november 4, 2013 monday—charles borromeo

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November 4, 2013

Monday—Charles Borromeo

Theme: Reversals.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Rom 11:29-36 (485)

Rev. Patrick Mullen

Last Saturday’s first reading contrasted Israel’s hardeningand obstinacy versus God’s constancy. Today’s reading con-tinues directly from there, repeating v 29, promoting God’ssteadfastness. Again, this is distinguished from Israel’s reluc-tance to embrace the gospel, at least, as Paul believes, untilthe assigned number of gentiles have embraced the faith. Inspite of Israel’s failures, its “gifts” and “call” will not be re-voked, belonging forever to God’s chosen people.

“They who have disobeyed” refers, in particular, to thatsmall number of Jews who cooperated with the Romans inputting Jesus to death. Their disobedience led to Jesus’ sal-vific death and became for everyone, including gentiles, asource of mercy. In an ironic turn of events, Paul fullyexpects, that this mercy given to gentiles will be a source ofmercy for Israel. He implies that the gentiles to whom hewrites, who have been grafted onto God’s people (11:13, 17-18), will call Israel to repentance.

In this way, the gentiles’ change of life and commitment toGod leads not only to their own forgiveness, but also toIsrael’s return and reconciliation with God, fulfilling Paul’searlier conviction that where sin has abounded, grace has allthe more increased (Rom 5:20-21). Because of our choicesfreedom can become a deliverance to disobedience. God re-mains merciful.

Paul quotes Is 40:13, a reflection on the inscrutability ofGod, inviting the reader to consider God’s ability to bringgood even out of the disobedience of some, achieving con-version for Israel’s even from its rejection of God’s eternalplan. Paul’s reflection on God’s capacity for turning thingsaround leads to his praise of God’s glory.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 14:12-14 (485)Rev. Patrick Mullen

This reading is essentially part of the preceding narrative ofJesus’ meal at the house of a leading Pharisee. The mealstarts tensely when Jesus heals a man with dropsy on thesabbath, without ever addressing the oddity of a Phariseehosting such a meal on a day of rest for his servants—a his-torically unlikely scenario, but probably not an issue withinLk’s intended audience: people in a Hellenistic and gentilemilieu.

Jesus then perceives and addresses his dinnermates’ be-havior, as they scramble for places of honor at the meal,encouraging them humbly to allow the host to determinewho gets honored. In this narrative, Lk once again returns tohis important theme of reversals, where the humble are

exalted and fed while the exalted are laid low and sent awayhungry, and where the last are served first (1:51-53; 13:22-30;18:4).

In this context, Jesus also addresses his host about invitingguests to dinner in a manner that improves one’s hope forsalvation. “The poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind” occurtogether in the Scriptures in only one other place, in a para-ble of Jesus in the very next passage in Lk’s Gospel., Therethe master of the feast invites the poor, the crippled, thelame, and the blind to his great dinner.

In a world where divine causality is understood to shapeeverything—and poverty and sickness were understood assigns of punishment for sin or divine disfavor—it is strikingthat Jesus suggests that the lowly are the most suitableguests his dinnermates could invite. In a world where socialobligations are paramount, it is completely reorienting tohold that the very inability of one’s guests to repay an invi-tation is a source of the host’s righteousness.

Homily SuggestionLinus Mundy

So many lessons that Jesus teaches us are about reversals orturnabouts. “The last shall be first.” “Love your enemy.”“Invite poor strangers to your parties, not your rich neigh-bors, friends, and relatives.” The latter issue is the subject oftoday’s Gospel, of course. It reminds me of the cynical say-ing I heard recently that in the old days people gave to char-ities because it was a good thing to do. Now we are advisedto give because it makes for a nice tax deduction.

In a way, however, Jesus does promise a reward, a sort oftax deduction for our generosity in being charitable and hos-pitable to the poor: “You will be repaid at the resurrection ofthe righteous.” This is very much a reversal of the thinkingat the time, the idea that God metes out rewards and pun-ishments based on our actions. They thought that good andholy folks stayed healthy and prospered while sinners werepunished in a multitude of miserable ways: poverty, disease,blindness, even death.

This is why the Book of Job was such a jolt to its OT read-ers and listeners: Job was being punished for what appearedto be no reason at all. He was a good and holy man whowanted only to serve the Lord.

But in today’s Gospel story, the reversal story is that thepoor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind deserve relieffrom their misery. They are to be entertained and fed gener-ously at the feast, even though they will never be able toreturn the favor! God will return the favor. That is thisGospel’s clear call to us today: Give and don’t expect any-thing back. Give and don’t even expect a tax deduction.Simply give. God expects nothing less and will provide areward in good time.




November 5, 2013

Tuesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Give what you’ve got.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Rom 12:5-16b (486) Rev. Patrick Mullen

In vv 3-4 before our reading, Paul challenges his readers tohumility, precisely because of the commonality shared by thefaithful. He returns to a favored metaphor, using the unity ofthe human body to represent our shared communion witheach other. He has already expounded on this theme atlength with the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:12-30) because of thespiritual pride in their community. Paul isn’t seeking with-drawal or quietism, though. As he sees it, if you have a gift,use it—not for self-aggrandizement but for the building upof the body.

For Paul, it’s not enough for members of the body to existside-by-side with one another; it’s insufficient simply to tol-erate one another. Belonging to Christ’s body requires thatmembers of the body interact with each other, impact oneanother, and see to each other’s welfare. Even further, Paulexhorts his readers to a shared emotional connection, callingfor sincerity, mutual honoring, and genuine affection.

Because this mutuality leads also to correct relationshipwith God, Paul’s exhortations to the truly moral life alsorequire genuine love, zeal, and service of the Lord. Just as themembers of the body are to extend themselves to each other,they are discouraged from self-absorption as a community.In keeping with the Lord’s command to love the enemy (Mt5:43-48), Paul also turns their attention to those—presum-ably outside of the community and thus not members of thebody—who persecute the body. Paul invites his readers tobless them.

The reading ends where the passage began, by encourag-ing his readers to avoid arrogance and even to join them-selves to those of no account, evoking the memory of Jesus’own humble companions.


Today’s pericope continues yesterday’s passage whereinJesus, some Pharisees, and scholars of the law are at dinnerin the house of an unnamed Pharisee. Jesus has just encour-aged them to invite the chronically sick and impoverished todine in their homes. In today’s pericope, one of his fellowguests, ignoring his teaching, piously observes how blessedare those who will dine in God’s reign, certainly referring toa restored political kingdom of Judea.

This leads Jesus to make an interesting case for the admit-tance of nonJews to the reign of God. Unrelenting on his ownpoint, Jesus tells a parable about a man who gives a dinner.The man quickly morphs into the master of the house, and in

doing so, becomes a metaphor for the Lord, himself.Participation in the Lord’s meal, in turn, becomes participa-tion in the real reign of God, only marginally connected tothe lineage of David and the territory of Judea. Curiously, thepeople invited, that is, those who are the living descendantsof that earthly kingdom, are politely engrossed with mun-dane preoccupations.

In the end, the bottom ranks of society—the vagrants ofthe roadways—make their way to the feast, to the reign ofGod. In the meantime, the first people invited, handling theirown daily affairs while awaiting the restoration of an earth-ly kingdom, end up not even participating in the only king-dom that matters.

Note that the parable doesn’t indicate that those invitedfirst were evil, practiced immorality, or acted maliciously.They were simply too busy to take the Lord seriously, animportant caution for our own time. The meal at the house ofthe Pharisee ends as abruptly as the parable—without re-cording any response from what must have been deeplyoffended guests.


Today’s first reading brings to my mind the “Little DrummerBoy” song we hear every Christmas. This humble boy thinkshe has no gifts to offer the baby Jesus. So he does the onething he can do: joyfully play his drums to entertain thebaby.

It is certainly clear in today’s first reading that St. Paulreally “gets it” when it comes to interpreting what Jesuscame to say, do, and teach us about using our gifts—howev-er humble they may be. Today’s epistle is one of the longestand strongest exhortations by a true believer, St. Paul, tellingus to take Christ’s message seriously.

St. Paul is not reluctant—he never is—to be direct in out-lining the duties and requirements for all who wish to callthemselves followers of Christ. It is going to take a lot ofblood, sweat, tears, personal sacrifice, and whole lot of love!Each of us is required to ponder seriously what our specialgifts may be, and then make a commitment to use them forthe benefit of all. Being one body in Christ, we, the Church,are nothing less than a worldwide support group for eachother.

Some of us can teach; some of us can be taught; some ofus can sew; some of us can mow; some of us can build; someof us can visit the sick or the imprisoned.

All of us can pray; all of us can listen; all of us can find aspecial way to love. We then become nothing less than a liv-ing sacrifice, as Jesus was. By recognizing we are many partsin one body, we become true brothers and sisters to eachother.




November 6, 2013

Wednesday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Choosing wisely.


Rev. Patrick Mullen

Today’s passage follows immediately after a discussion (notincluded) of obedience to higher authorities appointed byGod—not simply out of fear of human or divine retribution,but out of a conscientious desire for what is truly good. Thisincludes the payment of taxes and tolls, as well as the exten-sion of both respect and honor where they are due. It’s in thissense, as our passage begins, that we are instructed to holdnothing back that would lead to either monetary or relation-al debt, for we can owe much more than money.

The insistence on love as the fulfillment of the law calls tomind the rich young man of Mt 19:16-26, who sought toachieve eternal life. In that passage, Jesus begins with a selec-tion of the commandments of the Decalogue, but only as astarting point for the path to eternal life. He completes his listand summarizes the law with the command to “love yourneighbor as yourself.” When the young man admits successin their fulfillment, Jesus then pushes onto a selfless dispos-session of goods for the sake of the poor.

Paul mentions three of the same abbreviated list of the TenCommandments (against adultery, murder, and theft), but healso extends it to “any other commandment,” for Jews haveidentified 613 laws in the Scriptures. Before anyone claimsthat this proves how legalistic Judaism was then, note thatthis number pales in comparison to the 1752 canons in the1983 Code of Canon Law.

Note, most importantly, that Paul, just like Jesus, com-pletes and summarizes the commandments with lovingone’s neighbor as oneself. We find in this parallel the consis-tency of the early Church’s kerygma that placed love of oth-ers as the pinnacle of the Christian life.


Hyperbole is defined as an ironic figure of speech in whichdeliberate exaggeration is used to make an important point,without necessarily taking the figure too literally. In the caseof Jesus’ teaching in this reading, it makes no sense to holdthat God, who is love, would actually intend us to hate ourfamily members—though the underlying Greek word isunambiguous, meaning “to detest” or “abhor.” So, Jesus’teaching is exactly jarring enough that we must ask our-selves: If the stated words aren’t intended literally, what doesthis saying mean?

In the Greco-Roman world, the head of the family andhousehold, the paterfamilias, had life-and-death power overhis offspring and was owed the utmost filial duty, Jesus’

words would have been astonishing. The surprise must havebeen necessary, as the default emotional response wouldhave been to take anything less strident without the correctspirit of gravity. Jesus intends his hearers to take their disci-pleship seriously, and even if he doesn’t aim for them toloathe their closest and dearest family members, it’s clearthat, when forced to choose between relations and disciple-ship, the latter has to win.

Today’s parables underscore this point: Initiating any im-portant projects without the capacity to complete them isfoolish. The costs for followers of Jesus will be great and willinclude giving up the undivided loyalty to family that thecurrent culture expected of them.

Note that, as the passage comes to an end, the sacrificesare extended beyond family relationships to include posses-sions. In typical Lukan fashion, “all possessions” are abjured.In the modern world, Jesus would probably make the casethat we need to hate our professions, retirement savings,children’s educations, vehicles, the latest technological de-vices, and Facebook accounts.


At the risk of being simplistic, I am going to read off a sim-ple list of 20 things today.

In an attempt to interpret today’s Gospel, I ask you whenyou hear each one of these items, to say to yourself either:Yes, this serves the Kingdom of God, or No, not such much!

1. Building a house for a poor family; 2. Visiting a personin jail, in prison, in a hospital, or in a nursing home; 3. Goingto a tanning bed or spa; 4. Giving someone a ride to the gro-cery; 5. Adding a three-car garage.

6. Reading to a sick person; 7. Praying for someone whohas lost a loved one; 8. Starting up a Netflix or TIVO sub-scription; 9. Sending a monthly check to Food for the Poor;10. Listening to a boring person tell a story.

11. Booking a cruise to Hawaii, the Caribbean, or someother destination; 12. Buying a Subaru WRX with sports sus-pension and a roll bar; 13. Putting a Bible on your pillow andreading a few lines every night; 14. Going to the movies.

15. Helping someone find a job; 16. Ordering a side-by-side refrigerator for the basement rec room; 17. Volunteeringat the hospital; 18. Attending a nearby spirituality workshop;19. Working at an animal shelter; 20. Giving your pastor abottle of single-malt Scotch or some other drink.

