. This is a letter that was intended to be passed around the different churches that Paul had established, like an encyclical nowadays; we have the copy that had the Ephesians as its addressees, but in some of the oldest manuscripts no addressee is named. After the introduction there is a grand accolade in the style of Jewish hymns of praise to God for all the blessings received. It is positive like the Psalm read before it, and we praise God for it tells us of the remarkable privilege it is to be who we are – children of God. The eleven verses in our translation are just one sentence in the original Greek and it details the believers’ great benefits within the overall scheme and process of God’s creating, leading eventually to His final and glorious kingdom for all, and the hymn praises God for it all. Notice the strength and positivity of the words used: by the Father we are blest, chosen, destined and graced; through the Son we have adoption, forgiveness, revelation and vocation; and we have heard and believed and are guaranteed our redemption through the Spirit of Christ and God.

In Mark’s gospel there are accounts of two pairs of followers called by Jesus (1:16ff) then the twelve appointed (3:13ff) followed by accounts of Jesus’ parables (chapter 4), miracles (chapter 5) and rejection in His home village, and now we read, this Sunday, in Mark 6:7-13 of Jesus sending out the twelve on a mission. However, were you to read the rest of the gospel you would realise that they knew very little about Jesus and never really grasped what he was about – until perhaps after the resurrection. This circumstance is a reminder to us that a gospel is neither history nor biography that we are reading, but it is good news for the readers and for us. The original recipients lived in the late part of the first century when the church was expanding through the work of what we might call today, missionaries. The instructions about what to take and even what to wear on this mission are in some places the opposite of how this is told in Matthew (10:5-15) and Luke (9:1-6); the reason for this is the different intentions and primary recipients from those of Mark’s gospel. Now we live in a quite different setting and even with more developed understanding of Jesus and God’s intentions for His creation, intentions which as a community we have to try to grasp and fulfill.

Jeff;s Jottings: Meeting God

14th Sunday B

Fri, 28 Jun 2024 09:38:14 GMT

Chapter 1 of Ezekiel describes in an excessively elaborated way a vision of God speaking to the man as he reached the age (of 30) for practising as a priest, and initiating him as a prophet among the exiles by the rivers of Babylon. Our reading (2: 2 -5) tells of God calling Ezekiel to be the mouthpiece of God (that’s what being a prophet meant). It seems to be a harsh message that God wants delivered to what He calls a rebellious people, though we notice that God does not tell him specifically what to say. However we know that it is going to be a telling-off for neglecting their religion. Prophets generally interpreted any misfortune or disaster that befell the chosen people as a punishment from God; the foreign conquest of the chosen people is not what is to be condemned, but the people’s rebellion against God. We notice that even in this 6th century BC the Old Testament will use the terms 'Spirit of God' and 'Word of God' which later will be seen a reflecting the novel Christian doctrine of the Trinity; and at the time of Christ the phrase ‘Son of Man’ had in addition to just meaning ‘a human,’ the more specific reference to some heavenly being who would come at the end of time to bring liberation to the people of God – with the definite article it is used by Jesus of Himself (the Son of Man).

The Second reading is from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians (12 : 7 – 10). It is an extract from a letter to a particular group or situation in the church at Corinth. It seems he may have been accused by them of being too gentle or hesitant in his preaching, or perhaps of having his own ideas rather than Christ’s. He seems to have been compared unfavourably with some charismatic preachers who even charged for preaching or with others who were trained public speakers. Paul is led to boast; like any of them, he is a Jew and a servant of Christ, indeed he has suffered many beatings and imprisonments for his work, many mishaps and catastrophes. He also boasts, just before the passage we have, that he has had visions, revelations and even mystical experiences. But we read that he has some ‘thorn in the flesh’ – and no one knows what that could have been. But he knows he shouldn’t boast except of his weaknesses given to him by Christ.

The gospel is from the first 6 verses of Mark chapter 6. At the time Mark is writing, the number of Christians was increasing, but mostly not from those who were Jews, but from Gentiles. This seemed strange because it was the Jews that God had prepared and who were expecting the Messiah and it was among them that he worked and taught and he himself was a Jew. The gospel reading today is yet another attempt to make some sense of this. Jesus comes to his home town where he is known as just an ordinary person, even the son of Joseph a local carpenter; it is difficult for those who knew him this way to think of him as the Messiah even though he seemed to have wisdom and miraculous powers. The proverb about the prophet not being accepted by his own and being powerless to work miracles among them, is in other gospels, but Matthew (13:53-58) and Luke (4:14-30) soften Mark’s bland statement that he was powerless to work miracles among his own people.

13th Sunday Year B

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 12:21:20 GMT

There is a jotting also by me (Jeff Bagnall)

The book of Wisdom is thought to come from the Jewish intellectual setting of Alexandria in Egypt. It was written in the Greek language and was not part of the Jewish Hebrew Bible. For this reason it is not part of most Christian Bibles yet Roman Catholics have it as part of their Old Testament; it was written only about 50 years before the birth of Christ and is classed in a group of books called deutero-canonical (roughly meaning of secondary value). It shows the influence of its origin in two ways; firstly its literary quality is very systematically and attractively structured with sections and subsections with definite numbers of poetic lines; and secondly though it draws on the earlier books of the Bible, it deals with issues that arise from the philosophical thinking in the Greek culture at that time. This approach is somewhat parallel to that of the Vatican II document Gaudium et spes (The Church in the Modern World), but the author’s purpose may also be to oppose those Jews who had taken on the secular and worldly style and aims of life common among many citizens of Alexandria at the time. Our reading today comes from two separate sections ( chapters 1:13-15 and 2:23-24 ) but both are parts of the first six chapters in praise of wisdom. Firstly God’s Spirit organises creation wisely and we should live accordingly for we are made for life in a world that is basically good. The second section is based on the Greek belief in a real life after death (unlike that of most of the Hebrew Bible) and so we should not live selfishly which is the work of the devil bringing the fear of death into the world; indeed in the book of Genesis, death was seen as a punishment by God for sin.

The second reading, as you can see by the reference ( 2 Cor 8:7, 9, 13-15 ), has some of the sentences missed out in between the three groups that the five verses are in. Despite this arrangement it doesn’t make bad sense as an enchanting appeal for a donation from a richer group towards another to bring about some equality. Yet we might be more interested in the whole section (Chapter 8:1-15) and in learning something about the early churches in the third quarter of the first century AD. In the Corinthian Church two groups are significant; one comprises converts from the Jewish religion who do not want to abandon the religious beliefs and practices that they were familiar with and think that all Christians should be like them; the other group are influenced by and enthusiastic for modern thinking and their new Christian religious beliefs and practices. But, surprisingly, the two are in some sort of agreement in their opposition to Paul; the Judaizers (as they are called) disliked Paul’s disregard for some Jewish rules – about food for example; and the more sophisticated and self-assured group were disappointed with his easy-going and non-dogmatic attitude to beliefs and practices. He sees this tentative unity as an opening and so praises them highly for many virtues and invites them to make a donation for the less well-off Christians in Macedonia from where he writes.

The gospel is from Mark ( chapter 5:21-43 ). The permitted shorted reading leaves out verses 25 to 34, (the cure of the woman with an issue of blood), and presents us with the story of the raising of Jairus’ daughter. Two things stand out in this story; that Jesus raised the twelve year old who was considered dead, and that he asked the few people with him to tell no one what had happened. Christians believe that death is not the end of life, but a dramatic development of the life of Christ which they share even here and now. As to the call to keep this all hush-hush, it clearly was not adhered to; it is quite likely that Mark puts this in many of his accounts, because he couldn’t imagine how any Jew wouldn’t have become a Christian if he had known all the miracles that Jesus did. Jairus, as elected president of the local synagogue, would have been a respected person and like the majority of Jews scornful of upstart and fake but popular preachers even working miracles – and Jesus came under that heading. But when his daughter is on the point of death he steps out of his social position and even begs Jesus for help.

12th Sunday B

Fri, 14 Jun 2024 17:24:49 GMT

The book of Job looks like a tale about a happy family man whose goodness is tested by God to see if it survives ill-fortune. Even in translation it is quite poetic and has contributed various phrases to our language and themes to our literature. Nearly all of the 42 chapters of the book are long poetic speeches, mostly by his friends telling him to repent because he must have done wrong to be so treated by God; they were the first “Job’s comforters.” But Job keeps interrupting these speeches proclaiming his innocence and wanting an explanation from God Himself. In our reading ( Job 38:1,8-11 ) God begins to speak, accompanied by a whirlwind; but it’s not quite what Job is looking for; God reminds Job that He is the one who is creating this wonderful world; with remarkable imagery God likens His act of creating to that of a mother giving birth, yet we know that this creating can be a struggle over a period of time. So is the message for us that like an infant we should just take what comes and love our Mother, creator?

Whereas in Job creation is an ongoing and developing, sometime awkward process, in our second reading ( 2 Cor 5:14-17 ) Paul expresses the Christian understanding that since Christ we experience a new dimension to creation; through His life and death in our ordinary world, there is a transformation – the impact of His resurrection manifesting the availability of a new way of living for all. We don’t know quite what he meant by “for all” because generally at that time and perhaps ever since then, Christians have assumed this graced and elevated life was just for believers, not for anybody. There are different translations into English which indicate the difficulty this idea is for some Christians: the International Standard Version has [ with my emphasis ] “Therefore, if anyone is in the Messiah, he is a new creation. Old things have disappeared, and—look!—all things have become new!” The King James Bible has “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The New International version has” Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” Some versions seem to limit the new creation to Christians, others to the whole of creation. At least Paul is saying that we who are followers of Christ should be living in a new way; and this is a message for us.

Though God is the powerful creator and there is a higher dimension to the life in the world, yet there are always going to be difficulties and always a way through them though not necessarily out of them.

So now after his collection of parables, Mark begins a new section with miracles, of which we read the first in Mark 4:35-41 this day. It is the account of a mighty storm at sea as the darkness sets in; it is bad enough to really scare the disciples in their boat, despite the fact that many of them are fishermen and should be used to this weather. The crossing has been suggested by Jesus and it is from Jewish territory to Gentile territory; this reflects one of the stormy arguments in the early church about admitting Gentiles to join the followers of Jesus; it is really unimaginable for some people, but Jesus if called upon can calm the storm. This is another instance of the process that goes on in our world where problems and difficulties arise, but God is ultimately in control of everything. The reading is a lesson for us Christians today, not just for the first recipients of the gospels, for we experience this very process of storms and calming in our lives, in the church and in the world as we know it.

11th Sunday B

Wed, 05 Jun 2024 11:33:25 GMT

At the time of the writing of our first reading ( Ezekiel 17:22-24 ) the empire of Babylon, west of Israel, has taken many of the aristocracy from Jerusalem as captives and now controls their land. Ezekiel himself is in exile in Babylon and writes to help his people through these difficult times. He is a bit of a poet or even mystic, and uses allegories for what he wants to say. Here he uses the image of a tree, and encourages the people, who have deserved the trouble they are in, with the expectation that a messiah will come from their race who will make them great again and as grand as they could want. A sprig from the failed tree will grow into a new all-embracing tree under which the big empires will submit. The idea lives on in Christianity to this day in the prayer attributed to Mary – “… He has put down the mighty from their seat and exulted the humble…” (The Magnificat ).

The NT book called the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians appears to be a collection of excerpts from as many as four separate letters from Paul, but it is still, for us, the Word of God. In 2 Cor 5:6-10 , Paul was obviously addressing some particular problem his addressees had. You might confidently think, he seems to say, that the next life would be preferable to the present – your future, true home to your home here and now – but for now you had better get on with this life here, pleasing God as best you can and as you should. The word ‘body’ that he uses carried with it the connotation of presence in the world, so its use here does not necessarily imply a belief which many Westerners have in two parts of a person, a body and a soul; it refers rather to our presence in this world in contrast to our being as it will be in the after-life – the world to come. Paul is saying that although we have both confidence and hope of the world to come, we should concentrate on living in the right way here and now. These words are not just for the early Christians that he is addressing, but, as the word of God, also have something to say to us.

The Gospel reading is from Mark 4:26-34 . The whole chapter is a collection Mark has made of parables he has heard of that Jesus told, but by the time of his writing they have been preached and adapted to new situations and Mark now intends them for his readers – and they have something to say to us. The message originally from Jesus to his first hearers, has to be changed for different audiences in order to convey the same basic meaning. It is like the simple equation M = W r C, (Message arises from Words related to Context); if C changes then W must change as well to produce the same M. The two parables that we have read today are suited to a local farming community. In general the first recommends patience with life, as God is really the one in control of things, just as the farmer leaves the crop to grow once it is planted. The second takes up the well understood experience, that the very tiny mustard seed grows, most surprisingly, into a large vegetable bush – rather like Ezekiel’s tree it will be a shelter for many. Big things can come from small beginnings. To a large extent we still understand the basics of crop and seed growth so it is up to us individually and as a community to see what these parables might say to us today in our particular situations.

