More

Commentary on Mark 9:2-13 Read Saturday of Week 6 of Ordinary Time – Gospel »

More

Commentary on John 7:1-2,10,25-30

In today’s Gospel we move to the 7th chapter of John, skipping chapter 6 on the Bread of Life, which will be read at another time in the liturgical cycle. We are told that Jesus was confining his activities to Galilee. He did not want to go to Judea and the vicinity of Jerusalem because there were people there who wanted to kill him. Jesus does not expose himself unnecessarily to danger. He knows that a time is coming when the final conflict will be inevitable, but that time is not yet.

It is the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and (though not contained in today’s reading) his family are urging him to go up to Jerusalem for the feast and show himself to the world. He tells them the time is not ripe for him to do this, but later on, after his family have left for the city, he goes privately and unbeknown to others. However, in Jerusalem, Jesus goes to the Temple area and begins to teach openly, to the amazement of his listeners:

How does this man have such learning, when he has never been taught? (John 5:15)

A marvelous example of Johannine irony—the Word does not need to study the Word!

Jesus is a source of some confusion in the minds of many people. On the one hand, the people are aware that Jesus has become a target of their religious leaders, and yet he goes about openly and speaking freely and without fear.

Jesus would not be Jesus if he were to keep his message to himself. The Word of God cannot remain silent. On the other hand, the people are also confused about the identity of Jesus. Is he allowed to speak freely because the leaders now believe he really is the Messiah-Christ? But everyone knows where Jesus comes from (Nazareth in Galilee). How, then, can he be the Messiah?

Jesus then tells them:

You know me, and you know where I am from.

That is only partially true; rather, they think they know.

I have not come on my own. But the one who sent me is true…I know him because I am from him, and he sent me.

And, if they do not know the Father, how can they know the Son? And vice versa.

This only angers his listeners who know what he is implying, but they cannot arrest him there and then because “his hour had not yet come.” The time of his arrest will only be in accordance with God’s plan.

Do we really know who Jesus is? There are many conflicting opinions out there. We can only know the real Jesus by reading the Scriptures under wise and perceptive guides who can help us penetrate the deeper meaning beneath the literal text. We can also learn a lot by prayer and contemplation. Lent is an excellent time for us to do both and, better still, to begin making it a practice that goes far beyond Lent.

More

Commentary on John 7:40-52

Today we have a continuation of yesterday’s confusion about the identity of Jesus. There is a conflict between what people are seeing and hearing, and what they have been taught to believe. On the basis of his words and actions, Jesus looks like the Messiah, but as every Jewish child knows, the Messiah is not going to come from Galilee (where Nazareth is located). Rather, he is to come from Bethlehem and the family of David. This is a good example of Johannine irony. Of course, Jesus did come from Nazareth, but he was of the family of David and, as we know from Matthew and Luke, born in David’s town of Bethlehem.

Even the police are confused. When asked by the religious leaders why they have not arrested Jesus, they reply:

Never has anyone spoken like this!

They are scolded for their ignorance and told to never mind how impressively he speaks:

Surely you have not been deceived, too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him?

And the crowds who surround Jesus and listen to him are written off as ignorant and cursed:

…this crowd, which does not know the law, they are accursed.

But one Pharisee, Nicodemus, who had earlier (John chap 3) spoken with Jesus in secret and had been won over, protests:

Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?

Nicodemus is swept aside by the leaders’ preconceived ideas:

Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.

We need to remember we are not reading this passage to condemn the Jewish religious leaders or the Pharisees, but to reflect on our own prejudices and short-sightedness. How do we see Jesus, the Gospel message, the whole Bible, the Church, our parish community and its leaders? How do we see our family, friends, neighbours, not to mention strangers and outsiders? Let him or her who is totally without prejudice or who has never passed judgement on another cast the first stone.

Let us pray for an open mind to accept in its totality the message of Jesus. And let us also be very open about the many and surprising ways in which Jesus can speak to us. If we are honest, there is something of the Pharisee in every one of us.

More

Commentary on Mark 3:13-19

Jesus goes up a mountain. It has no name because the symbolism is more important than the location. Mountains in the Scriptures are holy places associated with the presence of God. Jesus goes up mountains at more solemn moments in his public life—here, during the Sermon on the Mount, at the Transfiguration, and after feeding the 5,000.

Jesus’ purpose on this occasion is to pick the inner circle of his followers:

[He] called to him those whom he wanted, and they came to him.

Later he will say:

You did not choose me, but I chose you. (John 15:16)

A call includes both the invitation and the response. The same is true for each one of us. The call is always there—can we say the same about our response?