The truth, of course, is that maybe none of the above itemsis totally good or totally bad. But in our heart of hearts, wealready know pretty well what the Gospels teach us. Weknow what Christ asks of us. It’s just that it is so hard, sochallenging, so painful—so much like carrying a cross.




November 7, 2013

Thursday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Welcome back.


Rev. Patrick Mullen

In the midst of an extended excursus on the different reli-gious motivations for practices such as eating or fasting, forcelebrating or not, Paul invites his readers to an acceptingattitude toward the spiritual performances, strengths, andweaknesses of others. This becomes the jumping-off pointfor today’s passage: It’s not our preferred way of doingthings that matters. In fact, it’s not about us at all; it’s aboutthe Lord.

This isn’t an empty statement for Paul, who began hisLetter to the Rom with the claim to be “a slave of ChristJesus” (1:1). Just as slaves in the first century lived and diedfor their masters (singular: kyrios) and according to theirmasters’ will, so it should be with the Christian and the Lord.Paul makes it clear that he is referring, in this case, to Christ,creating a beautiful symmetry between the manner in whichChrist suffered, died and rose for us, and the correctness ofour living and dying for him.

With this in mind, Paul returns to the main theme beforetoday’s periscope: encouraging us to let go of our concern forthe deeds and motivations of others. In his somewhat loosereference to Is 45:23, he indicates that submission to God, notjudgment of others, is required of us by the Scriptures. If weare focused on the Lord, and if we are truly conscious of thejudgment we all face, we can hardly center our attention onhow others are behaving. The only behavior we will becalled upon to account for—in the end when it truly mat-ters—will be our own.


If yesterday’s Gospel spelled out the commitment that disci-pleship requires of the believer, today’s pericope works inthe opposite direction to clarify the commitment that theLord, the shepherd, makes to the believer.

The use of shepherd imagery runs through the HebrewScriptures: Jacob (Israel), claims God as his shepherd in theblessing of his grandsons through Joseph (Gn 48:15);psalmists repeatedly claim the Lord as their shepherd (Pss23:1; 80:2; 95:7; 100:3); Is acknowledges how the Lord feeds,gathers, carries, and leads the people like a shepherd (40:11).

At times, God shares the responsibility for shepherdingwith the judges (2 Sm 7:7), with David and his descendantsas kings of Israel (2 Sm 5:2; 1 Chr 11:2; Ps 78:71-72), and evenwith the Persian king, Cyrus (Is 44:28). Too often, these shep-herds fail in their responsibilities (Is 56:11; Jer 2:8; 10:21; 23:1-2; Ez 34:1-10), and so God promises to send new and worthy

shepherds (Jer 3:15). In Ez’s prophecies, God takes back hisown proper role as shepherd of the sheep (34:11-16).

In today’s pericope, Jesus uses the parable of the properlycaring shepherd who takes whatever risks are necessary tofind and bring home his wandering sheep. This metaphordescribes his own practice of seeking out the lost, includingpublic sinners and most especially the quisling tax collectorswho exacted the Rome’s oppressive taxes.

By implication then, Jesus’ time among the broken is thefulfillment of the Lord’s promise to shepherd his peopleproperly and to guide them, where necessary, back to theflock. The surprise for Jesus’ companions is that the work ofbringing back sinners, accompanied, as it must be, by associ-ation with them, leads to greater heavenly joy than efforts tomaintain righteousness.


The children among us—plus parents and grandparents,too—probably know the popular nursery rhyme that goes:“Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep, and cannot tell where tofind them. Leave them alone, and they’ll come home, andbring their tails behind them.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a single lostsheep from a flock of 100. To show how important this onelost sheep is, Jesus says that the shepherd will go and forgetabout all the other 99 sheep and go look for the one that islost. And when that lost sheep is found—O what a joy it is!

Even though it has caused the shepherd a lot of grief andhard work to find the lost sheep, the shepherd is so happy hewants to tell the whole world about recovering that sheep.“He calls together his friends and neighbors,” says Lk, “andsays to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lostsheep.’”

The parable, we may remind ourselves, is about us sin-ners and how Jesus has a particular concern about each andevery one of us when we go astray. And even more, when we“come back to God” by way of repentance for our wrongdo-ing—O what a joy it is to our God who loves us so much.

Jesus, after all, came to heal and bring back sinners. Helived among them; he lives within them today. And Christ isonly too happy to shepherd any one of his people who is lost,and guide him or her back to the flock, where they will besafe and secure.




November 8, 2013

Friday of the 31st Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: The Hound of Heaven.


Rev. Patrick Mullen

As Paul moves toward the formal end of his Letter to theRom, we come to our last pericope from that work, forSaturday’s feast will preempt the reading of ch 16’s conclu-sion. In these vv, Paul becomes self-reflective of his ownmotives for sending a letter to the Roman Church.

Because he had not yet visited Rome when he composedthis letter, he had neither a preaching nor a teaching founda-tion on which to build—as he had with the communities thatreceived his other surviving letters. Neither had he wit-nessed that community in action. It’s clear from Rom 16:3-15, however, that he had encountered members of theChurch in Rome, and knew some others by reputation.

It’s within reason, recognizing that Paul was an avid let-ter writer, that he had learned from these contacts about thecommunity in Rome. Hence, as he reflects on his purpose, headmits confidence in their knowledge of the message ofChrist and the goodness that flowed from their commitmentto it. In essence, he wasn’t motivated to write because hedoubted Rome’s Christians or sought to correct them.

Rather, his confidence in his own ministry to the gentilesand a strong sense of having been commissioned by ChristJesus and graced by God to proclaim the Good News com-pelled him to engage with their community, preciselybecause it was not evangelized by him.

Illyricum included modern-day Slovenia, Croatia, Bosniaand Herzegovina, Serbia, and Albania. Although we are notcertain that Paul visited this land, he may have considered itthe boundary of his ministry before composing this letter.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 16:1-8 (489) Rev. Patrick Mullen

This parable of the curiously dishonest steward follows threeothers, all addressed to Jesus’ opponents, the Pharisees, andall ending with a party: the parables of the lost sheep, of thelost coin, and of the loving and forgiving parent. The firsttwo parables point toward the passion that God has, and thesacrifices God is willing to make, to find the lost.

The last one extends that point: Even when the lost areungrateful and only failingly repentant, as the prodigal sonwas, and even when they are sullen and wrapped up in self-righteousness, like the older son, God is going to cross amuddy field, or venture into the dark and cold to findthem—to find the Pharisees and to find us.

Today’s periscope shifts away from the Pharisees (devoutbut still clearly lost) to Jesus’ own disciples. If the parable’srich man metaphorically represents either Jesus or God, we

can ask: Who would be God’s stewards? Are they thePharisees, Jesus’ disciples and their descendants—includingthe leadership of the Church?

Jesus doesn’t say, as he so often does, “The reign of God islike . . . .” Instead, he says, “There was a certain man whowas rich.” Note, this is not a kingdom parable; it’s simply astory where the Greek term for “squandering his property”repeats the one used to describe the prodigal son who“squandered his inheritance” on a life of dissipation. Implic-itly, there is more than one way to be prodigal. You don’tneed to leave home; you can even be the steward withresponsibilities in the home or community. The most impor-tant point of the passage comes in v 13, not included in ourpassage: “You cannot serve God and mammon.”


There is a wondrous British poem that comes to mind whenhearing today’s Gospel. The poem is called “The Hound ofHeaven” and was written by Francis Thompson in the late1800s. Thompson himself had a rather “wandering” life.

He tried a Catholic seminary and left; he joined amonastery for a bit and left; he tried to become a doctor andfailed. He even had an opium addiction for awhile. But hefinally came to God, his destiny—albeit by way of a windingand difficult path.

The “Hound” referred to in the poem is none other thanGod. And this Hound is after each and every one of us, itseems, even though we sometimes keep running away. Thefirst lines of the poem go like this: “I fled Him down thenight and down the days; I fled Him down the arches of theyears; I fled Him down the labyrinthine ways of my ownmind; and in the midst of tears I hid from Him.”

Indeed, as this poem, and Lk’s Gospel for today, assureus: God is pursuing us, tirelessly, relentlessly, lovingly. AndGod will overtake us if we are at all willing to be caught. Godhas made great sacrifices for us, including the gift of God’sown Son in order to make us God’s own.

The key for us is only that every time we “go to the dogs,”when we are running through muddy fields, or up anddown rocky or barren trails—tired, dirty, worn out, con-fused, angry, rebellious, and sinful—we look back, hopingthat God is gaining on us!

No human can outrun God’s grace.




November 9, 2013

Saturday—Dedication of St. John Lateran

Theme: Temples of the Holy Spirit.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Ez 47:1-2, 8-9, 12 (671)

Rev. Patrick Mullen

The priest and prophet Ez, the son of Busi, was an exile inBabylonian territory, forced to live there by King Nebuchad-nezzar in approximately 597 BCE. Ez’s project includedremembering and preserving the liturgical past, as well asthe memory of the importance of the Temple of Solomon,later destroyed in 586 BCE.

In his vision, beginning in ch 40, EZ is brought by theLord to Jerusalem (“the city”) and the temple’s various gates,portals, and chambers, while receiving instruction about theappropriate practices that happened there.

In today’s passage, the temple seems to have become asymbol for Eden, from which a river arose to water the gar-den there. The temple river, however, flows into the sea inthe Arabah (desert or wilderness), referring to the Dead Sea,east and south of Jerusalem.

The Dead Sea, at 1,388 feet below sea level, has no outletexcept seepage and evaporation. It is appropriately namedbecause it is more than eight times saltier than the ocean,making it too saline for fish or plants, though some algae andbacteria survive there.

The freshness and vitality of the temple’s river in Ez’sdream are extraordinarily potent. They will even freshen theDead Sea so that in v 10 (skipped in our pericope) fishermenwill be able to harvest their catch and dry their nets along theDead Sea’s banks.

The river’s waters will be so life-giving that fruit trees willbear fruit for food and leaves for medicine along its banks—in and out of season, during every month of the year.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Jn 2:13-22 (671)

Rev. Patrick Mullen

The Scriptures require the observant Jew to observe the feastof Passover (Lv 23:5-8; Nm 9:2) “in the place the Lord willchoose as the dwelling place of his name,” that is, Jerusalem(Dt 16:2). Jn’s Gospel contains three journeys by Jesus toJerusalem to celebrate the Passover (2:13; 6:4; 11:55), in con-trast to the single Passover in the Synoptic tradition. Thesethree Johannine visits are also the source of the tradition thatJesus had three years of public ministry.

The cleansing of the temple occurs in all four Gospels. Jnplaces it at the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, ratherthan at the end, as in Mt, Mk, and Lk.

Though none of the versions of this story make the con-nection clear, they all echo Zec’s prophecy of a day to come,holy to the LORD, when God would come to fight for his holycity, Jerusalem: “On that day there shall no longer be any

merchant in the house of the LORD of hosts” (14:21b). Jesus’cleansing of the Temple implies that the Day of the LORD isupon us.

Jn differs from the Synoptic tradition but fails to mentionthe passage from Is 56:7, “My house shall be called a houseof prayer for all nations” (Mt 21:13) and the reference to thedesecration of the temple as “a den of thieves” (Jer 7:11).Instead, Jn refers to Ps 69:10: “Because zeal for your houseconsumes me, I am scorned by those who scorn you.”

Only in Jn does Jesus fashion a whip, to move the sheepand oxen out of the temple area. While Jesus is forceful withthe large animals and willing to greatly inconvenience themoney changers, he doesn’t overturn the cages of the morefragile doves, directing their peddlers to remove them.


Many of us Catholics have been taught that our bodies are“temples of the Holy Spirit”—holy and sacred vesselswherein God resides. In today’s Gospel, Jesus between thelines refers to himself as a temple—one that, when de-stroyed, will be raised up in three days. He is referring, ofcourse, to his own death and resurrection, although not evenhis followers understood this at the time.

And what of the temple that is Jesus, and these temples—you and me? We are to consider our bodies, our temples, as“our Father’s house,” says Jesus. Yes, oftentimes we, unlikeJesus, will let our house get into a state of terrible disarray.We forget that our bodies, just like our souls, are sacred.

And thus we give our bodies over to less than worthypursuits—just as in today’s passage we see the Jewish com-munity giving the temple over to desecration as a “den ofthieves,” to money changers, to the peddling of sheep, oxen,and doves. Jesus is so angered by this, says Jn, that he fash-ions a chord, a whip, and begins “cleaning house,” as wemight say today.

Our charge is to try to keep our Father’s house, our tem-ple, from getting completely dilapidated and desecrated, sothat it can still—wonder of wonders—be cleaned up andrestored.

We do this, as any good housekeeper knows, by main-taining some sense of order, by staying a step ahead ofthings, keeping small messes from becoming big messes,doing small repairs before big ones are needed, taking outthe trash on a regular basis, opening the windows to let inthe refreshing breezes our God provides for us.