Jeff's jottings: l ive as best you can

Trinity Sunday B

Fri, 17 May 2024 10:20:24 GMT

Deuteronomy is a book aimed at reviving the enthusiasm of the Jewish people for their religion, and re-kindling their sense of community. Centuries before Deuteronomy was even written the Jewish people had been successfully led out of slavery in Egypt, and eventually entered the land they are in at the time of its writing and which they consider to be a gift to them from God. The author puts into the mouth of Moses a whole series of speeches addressed to the people before they cross the river Jordan to enter this land. In chapter 4, ( verses 32-40 omitting 35-38 ) what is said in the supposed context applies to the people at the time of its composition but also can be adapted to ourselves today: Look what God has done for you, do what God wants of you and all will be well! We still believe in God as a great creator, Who through His Spirit and through His Word makes us what we are, however we would not now think that we alone are God’s people or that He would give us the good things we have by doing awful things to others. Just as creation is an ongoing process so our understanding of God through creation changes and develops through time – we must never think we understand God!

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, (8:14-17) , he writes among other things of the role of the Spirit in our lives. The effect of the movement of the Spirit is what we read of last week on the feast of Pentecost. The whole of the letter is a well structured discourse about life in the Spirit brought through Christ. Each verse leading up to our reading is in the original connected – using 'for', 'therefore', 'indeed', 'but 'or 'however '– and literally our reading starts “Who indeed by the Spirit of God are being led, these are sons of God.” As the Son takes on our humanity, so we, by the influence of the Spirit, share in this kinship, forming a community both of suffering and of glory. Paul’s ideas are a radical development from the much narrower view of God’s activity that he would have had as a Jew. It is he who wrote earlier to the Galatians (3:28) “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. What would he write today about non-believers, adherents of other faiths and different Christian denominations? The mystery of the Trinity is surely partly about community in oneness.

The Gospel from Matthew (28:16-20) is the last paragraph of his gospel. He has found a good way to conclude his work. The disciples see Jesus in Galilee; something that has been planned before when the women at the tomb are told the disciples will see Jesus in Galilee. They recognise Him, but with some hesitancy. What they must do, not just in Galilee but for all nations, is bring people into the community that they have; they will use the Baptismal formula that was in use in Matthew’s own church community; it names together the Trinitarian nature of God, which throughout the Gospel has been seen under the different roles, of Father, Son and Spirit; people will be incorporated in some way into the community of God. It wasn’t really until 400 years later that some understanding of Trinity was officially formulated, but even to this day it is a mystery in which we are involved.

Jeff's jottings: Three in One

Pentecost Sunday

Fri, 10 May 2024 15:01:12 GMT

Luke’s ‘history’ ( Acts 2:1-11 ), writes of the fulfillment of the promise given by Jesus before His Ascension “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses … to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, see also Luke 24:48-51 ); it has the role of an introduction to the theme of the book of Acts, namely, the extension of the gift of the Spirit across the known world. It is set at the time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost (sometimes called Weeks) which is 50 days after the Passover festival, both of which started off as harvest festivals; but Pentecost had come to reflect the renewal of the covenant at the foot of Mount Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. The message is mostly about the spread of the Spirit; so as there was fire and wind at Sinai, so here the Spirit comes on the first followers of Jesus as the initiation for the work they had to do. The Hebrew and Greek words for spirit are closely related to the word for wind, contributing to this description in language traditional for encounter with the divine. As part of this introduction to his theme, Luke also tells us that a large cosmopolitan crowd were present and understood and accepted what Peter said in his preaching to them. The idea of speaking in tongues plays on the two senses: ecstatic utterance and language differentiation. The words of Scripture in whatever language, are in some way the word of God for us if we but understand it properly.

In the alternative second reading Paul writes to the Galatians ( 5:16-24 ) of a more personal role of the Spirit in the lives of individuals; with the Spirit each of us can avoid sin and falling short of the mark, and we will receive the endowments for humanity at its very best, sometimes called the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience … self-control.” It is always easy to misinterpret what others say or write; it is hard to capture the full meaning across from one language to another; but in this reading we are also crossing the boundaries of culture and nearly two millennia. The word translated as ‘flesh’ is the most awkward; it seems to refer to what we sometimes call the secular world; but just as Paul’s and the early church’s thinking developed, so now we want to emphasise the sacredness of the secular. This development is because of our incipient realisation of the presence of the Spirit in the whole of created being. Some of our traditional prayers represent this of which the Sequence (Come, Holy Spirit) is one which enumerates with delightful and poetic language, the various corrective actions of the Holy Spirit upon the world and its individuals; it ends as a prayer for the Spirit to act upon us, which is really a way of urging ourselves to let the Spirit work through our lives.

In the Gospel ( John 20:19-25 ), we have part of a group of speeches presented after the Last Supper; they are in reality addressed to the churches for whom the gospel is written and, of course, as the word of God, they have something to say to us. After the life, death and resurrection of Christ, the Spirit will come as an advocate advising us Christians how to live out in our own situations the true kind of life for which we exist. It is a message that will come to us each in our own culture, age and particular circumstances. For it is our role as followers of Christ to live out the truth as witnesses for all. The passage implies that the truth (of beliefs and of way of life) will need to develop and adapt to ever new situations. To the extent to which we can bring ourselves to live as God wants we will enhance the glorious presence of Christ in our world. We celebrate and renew our efforts at this particularly time of Pentecost.

Jeff's jottings: The Spirit of life

7th Sunday of Easter Year B

Mon, 29 Apr 2024 22:54:31 GMT

The first reading is from Acts ( 1: 15-26 passim ). It is just after the account of the Ascension, which we still celebrate as a feast; it reminds us that though God is still with us in all that we do (except sin) yet He wants us to make our own decisions about the details because He wants us to be friends not blind automatons controlled by Him. So the disciples have to get on with the practicalities of life. They are all Jews and they think that being a follower of Jesus is a renewed way of living as a Jew; so just as there were twelve tribes of Jews according to the Bible, they want to have twelve leaders to help with the organisation of the growing numbers of followers of the Way of Jesus; and the gospels that list the disciples give a list of twelve men. As they consider the replacement of Judas Iscariot they look in their Bible (which Christians now call the Old Testament) and seek there for support for their planned action. They set about to arrange this replacement in the very down-to-earth way of voting, but believe that the Spirit is with them in the doing of this. God leaves us to make our own decisions in our particular circumstances and we should consider prayerfully in the light of our Bible and our beliefs what we should be doing in our lives and in day to day activities.

In the second reading , we once more read of the great love of God for and in us, and the love we must have of others in our world. The reason why this letter repeatedly stresses these points lies in the situation of the church that is being addressed at that time. Some of the people are so caught up with their personal form of holiness that they think this world is all wicked and consequently God didn’t really become one of us, but just appeared to be human in the man Jesus. But the Christian message is that this world here and now is holy. Not only is it being created every moment by God, but also humanity is joined intimately with God through Jesus who is both human and divine. But this perfect creative activity of God is in process: it is ongoing and it depends on us – God in some way depends on us! This is because He truly loves us and love never over-rides or forces the decisions of those loved. The world is in the process of gradually becoming what it will; Jesus illustrated in His life, right up to death, how to return God’s love by loving his world – all the people in it – even if that leads to difficulties and death. What an example He has given us, what a challenge we face! But God gives us the strength.

The gospel is part of a whole section from the gospel according to John, comprising long speeches and prayers attributed to Jesus, made after the last supper and before His arrest in Gethsemane. It is thought that different amounts of these were read in the early Christian churches using this gospel, according to the timing of Easter, which then as now, could be early or late according to the lunar calendar. The prayer in this section is for God to protect the followers of Jesus, because it is not easy to live both in the here and now and with the life of God above and in eternity. When this refers to the difficulties of life here, which Jesus had experienced and his followers will now begin to realise, the writer calls this aspect of life here as being in the world: the word ‘world’ here means its failings, short-comings and even at times the opposition to the ideal for God’s work of creation. God Himself and His planned accomplishment is holy; Jesus as one of us is coming to His place but the followers are still on the way. To be consecrated is to be united into this holiness; it is a task for the followers of Jesus – for us – for which Jesus here prays

See Jeff's Jottings on the Ascension .

6th Sunday of Easter Year B

Mon, 22 Apr 2024 15:32:19 GMT

In ( Acts 10 ), Luke tells us how Peter realised something new about being a follower of Jesus. It follows most suitably after the much limited beliefs of Peter that we read about last Sunday. Peter was a Jew and Jews believed that they were God’s people, which, they thought, meant that God didn’t have any regard for non-Jews. These beliefs were expressed in the everyday practices of eating – some foods were approved but others were judged to be unclean (ritually defiling). But before this section of Luke’s story, he tells us that while Peter was cooking for himself at his seaside lodgings in Joppa (not the place in East Lothian), he came to realise ( see here ) that these views were not in line with God’s wishes. This visionary message enabled him to welcome the Greek speaking friendly non-Jew Cornelius, and to preach to the assembled (not all Jewish) crowd and to witness the Spirit of God enthusing them. His view of God’s will for people had radically changed from what it had previously been.

The second reading ( 1 John 4:7-10 ) , as previous readings from this New testament book read during the period celebrating the Resurrection, focuses on God’s love and the core of the requirements for being a Christian – we should love one another. It says that God shows his love by sending his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. The word for sacrifice (‘ιλασμος in the Greek original) is used twice in this letter of John’s and nowhere else in the New Testament, and rarely in the Old Testament. Whereas the church over the centuries has sometimes seen the crucifixion as an appeasement of God’s wrath against human sin, this interpretation does not sit well with the overall tone of the letter which so much stresses the love of God – a God who would not make such a requirement of us or of His Son. The passage re-enforces the new expansive vision, that God’s love is not limited to the Jews but extends to absolutely all people to the extent that they themselves show this kind of love to others. This attitude supersedes the O.T. ten Commandments by including their core statements and raising the standard of what God wants of us in our lives.

The reading from the Gospel of John follows on from the image of the vine in last week's reading. It is about the Father and the Son loving us, and how we are to remain in God’s love by keeping the commandments. But these ‘commandments’ are just the personal challenges that God as a friend, makes of each of us in our own particular circumstance: for Jesus this was that He should lay down his life for this kind of message. We each need to discern what God’s love calls on us to do with our lives: whatever, it will come under the umbrella of the commandment that Jesus spells out in our passage today – “to love one another” and that is where the reading ends.

See Jeff's jottings: Lost for words

5th Sunday of Easter Year B

Sat, 20 Apr 2024 10:18:17 GMT

The first reading ( Acts 9: 26-31 ) assumes that you know what has gone before in this chapter of Luke’s story of the early church. Saul, as Paul was called then, had been trying to suppress the followers of Jesus’ Way and in his travels to do this, on approaching Damascus had had a conversion experience: Jesus appeared to him, Luke says, and asked ‘Why are you persecuting me?’ The use of ‘me’ in these words is an indication of the presence of Jesus in His followers, though this may not have been interpreted then as we might take it today. In the Acts of the apostles Luke recounts this experience three times altogether, but in the letters of Paul’s which we have, he does refer to having a revelation (see Gal 1:11-17 ) but not in the visual and narrative terms used by Luke. According to Luke, after this experience, Saul himself became a believer in Jesus, and in our reading he tries to get accepted by the disciples in Jerusalem and to use his fluency in Greek to speak to the Hellenists who were Greek speaking Jews; but later his vocation will be beyond Jerusalem and even to non-Jewish communities.

The second reading this week is from the First letter of John again. In chapter 3, verses 18-24 he writes about the loving and forgiving presence within those who follow the command of Jesus; the command to believe in Him and to love one another. The 10 commandments have been superseded in this new era initiated by Jesus, which we now call Christianity, although, perhaps because of our weak human nature we still have and certainly need some guideline about how we should live as Christians. The writer’s message, however, is clear – whoever believes in Jesus and loves others lives in God and God lives in him, and the Spirit of Jesus within us assures us of this. This is taken up in later Church teaching, notably by Athanasius, (whose feast it was yesterday), in his work " 0n the Incarnation " (number 54).

In the Gospel ( John chapter 15 ), we have what might appear like the parable of the vine. The Old Testament often refers to the Jews as the vine of God; in that context it is seen as one that needs a lot of tending and that sometimes, even then, produces bad grapes (see Isaiah 5 ) – it is very frustrating for God to have such problematic people. But Jesus utterly dedicated Himself to please God His Father by loving others and giving them hope of a better life even here on earth. So Jesus is the true vine. But those who live in the same basic way of Jesus share in his life; and just as Jesus’ life was not easy-going, so the lives of His followers will have set-backs – and this is indicated in the parable by the reference to the pruning that the plants need in order to grow all the better and bear good fruit.

Jeff's jottings: Tree and branches

4th Sunday of Easter B

Sat, 13 Apr 2024 16:06:54 GMT

Acts, chapter 4, verses 8-12 go straight into another speech of Peter that Luke inserts here. The context is the very early activities of Peter in Jerusalem. Together with John and others he had been gathering interested listeners in increasing numbers in the outer court of the Temple, and many of them were anxious to become believers and followers of Jesus. He had cured a lame man in the name of Jesus and was proclaiming the resurrection and accusing the Jews (it would be chiefly the leaders) of having Jesus brought to trial and put to death. The disciples had been arrested and kept over night, till in the morning they are brought before the high priest and other leaders and interrogated – “By what power or what name did you do this?” Peter replies to his accusers, laying the guilt for Jesus’ death upon them and referring to Psalm 118, that shows this pattern of behaviour. Peter affirmed Jesus as the one who can save people from this persistent pattern of behaviour, and can lift us out of our pattern of falling short of the Christian ideal. We have this Psalm after the reading, and the passage quoted as the response: Jesus is the key-stone to the building of the kingdom, and we are the rest of the building – we are a bit like the awkwardly shaped stones in a dry stane wall.

