ArchivesTag : Catholic
A feminist gospel
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.” But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10, 38-42, Gospel for Sunday, July 18.
Full StoryMy enemy is my neighbor
Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? What do you read there?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” And he said to him, “You have given the right answer; do this and you will live.” But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell into the hands of robbers, who stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead. Now by chance a priest was going down that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw him, he was moved with pity. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back I will repay you whatever more you spend.’ Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” Luke 10, 25-37; Gospel for Sunday, July 11.
Full StoryPeace, power and community
After this the Lord appointed seventy others and sent them on ahead of him in pairs to every town and place where he himself intended to go. He said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go on your way. See, I am sending you out like lambs into the midst of wolves. Carry no purse, no bag, no sandals; and greet no one on the road. Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating and drinking whatever they provide, for the laborer deserves to be paid. Do not move about from house to house. Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.” ….The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, in your name even the demons submit to us!” He said to them, “I watched Satan fall from heaven like a flash of lightning. See, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing will hurt you. Nevertheless, do not rejoice at this, that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Luke 10, 1-12; 17-20; reading for Sunday, July 4.
Full StoryHard sayings
When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” But Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9, 51-62; reading for Sunday, June 27.
Full StoryGay Paul
I’d like to write a play about Paul. I think it would open just before the end, with Paul in chains, in prison, an old man, awaiting an inevitable sentence of death at the hands of Nero – although, as always, hopeful of life. He’s alone. Or at least, he says he’s alone, although he’s dictating a letter to Timothy, his beloved. He asks him to come and see him before he dies.
Bring my cloak, he tells him.
Bring my books, especially the parchments.
The first time I made my defence, everyone abandoned me. No one took my part. May God not hold it against them.
But you, come!
And greet the family of Onesimus. He served me well, and now he is dead; executed for Christ – and for me.
Come!
Is he asking Timothy, his beloved Timothy, to die with him?
That’s the play.
Who is this Jesus?
Once when Jesus was praying alone, with only the disciples near him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered, “The Messiah of God.” He sternly ordered and commanded them not to tell anyone, saying, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it.” Luke 9, 18-24, Gospel for Sunday, June 20.
Full StoryGive us something to eat!
When the crowds found out about it, they followed him; and he welcomed them, and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and healed those who needed to be cured. The day was drawing to a close, and the twelve came to him and said, “Send the crowd away, so that they may go into the surrounding villages and countryside, to lodge and get provisions; for we are here in a deserted place.” But he said to them, “You give them something to eat.” They said, “We have no more than five loaves and two fish – unless we are to go and buy food for all these people.” For there were about five thousand men. And he said to his disciples, “Make them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” They did so and made them all sit down. And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. And all ate and were filled. What was left over was gathered up, twelve baskets of broken pieces. (Luke 9, 11-17; reading for Sunday, June 6, Feast of the Blessed Sacrament)
Full StoryFresh thoughts on Paul
In turning the church decisively toward the Gentiles, Paul created the need for the gospel accounts. A new and growing population of pagan adherents who knew nothing of law or prophets needed not just Christ, as incarnated in Paul by the Holy Spirit, but also the historical Jesus. They needed the stories; they needed to know who this man was, this man on whom their faith was based. Hence the demand for the gospels. And the interesting thing about the gospels is this: they can be assumed to go well beyond what Paul himself knew about the life and teachings of Jesus. So without knowing it, Paul created demand for information about the historical Jesus whom he himself hardly knew. Like all revolutionaries, he could not have known the consequences of his own revolution.
Full StoryBack home
Paul is an uncomfortable figure, particularly for someone like me. I’m a literary man. I spend hours a week consuming liberal journals. I’d feel at home in the Hellenistic pagan world that was the target of Paul’s missions. Indeed, I’d feel at home in Athens, the city that heard his brilliant apologia for the Christian faith – and shrugged (Ac 17, 22 ff). The virtues of first century pagan culture are the virtues on which I was raised. There’s something a bit embarrassing about the certainty of Paul, the single-mindedness of Paul. Paul, the fool for Christ, would never have been invited to dinner at my house.
Full StoryWhat Paul didn’t know
We know more about Jesus than did Paul. He never quotes the sayings of Jesus, never refers to his miracles, never touches his teachings. It’s hard to imagine a pre-gospel world, in which the faith consisted of two fundamental truths: Jesus died, and Jesus is risen: only that. All Paul’s thought flows from that basic source: but does ours? To what degree are the teachings of Jesus different from Paul’s?
Full Story