November 11 2013

Monday—Martin of Tours

Theme: The wisdom of faith and forgiveness.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Wis 1:1-7 (491)

Michael Guinan, OFM

All of the OT readings for this week are taken from the Bookof Wisdom (aka, The Wisdom of Solomon). The attribution toKing Solomon derives from the middle section of the book(chs 7-8) where the unnamed speaker is clearly recognizableas Solomon. But it is also clearly a literary fiction, a pseudo-nym, as it were. This practice of attributing works to ancientbiblical figures was, in fact, a fairly common practice at thistime.

This book was written in Greek, most likely in the cos-mopolitan city of Alexandria in Egypt, sometime between 50BCE and 50 AD. This makes it the latest book in the OT. It isnot in either the Jewish or the Protestant canons, but it formspart of what are called the “deuterocanonical works.” Thisbook tries to show how the Jews can be fully committed totheir own religious traditions while being open to and learn-ing from the culture and thought of the Greek world aroundthem.

The first of the three parts of the book (chs 1:1—6:26) pre-sents a dramatic exhortation to seek justice and wisdom, con-trasting the ways and the fates of those who do this andthose who do not. The just/wise people are rewarded withimmortality. This is a real advance in wisdom thought,which previously saw the reward of one’s actions as con-fined to the present life and the present world.

The speaker, Pseudo-Solomon, addresses “those whojudge the earth,” that is, “pseudo-kings,” all those who read/hear this book. Justice is a primary virtue, covering integrity,honesty, and commitment to all of our relationships. Justice,wisdom, and discipline are closely connected and put us intouch with God’s life-giving spirit.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 17:1-6 (491)Michael Guinan, OFM

The Journey Narrative (9:51—19:27) lies at the heart of Lk’sGospel. As the disciples journey to Jerusalem with Jesus, theauthor has gathered here many of Jesus’ teaching about whatit means to follow him. This section also includes muchmaterial unique to this Gospel. This week’s Gospel readingscome from ch 17 and the beginning of ch 18. As the journeynears its goal, the themes of faith and constancy in the face ofpersecution will stand out.

Jesus has just directed harsh words against the Pharisees“who sneered at him” (16:14); he now turns again to speak tohis disciples about what their behavior toward each othershould be like. Three areas are touched on.

The first saying is against causing others to stumble. The

Greek term skandalon means something, such as a pebble inthe shoe, which causes one to stumble and fall. The challengeof being faithful, even in the face of suffering, can lead somepeople to fail and thus give scandal. Jesus hyperbolicallycontrasts a pebble in the shoe with a millstone around theneck.

If a fellow disciple sins (through scandal?), correct the per-son, but always (7 times) be ready to forgive. Focus not onthe sinner but on our need to imitate and reflect the limitlessforgiveness of God. This recalls the three parables we find inch 15.

Recognizing the challenge of these two sayings, the apos-tles ask for more faith. They are told that it is not great faiththey need, but faith in a great God! Again, there is a hyper-bolic contrast between a small seed and a huge tree.

Homily SuggestionVickie Griner, OSC

According to Pope Francis’ encyclical Lumen Fidei, “Faith isnot a light which scatters all our darkness, but a lamp whichguides our steps in the night and suffices for the journey.”

Recently, we had to install new lights along our mon-astery’s driveway. [Homilist may want to substitute a simi-lar personal experience to make this same point.]

The new lights take away the darkness because they aretaller and brighter, thus making it easier and safer for thosenavigating our winding driveway. The old lights, many ofwhich were broken, were close to the ground and didn’t givemuch light. However, if you walked slowly, they wereguides along the path.

Perhaps that is an image of faith. If we move along at aslow, contemplative pace, a small lamp (a mustard seed offaith) may be enough to see us through the journey. Faithisn’t dependent on us but rather on the One in whom wehave faith.

Faith helps us to be a forgiving people. Each day atEucharist, we pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgivethose who trespass against us.” Through the forgiveness wereceive daily, we learn to forgive in the way that the God inwhom we have faith forgives us.

Lk tells us we must be on our guard and be willing to for-give whenever someone asks for forgiveness. When we havebeen seriously hurt, forgiveness doesn’t come easily.However, with faith in the One who forgives us, we can for-give others. Our small lamp (mustard seed) of faith canenable us to walk the path of forgiveness.

A person of faith, a person of forgiveness, is also the wiseperson who is embraced by God’s life-giving spirit. Who aresome of the wisdom people you have been gifted to know?Who has helped you to learn the meaning of forgiveness?




November 12, 2013

Tuesday—Josaphat

Theme: Jesus’ modus operandi is loving service.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Wis 2:23—3:9 (492)

Michael Guinan, OFM

After his urgent call to seek justice, our author proceeds todescribe the wicked who reject justice and the immortalitythat it brings (1:16—2:23). They set themselves against thosewho are just, whose life and behavior are a reproach to theirwicked ways. “Let us condemn him to a shameful death,”they say, “and see how God protects him!” (2:2).

“Solomon” rejects this way of thinking. It is, in fact, thewicked who have invited death (1:16); seduced by the adver-sary (the devil), they are the one’s in death’s grip. Humanshave been created in the image of God (Gn 1:26-28); thus,they are made to share God’s own nature. Humans are cre-ated for immortality, and they plug into it, as it were,through living a life of justice. Because they see only the sur-face, the wicked are indeed blind to the reality in front ofthem (v 21).

In the view of the foolish, the people who are just seem todie. The foolish ones, however, are mistaken. The eyes offaith see beneath the externals to the real fate of the just: 1)They are in the hand of God [In the Bible, the “hand of God”often denotes God’s power and protection, as in Ps 95:4]; 2)They are in peace; 3) Their hope is full of immortality. Thistext often offers consolation at funeral liturgies.

The just do, indeed, suffer here, but, seen again on a deep-er level, that is truly a testing and purification. Like gold infire, they are purified; like temple sacrifices consumed in fire,they are united with God. Like sparks of fire, they will shineon the Day of Judgment. God’s grace and mercy are withthem.


Jesus has just given his followers several strong challengesabout living their life of faith. Their failures of faith shouldnot cause little ones to stumble; they must always be pre-pared to forgive; they should have faith enough to movelarge trees. These are tall orders! In fact, what if the disciplesdo these? What could or should they expect?

Jesus invites them (and us) to consider a certain situation.This section is unique to Lk, and it reflects the social world offirst-century Palestine with its many masters and slaves.Jesus is certainly not endorsing slavery, but he is simplyreflecting the world of his day.

We are first asked to identify with the master: How wouldwe respond to a servant who had plowed the fields andherded the sheep? We would say, “Prepare my supper!”Servants should not expect special treatment simply because

they’ve done their duty. In the same way, Christians shouldnot expect praise and honor for simply behaving as theyshould. This imagery may sound harsh, but the message isimportant.

We live in a culture of entitlement; we expect to be re-warded for what we do. Salvation, however, cannot be mer-ited or gained. Our life of faith should flow from gratitudefor what we have received, not from expectation of rewards.

The final v asks us to identify with the servant: plowingfields, herding sheep, serving meals. All these actions areimages for following Christ (9:62, 15:4-7; meals are perva-sive). “We are useless servants!” Jesus will later offer himselfas our model (22:27).


Lk’s message for today reminds us that we don’t live aChristian life in order to be rewarded. Loving service in imi-tation of Jesus must motivate our actions.

It is common in our society to fall into a sense of feelingthat we have a right to goods, natural resources, and educa-tion. So many others on our planet can only dream aboutsuch riches. When we feel we have a right to things, we losea sense of gratitude, and we stop recognizing that all wehave is gift from our good God. The attitude that, if we workhard, anything can be ours, leads to a sense of entitlement.We begin to think that we have a right to this—whatever“this” may be.

Sometimes we take this same attitude over into the spiri-tual life. If I say the right number of prayers, if I fast, if I obeythis rule or that regulation, then God must reward me.Today’s Gospel turns this attitude upside down. Jesus re-minds us that we are always servants; everything comes tous as gift. We are called to live in the spirit of gratitudebecause all is given. Even our ability to work and to serveothers is God’s gift.

Because we are made in the divine image, as Wis remindsus, we are called to act according to that image. Jesus as ourmodel teaches us and gives us the example of a loving ser-vant. A refrain to carry through this day could be the open-ing words of a hymn by R. Gillard, “Will you let me be yourservant, let me be as Christ to you?”

Our motives are always mixed; they are never pure loveas was that of Jesus. As long as loving service is the chiefmotive, we are ready for the time of visitation, a momentwhen we will be found worthy, and God will take us to him-self.




November 13 2013

Wednesday—Frances Xavier Cabrini

Theme: Receiving God’s mercy with gratitude.


Michael Guinan, OFM

This first section of the Wisdom of Solomon (1:1—6:26)opens with a call to rulers of the earth to seek justice and wis-dom. That section ends with a similar, more extended exhor-tation (6:1-26). Today’s reading is the first part of this.

As at the beginning, kings, magistrates, and those inpower are addressed. While this does include those in soci-ety with political and social power, every human being hasbeen created in the royal image of God (2:23 above; Gn 1:26-28) and is able to exercise power, great or small, for justice orfor wickedness. Everyone is being addressed.

The call to hear, to learn, to hearken is reminiscent of thecall of Lady Wisdom in the Book of Prv (1:20-33; 8:1-21).There is a real urgency to this call. As the preceding chaptershave made clear, it is a life-and-death issue.

Whatever power or authority we may have, it all comesfrom God. God is the source, and our task is to use ourpower in the image of that God. The greater power we have,the greater will be our accountability, and a just God showsno partiality.

And how are we to learn to be powerful in the image ofGod? Listen to the words of the wise; learn wisdom; keep theholy precepts of God. A few vv later (6:18), we are told thatkeeping the laws of wisdom (brought to their sharpest focusin the Torah) is the basis of incorruptibility. The Christiansees the embodiment and model of this in the person of JesusChrist, the wisdom of God.


The journey continues, and, in a story unique to Lk, Jesuspasses along the borders; he is in a marginal place. He isabout to encounter marginal people: 10 lepers. The biblicalterm “leper/leprosy” is not the same as our modern medicalterm, but it covers a wide range of skin diseases that pushtheir victims to the margins of society. They live “at a dis-tance.”

From that distance, they cry to Jesus for mercy (Jesou, elei-son!). He “sees” them in their need; he sends them to theirpriests to recognize that they are clean and readmit them tothe community (in accord with Lv 14:29), and they are healedon the way. One of them “sees” that he is healed. Certainly,all of them recognized that they were healed, but only onereally “sees” what’s happened.

This one returns to Jesus, bows before him, and gives himthanks and praise. In the Greek, the healed man “eucharists”Jesus. This is the proper biblical response to the blessings we

receive from God. But do we always really “see” those bless-ings? At every Mass, we come from our distances, ask for theLord’s mercy (Kyrie, eleison), and then respond with Eu-charist.

And the man in today’s Gospel was a Samaritan! Onceagain, a hated outsider is proposed to the disciples as amodel of faith (10:25-37, the Good Samaritan). We may betempted to exclusivity, but the kingdom that Jesus preachesis inclusive.

Jesus says to him, “Rise up . . . your faith has saved you!”For the early Christians, “Rise up” would have echoes of theresurrection of Jesus. “Saved” involves a play on words; itcan mean both healed and saved/delivered. Jesus is ourhealer/savior.


“Care For Life—It’s Worth It” was Pope Francis’ message tothe Catholics in Britain and Ireland for their celebrations ofthe Day of Life. Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ care for lifein the curing of 10 lepers.

It was an echo of love and compassion in today’s Gospelwhen Jesus saw these lepers in the distance; they had noth-ing in their hearts except a desire for healing—and their faiththat Jesus would heal them. In the time of Jesus, any kind ofskin disease was considered “leprosy,” and those who had itwere isolated and exiled.

The eyes of Jesus’ compassion know no bounds when hesees the 10 lepers and cures them. Being cured meant that thelepers could return to their families and to the community.We, too, can call out to Jesus as we ask for his mercy. Whathas isolated or exiled us from others? What are our “lep-rosies?”

When we receive a favor from God, do we thank him?How often do we give thanks and praise him for all theblessings we receive? Out of 10 blessings, maybe we remem-ber to run back to Jesus only once to praise him, just as onlyone of these 10 lepers returned and praised Jesus for beingcured.

As followers of Jesus, we not only ask Jesus for mercy butalso show mercy to others. When we reach the marginalplace in our heart, how do we accommodate the person wemeet who is in need?

Pope Francis’ message goes on to say, “We must all carefor life . . . to give life is to open our hearts, and to care forlife is to give oneself in tenderness and warmth for others, tohave concern in our hearts for others.”




November 14, 2013

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: God’s kingdom in our chaotic world.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Wis 7:22b—8:1 (494)

Michael Guinan, OFM

In this second part of the book (6:22—11:1), “Solomon” nowspeaks in the first person: “I” will teach you about Wisdom’snature, origins, and desirability. This section reflects consid-erable influence from the Greek thought and culture of thattime.

Today’s reading forms the center, in a way, of this PartTwo. The figure of Solomon will now praise Wisdom for whoshe is and for what she does. Our reading falls into threeparts.