From the opening two verses of first letter of John, chapter 3, we read again of the very basic aspect of God and of our relationship to Him. We are children of God even now, when we are loved by Him despite our inadequacies. It is quite unimaginable what it will be like when we pass over into the life after death and live even closer to God.

In the Gospel of John, (10:11-18) we are told that Jesus is like a shepherd to us. Shepherding was different then and there, from how it is now here in Scotland where we sometimes have severe weather conditions and the shepherd can use a trained dog and maybe a quad-bike as well. Shepherding was beset with problems from marauding wild animals, occasionally from rogues and thieves but always from the straying of the sheep away from safe areas and from the food they need. In the Old Testament shepherding was often used as an image of God and His relationship with the chosen people. But here in the New Testament in this gospel the emphasis is on the love and care that God has for us, on the risks taken and on the ultimate aim of uniting all the people of the earth. We must recognise in the various hazards and straying nature of the sheep something of the way our own lives pan out; but also how like the shepherd with his sheep, God is with us; in Jesus, God Himself lives for us here and now, and dies to keep us safe and secure in following Him.

Jeff's Jottings on the Good Shepherd

3rd Sunday of Easter B

Sat, 06 Apr 2024 13:01:10 GMT

In the first reading from Acts, ( 3:13-19 ) we have Luke’s report of what Peter preached to the early followers of the Way of Jesus. A message that looks very much like it is putting the blame for the death of Jesus on the Jews to whom it is addressed; yet it does add that they did not know what they were doing, and indeed they were fulfilling, it says, what had been foretold would happen. The idea of what sin is, in these words, reflects the common notion that it is going against what is just and right, with no consideration of the intention of those who are doing what may be seen as sinful by others or according to the law. We and Christians generally still have difficulty sometimes with understanding this distinction. The address of Peter as reported by Luke, outlines the pattern of life that we humans generally have whether we call ourselves Christian or not.

In this pattern we do things that interfere with the creative plan of God and that misinterpret the words and actions of others who are God’s creatures on earth; we do this without fully realising what we are doing though it can cause so much damage to the world and to others; however, as we more and more come to be followers of the way of Jesus, God’s personal representative among us, we should work at changing our way of life continually for the better. So Luke tells us Peter concludes, saying “Repent, change your whole way of life for the better,” so that your sins may be wiped out!”

In the second reading, ( 1 John 2:1-5 ), the writer confirms that our sins can be left behind. There is the notion that God requires some recompense for the wrong done, and that the death of Jesus was a sacrifice that has won from God forgiveness of the sins of the world. The early Christians to whom the letter was written do not think that being a Christian means being free from sin, but it does mean that we have to try to leave all sin behind by doing the will of God. God’s love is in us, but we must let it come to perfection in us by obeying the commandments of God.

The Gospel reading ( Luke 24:35-48 ), announces the resurrection: It is unbelievable! In story-form Luke tells us that God is still really one of us, but unlike us he is a human who has lived entirely for others, a life sacrificed for all; and this is all part of God’s plan from the start to the end – the End of time; the whole world should know the love of God! And Luke’s second volume, the Acts of the Apostles, illustrates the progress of this Way of life from Jerusalem to Rome, a progress that Jesus refers to at the end of this reading. We must try to become human like Him; He lived for others showing His love for the Father, so we must live for others, and hence for God! We, who know of this love that is everywhere, must express God’s love by loving others – a joyful but hard task.

" Easter in ordinary " - the presence of the risen Lord in the ordinariness of our lives.

2nd Sunday Easter B

Sat, 30 Mar 2024 12:49:46 GMT

The two Books of Samuel are classified in the Old Testament as History. History written then had the aim of influencing its readers morally, religiously or politically. The information included may have come from ‘historical’ annals, old folk tales and favourite stories which had something to say to all people. Our reading today is such a story; it has a message about how we might pick up on what God is wanting us to do with our lives. It has the homely setting of an old father-like figure and a young boy who related to him as to a grandfather; it has the characteristic pattern of threesome repetition; it is clearly set in a religious context (the Temple) and it has the engaging feature of misunderstanding prior to getting things right. It is an account of God’s call of the prophet Samuel. It is from such accounts that Fr. Daniel L. Schutte, S.J. took the refrain and used it as the chorus when he composed that now well-known hymn about our own renewed commitment to recognise God around us, His call to us and our positive response to it.

The second reading ( 2 nd Reading – 1 Cor 6:13-20 passim) does not seem to fit in well with the other readings for today except that it illustrates the difficulty we might have in discerning exactly what is for us the right thing to do and what we should not be doing. Paul is writing to the Corinthians about a specific problem. His preaching has told these Gentile converts that now they are Christians they are not bound by any laws (Paul has in mind particularly the Jewish Law). He probably spoke most powerfully about this freedom, because he had been a strict Jew himself up until he became a Christian, but also because some of the Jewish converts thought the Gentile Christians ought to be bound by the Jewish laws. But in the morally loose city of Corinth, some of the Gentile Christians might have taken this to include freedom in sexual practices. Paul has to modify his revolutionary teaching; the freedom doesn’t extend to this; it affected the eating of food sacrificed to idols which Jews wouldn’t do, but Paul thinks that is permissible, since the stomach is just an organ of the body; but our bodies as a whole are ourselves and are the shrine of the Holy Spirit and should not be defiled by inappropriate sexual behaviour. This is a good illustration for us of how the rules we have in our religion are derived from our beliefs about God, about ourselves and about the relationship we have with God which we know through Jesus Christ.

The gospel (John 1:35-42) passage can easily be taken to be a charming and believable narrative about John, Jesus and the first disciples, but in John’s gospel particularly, there are usually deeper meanings within the text. With no infancy narrative in his gospel the first public presentation of Jesus is made in this passage by the Baptist to two of his disciples, with the words used in catholic liturgy announcing communion: “behold the lamb of God!” The reply with a depth of inner meaning uses the word ‘follow’ as to walk behind and also as to be a disciple of. Jesus then asks “what do you want?” the words used by a priest when someone presents to be baptized and a question always challenging us. Notice also the query where Christ is to be found and the welcome “Come and see.” The call of the first disciples in the other gospels is while they are fishing (which they seem to abandon immediately), but here Simon Peter is called by his brother who first followed Christ. This all leaves us with questions about our own relationship with Christ which we need to regularly consider.

See Jeff's Jottings about the presence of Jesus

Easter Sunday B

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 10:50:32 GMT

The first reading is taken from the Acts of the Apostles, ( chapter 10, verses 34-43 passim), where we hear a speech made by Peter before a Roman Official about the resurrection of Jesus. The book of Acts is written as an history of the growth, spread and preaching of the early church chiefly through Peter and Paul. The book seems to be a sequel to the Gospel of Luke and also written by him. The custom at the time of writing such an account often included speeches by key figures written by the author. However, there are definite elements in the recorded preaching of Peter that reflect the use of an early source which may well have been Peter himself. You will notice that the way Jesus is described is less developed than the way even Paul writing in the 50’s described the nature of Jesus (as Son of God); at an earlier time it was said that God was with Jesus in all the things He did and after His death God raised Him to life with Himself and set Him up as judge of all. The opening remarks of Peter may reflect the change that he went through after encountering the attitude of Paul: from seeing the Jewish practices as essential to God’s favour to saying that God “accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.”

The short second reading from Colossians, ( chapter 3, verses 1-4 ) is addressed to a newly baptised Christian. After accepting the preaching about Jesus, a person could ask to become a follower of the Way of Jesus and be baptised and join the community of believers. Baptism was by total immersion and was a symbolic act of dying, being buried and rising anew; dying to a life of following the degrading values of money, pleasure and worldly success; putting all that behind one and rising (out of the water) to live with Christian values within the life of Christ now present on earth. The Christian lives with a new life that is visible only in the values that are followed and the sincerity of one’s life, but will be revealed completely at the end of time, when they expected Christ would come again in some way. We see here the use of a word probably coined by the writer of Ephesians (which we read on the 4 th Sunday of Lent) – a single word meaning raised together with (συνηγερθητε) urging us to live up to what we are and with the life we share in Christ!

In the gospel ( John, chapter 20, verses 1-9 ) we have a description of the realisation that Jesus is risen. There is always much to consider in the words of this fourth gospel; we notice for example the significant role of women and that other disciples are secondary to Peter. And it makes us realise something about the resurrection that otherwise might not have been documented, namely, that none of the followers of Jesus, men or women, really had any idea that he would be raised up to life anew after His crucifixion – they thought the body had been stolen and had not understood any prediction of this event. The resurrection is a mystery – it is about the life of Christ not just after death but in a new way entirely within the Godhead but also present within our world, in all that is positive and good in it. This is a belief that we too are unable to grasp fully; and it is not so much something that we have to understand as something that we have to live out as the disciples and the early Christians showed us: this is how Easter should impact on us!

See Jeff's jottings on "He's not here!"

Palm Sunday B

Thu, 14 Mar 2024 20:24:22 GMT

The passage from Isaiah ( 50: 4-7 ), clearly reads as though it is from a prophet. He is one who knows what God wants to say to the people, and even though his words may be unwelcome to those he addresses, he nevertheless puts up with the opposition of the crowd and follows his calling to listen to the voice of God and deliver the message to the people; their reaction may well bring him opposition, verbal or even physical. This passage, like a considerable amount of the Bible (Old Testament) would be quite familiar to the Jews at the time of Christ and in the early church. It is noticeable, for example, that in the Gospel written by Mark (probably the earliest Gospel) there are echoes and sometimes references to and quotations from his Scriptures. This Old Testament reading may well have been in mind as he wrote about the difficulties encountered by Christ in the account of the passion which we hear in the Gospel today.

In the second reading ( Philippians 2: 6-11 ) Paul quotes from an early hymn about Christ. It forcefully and poetically attempts to express the ‘unbelievable condescension’ of God becoming human – one of us. It uses the Greek word for “to empty” (kenoein) which appears only five times in the New Testament and only here of God, of His act in Christ in person emptying Himself – from His divine nature – into our humanity becoming the man Jesus Christ This is a selflessness that we would emulate if we were utterly devoted to becoming saints. The adjective ‘kenotic’ and the noun ‘kenosis’ have now entered the English language and they are used to try and express this ‘emptying’ of Christ without denying His Divinity as well as being used about the implications of this for Christian living and spirituality. The poem we have in Philippians goes on to tell of the elevation that balances this, after Christ has undergone death – the details of which we hear in the passion account in the long Gospel reading that follows.

The passion in Mark’s Gospel came to be written somewhat like this. After His earthly life, those who were ‘followers of the Way’ (later called Christians), acknowledged Jesus as Messiah, Son of God and Saviour. This belief arose from knowing His unique personality before and after His crucifixion, and from the impact He made upon their lives. But they had to find ways to put it into narrative for later generations using what they had experienced or heard of, namely all the significant events that led up to His departure from our world to be present in it in a new way. We have no record of precisely how they did this over the period of the first two decades or so. But then Mark incorporated their traditions, some oral and some already put into writing, into his gospel. So this narrative of the Good News culminates with the last three chapters of Mark’s gospel of which we read the first two today ( chapters 14 and 15 ).

Mark tries to make sense of the fact that Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy by the religious leaders and was executed as a criminal by the secular power for claiming to be a king; both authorities were worried about the reaction of the crowd and the disturbance of the status quo; and Mark also wants to admit how Jesus’ friends betrayed, denied and abandoned Him – save for a few faithful women; and how some taunted him, but a Roman centurion seemed to recognise him as son of God. We should not read it as an historical account so much as a powerful message to us about the enormous love of God for us and the selfishness, weakness and sinfulness of ourselves – a powerful homily!

See Jeff's jottings about Jesus’ prayer and our prayer relationship

5th Sunday of Lent B

Sat, 09 Mar 2024 11:24:47 GMT

In last week’s first reading from the history book called Chronicles mention was made of the prophet Jeremiah; in our reading this week from that prophet ( Jeremiah 31:31-34 ), we have the only explicit mention in the Old Testament of the New Covenant – a new pact of God with and for humanity in relationship with God, though Ezekiel expresses a very similar idea ( 11:19 || 36:26 ). The pattern of much of the history of the people descended from Abraham repeats again and again: God makes a covenant, – a promise, a command or an arrangement with conditions, and the people default on their obligation – are unfaithful, or just forgetful; disasters beset the people, usually trouble from neighbouring states; yet God renews His contract with them again and again.

The prophets have the difficult and thankless job of encouraging and lifting the spirits of the people again and again, as well as berating their inadequate response to God. At the time of Jeremiah the ‘top’ people have been captured and taken into Babylon in exile; they feel quite depressed and let down by God, so there is need for a message of a new beginning.

We realise this when, year by year, we go through the attempt to renew or refresh and re-invigorate our commitment to God in Christ during Lent and with the celebrations of Easter. It seems it is no different from the times of the Old Testament – yet, with the strength from Jesus Christ, a fellow human being of ours, we can – let us affirm we will! The responsorial psalm (from Psalm 51 ) is quite appropriate to these sentiments, it is sometimes called the ‘miserere’ from the first word of the Latin version (numbered psalm 50 there).

In the book of Hebrews, ( Heb 5:7-9 ), the author is trying to express the ‘new’ situation that the Christians are in; and trying to do it in the language that they would understand. They might well be converts from the Jewish religion, perhaps living in Egypt and in the context of a culture and a view of life influenced by Greek thought and civilisation. Because of the literary style and intricate thought system, it would be best suited to well-educated Christians, knowledgeable of the Old testament and presently living their faith without much difficulty.