There were twelve in this inner circle of disciples. In the New Covenant, they would be the ‘patriarchs’, the foundational pillars of the new community, embracing the new Israel.

They are called ‘apostles’. This is a word to be clearly distinguished from ‘disciples’. The ‘disciple’ (coming from the Latin verb discere, meaning ‘to learn’) is essentially a follower who imbibes the teaching of the teacher and tries to make it part of his or her life. However, ‘apostle’ (from the Greek verb apostello, meaning ‘to go out on a mission’—like an ambassador) is essentially one who has a mandate from the teacher to pass on to others.

In the Pauline letters, where the term appears most often in the Christian (New) Testament, ‘apostle’ means primarily one who has been a witness of the Risen Lord and has been commissioned to proclaim the resurrection. Paul himself, because of his experience at Damascus, is regarded as one of Jesus’ Apostles.

The Twelve were to be Jesus’ companions. They were to preach, that is, proclaim his message of the Kingdom, and work with him to make it a reality. They were to cast out demons and liberate people from all situations which enslaved them to any form of evil.

The list is headed—as are all lists of the Apostles—by Simon Peter. For Mark, the name Peter was given on this occasion. In Matthew, it is given later, following Peter’s confession of Jesus’ identity. In the Gospel of Mark, the list included one man who would betray (“handed him over”) his Master and Lord.

And today there are still those, called by Jesus, who betray him. What about me?

Surely not I, Lord? (Matt 20:22)

There go I but for the grace of God.

More

Commentary on Mark 3:20-21

Today we are told that Jesus “went home”. Yet, at another time Jesus will say that he has nowhere to lay his head. Of course, one can say that anywhere can be the home of Jesus, or that home is where Jesus is. We have seen references already to the ‘house’ or the ‘home’ indicating any house where Jesus is gathered with his disciples, with those who listen attentively to what he says.

At the same time, so many people came looking for him that he did not even have time to eat. This is in strong contrast with what is going to follow. One might think such popularity would be welcomed especially by his family—a kind of reflected glory.

On the contrary, he is an embarrassment to them. They think he “has gone out of his mind”. They think he must be ‘mad’ because he is in conflict with the religious leaders, with the Pharisees and the Scribes. It reminds one of the parents of the man born blind who did not want to have anything to do with their son because of his relationship with his healer, Jesus.

Jesus must be “out of his mind” because a genuine rabbi would never be seen happily in the company of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers and outcasts. Similarly, teachers of the Law who had come all the way from Jerusalem (news of Jesus must now be reaching that far) were saying that he must be possessed by the prince of demons, and that it was by the power of the prince of demons that he drove out other demons.

From the experience that Jesus had, his followers must not expect, simply because they based their life on truth and brotherly love, that they will be admired, respected and loved in return. From Jesus onward, true followers of Christ have faced misunderstanding, opposition and even verbal and physical violence. And this even comes sometimes from within their own community.

More

Commentary on Matthew 5:20-26

Today’s readings are about repentance for the wrongs we have done and the guarantee of God’s mercy. The Gospel passage comes from the Sermon on the Mount, and is the first of six so-called ‘antitheses’ where Jesus contrasts the demands of the Law with those of the Gospel.

Virtue, for the scribes and Pharisees, was largely measured by external observance of the law. For Jesus, that is not enough. For him, real virtue is in the heart. There was a commandment not to kill, but Jesus says that even hatred and anger (i.e. violence in the heart, often expressed by abusive language) must be avoided. Furthermore, we cannot have one set of relationships with God, and another set with people.

So, it is no use going to pray and make our offering to God if we have done harm to a brother or sister. I must leave my gift at the altar, and first go and be reconciled with my brother or sister. Only then may I come to offer my gift.

I cannot say I love God if I hate a brother or sister:

Those who say, “I love God,” and hate a brother or sister are liars… (1 John 4:20)

and

Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. (Matt 25:45)

Repentance has to be expressed both to God and the person I have hurt. It is not possible to be reconciled to one, and not to the other.

We have something like this in every celebration of the Eucharist, although in practice, it can be very superficially done. At the beginning of the Communion, we together recite the Lord’s Prayer in which we all say:

…forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us…

How often are we conscious of saying those words, and how often do we really mean them?

Just after that, we are invited to share a sign of peace with those around us. Again, this can be done in a very perfunctory way. But the meaning of this gesture is that we want to be totally in a spirit of union and reconciliation with each other before we approach the Lord’s Table together to break the Bread—which is the sign of our unity as members of his Body.