In the first part (vv 22b-23), Wisdom’s innate qualities arepraised through a list of 21 attributes. Three sets of seven sig-nify the absolute perfection of intelligence, moral goodness,and wisdom’s pervading of all things. Many of these wereapplied by the Alexandrian Greeks to the wisdom goddessIsis. A greater than Isis is here!

The second part (vv 24-26) explains Wisdom’s origins inGod. While this idea occurs in earlier Wisdom books (Prv 8;Sir 24), here it is developed through five metaphors linkingWisdom with divine qualities: aura/might; effusion/glory;refulgence/light; mirror/power; image/goodness.

Part 3 (vv 27-8:1) brings Wisdom close to us, renewing allcreation (Ps 104:30) and entering into holy persons, produc-ing friends of God and prophets. This praise of Wisdom re-flects a concern to bridge the gap between the distance andthe closeness of God, God’s transcendence and immanence.Christians will see this same gap bridged by the embodiedwisdom of God, Jesus of Nazareth.


Today’s and tomorrow’s Gospels form a unity and are part ofJesus’ eschatological teaching. This is the second time in Lkthat Jesus addresses these issues (12:35-56), which will comeup again in Jerusalem (21:5-36).

The Pharisees are back again, questioning Jesus (16:14).“When will the reign/kingdom of God come?” This questionhas certainly preoccupied many of Jesus’ followers downthrough the ages. We frequently read or hear about confidentpredictions of when the world will end and the fullness ofthe kingdom will be here. Jesus rejects this kind of thinking.

We cannot tell by watching! “The kingdom is within you.”This phrase has often been understood spiritually (withinour souls), but that way of thinking is quite foreign to Lk’sGospel. A better translation reads, “here in your midst.”Jesus redirects us from future signs to his activity right hereand now. Like the nine lepers, the Pharisees fail to “see”

what is right in front of them. This “realized eschatology” isvery similar to what occurs in the Gospel of Jn.

In v 22, Jesus returns to addressing his disciples and shiftsto “final eschatology,” the coming of the Son of Man with thefullness of the kingdom. Because of the sufferings they willexperience, the disciples will long for that day, but theyshould not be led astray by false prophets and go runningaround all excited. Before he can come again, Jesus must suf-fer and die here.


Jesus says “the kingdom of God is in our midst.” What is thisall about? How do we find “the kingdom” in the chaos of ourworld today? Lk only tells us that “it” is in our midst.

Technology today keeps us informed of happeningsaround the world. With all that is happening (bombings,wars, wildfires, flooding, catastrophic accidents), we see andshare the anguish and misery of all those people affected. InLk, Jesus tells us not to look to the future, but to look in thepresent time for God’s kingdom.

We need wisdom to understand and to recognize thekingdom of God in all situations in our life. Mt too mentionsthat the kingdom of God is at hand: ”Cure the sick, raise thedead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons.”

We serve without cost, and we receive without cost (Mt10:8). In yesterday’s Gospel, Jesus heals the 10 lepers withoutcost. We, too, are called to serve (to heal) without cost: toserve freely. Where there is care and love, acceptance andhealing, compassion and respect of all life, then the kingdomis present within our hearts, and we can serve freely.

In every disaster, natural or man-made, we can answerthe call of those in need and give assistance to all those whosuffer. How we help others, how we actively participate inthe kingdom today, is limited only by how we limit our-selves. Technology today not only informs us about those inneed; it can also provide us the means to join resources withothers.

May we remember today to be attentive to the needsaround us so that the kingdom of God is visibly enfleshed,no matter how chaotic our lives and the world seem. Whatcan we do today to further the kingdom of God?




November 15 2013

Friday [Albert the Great]

Theme: Increase our gospel standard of living.


Michael Guinan, OFM

The third part of the book (11:2—19:22) shows God’sWisdom at work in the events of Israel’s ancient exodus fromEgypt and journey through the wilderness. It has been calledan early example of the practice of midrash (homiletic expo-sition of biblical texts). This theme is interrupted by twodigressions, one on the mercy of God (11:17—12:22) and theother, much lengthier, on false worship and idolatry (13:1—15:17). Today’s reading opens the digression on false wor-ship.

In the first part of the book, the wicked are criticized be-cause they do not see the deeper reality of the life and fate ofthe just but remain only at the surface. In a similar way here,those are criticized who stop at the surface of all of creationand do not penetrate to the deeper reality of God’s presenceand power.

Though clearly wrong, these philosophers are judgedleniently here because they searched creation diligently.They are judged inadequate because they did not go deepenough. What prevented their doing just that?

They “are distracted . . . because the things seen are fair”(v 7). The beauty of creation has led them astray. God is theartisan (also God’s wisdom, 7:22) who can be known “byanalogy” (v 5). Paul’s similar argument in Rom 1:18-23 re-appears in medieval philosophy. It is, however, more com-plicated than this. There is a lot of ugliness in creation aswell, and belief in God is always an act of faith that goesbeyond visible evidence. But the fact remains: Our beautifulGod is making a beautiful world.


Today’s Gospel picks up where yesterday’s left off, forminga single unit. Jesus continues talking about the day when theSon of Man comes in glory. We do not know when that daywill arrive, but there is still an urgency about it. We mustalways be ready and vigilant (12:37; 21:36)

Jesus gives two examples from the Book of Gn: Noah/theflood (ch 6-8) and Lot/the destruction of Sodom (ch 19). Bothof these have overtones of social justice. The flood comesbecause “of lawlessness [chamas].” Chamas is the Hebrewword closest to what we would call “social injustice.” Thedestruction of Sodom is also occasioned by its sins of injus-tice and inhospitality, a major obligation in the ancient cul-ture (Ez 16:49-50; Mt 10:14-15; Heb 13:2).

The emphasis, however, is on the suddenness of thedestruction and the lack of preparation for it. Most people

then simply went about their everyday occupations. The dis-ciples, through their faith, must always be prepared.

One person will be taken, the other one left, but which arethe just ones and who are the wicked? For some, it is the justwho are taken, the bad left behind (a view also popular withfundamentalist “rapturists”). For others, it is exactly the op-posite: It is the wicked who are taken away by the destruc-tion, and the just are left behind. They survive. The text itselfdoes not say.

It is a perennial temptation for some Christians to try anddecide for God who is saved and who is not. Just as the timeof the end is completely unknown to us, so the question ofwho is saved is best left up to God.


Today, Wisdom invites us to go beyond the surface of ourfaith. We are invited to look beyond creation, beyond thephysical, beyond the beautiful, and to experience the deeperpresence of God in all things. Lk challenges us to be preparedto live more fully our lives of faith. How do we calculate ourgospel standard of living (gospel SOL)? What can we do toincrease our gospel SOL and help bring forth the kingdom ofGod?

In our worldly lives, we may think that life is all about ris-ing to the top. In our spiritual lives, however, the top is onlythe surface. The gospel constantly turns our lives upsidedown. At the surface of our faith, we might say to someone,”I’m a Catholic” (a label). Here we may appear to be at theminimum gospel SOL.

Do we go on to say what parish we grew up in, whatparish activities we’re currently involved in, or how impor-tant our faith life is to us? Do we talk about our faith jour-ney? When we share our faith life with others, we grow inrelationship and deepen our spiritual lives. We increase ourgospel SOL.

This week, Lk presents Jesus as leading by example,showing us how to be servants to others. When we followJesus’ example, we increase our gospel SOL. Do our dailyactivities reflect our values and beliefs as a Catholic? Wouldpeople we work with or socialize with be likely to describeus as a people of faith? Perhaps persons of deep faith? Oureveryday actions, no matter how small, can increase ourgospel SOL.

As we share in the Eucharist today, may we continue tofind ways to increase our gospel standard of living andthereby help bring forth the kingdom of God.




November 16, 2013

Saturday [Margaret of Scotland, Gertrude]

Theme: Prayer is an act of faith.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Wis 18:14-16; 19:6-9(496)

Michael Guinan, OFM

We come to the end of the week and also the end of our read-ings from the Book of Wis (of Solomon). Appropriately,today’s readings come from the end of the book. The pas-sage’s two sections conclude the midrash on the exodus:18:14-16 dealing with the death of pharaoh’s firstborn and19:6-9 reflecting on the crossing of the sea.

Because the wicked Egyptians had determined to put todeath the children of Israel (18:5), their children were put todeath. The principle of reversal runs throughout this midrash.The peaceful stillness of the night is broken by the messengerof death. In Ex 12:13-17, it is God who is the agent; here, it isGod’s personified Word that leaps down. In the hymn in ch7, we heard that Wisdom is the aura of God’s might/power.God’s Wisdom is operating here.

The notion of God as warrior is difficult for us today; ithas its roots in ancient mythology where the Creator Godovercomes the forces of destruction and chaos. The death-bringing Egyptians are seen as forces of chaos. The openingvv (14-15) are used at Christmas to remind us that the incar-nate Jesus is the Wisdom of God, whose power of love over-comes the ultimate chaos of the kingdom of death.

Throughout the Book of Wis, creation is seen as God’sgood and beautiful work. It shares in God’s work of bothjudgment and of salvation: It is made anew! The marvelouscrossing of the Red Sea is recalled; like horses and rams (Ps114:3-4), Israel praises God. The book ends by celebrating thejustice/wisdom of God, which overcomes evil and wicked-ness, leading to salvation and life.


Jesus here tells a parable about the necessity of prayingalways, another parable that appears only in Lk. The themeof prayer is very important in this Gospel, which containsmany examples of prayers (1:46-55, 68-79; 2:14, 29-32; 11:2-4),instructions about prayer (11:5-13), and examples of Jesus atprayer (3:21-22; 4:42; 6:12). But today’s reading is not simplya general instruction. The context Lk provides is important.

The parable contains only two characters who are almostcartoonlike in their behavior. The judge is wicked and cor-rupt, respecting neither God nor man. The widow is ex-tremely persistent, banging on the door. The judge even fearsthat she will end up by punching him in the eye (the literalmeaning of “end by doing me violence”). Both charactersshow unexpected behavior: The judge is thoroughly corrupt

and knows it (v 4); the widow, usually a helpless victims ofinjustice, is very strong and aggressive in public. Since girlsmarried very young at this time, she could well be still vig-orous and in the prime of life!

Using a typical rabbinic argument (from the lesser to thegreater), Jesus contrasts the judge with God. If a wickedjudge finally hears prayers, how much more will your lovingfather? God will give swift justice.

The final v ties the parable back to the previous instruc-tion about the second coming. This coming is delayed; thesuffering community longs for justice. Will they persevere inprayer (faith)? Are we faithful to Jesus in the face of confu-sion and suffering? This theme has recurred throughout thisweek.


In Lk, Jesus asks: “When the Son of Man comes, will he findany faith on the earth?” Where can we find evidence of faithin our lives? Our prayer is evidence of faith.

In popular, real-crime TV shows such as 48 Hours or fic-tional,TV crime dramas (CSI, for example), we learn allabout evidence. As the crime-scene investigators take photosand collect fingerprints, we learn the difference between cir-cumstantial evidence and direct evidence. A fingerprintmight be circumstantial evidence connecting someone to thecrime, but an eyewitness to the crime provides direct evi-dence.

In our lives, circumstantial evidence (indirect evidence)that we pray could include a Bible sitting on a table, rosarybeads laying on our nightstand, and so forth. Direct evidencethat we pray may include, for example, attending Mass,leading the rosary at our parish, or taking the Eucharist tothe homebound or hospitalized.

Prayer can be dynamic, ever-changing, and evolving. Ourprayer can be in the form of 1) adoration, 2) expiation (con-trition), 3) love, 4) petition, or 5) thanksgiving and praise. Wecan pray in silence or out loud, alone or with others. We canalso use song or dance.

The kindness and compassion we show to others and toour environment can be a form of prayer. What are someother forms your prayer can take?

This week we have been called to be people of constantprayer, people of mercy, and people of service to others. Mayour prayers and our sharing in the Eucharist today be simplyone of our many acts of faith today.




November 18 2013

Monday [Rose Philippine Duchesne, Ded.of . . . ]

Theme: Our need for transformation.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 1 Mc 10-15, 41-43, 54-57, 62-63 (497)

Carol Dempsey, OP

Today’s reading from the Book of Mc recounts the stories ofJewish persecution during the reign of Antiochus IV Epi-phanes. Ruling with an oppressive hand, this king insistedthat the Greek culture, religion, and way of life be thelifestyle for all people under his rule. This attitude and rul-ing caused much hardship for the Jews as they struggled toremain faithful to their God and God’s ways.

Remaining faithful to covenant and Torah was a strugglefor the Jewish community, and some people embracedHellenization. According to Dt 7:2, the Jews were to remainseparate from other peoples, especially from the gentiles.The building of a gymnasium in Jerusalem represented ahallmark of the Greek civilization. It marked the spread ofHellenism and implied a new way of life and a new politicalconstitution.