In the last decades of the first century it presents the new and unique priesthood of Christ: a man with the appropriate priestly qualities, i.e. he can represent others (all other humans) since He became one of us, he has an empathy with the troubles and difficulties of being a good human (a righteous person) in an unsympathetic environment for he was tempted and had his agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and he has been appointed by God Who says to His disciples (and that includes us), “this is my beloved Son, listen to Him.”

The gospel reading is John 12: 20-32 . Up to this point in this gospel the ‘hour’ of Jesus has not come – as He told Mary in the story of the wedding feast of Cana ( John 2:4 ) when she looked for a miracle from Him. Also in this gospel apart from His dealings with the Samaritan woman (chapter 4) Jesus has confined all His activity to the Jews, but now we hear of Greeks wanting to see Jesus – and ‘seeing’ in this gospel often means coming to believe. Is it this that triggers Jesus’ words “now the hour has come?” He goes on to speak of the pattern of His life and death, which is one of self-denial and service of the other.

The followers of Jesus must adopt this pattern in their lives too – it is a scary thing to do. And the writer alludes at this point to the agony prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane, a prayer to be freed from this ending of His life, but the prayer is answered in a different way. (In this Gospel there is no account of the agony in the garden as in the other three gospels). His lifting up on the cross is also a lifting up to a new risen life, to the glory of God and to encourage all to ‘follow’ Him. Where He is we should be, and except when we are in sin, where we are, Jesus is there in us, with us and for us!

Read the Jeff's Jottings about the covenant

4th Sunday of Lent B

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 10:44:38 GMT

The first reading is from the last few verses of the Second Book of Chronicles ( 2 Chron 36:14-23 passim). History is written not just to inform us about the past but so that we can learn something for our present situation and for the future. Much of the history of the nation of the people of the bible was written in the books called Samuel and Kings, then Chronicles was written to tell the story again, all with hindsight and to teach a new lesson to match the situation at the time. At the time of writing Chronicles, the people were in Babylonian Captivity or the Exile as it is called. But after about fifty years they were allowed back by the grace of Cyrus the ruler at the time. God restored them through an unexpected power! The reading tells the last part of this account; it makes the point that God is not just the God of the Israelites; He is the God of all peoples, and they are moved by Him when whatever they do is good and righteous – Cyrus was such an one.

The second reading is from Ephesians ( 2:4-10 ). This book seems to be an encyclical i.e. a letter to be handed around to a whole group of Christian communities; it was written in general terms about the essence of Christian belief and about living in harmony with and for each other. In some of the manuscripts that exist, it is addressed to the Laodiceans, and sometimes just to “the saints” but mostly to the Ephesians which gives it the name we use for it.

As we know, Paul wrote many letters to the Churches that he knew well and addressed their particular situations and problems; in this letter we have ideas that are developed from the thinking of Paul but many think that the letter was not written by him. As well as a different theology, the style of writing is somewhat different as well. Nevertheless all this does not deteriorate from the great value of our inspired reading. The passage we are looking at affirms God’s great love, even for sinners, and says we are “the work of art of God”. It is difficult for the translator to capture the full meaning of some of the key words which literally say God “makes us alive together” (συνεζωοποιησε) in Christ, and “raises us up together” (συνηγειρε), and “seats us together (συνεκαθισεω) in the heavenly (sphere) in Christ Jesus.” We are just utterly involved in the life of God because He is totally in the whole of our lives (it’s a gift from God).

In the gospel ( John 3:14-21 ) we read words on the lips of Jesus addressed to Nicodemus. First of all a reference to the incident in the Old Testament ( Numbers 21:4-9 ) when Moses told the people who were ill to look towards the serpent lifted up (on a pole – a sign to be followed). So also Jesus will be lifted up (the same word is used each time), and those who believe (follow his way) will live with eternal life. It is in this section also that we have many beautiful phrases about the pattern of life we should lead and the love of God for us. This is the first time in this Gospel that the author uses the phrases “eternal life” and “lifted up” which have such a deep meaning (alluded to and expressed in the reading we had from Ephesians). The author of this Gospel uses words well; here he uses ‘light’ in a mystical, poetic but also in an ordinary sense, for shining a torch or switching on a light always reveals the reality that is there but otherwise unseen, and it is unseen because of the darkness (which is also a symbol of disbelief and wickedness). We shall use this symbol with the Easter (Pascal) candle on Holy Saturday when we celebrate the victory of Christ over sin through the fulfillment of His life on earth at His ‘passing’ (His dying and rising).

Read Jeff's Jottings on the ideal human.

3rd Sunday of Lent B

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 16:09:08 GMT

It is in Exodus, chapter 20, verses 1-17 that we have a version of the Ten Commandments. These were the basic formulae for good order introduced for when the tribes settled as a nation in Israel which they saw as their promised land. We know that the young need rules to bring discipline and order into their lives, and we are all young in our development towards full Christian living. But notice that it is not just external conformity that is wanted but internal attitude as well, and hence not only ‘do not steal’ but also ‘do not wish you had (covet) what is not yours.’ Some of the commandments are about religion but most are about social order and interpersonal relationships – for good community – for once the Israelites settled in the ‘promised land’ religion and social order were much the same – there was no merely civil society.

In the second reading, ( 1 Cor 1:22-26 ), Paul develops his message to this community composed of both Jews and Gentiles who can easily disagree with each other, and bemoans the fact that some folk want miracles and signs to support their belief and others want religion to make sense and be reasonable. But, he points out that in matters relating to God, some actions and beliefs that might seems foolish are sensible and actions and beliefs that might to others seem weak are powerful – as evidenced particularly in the last days of the life of Jesus, but should be visible also in the way the Christians live out their Christianity. Like the Corinthians, we may have to do some daring things or put up with worldly scorn to live and improve ourselves as Christians.

The cleansing of the Temple ( John 2:13-25 ), in the other Gospels reads as though it is about the actions of an outraged prophet, doing foolish things which lead to his demise; but in John’s gospel it is about the dramatic transference of the focal presence of God from the Jewish Temple, to the risen Body of Christ. That’s why the dialogue about the destruction of the Temple and its restoration comes within this story rather than at the trial as it does in the other gospels. Incidentally, in John’s gospel the restoration of the Temple is described as it being raised up again in three days, whereas in the others it says it will be rebuilt – raised up emphasizes the underlying and deeper meaning in John. The question of where to worship the presence of God will be raised in John ( 4:19-21 ) by the Samaritan woman (a non-Jewish person). The message there as here is that with Jesus there is a new presence of God in the world – in a human person, Jesus; the ‘body’ is how a person is visibly present in our world, and the whole of creation, all people, notably the communities of Christians and the Eucharist are the Body of Christ.

See Jeff's Jottings "Cleansing the Sacred"

2nd Sunday of Lent B

Wed, 21 Feb 2024 15:52:28 GMT

Verses 1-2,9-13 and 15-18 of Genesis 22: are part of a well-known and challenging story, but we should see it in context. Previously in the story God has promised Abraham he will be the ancestor of a vast number of people ( Genesis 12:1-3 ) and even though he and Sarah are old they will have a son ( Genesis 15:1-6 ) of their own, Isaac. It is through Isaac that there will be many descendants to fulfill God’s promise made to Abraham. But in this reading we hear that God asks Abraham to sacrifice this son, Isaac. Now this story purports to be about an event that took place about 1800 BC, so whatever was its source, it has been told and retold a considerable number of times before it was incorporated into the Jewish Bible. There was a time when they lived among others who sometimes sacrificed a child to bring good fortune or ward off some evil; certain Israelites themselves may have been lured into this practice and this tale about Abraham may have been told to illustrate the truth that God does not really want a child sacrificed even if it seemed to anyone a good ‘religious’ thing to do. But the story could also carry the homiletic message that sometimes God may ask of you things that seem quite appalling to you but you must trust God for He will always do right by you in the end; have faith in God for that will bring you righteousness.

In the reading from Romans 8:31-34 , Paul says something that can be helpful to us. He is in the process of explaining his understanding of Christianity and here he expresses the utter confidence in God that we should have. After all God sent His Son to be one of us and to live and die for us; what better sign could we have of God’s concern for us. If God is for us, Paul says, then who can be against us? But we know from our experience that we can be accused and condemned by other people; Jesus Himself underwent accusation, trial, condemnation and even execution; but God raised Him to the new life with God – this is our belief and the foundation for our confidence in God.

The gospel reading from Mark 9:2-10 is about the Transfiguration. In the Book of Exodus , Moses goes up a mountain to commune with God and is in a cloud for six days before any revelation comes - then he remains for forty days and forty nights. Some might reflect that Jesus with the inner circle of disciples is transfigured up some other mountain. With him appear representative figures of the Law and the Prophets which in His own way Jesus is bringing to completion. Peter couldn’t believe it when Jesus said He would suffer and die; the two didn’t match with how Peter thought the Messiah would be. But Peter now experiences things a little differently – he sees Jesus transfigured and hears God’s voice declaring Jesus to be His Son. This is utterly mysterious and no one can really speak about such things till they encounter Jesus risen: “he didn’t know what to say, they were so frightened.” We must try to see Christ in all the people with whom we have dealings, but that is often just as astounding and hard to realise!

See Jeff's jottings on the Transfiguration

1st Sunday of Lent B

Fri, 09 Feb 2024 17:36:09 GMT

(Genesis 9:8-15 ). Many nations have an ancient story about a massive flood that covered a great deal of the earth ( http://creation.com/many-flood-legends ); it is a traditional tale that they like to pass on to each generation. The Old Testament presents its version of this story as a desperate measure taken by their God, angry because of the huge wickedness of the people that he had created. It extends into the story of the ‘salvation’ of Noah in the Ark together with his immediate family and a viable sample of all living creatures; with this it becomes the story of a new beginning, a second chance and especially a firm promise from God that He will never react this way again – a covenant for a new beginning. The story relates that God arranged that the appearance of the rainbow would remind people of this settlement. This version of a flood story can still give us confidence in the love of God for us that can extend into forgiveness for whatever sins we have and of which we repent. It is symbolized well by the combination of rain and sunshine producing the rainbow which we still rejoice to see. Indeed, just as we are told that none of us in fact see the same rainbow, so God’s attitude to us treats each one of us as a beloved individual person.

( 1 Peter 3:18-22 ). This letter comes from a period when the Christians were clearly a distinct and new religion and were liable to criticism and even persecution from Jews and from those who followed the Roman or Greek gods. The letter is attributed to Peter, but written too late to be his; it reads as a general letter to a number of churches from an overseer (a bishop). Its content definitely relates to the sacrament of Baptism and our reading comes from a section that is like a sermon explaining the symbolism of water in terms of the flood story – it is a new beginning for people and even though times might be hard, they were hard for Jesus too (unto death) but because of Him, difficulties can be lived through, for He now lives in glory with God. The original recipients were quite likely to suffer persecution from Roman authorities and possibly ostracism from members of their own family and onetime friends. If we are trying to live in an upright way as shown to us by Jesus, then we will face difficulty both from the situation we are in and the temptations that we will have, then this ‘sermon’ will have something to say to us.

( Mark 1:12-15 ). This extract is typical of the author’s short and pertinent style. John is a man who preaches conversion; not a change of religion but perhaps, a renewed, commitment to live up to the ideals that one knows one should – appropriate for Lent; his message is often summed up with the word ‘repent’ in the Greek original (μετανοιειτε) “change your whole way of thinking.” Mark writes that Jesus (we suppose at about the age of thirty) leaves his life in the little village of his family and friends, Nazareth, and comes to John to symbolically express this dramatic change in his way of life thenceforth. It is from this moment of commitment that Jesus’ life begins to be really a struggle; he is lead by the Spirit into the desert – a traditional place for difficulties, and among wild and lawless people, though attended with the heavenly angels. Then Mark’s abrupt style puts John to one side and Jesus straight into His public ministry, as we call it, of encouraging this same conversion in others, which is really good news for them.

There is a Lenten reflection written by me (Jeff Bagnall) for this Sunday

6th Sunday B

Sat, 03 Feb 2024 09:11:42 GMT

( Lev 13 1-2,44-46 )

This extract from the Book of Leviticus is about the laws governing the isolation of those with leprosy or similar ailments. Like some other religious traditional rituals and laws, these rules arise from a matter of hygiene and community health, and are given a religious interpretation. So it says that those with the disease or in contact with them will be considered religiously ‘unclean’ and not allowed to participate in religious ceremonies or even mix with others in public places. These laws were still in force at the time of Jesus and it is quite significant that He transgresses this ruling by touching the unclean in order to heal them. Perhaps it is still the case that not all church laws have to be kept, depending on the particular situation!

( 1 Cor 10:31-11:1 )

In this reading Paul is responding to another question that the Corinthian Christian Community have put to him, which concerns the food that they might buy in the market place which may have been offered to ‘false’ gods; they wonder if it is right to eat such food. Paul’s answer is based on the premise that all things are permissible as long as they do not offend others – we must always try to do good to others, as Christ did. In practice, however, this is more complicated than it might seem, because sometimes you have to take a course of action that ‘offends’ someone else; Paul’s rule is absolute though – whatever you do at all, do it for the glory of God.