More

Commentary on Matthew 5:43-48

Today’s passage, like yesterday’s, comes from the Sermon on the Mount. The two passages are related, as they both speak of dealing with people with whom we have difficulties.

Today’s is a passage which many find difficult, too idealistic, or just downright meaningless. The Mosaic Law said that one must love one’s neighbour. It does not actually say we should hate our enemies, but in practice such hatred was condoned. Jesus rejects that teaching outright for his followers. We are to love our enemies and pray for them. How can we possibly do that? It is important that we understand what ‘love’ here means.

In Greek, it is the word agape, a deep concern for the good of the other that reaches out, even if there is nothing in return. It is not sexual, physical love (eros), nor is it the mutual love of intimate friendship or that between marriage partners (philia).

“Enemy” here means those who do harm to us in some way. It does not include the people we turn into enemies because we don’t like them. The true Christian does not have this kind of enemy. The main reason Jesus gives for acting in a loving way is that this is what God himself does.

God has many friends and many who are opposed to him, yet he treats them all exactly the same. God’s agape-love reaches out to all indiscriminately, just as the welcome rain falls and the burning sun shines with equal impartiality on every single person.

Elsewhere we are told that God is love; it is his nature; he cannot do anything else. And that love is extended equally to every single person—to Our Lady, to St Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa), to the murdering terrorist, the serial killer, the abusive husband, the paedophile—to everyone. The difference is not in God’s love for each of these people, but in their response to that love.

Jesus tells us that we must try to love people in the same way he does. It is important to note that he is not telling us to be in love with those who harm us, or even to like them, or to have them as our friends. That would be unrealistic and unreasonable to ask.

But if we just care for those who are nice to us, how are we different from others? Even people who murder, or have no religion or morals, may do the same. But we are called to imitate the God in whose image we have been made.

And is it so unreasonable to love, to care for, to have genuine concern for our enemies, and pray for them? One presumes, as we have said, they are enemies in the sense that they are hostile to us, even though we may not have provoked them in any way. True Christians, from their side, do not have enemies.

For someone to be my enemy, it means that person really hates me, and may wish to do harm to me or may already have harmed me in some way. What do I gain by hating that person back? Then there are two of us who hate. Why should I allow another person’s hate to influence my feelings towards them? A person who hates is a person who is suffering, a person who is doing more damage to himself or herself, rather than to the supposed enemy. As the Gospel says, another person can hurt my body, but not my inner self.

And if he or she does harm me, they harm themselves as well—even if they get twisted pleasure in the short term. If I have a true Christian spirit, I will reach out in compassion to that person. I will want that person to be healed, healed of their hatred, healed of their anger, and to learn how to love. Surely it is much better, and makes more sense, to pray for that person than to hate them back—to bring about healing and reconciliation, rather than deepen the wound on both sides.

What Jesus is asking us to do is not something impossible or unnatural. It is the only thing that makes sense, and will bring peace to me and hopefully, in time, to the person who is hostile to me. We can literally disarm a hating person by acting towards them in a positive and loving way, and refusing to be controlled by their negative attitudes:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matt 5:9)

Jesus tells us today:

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Obviously, this is an ideal that we can only reach for. But it is a call to do our utmost to imitate God in extending our goodwill impartially and unconditionally to every single person. This is not just a commandment. When we reflect on it, it is simply common sense and it is as much in our own interest as it benefits others.

More

Commentary on Hebrews 10:32-39

The writer again repeats his exhortation to the Hebrew Christians not to give up on the faith to which they gave such strong witness in the past.

He asks them to remember the days when they first heard and “had been enlightened”.  This “enlightenment” is an ancient metaphor for baptism but it may also refer to the catechumen’s enlightenment by faith and their experience of salvation.

At the time of their conversion, the Hebrew Christians had to go through many trials and difficulties, sometimes being “publicly exposed to insults and afflictions” either because of their conversion or because they had close connections with people being so treated.

In addition, they showed their solidarity and compassion with those Christians who had been thrown into prison because of their faith (perhaps a reference to Paul’s imprisonment?).  They even happily accepted their possessions being taken away from them in exchange for a treasure that was so much better and more lasting.

It is not time now for them to give up on their former faith and confidence, which brought such great rewards though not of a material kind.  They need a spirit of endurance and perseverance in their first faith so that, having carried out God’s will in every way, they will receive the reward that awaits them.