Furthermore, the law of Moses was no longer the law gov-erning Jerusalem; instead, Jerusalem and the Jews were to besubject to a Greek citizen body and a Greek council. The newGreek constitution no longer demanded circumcision, sab-bath-keeping, and segregation from gentiles. All physicalexercises and sports were performed in complete nudity,which placed Jewish youths in a difficult situation. Since cir-cumcision was a sign of the covenant, many Jewish maleschose to hide their circumcisions either through surgery orby covering them over.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes insisted on other abominationsas well, many of which are outlined in the last half of today’spassage. The act of burning incense at the doors of housesand in the streets was common among the Greeks in the sec-ond century BCE and was a way of securing participation inreligious rites. This act was a direct violation of Torah (Dt12:15-18). Some Jews, however, remained faithful unto deathto their religious tradition, and they are credited with “hero-ic faith.”

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 18:35-43 (497)Carol Dempsey, OP

The setting for Lk ’s narrative is the roadside near Jericho, acity located in the Jordan Valley, 23 miles east of Jerusalemand six miles north of the Dead Sea. The blind man’s twovirtues (determination and faith), complemented by his sim-ple question and his heartfelt request, lead to the transfor-mation of his entire life. Twice he calls out to Jesus, begginghim to have pity on him and to give him sight. The first timehe calls out, the blind man is sternly ordered to keep quiet by

those leading Jesus’ procession through the city. The blindbeggar, however, persists and shouts out his request a sec-ond time, giving no heed to the voices around him. Headdresses Jesus as “Son of David,” a frequent title used forJesus. Derived from the OT, the title has messianic connota-tions. Those asking for help frequently address Jesus as “Sonof David” (Mt 9:27; 15:22; 20:30-31; Mk 10:47-48).

Jesus’ response to the blind beggar is candid: He asks theman what he wants him to do for him. The blind beggar’sresponse is simple: He wants to see. With two sentences,Jesus heals the man and tells him that his faith has restoredhis sight. This reassurance of faith as the impetus for healingcharacterizes Lk ’s healing stories (7:50; 8:48, 50; 17:19). In thecontext of the story itself, Jesus as “Lord” is merely a term ofrespect. Only later does it assume a theological andChristological significance.

Homily SuggestionRichard Goodin, OFM

It was the best of times (the blind man’s transformation); itwas the worst of times (the struggles of Israel during thereign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes). In short, these periodswere very much like the present period: that some of its nois-iest authorities insisted on being received, for good or forevil,only in the superlative degree of comparison. The tale ofthese two readings is a study in contrasts. One shows a pathof destruction. The other shows glorious transformation.

Setting up a tension between the gradual erosion of reli-gion (first reading) and the total and utter acceptance of theway of Jesus (Gospel) affords us the opportunity to studyour daily life through the lens of contrast. We modern peopleseem stuck on bad news and stories of downfall. Bad newssells. Although we don’t mind a little good news, give ussome dirt, and we are tantalized!

The story of the sidelining of the Israelite religion in Mc infavor of the more widely accepted religion of those in worlddomination is indeed a frightening story of persecution andestrangement from a way of life grounded in faith.

But our study today does not leave us there. The blindman’s transformation is beyond the wildest dreams of peo-ple in Jesus’ time. In fact, such a transformation still containsthe awesome, mind-blowing character of miracle and salva-tion!

This study of contrasts allows us to evaluate our currentlives. Our participation in the liturgy signifies that we havenot entered totally into an estrangement from our faith tra-dition. But it does call us to examine in what ways we maybe slipping down any proverbial slippery slope. Where arewe blind? What need we call out to Jesus about? How canthis Eucharist change our lives so that we can get up out ofour pews and follow Jesus more closely?




November 19, 2013

Tuesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Welcoming Jesus.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 2 Mc 6:18-31 (498)

Carol Dempsey, OP

Eleazar is the focus of today’s story that continues to recountJewish suffering under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Eleazar wasmartyred for his faith because he refused to eat a certain kindof food (pork) that was forbidden under Jewish law. Swineare “unclean” animals in the law of Moses. Furthermore,Antiochus’ decrees required the Jews to sacrifice swine to theGreek deities and then to eat the meat of the sacrifices.

Eleazar is described as a man of advanced age and ofnoble appearance. Beauty and long life were considered tobe gifts from God. Both Jewish and Christian literature onmartyrdom focuses on these two traits in relation to martyr-dom and views these traits as signs of divine favor. Becausehe is a man of profound fidelity to God and God’s ways andbecause he is a person of uncompromising character, Eleazarrefuses to participate in an unsavory scheme that wouldallow him to remain faithful to his traditions while securinglife for himself.

Instead, Eleazar chooses to continue to be a model ofrighteousness and integrity for his community. He decides tomove forward to the instrument of torture and to give up hisown life. Such decisions accent his heroism. Later rabbinicteaching required martyrdom if one’s own public violationof the law under duress would be a cause for others to sin.

Eleazar makes a bold public confession before he is put todeath. He acknowledges that God is aware of his impendingdeath, proclaiming that even though his physical pain is hor-rible, he is accepting it with joy on because of his great lovefor his God. Eleazar’s response to his situation is a distantecho of Dn 12:1-3. The story closes with a focus on Eleazar’scourage and virtue.


Throughout Lk’s Gospel, Jesus is frequently depicted as trav-eling from town to town. Jesus has just healed a blind beggarnear Jericho, and now he enters Jericho. There he encountersa wealthy, chief tax collector, Zacchaeus. Despite his wealth,Zacchaeus is considered to be a person of low social statuseven though he has some power and authority. His wealth,which comes from his entrepreneurial activity, is not inherit-ed and thus does not qualify for social privilege. Like theblind beggar who wanted to encounter Jesus, Zacchaeus alsowishes to see Jesus, but because of his short stature and thecrowd surrounding him, he is inhibited. Like the blind beg-gar, however, Zacchaeus is persistent. He climbs a tree to getwhat he wants.

Jesus spots Zacchaeus in the tree, calls out to him, andthen invites himself to Zacchaeus’ home for dinner, a gesturethat creates a stir among the crowd because Jesus dares to eatwith sinners. Zacchaeus is self-effacing. He does not careabout his status or spiritual state; he simply welcomes Jesuswith joy. The murmuring of the people is a typical responseof scribes and Pharisees in Lk’s narrative (5:30; 7:34, 39; 15:2).

Zacchaeus has been labeled a “sinner” by those aroundhim, but he has enough personal integrity and authenticityto be forthright with Jesus. Zacchaeus declares himself a justperson with a generous spirit. He gives alms which, for Lk,is a sign of righteousness (6:30-31, 38; 11:41; 12:33; 16:9; 18:22,29) and observes the stringent demands of the law. Jesus’response to Zacchaeus is affirmative. He declares him fit forthe reign of God, symbolized by the table fellowship that heand Zacchaeus now share.


Have you ever had an unscheduled guest for dinner? Howdid the occurrence unfold? Were you surprised, shocked,upset? Did someone of great fame perhaps invent an invita-tion?

Imagine yourself spontaneously joyful at this event. Youare swept away at being chosen to welcome such a famousguest into your home. Almost without a second thought, youforget your normal manner of being. You become giddyenough to announce that not only will you welcome this per-son into your home, but you declare aloud that you willrepay every wrong you have done. Then it slides right out ofyour mouth that you will additionally give away one halfyour possessions to the poor!

Crazy things happen when Jesus comes into the lives ofpeople. If this guest of yours were Jesus himself, the wordsflowing out of your mouth could very well be the result ofyour heart at its saturation point. Today may well be the daysuch a thing happens to you. Jesus may come out ofnowhere—or out of the quiet spaces between your troubledmoments—to saturate your heart with his presence.

Jesus has a way of making his presence known. Thenthings happen! The command “Come down quickly, fortoday I must stay at your house” elicits a response of neartotal transformation. Those words still ring in our ears.

We arranged our day to be here so that our own earscould hear such words. And in turn, we are invited to re-spond with joy and celebrate Eucharist together. What willour spontaneity bring forth from our mouths? What wordsof repentance and penance will issue from our tired hearts?The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ is among us. Let uswelcome him and allow our hearts the freedom to respondjoyfully!




November 20 2013

Wednesday of the 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Living your faith.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 2 Mc 7:1, 20-31 (499)

Carol Dempsey, OP

Torturous martyrdoms continue, and now those sacrificedare a mother’s seven sons. In today’s story, a skillful story-teller weaves together the motif of seven brothers, the pres-ence of the king, the progression of the brothers’ dyingwords, and the final words of the youngest brother, whichnot only brings the story to its climax but also draws it to aclose.

The theme of this narrative is similar to the earlier storyabout Eleazar. Like Eleazar, the mother and her seven sonsrefuse to eat swine, and like Eleazar, the sons receive thesame punishment for their obdurate behavior: death.

This mother’s character shines radiantly in the face of tor-ture. Without any regard for her own feelings and the tragicloss she will endure, she beckons her sons to remain faithfulto God. At this point, Antiochus’ abuse of power is evident.Because he fears that he is being ridiculed by the boys’ moth-er, he uses kindness to try to manipulate the youngest son—but to no avail. Then Antiochus tries to make the mother per-suade her son to acquiesce to him, and again, Antiochus isunsuccessful because of the woman’s cleverness and honestywith this son.

She exhorts him preserve his fidelity, integrity, and loyal-ty to God and God’s ways, even though these virtues willcost him his life. The mother’s relational words indicate thegreat love she has for her son and her even greater love forher God. The strength of the youth is revealed through hisrhetorical question and statement of purpose.

This passage shows how the courage of the martyrs winsGod’s mercy and prepares the way for the victories of JudasMaccabaeus (who led the Jewish revolt against the Greeks)and makes clear that God will have mercy on and will even-tually vindicate the oppressed.


Lk’s travelogue and Jesus’ journey continue. Now on hisway to Jerusalem, Jesus takes time to tell his disciples a para-ble. Through this parable, Lk corrects the expectation thatJesus’ entrance into Jerusalem is the final establishment ofGod’s kingdom. Four characters participate actively in theparable: a man of noble birth who goes away, becomes aking, and returns to his servants, and three servants (twowho make wise investments with their money and one whosimply hides his).

Nothing is mentioned about the other seven servants, andinterestingly, the man of noble birth who becomes a king is

rejected by his fellow citizens. In Lk’s and Jesus’ day, the“servants” would have been agents empowered to trade in anobleman’s name in the existing Palestinian financial sys-tem.

The king’s response is noteworthy. He praises two ser-vants and upbraids the third one because he has not listenedto the king’s orders, which directed him to invest the money.Instead, he went his own way and squandered the financialopportunity.

Each of these characters is symbolic. The man of noblebirth who becomes king (Lk 24:26; Acts 2:32-36) and is reject-ed by some of his own is Jesus. The servants are the peopleof the day, specifically, Jesus’ disciples. The return of Jesus,symbolized by the king’s return, has a double purpose: first,Jesus will reckon with those to whom the blessings of thekingdom-preaching has been entrusted, and second, Jesuswill deal with the Palestinian compatriots who have notwanted him to be their king (23:18; Acts 3:17).


Thoreau did it. So did Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.:nonviolence. Sticking your neck out for truth and justice ishow the game is played. We all also know how the gameends. Thoreau went to prison. Gandhi was shot and killed.MLK was shot and killed. Jesus Christ was publicly execut-ed. The seven Maccabean brothers were executed.

Following one’s lived faith is no children’s game. Nor is ita historically isolated occasion of the Maccabees or Jesus.Some of the worldwide historical leaders in the nonviolencemovement have been alive and promoting this manner of lifewithin the last 100 years.

Religious faith has been a powerful motivator for hun-dreds of years. In today’s first reading, we are challenged bya faithful woman who witnesses the execution of her sevensons. But we are also people of this struggle. We know of,have heard about, have witnessed on TV, or read in thenewspaper about persecutions. Tucked inside each story,there even may be a heroic figure who needs to be raised upfor witness value, due to courageous efforts to keep one’sfaith, regardless of the consequences.

We bring our own circumstances to this liturgy. We res-onate with the ongoing struggle to be faithful people in aworld that sometimes lacks the ability to respect or acceptour faith. The call to live lives of faith in public is the samecall that brings us to hear the word of God, give thanks, andreceive this sacrament into our bodies. The call is to faith,witness, and follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. Thosefootsteps were nonviolent. Those footsteps were full of love.Those footsteps walked as far as it took to announce thegospel of the kingdom of God.




November 21, 2013

Thursday—Presentation of Mary

Theme: Avoiding religious indifference.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 1 Mc 2:15-29 (500)

Carol Dempsey, OP

Pressure from Antiochus continues. Attention is now onMattathias who, like Eleazar and the mother with her sevensons, remains faithful to God in spite of increasing coercionto commit apostasy. Events take place at Modein, the citywhere Antiochus’ officials have gathered to organize sacri-fices, seeking to sway the Jews from following their religiousbeliefs and traditions. The compromised position in whichmany of the Jews find themselves is evident in the choicethat some of them make. They join in the sacrifices that theking’s officials organize, but Mattathias does not follow thecrowd.