( Mark 1:40-45 )

Here we have an isolated story that Mark includes in his gospel at this point; it may well be based on an original account told by Peter, from whom much early information about Christ came to Mark. We see that Jesus reaches out to touch the leper despite the ritual uncleanness that Leviticus mentions (see first reading); and again, this account, like others, reminds us that Jesus came to show us how to live as God would wish us to – not in all details but in the basic attitude and principles – even though this may offend some religious rules and perhaps some people. If we allow the life of Christ in us to drive all we do, then all things are permissible, because all we do will be based on the love of others and through them the love of God. There is an interesting diversity in the translation of the feelings that Jesus is said to have: sorrow, anger, compassion etc. This difficulty is also found in early manuscripts that some of which use a Greek word meaning “was angry” and others a different word meaning something like “deeply moved.” Most scholars think that anger was the original for you can imagine a scribe changing that to compassion but not vice versa; but this whole issue gives us pause for thought – what attitude should we have to the woes that others undergo: sorrow, anger, deep concern or should it always result in action, even cutting through the accepted practice of the time?

You might like to read Jeff's Jottings about laws and rules

5th Sunday B

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:44:21 GMT

The first reading (from Job 7:1-7) where Job expresses his great distress with life because God is giving him a bad time and this is because one of God’s angels said to Him that Job was only faithful because everything was going well. The book of Job is very long but you could read a light-hearted but overall accurate version of the story I wrote some time ago – see here .

Earlier in his first letter to the Corinthians ( 1 Cor 9:16-23 passim ) Paul has dealt with the question of Christians eating some of the food on sale in the marketplace that has been sacrificed to an idol of pagan belief. Some think that Christians should not eat this food, while others think that since there are no real gods other than their one God, there is nothing wrong with eating this meat. Paul agrees with the more liberal view but wants to promote the avoidance of upsetting those Christians who think eating this meat is wrong and hence recommends abstaining from this meat if it gives scandal to other believers and finishes chapter eight writing “if food offends my brother I will never eat meat again so as not to offend him.”

But Paul knows that many of the community are liberal in this matter, and that they are aware that he, as a leading Christian in the church, not only is liberal minded but also ought to be an example of this more enlightened view and of the consequent freedom in what one eats. Because of this he now writes to them about restricting one’s own freedom for the sake of others since the good of the community is more important than anything. Paul now exemplifies his attitude with reference to the question of payment for himself as their preacher and pastor – he feels he must sacrifice himself for others.

After the synagogue sermon we read about last week Jesus and the first disciples go to the house of Simon and Andrew ( Mark 1:29-39 ) where it seems they will be staying – an extended family. I always smile to myself when I read how Jesus finds Simon’s mother-in-law not well, so cures her – almost seems – so that she can then wait on them. This is obviously an anecdote from Peter himself that Mark has heard of. That evening Jesus frees a lot of people from various difficulties, but it is clear that He really wants to get back to the task of preaching about the kingdom. But notice also that Jesus needs a time of solitude to pray as though to recharge his energies before he gets on with his task of preaching and freeing people from their demons. We all have some sort of demon that we need to be freed from and we need to follow his example of taking time with God before we get on with our tasks in life.

4th Sunday B

Fri, 26 Jan 2024 21:12:22 GMT

In the first reading ( Deuteronomy 18:15-20 ) , Moses relates the message that God will send a prophet to the people. This most probably meant at first that God would always send prophets to teach people God’s ways – to encourage, scold and challenge them. And there were in fact a series of prophets who were the mouth-pieces or spokes-persons of God, which is what the word prophet means (in the Greek προφητης). But later, perhaps following the yearning for a Messiah, this message from Moses may have been taken as an ideal Prophet who would speak God’s final words. Followers of Christ who came to realise that he was the very Word of God, took this as a foretelling of His coming. For us, as for all people across the ages, there is the problem of discerning the message of God to us, in general and to each of us individually in our different situations. Surely God’s message is in the Bible, but that needs interpreting, and the traditional teaching of the Christian Church plays a role in this. But in the end any individual application, comes from our own make-up, our circumstances and the myriads of people who communicate with us directly or indirectly. I think, that like a real parent, God wants us to heed all these and do the best we can – but we mustn’t harden our hearts or close our ears.

The second reading ( 1 Cor 7:32-35) follows on from last week’s. Paul is answering a number of questions that the Corinthians have raised with him, either by messenger or by letter. They had many questions they wanted their first evangeliser to sort out for them in their particular situation. Some Christian converts from Judaism promoted strict observance of the Jewish laws even for non-Jewish Christians, thinking that in this way they could deserve God’s love and grace. But this is mistaken because we know that God loves us gratuitously and we are not worthy of any reward from God. Some people in Corinth, perhaps in reaction to the immorality for which their city was notorious or the supposed imminence of the end of time, promoted celibacy even within marriage. Paul thought there was no harm in this but that it was not necessary. Paul knows that there is a difference between what he suggests and the genuine imperatives from the Lord for good Christian living. The Catholic Church generally requires celibacy for its priests and among the Christians in Paul’s day (i.e. in the very early Church) there was the thought that the end of the world would soon come and it may have been this that contributed to the ideas that some had, that freedom from the responsibilities and pleasures of marriage would help one to be ready for this End of the world. Of course we should not decry the choice that some make for this kind of life but we also should not think less of those of us who choose to marry. There is a great expression of God’s love in marriage at least equal to that in virginity. Even in our present situation, most people do not think the end of the world is very near. Whether or no, celibate or married individuals must love others as they would God – referred to as love of neighbour – but neither should be compulsory for anyone.

Mark in the gospel ( Mark 1:21-28 ) tells us of Jesus’ visit to the local synagogue where, as a visitor, he was invited to say some words. Jesus has confidence about any message of God for the people, because, as we now believe, He was the very Word of God incarnate into our humanity. The recipients of Mark’s preaching also had this belief, though perhaps only incipiently. In the story, the authority of the words of Jesus is recognised, interestingly even before His power over unclean spirits is exhibited. I notice that, in Mark’s gospel story, it is only the unclean spirit that actually recognises who Jesus is, and secondly, that there seems to be an aside, that the local leader of the synagogue and perhaps other teachers, don’t quite speak with the same personal confidence in what they say. We should be wary of thinking that we can earn God’s love (we have it anyway), and we should try to detect what God might be saying to us through the things and the people with whom we interact and the beliefs that we hold, and respond with confidence that we are doing the best we can. These are the ideas, perhaps, that we should take from the Word of God we hear each Sunday.

3rd Sunday B

Fri, 19 Jan 2024 15:42:06 GMT

The Biblical story of Jonah and the whale is a fascinating story with many sub-plots and deeper meanings within it, dealt with very well on the website of the American Catholic Bishops’ Conference. We, unfortunately, only have a very short extract ( 3:1-5,10 ) from the whole story. Jonah, whose name means dove and indicates peace, is told by God a second time to deliver His message to the Ninevites. He must go and preach God’s anger to the wicked people of Nineveh, a huge city east of Israel and the capital of their longtime enemies. He had been told this before but tried to avoid both God and doing as asked – that’s the bit about the storm at sea and the whale. This time Jonah obeys this request from God and these enemies of Israel repent, for every single one of them believes in God (whom Jonah thought was just the God of Israel). With this show of repentance and the people giving up their evil ways, God has mercy on them. Even just this small bit of the story has something to say to you and me – listen, discern and heed!

In the Second Reading ( 1 Cor 7:29-31 ) written about the year 50 AD we detect how Paul thought then that the time was very soon for the final fulfillment of God’s plan in Christ – for the end of the world as we know it. But in later parts of his writings and other parts of the New Testament the delay in this actually coming about had made the early Christians think otherwise. However, the passage holds for us the message of the urgency of preparation for our fulfilling of our part in God’s plan for us. Not for us the abandonment of normal human activity but rather full engagement with our role in life in accord with the will of God in so far as we can discern it. But the rate of change we experience in technology and in the international situation does remind us that the world as we know it is continually coming to an end. Again the change in understanding God’s ways with humanity which this passage in the context of the New Testament indicates, must teach us to be cautious about any certainty we feel in respect of God’s plans for our world and for each of us at this time; before the mystery of God we must have due humility!

The Gospel (Mark 1:14-20 ) tells us of the end of the work of John the Baptist and the beginning of the public mission of Jesus in Galilee. Mark is emphasising that not only are the two people and their roles different, but that when Jesus started his preaching and teaching, the work of the Baptist was over. Then we read of the call of the first few disciples. It was only last Sunday that we heard an alternative version of this story. We need to be aware that a gospel is not the same as a plain history. The word gospel means good news, and the evangelists are trying to communicate to their audiences, and through this Word of God, He is trying to communicate with us something of what our life should be like as a follower of Jesus. So, unlike John’s version which we heard last week, the other gospels emphasise the immediacy and the completeness of the disciples’ response to Jesus’ call. Of course there is an historical basis for it – Jesus did have special followers – but the good news for us is that we too are called and should respond at once and wholeheartedly! Mark probably heard the call described by Peter when preaching to potential converts. Now Mark speaks to us.

2nd Sunday B

Fri, 12 Jan 2024 21:38:11 GMT

1 ^st Reading (1 Samuel 3: 3-10, 19)

The two Books of Samuel are classified in the Old Testament as History. History written then had the aim of influencing its readers morally, religiously or politically. The information included may have come from ‘historical’ annals, old folk tales and favourite stories which had something to say to all people. Our reading today is such a story; it has a message about how we might pick up on what God is wanting us to do with our lives. It has the homely setting of an old father-like figure and a young boy who related to him as to a grandfather; it has the characteristic pattern of threesome repetition; it is clearly set in a religious context (the Temple) and it has the engaging feature of misunderstanding prior to getting things right. It is an account of God’s call of the prophet Samuel alluded to also in the call of the prophet Isaiah ( Isaiah 6:1-8 ). It is from these accounts that Fr. Daniel L. Schutte, S.J. took the refrain and used it as the chorus when he composed that now well-known hymn "Here I am Lord" about our own renewed commitment to recognise God around us, His call to us and our positive response to it.

2 ^nd Reading (1 Cor 6:13-20 passim)

This passage does not seem to fit in well with the other readings for today except that it illustrates the difficulty we might have in discerning exactly what is for us the right thing to do and what we should not be doing. Paul is writing to the Corinthians about a specific problem. His preaching has told these Gentile converts that now they are Christians they are not bound by any laws (Paul has in mind particularly the Jewish Law). He probably spoke most powerfully about this freedom, because he had been a strict Jew himself up until he became a Christian, but also because some of the Jewish converts thought the Gentile Christians ought to be bound by the Jewish laws. But in the morally loose city of Corinth, some of the Gentile Christians might have taken this to include freedom in sexual practices. Paul has to modify his revolutionary teaching; the freedom doesn’t extend to this; it affected the eating food sacrificed to idols which Jews wouldn’t do, but, Paul thinks that is permissible, since the stomach is just an organ of the body; but our bodies as a whole are ourselves and are the shrine of the Holy Spirit and should not be defiled by inappropriate sexual behaviour. This is a good illustration for us of how the rules we have in our religion are derived from our beliefs about God, about ourselves and about the relationship we have with God which we know through Jesus Christ.

The gospel (John 1:35-42)

Epiphany - Year B

Fri, 05 Jan 2024 19:51:12 GMT

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

The Holy Family - Year B

Sat, 30 Dec 2023 12:49:55 GMT

The first reading from Genesis tells us something about the relationship between Abraham and God. The reading is made up of two separate parts of this story ( from chapters 15 and 21) ; you notice that in the first part he is called Abram, meaning great father, and in the second part, Abraham, father of many. Names and name changes were quite significant in that culture; also the inheritance of position and dignity went from father to son, and if there was no son to any of his wives then it went through one of the maidservants’ sons used by the father. Although Abram is childless, God promises that he will have many descendants. Part of the story omitted is where God promises that Abram will have a son by his wife, Sarah, although she appears to be too old – she actually laughed at the thought. But God’s plans come to be, and Isaac is born to Abraham and Sarah; God can bring about what seems to us to be impossible, but co-operating with Him will achieve remarkable results.

From the Letter to the Hebrews,( see here scroll down ) the second reading tells us something about faith. The writer believes that “to have faith is to be sure of the things we hope for, to be certain of the things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 GNB) – to believe in what seems impossible. He illustrates this with reference to various Old Testament characters, like Abel and Noah (whose story of the flood you will be aware of), but he is most interested in Abraham, the great ancestor of the chosen people. We hear reference to that most alarming account of God asking Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, as a human offering, of Abraham going ahead with this until at the last moment an angel stops the process and offers a ram instead (see Genesis 22 ). While the writer of Hebrews takes this as an example of faith, the gospel writers might well have some of the story in mind when they tell of the Son of God, led up a hill and sacrificed on the wood of the cross. The way stories are developed and used to make a different point, it may well be that this was preserved to illustrate that God does not want human sacrifice (see Deuteronomy 12:31 ) which some of the neighbouring tribes practised and the Israelites might have been tempted to do. But this second reading for us is about accepting what God wants of us and going ahead boldly to do it.