In confirmation of what he is saying the author gives a quotation from the prophet Habakuk (2:3-4).  He uses the Greek text of the Old Testament and inverts two lines from verse 4 of the original, and introduces the passage with a few words taken from Isaiah 26:20.  Paul, writing to the Romans (1:17), also quotes the phrase: “The one who is righteous will live by faith.”

…in a very little while,
the one who is coming will come and will not delay,
but my righteous one will live by faith.
My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.

This reflects the belief, mentioned many times in the New Testament, in the expected final coming of Jesus to take all his faithful followers to their future and unending life face to face with God.  The necessary condition was that the Christians maintain their total faith and trust in the promises of God and of Christ:

…we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost but among those who have faith and so preserve our souls.

So, the author says in conclusion, the Hebrew Christians and himself are not the kind of people to pull back and so be lost.  Rather they are the sort who remain faithful and so win salvation.  It is this ‘shrinking back’ that these Hebrews are threatening to do, and he is giving them many reasons as to why it does not make any sense for them to do so.

We, too, must continue to move ever forward, remaining faithful to the core of the Gospel message, and living it out effectively and meaningfully in an ever-changing world.

More

Commentary on Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19

We begin today chapter 11 of Hebrews which is a magnificent hymn on the meaning of faith.

The chapter is summarised by the New American Bible in these words:

“This chapter draws upon the people and events of the Old Testament to paint an inspiring portrait of religious faith, firm and unyielding in the face of any obstacles that confront it.  These pages rank among the most lofty and eloquent to be found in the Bible.  They expand the theme announced in 6:12, to which the author now returns (10:39).  The material of this chapter is developed chronologically.  Verses 3-7 draw up on the first 9 chapters of Genesis; vv 8-22, upon the period of the patriarchs; vv 23-31, upon the time of Moses; vv 32-38, upon the history of the judges, the prophets and the Maccabean martyrs.”

The author of Hebrews gives the most extensive description of faith provided in the New Testament, though his interest does not lie in a technical, theological definition.  In view of the needs of his audience, he describes what authentic faith does, not what it is in itself.  Through faith, God guarantees the blessings to be hoped for from him, providing evidence in the gift of faith, that what he promises will eventually come to pass (v 1).  Because they accepted in faith God’s guarantee of the future, the biblical personages discussed in vv 3-38 were themselves commended by God (v 2).  Christians have even greater reason to remain firm in faith since they, unlike the Old Testament men and women of faith, have perceived the beginning of God’s fulfilment of his messianic promises (vv 39-40).

Our reading begins with a description of what faith is, and then goes on to discuss the faith of Abraham.  The faith of some other Israelite heroes will be discussed in next Monday’s reading.

Faith is described in these words:

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

We are dealing here with a description of faith, not a theological definition.

Faith and hope deal with realities for which we have no absolutely concrete evidence, but they are realities on which we are prepared to base our lives.  It does not mean that we have no evidence for these realities; at the same time they are of such a kind that we discover that by acting on the basis of their promise, we find what we are looking for.  It is not just wishful thinking or a wild shot in the dark.  No one who has genuinely based their lives on the Gospel message has been disappointed.

The Jewish Christians to whom the Letter is addressed have been discouraged by persecution in the past. So the author emphasises that it is only what is in the future and what is invisible that concerns hope.  The examples from the Old Testament are intended to show how faith is the source of patience and strength.

Indeed, says the author, it was because of their faith in God’s word that the ancestors of the Jews won approval from God:

Indeed, by faith our ancestors received approval.

The author then presents some magnificent examples of faith from the Old Testament.  He begins with Abel, Enoch and Noah and then goes on to Abraham, who is the subject of our reading.  Later, he will speak of Isaac, Joseph and Moses and others.  In general, Abraham is presented in the New Testament as the outstanding example of those who live “by faith” and as “the ancestor of all who believe” (see Rom 4:9-12).

Abraham was called out by God from his birthplace deep in what is now southern Iraq and told to go to a strange, far distant land where he would find an inheritance for himself and his descendants.  He set out not really knowing where he was going or what was ahead of him.  This was his first act of faith.

He arrived, a foreigner and an outsider, in what was to become the Promised Land.  Following him were his son, Isaac, and grandson, Jacob, who were heirs of the same Promise.  They lived in Canaan as nomads taking care of their flocks of sheep and cattle.  They looked forward to a permanent base:

…the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

The “city” speaks of permanence, in contrast to the tents in which the patriarch lived.  That would not come for quite some time in the form of Jerusalem on Mount Zion, the citadel of King David.  But the real city is the “heavenly Jerusalem”, “the city that is to come” and the “new Jerusalem” (see Rev 21).