Knowing Mattathias’ upright character, Antiochus’ offi-cials try to persuade Mattathias to obey the king’s command.This would make Mattathias one of the king’s “friends,”allowing him to receive silver, gold, and many gifts. Un-per-suaded by such offers, Mattathias boldly declares his alle-giance to Israel’s God, covenant, and Torah.

Mattathias’ response is met with a response by one of hisown Jewish brothers who blatantly offers sacrifice publiclyon the altar of Modein, an action that enrages Mattathias tothe point that he kills the Jew and the king’s messenger. Thestory’s narrator notes that Mattathias’ actions resemble thoseof Phinehas who killed Zimri, son of Salu (Nm 25).Mattathias tears down the altar, an action supported byTorah (Dt 12:2-3), and finally, urges his Jewish community tofollow him and not Antiochus.

The story closes with Mattathias and his family seekingrefuge in the mountains while others went out to the desert.Some Jews chose to retreat from oppression rather than orga-nize active resistance against it (Zec 4:6; Is 32:16).


Drawing near to Jerusalem, Jesus now comes within sight ofthe city, at which point he weeps over it and announces aproclamation of doom upon it. Lk depicts Jesus as a prophet,warning the city and its inhabitants about what is to happenbecause of missed cues on their part. This narrative is both aprophetic lament and a judgment speech. The propheticproclamation that Jesus utters has three components: anaddress or summons, an indictment, and a threat or an-nouncement of a verdict. The repetitious use of the personalpronoun “you” makes clear that this proclamation by Jesusis indeed against Jerusalem. Unlike many OT proclamations,this one is neither vindictive nor hopeful; it is sorrowful.Jesus is filled with grief over the sad state of affairs of

Jerusalem, and he sees the city’s inevitable fate. Jerusalem has failed to recognize God’s salvific activity on

its behalf. The city’s inhabitants do not recognize the thingsthat make for peace nor do they recognize the time of theirvisitation from God. Both of these indictments recall thetheme of divine visitation and peace spoken about in theSong of Zechariah (Lk 1:68-75). The term “visitation” refersto God’s coming for either salvation or judgment.

Its OT counterpart would be “the Day of the Lord.” In theOT, the inhabitants of Jerusalem also failed to read the signsof the times and heed the prophets’ messages. In this Lukannarrative, “peace” does not imply harmony; rather, it impliesjustice and the elements required for peace. The sentencepronounced against Jerusalem consists of a series of imagesderived from military conquest and destruction, whichwould have been familiar to Lk’s and Jesus’ listeners. Je-rusalem stands judged for its inconstancy.


Hot. Cold. Indifferent. Which is worse? Which is better? Anexample of each has been placed before us today. Mattathiasis red hot for his ancestral faith and its traditions. Antiochus’officials are cold in their disrespect for Israel’s religion. AndJerusalem herself, under the weeping eyes of Jesus looks tobe indifferent, and thus the city stands judged.

Judgement due to indifference stands out as particularlybad. To not recognize what makes for peace causes Jesus toweep. To not recognize our own faults and failures at work-ing for peace in our hearts and with our lives may also elicita similar judgement.

Our lives are wracked with political allegiances andpolarized opinions. Our hearts may be rotting, too, in thefields of religious indifference as we go through life, lookingfor selfish pleasures and shortsighted conveniences. And it isthe very tears of Jesus, recorded in the Gospel and pro-claimed in this church today, that allow for our hearts to soft-en and our lives to be restored.

Restoration is possible when the word of God goes forthinto the ears and, therefore, the hearts and lives of people.Restoration of purpose and recognition of what makes forpeace and wholeness is grace at work. Grace at work, born ofthe liturgy, explains why we gather together to hear God’sword and give thanks.

By giving thanks, we cast out indifference from ourhearts. In giving thanks, we plow the fields of indifferenceand plant the seeds of grace given us by God. When we givethanks, we participate in what makes for peace, in whatmakes for a life lived in harmony with our baptism and inwhat makes for a wholesome response to the gift of gracegiven us by the Triune God.




November 22 2013

Friday—Cecilia

Theme: Living out our Baptism.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 1 Mc 4:36-37, 52-59(501)

Carol Dempsey, OP

The details of this story presuppose the Maccabean Revoltled by Judas Maccabeus and his sons, who rose up againstAntiochus IV and his officials. This led to religious freedomfor the Jews, the reclaiming of the temple, and its eventualrededication. Today’s story opens with Judas and his broth-ers going up to the temple to purify it and rededicate it. Thedate of this event was most likely December 14, 164 BCE,nine months after a treaty had been reached between theJews and the Greeks, and approximately three years after thefirst heathen sacrifice. Supposedly, Antiochus IV had diedsome months before the temple was cleansed (2 Mc 9; 10:1-13), though news of his death probably did not reach Je-rusalem until after the cleansing took place.

The purification and rededication of the Temple consistedof some repairs as well as joyful holocaust sacrifices andother sacrifices of deliverance and praise. The ritual of thefeast most likely included both Hallel (Psalms of Praise) andHoda’ah (Prayer of Thanksgiving). Pss 113-118 comprise theHallel psalms. Some of these psalms may have been specifi-cally composed for the Feast of Dedication, especially Ps 118,which contains a polemic against belief in resurrection orimmortality.

This Feast of Dedication is to be celebrated every year foreight days; this recalls the fact that under Hezekiah, thepriests cleansed the Temple for eight days, from the firstthrough the eighth of the first month, and sanctified for eightmore, from the ninth through the 16th (2 Chr 29:17). Thegreat day of burnt offerings and sin offerings occurred on thesixteen day (2 Chr 29:17-36). This Feast of Dedication is a cel-ebration that commemorates the uprising of the Jews—aftermany of them were martyred.


Jesus finally arrives in Jerusalem and goes into the temple,where he boldly addresses a group of traders. According toLk ’s Gospel, this is the first time Jesus has been in the tem-ple since he was twelve years old (2:41-52). After Lk 9:51, theGospel has focused primarily on the motif of the journey.The Gospel now focuses on the journey’s end—Jerusalem,and in this story, the temple.

Throughout Jewish history, the temple has played animportant role in Jewish life. The temple was a necessity forthe religion of ancient Israel and formed the communal foun-dation of the Israelite community. In NT times, the temple

was an important venue of Jesus’ activities. It stood on thesite of the first temple built by Solomon in the 10th centuryBCE and was later destroyed by the Babylonians in 587 BCE.It was restored as the second Temple early in the post-exilicperiod.

Lk ’s story of Jesus cleansing the Temple alludes to Is 56:7,a reference Lk quotes in a new context. In its OT context, thispassage stresses that God’s house will not be solely for theJewish people; it will include those deemed as outcasts bythe community and foreigners—nonJews—as well. This wasthe case with Ruth, a Moabite woman blessed by God.

Lk features Jesus using the Isaian reference in the contextof a judgment statement and adds a second clause to high-light what the traders are doing: turning God’s house ofprayer into a den of thieves. Jesus’ address reaps the typicalresponse of the chief priests and scribes: They want todestroy the preacher (4:16-30), but Jesus’ time is not yet athand. Also, the crowds remain favorably disposed towardhim.


Countless movies and books have the same rather simpleplot: Someone discovers a systemic problem and is foundout to know too much. Someone else then wants to kill thatperson. Behold, today the chase is on for Jesus!

Oddly enough, as the chase was on to kill Jesus, the chaseis still on today! This chase to kill God-loving, God-fearingpeople has never ended. Even when Jesus lay dead on GoodFriday, the chase had only begun.

Despite the chase to kill off the followers of Jesus, the plotdoes not end up like some well crafted novel or crime drama.No, the chase is actually constitutive of Christian existence.To stand up for God—no matter the cost—is to enter the tem-ple and toss over the tables. To be baptized a Christian is toaccept the mission of Jesus, especially in this temple sceneshowing righteous anger.

Righteous indignation still elicits action from those whoare baptized into the birth, life, death, and resurrection ofJesus Christ. Taken as a whole, Jesus’ mission is not only thetemple-tossing scene. But taken as a whole, that scene islocal, vocal, and focal to his mission. So central, in fact, it islikely the number one reason that Good Friday came soquickly thereafter.

Good Friday as a result of righteous anger in the templemight well become a part of our Christian journey someday.Stepping forward in faith in such a way is dramatically scary.Due to Jesus’ death, we Christians have received his bodyand blood as food for our journey. Let this food engenderstrength within us so that we, too, might witness to the faithboldly and courageously!




November 23, 2013

Saturday [Clement I, Columban, Bl. Miguel Pro]

Theme: Taking the long view.

Exegesis of the First Reading, 1 Mc 6:1-13 (502)Carol Dempsey, OP

Trying to amass more power and wealth, Antiochus IV nowjourneys to Persia, to Elymais. He hopes to plunder this cityand its temple rich in silver, gold, and weaponry left there byAlexander the Great, the king of Macedon and the first kingof the Greeks. During Alexander’s reign, Greece achieved its“Golden Age.” Little did Antiochus realize that his effortswould be fruitless because the Israelites had grown instrength, enough to defeat his grip on the Jews and their tem-ple. He also did not realize that his days were numbered.

Elymais is located in what is now southwestern Iran. Thetemple of Elymais was probably the temple of Nanaia (2 Mc1:13-15). Antiochus IV’s plan of invasion and plunder wascalculated, ruthless, and without scruple. In executing hisdeed, he followed the example of his father (Antiochus III)and his brother (Seleucus IV). Antiochus III had been slain intrying to plunder a temple in Elymais. Unsuccessful in hisattempt to capture and plunder the temple, Antilochus IVreturns to Babylon.

Antiochus is stunned at the news he receives concerningthe Israelites. Their power stops Antiochus in his tracks andinstills great fear in him. A once powerful and feared kingnow takes to his bed in grief. He makes a profound confes-sion to his friends, admitting to the atrocities that he hasdone: plundering and giving orders to have the inhabitantsof Jerusalem put to death, an order carried out by his army.Thus, Antiochus attributes his defeat to these evils he haddone in Jerusalem and Judah. The one who caused sufferingis now made to suffer.


Jesus is now put to a test by several Sadducees who questionhim about resurrected life. The hypothetical problem theypose concerns a widow who was married seven times underthe levirate law that required her next of kin to marry her inthe event of her husband’s death and in a situation where thewidow has no son (Dt 25:5-10).

The Sadducees question Jesus about who this widow’shusband will be at the time of the resurrection because shehad seven of them in life. This narrative highlights the divi-sion between Jesus and his opponents, underscoring the rad-ical discontinuity between the good news of God’s reign pro-claimed by Jesus and the messianic expectations and reli-gious beliefs and concerns maintained by the Jewish leadersof Jesus’ day.

The Sadducees were a Jewish sect that took their name

from Zadok, David’s priest (2 Sm 8:17). They did not believein the resurrection of the dead (Mk 12:18) or in angels or spir-its (Acts 23:8). Together with the Pharisees, they were Jesus’principal opponents. Jerusalem was their power base (Mt 22:23, 34; Mk 12:18; Lk 20:27; Acts 4:1; 5:17; 23:6). Althoughbelief in the resurrection developed late (Dn 12: 2-3; 2 Mc 7:9,11, 14, 23), and although the Pharisees believed in it, theSadducees dismissed it altogether.

Jesus’ response to the Sadducees is direct, curt, and clever.With the subtle phase “like the angels,” he exposes their dis-belief not only in the resurrection but also in angels. Thephrase “sons of God” was common in the OT and was usedin reference to kings and holy persons. The allusion toMoses, the burning bush, and the patriarchs appeals to Ex3:6, 15. Temporal realities are of little relevance to the Godfrom whom all the living draw their life.


Have you ever been asked a question and been surprised bya question in response? To step back from a question andponder its origin can be very interesting. Some people willask anybody anything. Some more discreet people will onlyask a question if they already know the answer.

Knowing the answers to questions asked of us may not, inthe end, be all that helpful. A quick and watertight answermay actually create more distance between you and thequestioner. The question may be a setup, or it might berhetorical. If that were the case, a ready and detailed answermay well become a trap set by the questioner and set off byyou with your crafty answer.

Taking a play from Jesus’ how-to-answer-the-oppositionplaybook, we might look deeply into the question and,before we answer, consider well who is asking it and why.Doing so, we will execute our play by avoiding the pitfalls ofthe easy and sought-after answer.

Jesus takes the long view and answers well beyond thequestion’s trap. He gives no answer concerning the woman.He knows better. However, he does answer their question tosufficiency. After scribes even respond perfunctorily, theQ&A match is over.

To play the game of question and answer or “set the trapwith a question” is not always the best way to communicateor bring about honest reflections on the life of faith. Granted,it takes mighty discernment to make such a move as Jesusdid with the Sadducees.

But the way in which he answers gives us an insight intohow we Christians can live a life of faith. We can take a longview of things and answer with charity, outside of playingword games. We can respond with both eyes always on theend goal: living the values of the kingdom of God.