In the gospel (Luke 2:22-40 ), we read how the parents of Jesus take him at the appropriate time to the temple to be dedicated to God. Notice that this service of presentation and dedication fulfills the Jewish law and at the time of the writing of this story the Christians believe that it is Jesus Who fulfills the Law and that in Him the glory of God is revealed. The words of Simeon are significant for us, as they were for Mary. He is a character between the Old and the New testaments and his words resound with allusions ( see here ) to the events and words of the prophets in the Jewish Scriptures especially; but they might also be applied to the Christian era when he addresses Mary directly. She too is a character at the junction of the old and the new eras; Simeon refers to the troubles and the blessings in the long history of his people as well as to the sorrow in the life of Mary, but also, perhaps, to the conversion of individuals to Christianity by Baptism as they sink into the water to die to the old self and rise out of it into new life with Jesus dying and rising. But we need to experience this pattern in our own lives and as we try to live more and more as Christians should, we will have our own falls and uplifts.

4th Sunday of Advent B

Fri, 22 Dec 2023 19:23:29 GMT

The first and second Books of Samuel have some of the early history of the chosen people. It is an instructive interpretation of past events from which the reader is expected to learn something of the ways of God with people and how people should respond to Him. In our reading (from 2 Samuel chapter 7 ), King David is presented as a good king who will become an hoped-for ideal ruler when the people reach their zenith of power. The king has subdued all his enemies (with the help of God) and is now settled in his own house (actually a palace) and is at last safe from surrounding enemies; in this successful situation he wants to build a house (in fact a temple) for God, close to the palace in Jerusalem.

Up to this point the ‘house’ of God has been the ark of the covenant kept in a sacred tent and transported to different areas to be close to the people in general. The prophet Nathan thinks it is a good idea to have a temple, but later he gets to understand that this is not what God wants, at least for the time being. Rather, what God wants is for the house (the dynasty) of David and all the people to dwell safely and well in the land that He has given them for themselves; and in the future God will raise up an heir of David’s who will reign over an ideal kingdom. But who, reading this history can grasp how this will in fact turn out? We apply it to the Kingdom of God announced by Jesus nearly a millennium after David, but its completion still needs our co-operation.

The second reading is the last three verses from Paul’s letter to the Romans. We don’t have the original of any of the New Testament books, but only manuscripts of a later date. Some of these put these three verses a chapter or so earlier and some have them in both places and I think one omits them altogether. It may be that these verses were not originally by Paul but were added later. But that is by the way; since these verses still have a lot to say. This one sentence tells us that the core message of the Christian teaching is that we are elevated to a higher potential because this is the climax of what was prepared for in the Old Testament (the scriptures). It is God Who enables us to live well as we should, and in accord with the Good News as preached by Paul. Previously, what the Good News was and what God wanted was a mystery, but now it is clear in Jesus Christ. And this is Good News that should spread to all people, including those we think unlikely. You can read more about this here .

In the gospel reading we hear of the annunciation to Mary by the angel Gabriel. He tells Mary of her role in God’s plan; it is a great favour for her for she is to have a child who will fulfil the longings of God’s people and His promise through the dynasty of David. As David mistook God’s plan for him, so Mary cannot see how this will come about and how God’s plan will come to reality. But the message the angel adds, is that God’s power can achieve what seems impossible to us and is impossible without His help. The Spirit which played such an important part in creation and in the history of the people, will come upon Mary. This power of God is shown in the pregnancy of Mary’s much older cousin Elizabeth with John the Baptist. Mary verbally accepts the word of God and co-operates in His plans for the rest of her life, beginning with caring for her cousin. The thread through these readings applies also to us who read and hear them. How we expect and want things to be, may not be what God has in mind for His overall plan. What God wants of us may surprise us, but He is with us and enables us to fulfill our role and progress the coming of His kingdom, we should respond as Mary did as we prepare to celebrate the gospel events at Christmas.

3rd Sunday of Advent B

Fri, 15 Dec 2023 15:13:48 GMT

The first reading is from Isaiah chapter 61 . As Israel’s long history progressed, even from the time of Abraham, leaders kept being chosen and supported by God, and when it came to Kings their appointment was confirmed by anointing. Then when times were difficult for the nation, people began to expect that God would send an anointed one who would bring them to their fullness and their dream of success. The history of the people tells us ( Ezra 1:1ff ) that their captivity in Babylon ended through the emperor Cyrus, chosen by God to send the people back to their homeland. Our first reading for today comprises two stanzas from a poem in the book of Isaiah from about this time (530 BC). The first could well be the voice of such a chosen liberator, though we might see it as also being appropriate to be expressed by Christ Himself. The word Christ means anointed and the Spirit of God is with the anointed one. This chosen one (whether we think it is Cyrus, or anticipating Christ) has good news to deliver – the word Gospel literally means good news. It is to announce the day everything will be put right, a vindication that is sometimes translated as vengeance (for the Jews would likely have thought of retribution on their enemies). The next stanza that we read is probably the thoughts of Jerusalem personified for the inhabitants of the city and its surrounds; it sings of rejoicing in the restored glory of the building and of their society in themselves and in relation to their enemies. This stanza can remind us that we should rejoice at the things that God has done for us in Christ.

In the second reading Paul writes to the Thessalonians from Corinth and has received news from Timothy that the Christians in Thessalonica, which he had to leave hastily, are doing well. He writes to give them some advice and to praise their success. Our reading is almost the end of this letter, dated about 50 AD. Christ wants His followers to be upbeat, to pray for things they want and anyway to always thank God for all His blessings. The community there seems to have quite a few ‘prophets;’ They are people, male or female, who feel moved by the Spirit to make pronouncements and public prayers. Some in the community dislike this activity, but Paul says you need to judge what they say and accept what you know to be right and good and reject the rest. He ends by praying for them – it's good for people to know when they are being prayed for! 'May you be entirely blameless', he prays, using the phrase ‘body, soul and spirit.’ Be ready for the advent of Christ, he prays, which the early Christians thought might be quite soon.

The gospel is from John, a Gospel written much later than the other three and which had to address issues that were developing in the church at the time. One of these was an exaggerated adulation of John the Baptist by some supposed Christians. After all John had been a very impressive character, attracting crowds out into the desert to recommit themselves to God in a ceremony of baptism similar to ones for people taking on an entirely new religious belief and practice. In many ways his extravagantly ascetic life and dramatic death at the hands of Herod, were more impressive than the generally compassionate preaching and lifestyle of Jesus. So at the beginning of this Gospel the position of John in Christian belief is clarified in the reading we have today. Positively, John is the one announcing good news as in the other gospels which also quote the passage from Isaiah used in last week’s readings. Here it is quite clear that John is not the one, not the light, but just a servant preparing his way. Even today we can sometimes have an image of our saviour which attracts us, rather than elevates and challenges; we need, perhaps to rethink and recommit ourselves.

2nd Sunday of Advent B

Fri, 08 Dec 2023 17:33:30 GMT

The first reading is a well-known passage, set to music so elegantly by Handel – just listen to it and reflect! The text originated at the time of the ending of the Babylonian captivity of the chosen people of God, as the prophet announces hope and consolation from God as the time of their exile draws to an end. The way back to the promised land is either a huge detour or is a way across the desert – they have felt deserted even by God but now see a way ahead – there is always a way for us to return to God when we have strayed and lived away from Him. The prophet interprets the exile as a time of punishment for all their previous neglect of their religious practices and lack of faithfulness to God. The voice puts it the other way round: God is coming to them. It is about setting things right so that God can come cutting through all the obstacles that we have which prevent His engagement with us; if we can do that then we can envisage God’s glory – His presence – not as individuals but as a community of people together. The symbolism and allusions of this passage to growth in our spiritual lives are remarkable and should not be overlooked. The voice announces the glad news (the word ‘gospel’ means good news) for God cares for us like the ideal shepherd. The deeper meanings behind this passage are eminently relevant to us at this time of Advent – of preparation.

The seco nd reading is from a letter attributed to Peter, but addresses a much later situation, about 100 AD, The message is for those who are worried about the Second Coming of Christ and the day of Judgment which seems to have been unduly delayed way beyond their expectations. Don’t worry that people are dying before the end comes, the reading argues, alluding to Psalm 90 ( especially verses 3 and 4 ). The important thing is repentance – moving from our old ways to living within the life of God. Through Christ we can do this but we must start now (as we in Advent prepare) to be eager to free ourselves of any spiritual blemish.

The gospel is the opening words of the Gospel of Mark and may be taken in three different ways because of the ambiguity of the little word “of” before “Jesus Christ.” Firstly, it can mean that the message which the gospel is about to present is the very message that Jesus Himself came to deliver to us- it is the good news from Jesus. Secondly, it may be taken to imply that Mark is going to tell us the good news about Jesus – he came to save humanity and by his death (and resurrection) he did. And thirdly, “the Good News of Jesus” can mean that Jesus is Himself good news for us. I think we might think on these three, but accept them all as meaningful to us. This goes beyond what the author had in mind, but this kind of development for a deeper understanding is the way Scripture is used; the next part of our reading shows the author developing the words of Isaiah in the first reading. The voice in the Isaiah reading calls for preparation to be made in the desert; it is a voice that says, “in the desert prepare the way of the Lord.” To apply this to the preaching of John the Baptist in the desert by the river Jordan, the text has been punctuated differently – “a voice in the desert cries out: prepare the way of the Lord.” Throughout history, God comes to us in various ways at different times, and we must prepare to let Him into our lives. We must apply to our situation the message of John, calling out “repent” which means “change your way of thinking!” What we must do as we prepare in Advent for a renewed coming of Christ to us is to let Him into our life, for He shows the way to live for the good of others and consequently for our own good too.

1st Sunday of Advent

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 18:21:37 GMT

The first reading comes from a great cry of lament that has a typical pattern for prayer at the time, and which is still found sometimes in our prayers; first of all God is ‘reminded’ of all that He has done and continues, for the benefit of the petitioner – of the relationship that there is between Himself and us; but then it is a cry of desperation, of feeling let down by a God who doesn’t act as we expect – He is giving us grief; followed by a cry for God to come anew. We think of God as our father and redeemer, but can be too confident about this and reliant on God’s love and forgiveness with the consequence that we encounter difficulties, we actually become hardened in our attitude to religion and to God – God gives us a bad time so we shall be stripped of our complacency and realise our utter dependence on Him. To execute this process seems to have been a task given to Isaiah, called to “make the heart of this people heavy!” ( Isaiah 6:10 ). In the reading we hear that God hardens the people’s heart so that they will lament their situation, realise their wickedness, call on God desperately to bring good times upon them, openly admitting their guilt and the weakness of themselves before God like clay in the hands of a potter.

Two and a half thousand years ago when this was written people were not so self-willed and individualistic as we might be today, and they would not have had such a caring and gentle view of God, so they thought of Him as actually hardening their hearts – an image that is strange to us. But now and in Advent we have to change our ways and be ready to help and work for our God, who comes like a weak and helpless babe not bursting into our lives with power and might; our image of God is put on its head! It is not so much that He helps us, but mysteriously, we must help Him.

Paul opens this letter to the Corinthians with a paean of praise for the blessings given them by God in Jesus Christ. This is what we sometimes need to hear, because, not only are we generally wanting to please God, but also He is determined to bring to a successful conclusion the work of creating and redeeming our world. Paul is a well educated and skilful spiritual leader, and this is a most tactful opening address to those whom he needs to correct in a number of ways throughout this letter. The words can apply to us, when he writes that we are not short of any needful spiritual gifts as we prepare for the advent of Christ. God will surely bring a happy fulfilment to His work with us; but we might think, if Paul was writing to us, what reprimand and criticism would he make after this uplifting introduction.

The gospel reading comes at the end of the only long discourse attributed to Jesus in Mark’s gospel; it is a discourse about the final days before the end, similar to a type of visionary writing of first century alluding to disasters leading up to the day of judgement and followed by a kind of farewell speech expected of important religious leaders. The reading is the concluding exhortation; it is mixed up with allusions to parables that the readers would know, like those in Matthew and Luke about a leader leaving his servants in charge. There is a hint that even if the times seem dark (“at midnight”) they must be ready; for at the time of writing, the Temple has been destroyed and the Romans are becoming suspicious of Christians. At Advent when we are preparing to celebrate the past coming of Jesus with an eye on the final completion of creation, we are reminded to remain faithful and resist the temptation to postpone committing ourselves wholeheartedly to Christ – to Christian living. From the old missal’s Collect prayer for this day comes the phrase ‘Stir Up Sunday’ with its culinary traditions!

Christ the King - 34th Sunday A

Fri, 24 Nov 2023 13:45:35 GMT

David the youngest in the family was out tending the sheep when the prophet Samuel called for him and announced that he was God’s choice to be king. The people lived closer to nature than we do and were familiar with the work of the shepherd, living with and caring for the sheep and leading them to safe and profitable grazing. A king was often likened to a shepherd with responsibility for the care of the people. The prophet Ezekiel draws on this sympathetic imagery when trying to encourage and console the people who were in the difficult situation of exile – some had fled to Egypt but most were in Babylon. So he depicts God as a shepherd caring for them and gathering them together. Yet this great comforting message also has a warning of judgement, for God acts righteously. Throughout their history as a settled nation in Israel some had been rich and materially successful and even now in exile some would become well-off and powerful – sometimes the words for these folk are poorly translated as “the sleek and the strong” or even as “the fat and the healthy.” But there will be judgement as the next verse makes clear; God will be a shepherd but will sort out the good from the bad – the sheep from the goats. The responsorial psalm to this reading is appropriately number 23 “The Lord is my Shepherd.”