Next, there is the faith of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.  She had borne her husband no children and hence no legitimate heirs.  Abraham did have a son, Ishmael, by Hagar (one of his slave women), but he did not count this child as part of God’s promise.  Sarah never lost faith that God would keep his promise about Abraham’s inheritance, which could only come through a legitimate son borne by her.  And her faith was rewarded when, already well past child-bearing age, she gave birth to Isaac.  God’s action was clearly present in this event which was beyond all expectation, and yet so crucial for God’s promise to be realised.  Says the author of Hebrews:

Therefore from one person, and this one as good as dead [100 years old, according to Genesis], descendants were born, “as many as the stars of heaven and as the innumerable grains of sand by the seashore”.

The lateness and unlikeliness of the birth only emphasises God’s role in it.

The author then goes on to comment on the examples he has given (including those not in our reading).  What these people all had in common was that they died before any of the things which had been promised became a reality:

…but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth…

They were nomads not only in the literal sense, but in the sense that this world was not destined to be their permanent home.

By speaking in the way they did they make it clear they were in search of their real homeland.  They were certainly not talking about the place they came from, because they could easily have gone back there.  They were on a forward journey from which there was no turning back:

…they desire a better homeland, that is, a heavenly one….Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; indeed, he has prepared a city for them.

That is, he has prepared a lasting home for them—their permanent home with God himself.

The third and final example of faith is when, being put to the test by God, Abraham was told to make a human sacrifice of his only legitimate son, Isaac.  In human terms, this did not make any sense at all.  Abraham had been promised innumerable descendants, but that could only happen by Isaac’s having sons of his own.  With the death of Isaac, the promise had no way of being realised.  Yet Abraham, in a supreme act of faith and trust in God’s keeping his promise, proceeded to carry out God’s command.

We know that, just as Abraham raised the knife to kill his son who was already bound on an altar, an angel of the Lord stopped him and substituted a ram for the sacrifice.  Abraham’s extraordinary faith was rewarded and God’s promise was fulfilled—and is still being fulfilled.  Says the author:

He considered the fact that God is able even to raise someone from the dead—and, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back.

Some see in Isaac’s return from virtual death a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.

Clearly, the author of Hebrews tells these stories to encourage those to whom he is writing.  Because of their difficulties, their faith is weakening.  And indeed, for the early Church in general, especially in times of great persecution, great faith was needed.  This is what the parables of the mustard seed and of the yeast in the dough are about.  What would they think of the more than two-billion Christians in the world today?

There are many lessons for us here.   In many parts of the world, including our own, Christians are in situations where their faith is under attack in one way or another.  In some cases, it may be direct persecution and harassment; in others, it may be the pressure from the surrounding culture. 

We need to go back to the heart of our faith, i.e. the core vision that Jesus handed on to us. Let us also go forward in faith and trust that God will keep his promises.

More

Commentary on Mark 3:22-30

We have seen how the religious leaders have tried various ploys to expose Jesus as a violator of the Law. They now try a new tactic to discredit him by making two accusations:

1. He is possessed, not just by any ordinary demon, but by Beelzebul the prince of demons.
2. It is through the power of the demon in him that he expels evil spirits from others.

Jesus answers both charges. He responds to the second charge by showing its internal contradictions. If the devil were acting against himself, his power would eventually collapse like a divided household. To drive the demon from someone as Jesus did was to liberate that person, free that person from evil powers. Why would the demon want to do something like that? The charge does not make sense. It could only be made by a perverse mind.

Nor can someone:

…enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.

Clearly Jesus is the strong man who cannot be overcome.

The next statement of Jesus, however, may cause difficulties for some. Jesus says:

Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal sin…

But why only this sin? Is God’s mercy not infinite and omnipotent?

The Spirit is the origin of all that is good in Jesus, in people, and in the world. God is present in the world through the Spirit. To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is to deliberately refuse to see that presence, that goodness—as the scribes, for instance, obstinately refused to see the hand of God’s love in all that Jesus was doing. This was something the ordinary people had no difficulty in seeing.

Once we are in a position where we have closed our minds to God’s presence in our lives, how can God reach us? God readily forgives those who reach out to him in sorrow and repentance. Forgiveness came to the Prodigal Son when he turned back to find his father. Forgiveness for God enables reconciliation; it is the healing of our wound. He does not, he will not, reach into a heart that has closed itself tight. He will never force his way in.

Love is not love if it is not free. But the corollary of that freedom is the ability to choose the opposite. That was the choice the scribes were making.