November 25 2013

Monday [Catherine of Alexandria]

Theme: Trust.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Dn 1:1–6, 8–20 (503)John R. Barker, OFM

The stories from the Book of Dn, a young nobleman fromJudah, take place in the Babylonian exile. They have beencharacterized as stories intended to recommend a “lifestylefor the Diaspora,” that is, to model ideal behaviors for piousJews living among foreign peoples.

Judah has been conquered and many of its people deport-ed. Thus, all the stories of Dn take place within the context ofthe defeat and domination of God’s people. This is power-fully symbolized in today’s passage by the notice that thevessels of the temple of God have been placed in the templeof Nebuchadnezzar’s god. There is also an intention toassimilate some of the youth into Babylonian culture andbring them into the king’s service. With such assimilationcomes the danger of the weakening of Jewish identity, themost significant element of which is exclusive devotion tothe God of Israel.

The issue of food is related to this concern. It is not pri-marily that the food itself is impure according to priestly leg-islation. Rather, food plays a symbolic role as a marker ofidentity. The concern is to show fidelity to God through resis-tance to assimilation and loss of identity by asserting thateating the food will defile.

God gives Dn protection and support in this resistance,making him favorable in the eyes of the powerful. The veg-etable diet does more than sustain the young men; they look“healthier and better fed” than anyone else after 10 days.This, of course, is understood to be the work of God, who hasalso provided the young men with wisdom. Thus, this firststory highlights that God remains with Jews in captivity in afar-off land and supports their efforts to remain faithful tohim.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 21:1–4 (503)John R. Barker, OFM

This brief passage about the widow’s mite comes at the endof a series of debates between Jesus and the religious leaders.Those debates conclude with Jesus’ warning to “be on guardagainst the scribes” because, among other things, “they de-vour the houses of widows while reciting “lengthy prayers”(20:46, 47).

Here we have one such widow presumably endangeredby the depredations of the scribes; she contributes two lepta,extremely small coins worth almost nothing. Yet in her gen-erosity in giving “from her poverty” (literally, “out of herlacking”), she represents the righteous poor who, especiallyin Lk, are the recipients of the good news of the kingdom

(4:18; 6:20; 7:22; 14:21; 16:19–31). Widows, too, have played arole in this Gospel: Anna (2:36–38), the widows of Zarephath(4:25–26) and Nain (7:11–17), and then the widow in theparable with the unjust judge (18:1–8).

According to ancient Jewish sources, the “treasury” intowhich the people were putting their offerings was not for theupkeep of the temple or its personnel but for the distributionof alms. The widow, then, is not offering her pittance in sup-port of a wealthy institution, but rather in support of otherswho are poor.

By offering “her whole livelihood,” the widow shows aliberality that exceeds that of the wealthy, not in materialterms but in terms of the significance of her contribution. Bygiving what she really cannot afford to give, the widowshows an almost reckless generosity that implies a completetrust that she will also be taken care of. Thus, she exemplifiesteachings that Jesus has presented in this Gospel, such as theexhortation to remember that “one’s life does not consist ofpossessions” (12:15) and to depend on God (12:22–34).

Homily SuggestionRoger Lopez, OFM

A “trust fall” is a common team-building exercise. A personwho stands erect with arms crossed over their chest will fallback. They are to be as rigid as a board, starting the fall fromthe heels of their feet. Another person will stand behindthem, ready to catch them. The “fall” is only 15 degrees, butyou must trust that person will catch you. It is act of vulner-ability, surrender, and faith.

It is easy to create safeguards to prevent oneself fromfalling. We invest in stocks and bonds to prevent financialruin. We exercise and diet properly to reduce disease and ali-ments. We develop relationships to grow and express ourhuman intimacy. All these safeguards are good and holy inthemselves. But what if they are tested and fail, and a personbegins to fall?

The widow’s mite is a witness to falling without a safetynet, without some person to catch her. Her trust is that Godwill always be there to catch her. But it’s important to under-stand that trust in the Lord is not offering up a prayer like amultiple-choice question, where one creates the answers andGod circles one of our desires. No, trust is offering God a fill-in-the-blank question, as we say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thywill be done.”

We are called to place our trust in Christ always, especial-ly when our safeguards fall apart. Our surrender to God inan unknown future becomes our poverty. Here, we offer ourwhole livelihood; here, we are asked to have reckless trust inGod. And in that, we may not know what the future holds,but we know that Christ will always be ready to catch us inways we can never imagine.




November 26, 2013

Tuesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Readiness.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Dn 2:31–45 (504)

John R. Barker, OFM

Dn and his companions are now in the king’s service, amonghis wise counselors. Today’s story begins with Nebuchad-nezzar disturbed by dreams. He summons all his counselorsand demands that they tell him both the dream and its inter-pretation. When they protest that they cannot possibly knowhis dream, the king becomes enraged and orders all of thewise men in Babylon, including Daniel, to be executed.

But Dn asks to see the king to interpret his dream. Im-ploring God’s mercy before going, Daniel receives an inter-pretation of the dream. When he is brought before the king,Dn proceeds to explain the dream and its meaning (2:1–30).

The dream was of a statue made of various metals and offeet of iron and “tile” (or clay: thus the expression “feet ofclay”). The interpretation of the dream is straightforwardand speaks about the future fate of Nebuchadnezzar and thekingdoms that will follow his. The theological import of theinterpretation is found in the emphasis on the “God of heav-en” as the one who has given the king his dominion andpower and who will cause the rise and fall of the subsequentkingdoms.

It is this God, and no other god or human, who controlsthe destiny of worldly powers. In the end, God will set up akingdom that will not be destroyed by others. In the contextof the Book of Dn, which takes place in the Babylonian peri-od but which was written during a later time of Hellenisticdomination of Palestine, this incident expresses a hope forthe end of foreign domination and the resumption of anautonomous Jewish state.

The king responds, not with consternation, but with grat-itude and praise to the “God of heaven” and a promotion forDn.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 21:5–11 (504)

John R. Barker, OFM

In today’s passage, Jesus begins an eschatological discourse.Jesus is still in the temple, which was one of Herod’s majorbuilding accomplishments. According to contemporaryaccounts, it was beautifully constructed of large, carefullyhewn stones and covered with gold.

The wealthy also contributed to the adornment of thetemple with “votive offerings” (much like today’s “memori-als”). The temple, then, was large, impressive, and substan-tial. Yet Jesus tells his listeners that at some point in thefuture it will be completely destroyed; he had made a simi-lar statement earlier concerning Jerusalem (19:44).

In response to the question of timing and signs, Jesus

gives warnings to his listeners. The first is to not be “de-ceived” by those claiming, “I am he” and “the time hascome.” Both phrases suggest the speaker is a false prophetclaiming to be the Messiah who will usher in the apocalypticera. The reference to “wars and insurrections” follows fromthis, as do the natural disasters and the signs in the skies.These were all elements of first-century, Jewish apocalypticexpectations.

These images and scenarios are ultimately derived fromearlier prophetic literature—such as Jl, Zec, and parts of Is—that feature the anticipated “day of the LORD,” a climacticevent in which God would bring about the vindication andsalvation of Israel. These images and expectations con-tributed to the more developed apocalyptic thought of Jewsand then Christians around the turn of the eras.

Thus, Jesus refers to well-known expectations concerningthe end-times. But it will become clearer as the discoursedevelops that Jesus wants his listeners to understand thatthese particular things are not, in fact, signs of “the end of allthings,” but of the end of Jerusalem. The final “end” willcome only after that.


Y2K, the Mayan calendar, Nostradamus’ predictions—everyfew years someone make a proclamation giving the exactdate of the end of the world. This fascination is found in pop-ular movies such as The Day After Tomorrow, Armageddon, Wa-terworld, and Mad Max. Why are humans so obsessed withknowing when the end of the world will come? What signswill there be when all these things are about to happen?

Simply answered, we want to be ready. But Christ doesnot give us an answer we desire. We will never know the dayor the hour. Rather, we must vigilant and always ready. Thisis not to “keep us on our toes” or flex superiority over us.Our focus should not be on what is minimally required toobtain salvation, but instead on fullness of life.

Earthly life is not a dramatic theater where God looks totest us. Jesus came into the world that we may have life—lifeto the fullest. Every day is filled with God’s goodness. Wesimply need eyes to see it. God’s goodness is the smile of ourchildren, the quiet stillness of a sunset, the phone call from afriend, the taste of a home-cooked meal. We only need eyesto see God’s goodness in small actions and surroundings.

And when we condition our eyes, ears, hands, and heartsto see, hear, do, and feel the Lord’s presence, we enter intoChrist’s fullness of life. And with that, we will no longer askquestions in order to be ready for the end; We will be readyto go home.




November 27 2013

Wednesday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Trial.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Dn 5:1–6, 13–14,16–17, 23–28 (505)

John R. Barker, OFM

Today we again encounter the vessels taken from the houseof God in Jerusalem, this time being used as part of thedrunken revelry at Belshazzar’s feast (see Monday’s read-ing). The feast itself represents the excess of the wealthy andpowerful. The abuse of the sacred vessels shows disdain ordisregard for the honor of the “Lord of heaven.” This disdainis compounded by the praising of “gods of gold and silver,bronze and iron, wood and stone” while drinking from thesacred vessels.

This book’s original audience would have found thisscene deeply offensive and would have approved the intru-sion of the hand of judgment. When Belshazzar sees “thewriting on the wall,” he summons his wise men to interpretit, but only Dn—filled with divine wisdom—is able toinform the king about the meaning of these words.

Note that Dn dismisses the offer of gifts: He is not inter-ested in interpreting for gain but rather serves as an inter-mediary for the Lord of heaven. Judgment, Dn says, hascome on the king for honoring handmade gods rather thanglorifying the Lord of heaven.

As in yesterday’s story, the classic biblical motif of thesovereignty of the God of Israel as Lord of history is the maintheological point. Dn interprets the mysterious words toindicate the demise and destruction of Belshazzar and hiskingdom. God has the power to bring down even the pow-erful, wealthy king of Babylon, who has been found wantingfor his lack of due regard for the Lord of heaven.

Although today’s reading ends here, the biblical text con-tinues with a notice confirming the interpretation: “that verynight, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king, was slain: And Dariusthe Mede succeeded to the kingdom” (5:30—6:1).

Exegesis of the Gospel, Luke 21:12–19 (505)

John R. Barker, OFM

Although this reading lacks the transitional phrase, “Beforeall these things happen,” today’s passage is a parentheticaldiscussion of what Jesus’ followers will endure before thedestruction of Jerusalem. The main concern here is to pre-pare his disciples for these trials and to instruct them abouthow to act during then. The warnings Jesus gives here fore-shadow many of the events described in the Book of Acts.

The arrests of Jesus’ disciples will lead them before offi-cials and leaders of all kinds, political and religious. His fol-lowers can even expect to be handed over by family mem-bers and friends. (Jesus had earlier warned in 12:51–53 that

he would be the cause of division within families.) Becauseof Jesus, his followers will be hated by leaders, friends, rela-tives—everyone.

Yet they are not to be discouraged or frightened. Instead,they are to see these events as occasions for giving “testimo-ny” or “bearing witness.” The future witnesses are not toprepare eloquent or careful testimony beforehand, for such“witness” might reflect themselves rather than Jesus, towhom they will be called to witness. Instead, Jesus himselfwill inspire their words, giving them wisdom that will beirrefutable and irresistible. (For example, see the stories ofPeter and Stephen in Acts 4:14 and 6:10.)

Finally, the disciples are not to concern themselves withprotecting their lives but are to persevere in faithful witness.Some indeed will be put to death (as Jesus was—all of this infact reflects Jesus’ own experience), but because of their per-severance and fidelity, they will nevertheless have securedtheir own lives. Not a hair on their head will be destroyed(see 12:7).

This does not contradict the warnings about death; rather,it reflects the hope for resurrection for the faithful followers.


Jesus does not pull any punches when telling his disciplesabout their future. Life in Christ will not be easy. Even today,men and women are placed in a crucible because their faithin the Gospel costs them their life. These glorious saints wit-ness great love for Christ with their blood, earning the mar-tyrs’ palm.

Martyrdom in 21st-century America seems foreign. TheUnited States is blessed with religious freedom that is a con-stitutional right for its citizens. But Jesus’ disclaimer stillsring true for members of a first-world society. Persecution byothers can occur in various issues of Christian morality.Holding to the truths of faith and virtuous living can easilywin someone martyrdom: “white” martyrdom.

The loss of popularity and social status is like a dagger tothe ego. Gossip and slander are poison to one’s reputation.“You will be hated by all because of my name,”says Jesus.Seizure and persecution still happen—only in different cir-cumstances from those of the early disciples. This is thewhite martyrdom of 21st-century American Christians.

But remember that Jesus is alongside us in the midst ofpersecution, strengthening us, pouring out his grace into oursouls, giving us the courage to endure the narrow road.Christians strive to set their sights on being with Jesus; earth-ly life is never the end. The hope of the resurrection alwaysoutshines the darkness of death.




November 28, 2013

Thursday [Thanksgiving Day]

Theme: Suffering.