The first recipients of this letter were worried about death and about what would happen to those who died before the final coming of Christ as judge, so Paul in this letter addresses this worry. They would know the story of the fall when Adam sinned and so became mortal and due for death. Adam stands for all humanity and we know even now that the only thing certain about our life as humans is that it will end in death. But Christ, Paul is anxious to point out to the Corinthians , brings about a significant change to all of this by his conquest of the finality of death and by having a life that goes beyond death – by His resurrection. And just as Adam’s situation affects all of us, so all are changed by this transcendent life of Christ. All this will be realised at the time of the fulfillment of the kingdom, the end of the world, when all who are in Christ, will become one people in Christ and under God. Let us live as people of Christ, ready for our part in all of this!

This Gospel reading is the last of a series of parables, and is the conclusion of a section about the end of the present age; it is followed by the account of the last Supper and the beginning of the narrative of the Passion, Death and Resurrection. It is a description of the nature of the Last Judgement. This whole section is unique to Matthew’s gospel and somewhat typical of his style and content. It is easily understood as a call to treat others well, especially those in need and this is a very important lesson for us. However what makes this care for others the deciding factor in the final judgement, is the important theological teaching that it holds. Firstly, it is quite explicit that Jesus is the divine king with glory around him, angels below and God as his Father; the Son of Man, the expected Messiah is also called Lord, the name of God. Secondly, all other human beings, particularly the needy, are so intimately involved with the Son of God that any attitude and action towards them is directed also to Christ Himself; in some way He lives in us, who are all needy one way or another. These doctrinal elements in the story are complemented with the Christian code for life; positively this is doing good for others, but the Jewish leaders and authorities would also have noticed the absence of any seeming benefit from all the religious practices and devotions that they supported, taught and enacted. What a lot this has to say to us here and now!

33rd Sunday A

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 15:46:09 GMT

The reading from Proverbs is a surprising choice, though it is a beautiful picture of a wife if we overlook the the servility of the woman that was part of the writer’s culture. It is a selection of verses from Proverbs chapter 31 . It might remind us of last week’s first reading praising the lady Sophia (meaning wisdom). In the end we must realise the beauty in any person who loves God and shows care and devotion to others.

The second reading addresses the anxiety the Thessalonians have about the end of the world – many Christians thought that it would be quite soon, but Paul wants to allay their fears – the phrase ‘like a thief in the night’ is just a way of saying that you don’t know when it will come. If they are good living people they should have nothing to fear.

The Gospel reading takes up the same message about being ready to meet the Lord when that time comes. It does make the point that we are all different in the talents that we have, but what matters is what we make of what we’ve got – we all must strive to make our own sphere of influence as good as we can.

32nd Sunday A

Thu, 09 Nov 2023 04:10:46 GMT

The first reading is from the later Greek writings not in the Hebrew Bible. It is about wisdom; which is female in the Greek language and also in the English female name ‘Sophie’ which means wisdom. She is to be loved, cared for, cherished and constantly looked for and looked after – and these words that we read of her, is itself very wise!

The second reading shows us that in the early days of Christianity there was the thought that the complete end of God’s creating would be soon; though this was not to be, the ideas about life in God after death, eventually for us all, is still what Christianity believes and what gives us comfort when friends or family die.

The parable from Matthew that is our gospel reading is also about death – and notice that it is likened to the marital joining of one with the beloved – and that is a beautiful image of death; but we must be ready for it.

31st Sunday A

Fri, 03 Nov 2023 19:57:32 GMT

The first reading is from the Book of Revelations; the writing is to a large extent visionary, utilizing Old Testament interpretations of history, images of heavenly realities and hopes for the future completion of God’s creation. At one point the author dreams of the opening of seven sealed documents about disasters in the history of the world, past, present or future; but just before he reaches the perfect number seven, he inserts the passage from which we read today (from Revelations 7:2 -17) . This opens with the suspension of the stormy elements of disaster brought by the four angels, and the signing with a seal for rescue on those to be saved; at first the perfect number of 144,000 is given for the tribes of the chosen people as those to be saved (the mention of each tribe is omitted from the reading), but that is followed by a countless number of every variety of person one might find in the world; all are rescued by the Lamb of God – salvation from the great disaster – for which there is celebratory thanksgiving.

The second reading is from 1 John 3:1-3 (the first of three short letters to Christians in the tradition of John’s Gospel); it seems to be written by one who has an oversight of a number of church communities, and that there are two groups of Christians who interpret things differently and have split from each other. The writer is trying to encourage faithfulness to the early teaching and to the tradition that goes back to Christ himself. But the message of Jesus and the beliefs of Christians were from the start developing to suit differing contexts and to express further reflection on the mysteries of God and Incarnation. It seems that the ‘elder’ writing the letter is upbraiding those whom, he thinks, have taken this development too far, though in exactly what way is not clear. This short passage is stressing the changed relationship that Christians have with God through the reality of the Incarnation; he uses the word ‘children’ to express this though admits the mystery of what this will be in the future when Christ reveals Himself in some fuller way. However he contrasts the Christians with other people (‘the world’) in a way that might shock us nowadays; at least in the Catholic Church for the last 50 years the values of others have been respected: “The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons [and daughters ed.], that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions… they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among them.” (Nostra aetate).

The third reading is Matthew 5:1-12a expresses the qualities, attitudes and actions that we should strive for if we are to be truly happy (be blessed), usually referred to as the beatitudes. Although you might count nine or even ten of them Matthew has put the first eight of them poetically together in a section opening and closing with the same second part of the couplet: “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” They are drawn to a large extent from thoughts in the Old Testament (Matthew’s Bible). The setting is from a mountain which is a place of special revelation, for example at the transfiguration (chapter 17) and after the resurrection; the disciples are close to Jesus to learn about the new laws for life, just as Moses received the Commandments on mount Sinai; Jesus sits, which is the customary way for a Rabbi to teach; His teaching is to be passed – the last words of Jesus to His disciples in this gospel are a commission to pass His teaching on to others (Matthew 28:16ff). Matthew clarifies what is mean by poor – it is not necessarily those on low income, or beggars, but those living a simple spiritual life free from attachment to earthly goods. Being pure in heart might mean avoiding desires of a sexual or avaricious nature (lust or greed) but the phrase can also mean having a healthy and spiritual vision of what one is to do with one’s life. The rest of the chapter might expand on the beatitudes in the reverse order of the eight.

see Jeffs Jottings – Be an angel

30th Sunday A

Wed, 25 Oct 2023 23:30:37 GMT

The first part of the book of Exodus lives up to the meaning of its title – exodus means going out; it is about the plight of the Israelites in Egypt, the early life of Moses and the miraculous escape from slavery into the desert and on the way to the promised land. But then we read of the establishment of the covenant between them and Yahweh. But this is an account put together after much retelling, adaptation and development. During that time the rules by which the people should live became established and were put together in the form of a book they originated at the time of Moses and the Book is attributed to him ( Exodus 24:1-7 ). The first reading for today is taken from this book shortly after the Ten Commandments were given at Sinai. Among all the ways that those in covenant with God should live is this definite section about how to treat immigrants – foreigners living in your land. We notice also the strong image of God as a strict ruler who in anger will deal harshly with those who let him down. Ideas about God also develop with time.

The second reading, 1 Thess 1:5c-10, follows on from that we had last week from the letter of Paul to the Thessalonians. Now we hear how this Gentile community of Christians have influenced others in that part of the world. Paul had preached to them about there being just one God, whereas they were used to a multiplicity of gods in their pagan environment. He had preached to them about how they should live their lives to please this one God. And it was quite a development for them to move from polytheism to monotheism and to a belief in a God who cared for them. Paul himself had developed in his understanding as a Jew to the idea of a God who was there for all peoples. We detect in this reading two other ideas that were present at that time: the potential wrath of God and the proximity of the final coming of Christ. Some Christians today still have these ideas, but generally we think of God as a loving father and the end of the world as a distant future fulfilment of Christ in the world.

The gospel, Matthew 22:34-40, does not follow immediately from last week’s reading; in between is something about the Sadducees trying to question Jesus about life after death, for they didn’t believe in resurrection. Today we read from Matthew how after the Sadducees, the Pharisees come to Jesus. The story is based on Mark (12:28-34) where a scribe asks what is the most important commandment, and in response to Jesus’ answer tells him he is right. But in Matthew’s version the encounter is more confrontational - a Pharisee asks the question in order to trap Jesus. For them more than 600 laws in the Bible were all of equal importance.

But the importance for us is Jesus’ reply, namely that loving God and neighbour are the two most important commandments; the first is taken from the succinct and central creed of the Jews in Deuteronomy ( 6:4-9 ) and thus avoids the trap posed to him. However, as thinking develops, nowadays we might think of them as necessary and best practice rather than commandments. I think, in addition, that we might put the two together and believe that loving others is the way that we love God; and we extend ‘neighbours’ to mean all other people that we encounter or who need our love.

29th Sunday A

Thu, 19 Oct 2023 18:39:55 GMT

It is a time when the Babylonian empire is coming to an end. Many Jews are in exile there, bemoaning their lot by the rivers of Babylon (see Psalm 137, made into a song ). But after a generation and a time that somewhat transformed their religion, God will set them free. The empire is being overtaken by one called Cyrus. The reading we have today (part of Isaiah 45:1-6 ) actually mentions this non-Jewish leader by name, thus dating the text to around 530 BC. The return will be a momentous experience for the chosen people of God. But as part of the dramatic transformation in their religion at this time, this text has God addressing Cyrus and calling him the anointed one – a phrase that in the original Hebrew is Messiah and in Greek is Christos. This is a word that we now think of as referring only to Jesus so it also gives us pause for thought. This may well mean that everyone who is contributing to the world how God wants it, is doing so through the wish and blessing of God. Maybe Christians, who share this name, should make sure we live up to it. The text implies that many without claiming to or even recognising any God can nevertheless be doing His will even though unknowingly. We must ask, "Are we (who should know the will of God for us) doing what we should?"

The Second Reading is the beginning of the First Letter to the Thessalonians. Paul, together with Silvanus and Timothy, went initially about 50 AD to this capital city of Macedonia in Greece. There was a large community of Jews there and for the first few weeks he preached in their synagogue. But there were a lot of Gentiles who were enthusiastic in other religious cults as well; it was mostly these that came to hear the word preached; they gathered in the house of one called Jason and initiated the Christian community there; the Jews caused trouble for them and Paul and his companions had to leave, according to the account in Acts ( 17:1-9 ). The opening of the letter shows the feelings Paul had for them now that they had formed into a strong community. Going straight to the important elements of their new found religion, which are also central for us, he notes their faith, their works of charity and the firm confidence – which we often name as faith hope and charity. Like them we too are chosen for particular roles in the world.

In the gospel extract we read today that Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life is now moving towards its completion; it is clear that the Jewish leaders want rid of him, for his way of life is such a challenge to theirs; it also proved almost incomprehensible to his disciples when he tried to explain to them what he foresaw his fate would be (what we read as predictions of his passion). It is the Pharisees who want to entrap Jesus so as to have a case against him to put to the courts. They sent their disciples to link up with the enthusiasts for king Herod who ruled under the Roman emperor, with whom they would not want directly to co-operate themselves.

But what they had to say to Jesus, according to Matthew, showed a real grasp of the driving force of Jesus’ life: addressing him as teacher, they said he spoke the truth, the truth about God, and he showed no partiality but rather indifference to people’s opinion of him. The question is about the legality of paying tax to the Roman emperor; Jesus is a Jew and in an occupied country; Jesus is known to be fearlessly outspoken for what he thinks is right. This is a good entrapment question for it seems the answer must undermine either the Jewish tradition or the Roman requirements, and whichever way he chooses they have something against Jesus; the coin for this poll-tax attributed divinity to Caesar which a Jew couldn’t agree to, but refusal to pay it would offend those supporting Roman rule. When we are caught in a dilemma because of our beliefs, we must either walk away or have a very clever answer to the situation as Jesus did.

28th Sunday A

Thu, 12 Oct 2023 21:20:33 GMT

The first reading is a very upbeat announcement of the good times that the Lord will bring about for all nations. This is not just about the freedom of the Jews who have been in captivity, but it is a universal message of good times, with plenty of all the fruits of the earth and no fear of troubles. The destruction of death might be seen by Christians as the announcement of life after death, but when this message was first delivered, probably in the 6 ^th century BC, it meant no more will enemies kill each other. All these wonderful gifts from God are, however, delivered to all peoples “on this mountain,” a phrase that initially refers to the city of Jerusalem which is centred upon and around a prominent hill in the countryside; though the phrase was used symbolically to refer to all the people of Israel. So we see in this passage the basis for a future view of what God will do for all people on earth, but with the restriction of it being centred on the people of Israel; it is the vision of a prophet who sees the future darkly, reading it from the worldly state of affairs that he interprets from the standpoint of his assured belief that his is also the god of those who share his faith. We know ourselves that many of us Christians are caught in similar limitations in our vision of God’s relationship with the whole world and its people.

The Christians of Philippi made up the first community that Paul established about 50 AD in Europe. Though at first he preached to the Jews, it soon expanded into a mostly Gentile Christian church. They had on several occasions sent funds to him during his further missionary activities, and there was a caring friendship between him and them. The letter to the Philippians that is in the New Testament is most likely a conflation of extracts from several (maybe three) letters that he wrote to them at different times and about different matters. The resulting letter that we have comprises different sections with different tones and we can detect a number of different apparent endings in the last chapter. The two passages we have as our second reading today, are from one of these endings (verses 12-14 and 19-20). They reflect a situation where Paul has received more financial support from them brought to him by a respected member of the community named Epaphroditus; but while thanking them, he indicates that he can manage, for he has experienced both sufficiency and hardship, but has always been supported by God. He wants them to know also that God will see that they are all right (as He does us), and he gives glory to God for this – as we should.