John R. Barker, OFM

Dn has been promoted to a high-ranking office answerable toKing Darius. Because Dn possesses an “extraordinary spirit”and distinguishes himself, the king plans to place Dn overthe entire kingdom. This inspires jealousy among other offi-cers, who seek to find cause for complaint against him byforcing him to choose between the “law of his God” and thelaw of the king.

They convince the king to issue an unalterable edict thatno one may pray to anyone—human or divine—except tothe king for 30 days, or be thrown into a den of lions.Although he is aware of the edict, Dn continues to pray inthe upper room of his house, facing Jerusalem (6:2–11).Today’s reading begins when he is found out.

The king is distressed because, according to Persian law,he cannot change his own edict, yet he does not want to carryout the punishment against Dn, his favorite. Thus, we findthe king actually praying that the God of Dn will deliver thisgood man. Is the king breaking his own edict?

The story ends with Dn seen through the night safelybecause he was found innocent before both God and king.The conspirators, on the other hand, are immediately killedby the lions, which may be seen as a judgment on them forconspiring against the favorite of God and king.

Although the salvation of Dn in the den is remarkable,what is more theologically important is the decree of the kingthat throughout his kingdom the God of Daniel is to be wor-shipped and the king’s “doxology” to the God of Israel. Theexample of Daniel has brought about the recognition by amighty foreign power of the true Sovereign of the World.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 21:20–28 (506)

John R. Barker, OFM

Jesus now resumes discussing the fate of Jerusalem, whosedesolation will come from armies. When this happens, thosenot in Jerusalem should flee and avoid the city, while thosein it should try to escape. Jesus interprets the future destruc-tion of Jerusalem as punishment (see his similar comments in13:35–35 and 19:41–44), a fate ordained by God and de-scribed many times throughout the prophets.

These prophetic oracles were fulfilled in the first instancewith the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians, but theprophetic oracles could be considered applicable to morethan one historical event—albeit with the specific reasons forjudgment changing.

The siege and destruction will be calamitous, as always inancient times. Captives will once again be taken, and the city

occupied by gentiles—in this case, the Romans, who indeeddestroyed the temple in 70 AD. The phrase “until the timesof the gentiles are fulfilled” could refer to the idea—so com-mon in the OT—that God would use the foreign nations asinstruments of his punishment, but that this time of punish-ment would be limited.

Once this time is “fulfilled,” God will presumably redeemJerusalem again, perhaps at the “end-time.” The passageconcludes with the announcement of apocalyptic signsaccompanying the coming of the Son of Man (see tomor-row’s exegesis of Dn 7). Although this coming will occuramid turmoil and destruction—not only in Judea, but “onearth”—the followers of Jesus should not be afraid, butknow that with his coming their “redemption is at hand.”

For them, this coming means the end of the persecutionsand trials described earlier. The Son of Man will come tobring judgment (punishment for the wicked) but vindicationfor his faithful followers.


Lions are quick, fierce animals. They hunt, day or night, inorganized, strategic groups. So, throwing a weaponless per-son into an enclosed arena with a lion means a death withtremendous suffering.

The stories from this final week of Ordinary Time arefilled with many moments of suffering. Righteous Dn is notspared any agony. He has remained steadfast in his devotion,praying to the Lord, which becomes the reason for his exe-cution in the lions’ den.

Life is filled with many lions. Broken relationships, finan-cial downfall, unemployment, loss of a loved one, sickness,shaky transitions—these are names of lions who are ready toinflict pain and suffering in life. They are ready to devourtheir prey and swallow them whole into the stomach ofdespair and wrath.

Suffering is an evil. An evil man causes many of these inlife. Recall these words of Saint John of the Cross: “And I sawthe river over which every soul must pass to reach the king-dom of heaven, and the name of that river was suffering . . .. And I saw the boat which carries souls across the river andthe name of that boat was love.”

God does not will suffering. Rather, God can work incred-ible good out of horrible tragedies. As Christians, we believethat suffering can be salvific. We find Christ, who pours outhis love, in the wounds human suffering. The boat named“love” sails over the torrents of pain and despair. Love is themuzzle that clasp down the jaws of any lion that seeks to tearapart our hope and faith in Jesus Christ.

On this Thanksgiving Day, we can be extremely gratefulthat we such a generous and compassionate God.




November 29 2013

Friday of the 34th Week in Ordinary Time

Theme: Announcements.


John R. Barker, OFM

The Book of Dn now moves from the “court tales” to a seriesof visions that together comprise the only fully apocalypticliterature in the OT. The vision in today’s reading draws onclassic, ancient Near Eastern mythic imagery to give theo-logical significance to earthly, historical events. Although theBook of Dn has its literary setting in the Babylonian period,this portion of the book reflects the actual historical circum-stances of its composition, namely the persecution of Jews inPalestine under the Seleucid Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

In ancient Near Eastern and biblical mythic patterns,beasts often represent the cosmic situation of “chaos,” whenthe natural or social world—or both—are out of divine order.Thus, it is significant that we have four beasts, each of whichrepresents ancient kingdoms that had dominated Israel(Assyria, Babylon, Persia, the Hellenistic kingdoms).

This fourth beast has a “little horn” that speaks arrogant-ly, representing Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Their representa-tion as beasts emerging from the sea (another image ofchaos) signals that these are historical manifestations of cos-mic chaos, and therefore the enemies of God.

The vision now moves to the judgment of the beasts. TheAncient One (God) takes his place with his court and thebooks of judgment are opened. The beast with the little hornspeaks arrogantly. Thus, Dn’s vision ensures that the presentoppression will end with God’s judgment on the oppressors.Suddenly, “one like a son of man,” that is, one who has theappearance of a human, arrives and receives everlastingdominion over the earth.

This figure of the son of man will quickly develop in theJewish tradition into an eschatological messianic figure. Thisis why the term “Son of Man” will be Jesus’ favorite way ofreferring to himself in the Gospels.

Exegesis of the Gospel, Lk 21:29–33 (507)John R. Barker, OFM

Jesus has been talking about specific signs preceding thedestruction of Jerusalem and the coming of the Son of Man:earthquakes, famines, “awesome sights and mighty signs” inthe sky, wars, uprisings. Now he speaks about signs by usingan analogy. Just as the budding of a fig and other trees is asure sign that summer is near, so all these things are a suresign that God’s kingdom is near. That is, the eschatologicalfulfillment of the kingdom is at hand; the terrifying eventsand persecution of Christian disciples are but a necessaryprelude to a new, glorious reality.

Jesus assures his listeners that “this generation” will not

pass away before all this comes to pass. At first glance, thismay seem to be a “prediction” that the Son of Man will comebefore the generation of his listeners dies. If so, the predic-tion would have proven to be false.

Two things suggest this means something else. First, in Lk“this generation” is generally used when speaking aboutthose who resist Jesus’ message or are evil (7:31; 9:41;11:29–32, 50–51; 17:25). It is less a temporal reference than away of characterizing an attitude. Second, the statement isthat this generation will not pass away until these thingshappen. In other words, only when the Son of Man comeswill “this generation”—evil and the resistant—pass away.

This may, then, be a statement about the enduring pres-ence of such attitudes until the consummation of God’s king-dom, rather than a timeline for that consummation. In theend, heaven and earth will pass away as the present realitygives way to a new one. Yet even in that new reality, thewords of Jesus will retain their value and validity.


Springtime is Washington, DC is magnificent. Thousands ofpeople travel to the nation’s capital in late March/early Aprilto see the flowering of the Japanese cherry trees. Around theTidal Basin, where the prominent Jefferson Memorial stands,beautiful white and pink cherry blossoms line the water, cre-ating a picturesque display of God’s creation. The blossom-ing of the cherry trees reminds Washingtonians that winteris over and warm, sunny weather is on the horizon. It is thesymbol of anticipation of what is to come.

Christians are called to be like blossoming cherry trees.The gospel announces the kingdom of God. We are witness-es of Christ’s good news in the most subtle and common-place events of life. In the smile we give to the grocerycashier, when we drive our children to soccer practice, inhousehold cleaning of toilets—every moment has the poten-tial to be an announcement of the kingdom of God.

How is this possible? We never realize who is looking on.When we live so that all forms of labor, great and small, giveglory to God, it becomes prayer. We can pray constantly viaevery action. In this, people see the fruits of the Holy Spirit:love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, and self-control. Here people can encounter thekingdom of God: through our lives.

We can be the in-breaking of the kingdom of God in theworld. Simple lives, lived in holiness, can bring the kingdomof God into the hearts and minds of God’s people. We can bethe beautiful cherry blossoms that announce the Lord in thehere and now.




November 30, 2013

Saturday—Andrew

Theme: Spontaneous.

Exegesis of the First Reading, Rom 10:9–18 (684)

John R. Barker, OFM

Today’s reading is an excellent example of Paul’s method ofdeveloping a theological argument concerning Christ or theChurch through the use of Israel’s Scriptures, which arequoted no less than five times. The point of this passage isfairly straightforward: belief, faith, and “calling on the Lord”lead to salvation.

But before anyone can believe or have faith, they musthave heard the “good news.” (And those who have notbelieved cannot claim that they have not heard.) The impli-cation—relevant for today’s celebration of an apostle—isthat proclamation of the gospel is necessary.

Paul has been arguing for “righteousness by faith,” whichrequires confession and interior acknowledgment of thegospel proclamation, in particular that Jesus has been raisedfrom the dead and is Lord. (Acknowledging the lordship ofChrist has implications for the way one lives; it is not onlyabout what one “thinks” or believes.) Paul finds authoriza-tion for this claim in, among other places, a form of Is 28:16.This is interpreted in a universalizing sense, now with thehelp of Jl 3:5. Salvation is available to anyone through beliefin the gospel.

Of course, such salvation can only come to those haveheard the gospel and respond to it. Preaching of the gospel isessential for the salvation of others: “How beautiful are thefeet . . . !” (Is 52:7). In itself, though, this is not enough, forone must respond to the preaching of the gospel with con-fession and belief.

Not everyone has heeded the good news, a situation Paulfinds corresponding to Is 53:1. Those who have not heededcannot give as an excuse that they have not heard, for thegospel certainly has been proclaimed, a claim once againillustrated with a scriptural citation (Ps 19:5).

Exegesis of the Gospel, Mt 4:18–22 (694)

John R. Barker, OFM

The call of the first disciples occurs immediately after Jesusbegins to preach (4:17). Of the four called in today’s reading,Peter, John, and James will enjoy a particularly close rela-tionship with Jesus; they are present with him at theTransfiguration and in Gethsemane (17:1; 26:37). But Peter’sbrother Andrew will also be counted among the 12 apostles(10:2).

Although the first disciples are often thought of as “poorfishermen,” fishing on the Sea of Galilee was a significantindustry, and it seems as if these fishermen owned their ownboats and nets. Thus, they might not have been quite so poor

as typically thought. The possibility that they might havebeen at least moderately prosperous makes their immediatedecision to abandon their fishing all the more remarkable:They are giving up stability to follow into an itinerant life ofdiscipleship a man whom they do not know . The immedi-ate, almost impulsive decision to follow Jesus not onlyunderscores his personal attractiveness, but also serves as aparadigm for discipleship in general: unhesitating andwholehearted.

It has also often been noted that the normal manner of dis-cipleship was for a would-be student to seek out a teacher,rather than to have a teacher go about recruiting disciples.This reversal of standard practice underlines the nature ofJesus’ teaching, which is not intended for a few select disci-ples but for as many people as can hear and receive it.

There is an urgency to Jesus’ preaching that demands asmany “fishers of men” as possible. The first disciples are nothere promised anything for their discipleship but are onlycalled to a specific task: the proclamation of the kingdom ofheaven. According to this model, the first concern of disci-pleship is working to extend the reach of God’s kingdom.


Spontaneity is full of thrills and excitement. A spur-of-the-moment road trip or change in one’s weekly routine quick-ens the heart, filling it with anticipation of the unknown. Butafter the excitement subsides, questions and doubts creepup. The unknown future becomes too scary to continue, andmany return to a life of safe routine.

Andrew was bitten by the spontaneity bug. He leaveseverything (employment and livelihood) and follows a per-son he had never met. While some people may look atAndrew as foolhardy or reckless, Christians know that it isonly personal experience with Jesus Christ that can explainsuch an action.

An experience with Jesus leads to surrender and transfor-mation. “Come after me,” Christ says to Andrew. Christspeaks to all humanity. Andrew’s invitation is spoken to allpeople. Sometimes, Christ’s invitations are found where weleast expect them: in calculus problems, backyard gardens,work evaluations, or babysitting. Christ speaks to us contin-ually; we only lack the ears to hear.

Even more amazing is that Christ continues to invite usdeeper and deeper into a relationship with him as life moveson. “Come after me” will re-echo often for a Christian. Andevery time it will lead to a new and unknown future.

And when we hear the invitation, we are left to decide.Will we be spontaneous, like Andrew, and leave everythingto follow Christ?

november 4, 2013 monday—charles borromeo

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