The parable in today’s reading , seems to be drawn from a source used also by Luke, and even in a writing not in the New Testament, the Gospel of Thomas; the source is often referred to as Q (which is just short for the German ‘quelle’ meaning source). Matthew has altered the parable to have a somewhat different meaning that is more in line with his way of thinking. It is addressed specially to the priests and the Pharisees. The story is about a king putting on a banquet for his son; the invitations are rebuffed and the carriers of them ill-treated (even killed), so the king has his vengeance on them destroying their city. And then the commoners are invited and respond gratefully, yet some of them are ill-prepared and get thrown out (to hell). This is about God trying to win over the people (the Jews) with prophets and preachers, but they were not heeded at all. It is about the disasters that have befallen them – even the destruction of the Temple which happened in 70 AD by the Romans. It is about the Gentiles being invited, like the Christian communities open to all people. But finally it is about the need to repent sin and put on the new Christian way of life (like a garment) even if you are part of the community, else it will not go well with you.

27th Sunday A

Fri, 06 Oct 2023 17:11:49 GMT

In the first reading we have a very good illustration of a successful approach to delivering bad news when you are a prophet and that is your job. The book of Isaiah has been heavily edited, and our reading from chapter 5 is very likely the first public appearance of the prophet. If you want the crowd to listen to you, you don’t want to be known as a prophet of doom. So Isaiah draws a crowd by saying he is going to sing a song, like a street busker setting up his spot. It’s a song, he says, about his friend; it’s told as though it is about a man setting up a new vineyard, but it is really about unrequited love. He did everything one should for the vineyard to be successful, but it just produced (literally) stinking grapes. The friend then questions the crowd: “is there anything more I could have done?” And he tells them he is going to completely wreck the area and make it a wasteland. Then, when the crowd has grown and is listening intently, like a punch-line the prophet announces: “this song is about the Lord and you Israel!” The image of the vineyard became quite popular in the sayings of prophets and even among the people themselves; one of their hymns is the psalm that follows the reading for today.

The second reading is part of a final summing up of Paul’s wishes for the Christian community at Philippi. He himself is in a difficult situation in prison with an uncertain future; also there are some difficulties in the Christian community he is writing to; in the few verses before our reading Paul asks the church leaders there to help two females to make peace between themselves. He wants them to be at peace and tells them how to move towards it; “the peace of God” is a phrase that surprisingly only occurs here in the whole of the Bible (the name for such a single occurrence is hapax legomenon ). There has also been a problem in Philippi with some Christians disdaining non-Jewish and pagan (secular) values for living. Paul, of course, as a Roman citizen, has had a good Roman as well as a Jewish education; and his attitude to non-Jews shows in the list of the six attitudes he recommends, all of which are those of contemporary philosophy (mostly Stoic). Many of the values that others hold, we would do well to aim for ourselves! Put this into practice and you will have peace; it is indeed the very peace that God Himself has, and that is why it is beyond human understanding and our unaided ability.

A parable is a story with a strong and telling overall meaning; there are many stories from Jesus in the Gospels that draw on the experiences of the listeners, but some of them are allegories rather than parables; an allegory is a story in which the people (or other elements) refer to people or things in the real world and often to the listeners themselves. The well-known Jewish story of the vineyard has additional bits added to it in Matthew’s gospel which we read today. The owner hands over the care of the crop and the business to tenants, but they are negligent and reject those servants sent by the master to see how they are progressing. It is an allegory about the rulers and priests responsible for the good of the people; the servants are the prophets sent by God and finally His own Son. It is difficult for us to hear this allegory, because the temptation is to relate the wicked tenants to our leaders, especially the ones in our worldwide church. Accusing others in this way might make us feel we are in the right, and then the story just inflates our pride and encourages our condemnation of others. Yet we too have responsibilities from God, and there are people who try to keep us on track whom we disregard. The allegory must be about us else it does no good at all for us to read or hear it when it should be challenging us to improve ourselves, that’s what today’s sermon should do.

see Jeffs Jottings – Development of Christianity

26th Sunday A

Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:36:50 GMT

Reading Ezekiel we must remember that the Jews believed that they were the chosen people of the one and only God, Yahweh; they had laws and rules to live by and a covenant which they often thought of as ‘if we keep your laws, God, you will see that we prosper.’ Yet this arrangement didn’t seem to be working out in their history, especially when they were being taken over by a neighbouring empire. So much so that they began to think that they were being punished by God or even would die because of the sins of their ancestors; indeed they attributed all the difficulties and hardships of life to the original disobedience of the first humans ( Genesis 3 ), and they had a saying: “The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.” Ezekiel was trying to replace this idea with the fairness and mercy of God. Not only was God punishing the wrongdoer for his own sins and blessing the good, but saying that there would be forgiveness and blessing if the sinner repented and turned away from sin.

In today’s second reading we have Paul’s full introduction to the quoted hymn included in the longer reading which was used for the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. Paul expresses his deep concern for the Christian community in Rome. He wants there to be no disagreements among themselves, this is what would please him most; and writing this confirms our view that there were some problems in the community in Rome. But he places before them a huge challenge; huge, but just the challenge of acting in a genuine Christian way. It is this that we should feel addressed to ourselves as we are presented with his words – treat others as more important than yourselves! After such an introduction the example of Christ’s life is drawn to our attention with the famous hymn of Jesus’ self-sacrifice for us and his elevation to be glorified by all.

The gospel gives us another radical message like ‘the last shall be first and the first last,’ presenting fearfully the contrast between those despised in society and the upright important citizens. For us it might seem slightly less radical if we are not important citizens of society, for the present passage is addressed not to all but to the chief priests and elders of the community – those who consider themselves to be worthy of God’s reward. However, we faithful, can easily come to believe that we are worthy of some reward from God, for we can reckon that we are living the way God would want us to. Jesus’ parable of the two sons, tells of the one who says ‘yes’ to the master’s request, but doesn’t follow this through in practice and vice versa. But we should know from the second reading that God’s challenge to us is to do nothing out of selfishness or vainglory; but to regard all others as more important than ourselves. It would surely be a lie if any one of us felt, yes, this is what I am doing with my life. Better to admit our failures but still try our best, like the second son in the parable, to say we wont, but then really do our very best to please God.

see Jeffs Jottings – Demonstration is better than instructions

25th Sunday A

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 18:31:41 GMT

The first reading is part of a heart-warming poem. It was written about the time that the people were going to be released from captivity by a friendly emperor, Cyrus. It attributes this release to the love of God, who has a special relationship of love for people, a relationship traditionally called a covenant. It is a two-way agreement: God will look after the people, and the people will live in a way pleasing to God. But the agreement is not conditional; it is not like God saying ‘if you keep my commandments I will be your protector and god;’ it is unconditional on God’s side: ‘I will be your God, so you will be my people however you respond to me.’ In the part of the poem we read today, the prophet is announcing to the people, God’s call to them; it is a call to give up any wickedness and turn their lives towards Him. But the prophet is also emphasising that God’s ways are mysterious, for He does not depend on the people behaving well for Him to love them and to be their God; there is no way they can deserve or merit God’s love, it is generous, free and everlasting. The extract is chosen for this contrast between God’s ways and ours, an idea taken up in the Gospel reading for today.

The second reading is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians. They were a well organised community that were very supportive of the work of Paul, who had first established their lively group. They had made many donations to Paul and felt a close relationship with him and had him in their prayers, although they had not seen that much of him. Now, he is in prison with a potential death sentence. He writes to them very lovingly, but in the extract we have for today’s reading he speaks of the possibility of his death. He is not unlike Job in the Old Testament who was more concerned about doing what was right than about whether he should live or die. In a way a Christian wants to be as closely united with God as will be the case after death, but also a good Christian wants to live on here to spread the good news of God’s love to others. Paul expresses these intimate feelings to the Philippians whom he would like to visit again, and encourages them to live as Christians should for they have the Good News of God’s love for them and for all.

The gospel tells of a parable that is only recorded in Matthew’s gospel. It was then and is now a very controversial message: that you don’t ever get what you deserve from God, even if you feel you think you should and that someone else whom you think should not get anything, does. The parable has a point that is found again and again in the bible and especially in the gospels; its bluntest expression might be the words at the end of our extract “the last shall be first and the first last.” It is noteworthy that the story doesn’t just recount what happened but also what thoughts and emotions there were. Workers were hired for the day at various times throughout the day, even as late as one hour before the end of the working day. They were all paid a fair wage, we are told, but in fact all got the same amount. This is where the emotions come in: the full-day workers expected to get more for their longer shift than all the others. This apparent injustice is how God deals with us – with all people. Christians and non-Christians, saints and sinners, life-long do-gooders and deathbed conversions, God loves all people to the same degree. Truly it is said, ‘God’s ways are not our ways’ – the climax of our first reading. So we should not live good lives in order to win God’s love, but we should be good as a spontaneous response to the enormous love God has for us!

24th Sunday A

Fri, 15 Sep 2023 20:00:48 GMT

The reading from the Book of Sirach is making the wise and useful observation that God will deal with us in a manner similar to the way we deal with other people. So love and forgive others and God will love and forgive you. But if you… (you know what follows)

A couple of verses from Romans illustrates a way of expressing just what is the relationship between Christ and us; it is that He who lived on earth and is still alive after death, is the example for us of what our lives should be – living here in the way that He did, and hence living after death in the way that he does.

In the gospel there is a different style of communication from the wisdom we have had in the earlier two reading. Gospels tell us about God and His dealings with us with stories attributed to Jesus; and that’s just what we have here – a story making much the same point as the two earlier readings.

23rd Sunday A

Sat, 09 Sep 2023 14:52:13 GMT

God speaks harsh words to Ezekiel the prophet. For Ezekiel knows the harsh things he should be saying to his fellow Jews, and that this will be for their own good in the long term. But who likes to tell others off? So God actually threatens him with punishment if he does not speak out when he knows that he should.

In the letter to the Romans Paul is addressing the Christians living in a context which is not easy for them; they are among people who recognise a great variety of gods and cultic practices and are not at all in favour of these followers of the Way of Jesus who set themselves apart from the general public. Paul reminds them that love is the important attitude and practice – love of all not just among themselves!

Matthew in the gospel is addressing organised Christians who seem to be getting a bit disorganised and are having problems with some of their fellow Christians. He wants them to know that there are ways of dealing with trouble-makers but they should always do it as gently and tactfully as possible. These ideas are behind the authorities that we have in the organised church to this day.

22nd Sunday A

Fri, 01 Sep 2023 18:28:14 GMT

It's not so long ago that we were reading of Elijah wanting to die because of his failure to inspire the people and because of a death-threat against him. Jeremiah was in a worse situation in Judah around the 7th century BC. In that land, regard for Yahweh and the Covenant was almost entirely abandoned, and God urged Jeremiah to preach about the inevitable political demise and eventual national disaster. He had a respite from his work for a short time during the reign of Josiah; for this king tried to reintroduce the recognition of the Law of God as found written in what we now see as the early books of the bible, especially Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But this reform soon failed, and idolatry and fertility cults regained popularity.

Despite extreme reluctance, Jeremiah began the work of his calling, which was to bring him general disfavour, occasional imprisonment or confinement and continued unpopularity. There was some upbeat aspects to his message at times, particularly the one about God wanting to set up a new covenant within the hearts of the people. He suffered a tormenting turmoil in his own life; it resulted both from his natural abhorrence of preaching against his own people and from the deep and inescapable inner compulsion to undertake the vocation given him by God – announcing the people's downfall. Doing God’s will is not always an obviously good thing! Our reading is his outcry at this personal conflict within him.

The second reading follows nicely from the thoughts of the Old Testament situation of Jeremiah. You mustn’t conform to the laxity of morals that there may be in the world of your experience, Paul writes to the Romans; there is a spiritual depth to your being that calls you to commitment to the will of God. It is calling for a sacrifice – surrendering what you might be attracted to. You do this to live in a more elevated way – a way that recognises God’s purpose for human life. The apparent contrast between body and spirit is not the duality of body and soul that many think of, but rather the difference between what I fancy for myself and what God wants to make of me – contrast flesh and spirit. However it is really the difference between God’s will for what He creates to be good and perfect, and the nothingness from which it is raised by Him.

We are at the point in Matthew’s gospel when Peter has just expressed the belief that Jesus is the Messiah expected by the Jews with the anticipation of liberation from Roman dominance and superiority over all the nations. Also Jesus, according only to Matthew’s gospel, has told Peter that he will have a leading role in the new kingdom. It is this that turns out to be the community of Christians that exists at the time of this gospel’s composition. But this wasn’t at all the kind of kingdom and leadership that Peter actually imagined it would be.

In the gospel stories it is at this stage that Jesus begins to speak plainly about the problems that He foresees will come upon Him because of the life He is leading and the message He is preaching – a whole new attitude to religious observance and a view of God as a spiritual liberator full of kindness and forgiveness. This message and belief in it will inevitably bring trouble and difficulty – in the secular aspect of life though not in one’s inner being. It is the contrast between these two areas of life that is the subject of Jesus’ words in our gospel for this day .