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Sunday Lectionary: September 4, 2011

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Unfortunately a little rushed this week, but here you go…

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings this week concern themselves with the tricky subject of relationships and, in particular, relationships between Christians. The passages address the question of how sin and disputes are to be handled in the Church.

 

Reading I: Ezekiel 33:7-9

Last week we heard from the Prophet Jeremiah. This week we have switched to the Prophet Ezekiel, but continue with the theme of God’s word.

Thus says the LORD:

“You, son of man, I have appointed watchman for the house of Israel; when you hear me say anything, you shall warn them for me. If I tell the wicked, ‘O wicked one, you shall surely die’  and you do not speak out to dissuade the wicked from his way, the wicked shall die for his guilt, but I will hold you responsible for his death. But if you warn the wicked, trying to turn him from his way, and he refuses to turn from his way, he shall die for his guilt, but you shall save yourself”

Watchmen 😉

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Sunday Lectionary: We were doing so well…

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22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time: 28th August, 2011

In this week’s Gospel we pick up where we left off last Sunday. Last week Peter gave his confession of Faith, but in today’s reading he doesn’t fare so well….

However, I think the real jewel this week is the Second Reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans. Every word of this passage is rich with meaning and worthy of meditation.

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The promised apology

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This is my promised apology…

“Okay, Minion, you were right, and I was…less right” – Megamind

Okay, not that kind of apology… On Monday, when I put up the “Lectionary Notes” for yesterday’s Mass Readings, I said that later in the week I would try to do a slightly more apologetics-related post concerning Matthew 16.

Since this is an apologetics entry, if you haven’t read my Ecumenical Apologist post, I would invite you to read that first since it explains something of my perspective and my attempted approach with posts like this.

I was running a little low on time this week so I dug through my email and found a correspondence from a few years ago with a non-Catholic whom we will call “Jay”. Jay raised the question of the Pope early on in our correspondence, but I had resisted talking about the issue of the Papacy until we had covered some more fundamental issues (authority, the canon etc.).

Anyway, here’s what I said in response to his statements about Matthew 16…

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Sunday Lectionary: August 21st

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August 21, Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

In this week’s readings we hear the passages of Scripture which have been used by the Church throughout the centuries to defend the Primacy of Peter and the authority of the Pope. Our Gospel Reading, in particularly, was cited at the First Vatican Council in the document “Pastor aeternus”.

I’m going to do my best this week to ensure that these notes remain a Scripture commentary, rather than an apologetic defense of the Papacy. I may well write a more apologetic piece later in the week. 😉

“When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel.” – Ezekiel 3:10

 

Reading I: Is 22:19-23

The First Reading this week is our hermetical “key” for understanding the Gospel Reading.

In this section of the prophet Isaiah we hear how Shebna, the Chief Steward of the Kingdom, was replaced by a man called Eliakim. Understanding this ministerial office is critical to our understanding of what Jesus says in the Gospel which, in turn, is paramount to our understanding of the Papacy.

In this passage we see foreshadowed a man on whom God would bestow His blessing. This man would exercise authority on behalf of the King in the administration of the Kingdom. He would be a secured feature, a father to the people and an honoured member of the family of God…

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.”

Questions:

  • What is happening here in Isaiah?
  • Who is Shebna?
  • What kind of job did he have?
  • Who is Eliakim?
  • What symbol of authority is Eliakim given?
  • What does he mean when he says “when he opens, no one shall shut when he shuts, no one shall open”?

Commentary:

“Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: ‘I will thrust you from your office…'”

Through the Prophet Isaiah, God “fires” Shebna from his position as “master of the palace”. Up until this point, Sheba was the Chief Steward, the Prime Minister in the Davidic Kingdom. The Master of the Palace was not the one ultimately in charge, the King was, but the Prime Minister exercised the King’s authority in the administration and running of the Kingdom. This is the same kind of post that Joseph (son of Jacob) had when he lived in Egypt.

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The ideal woman!

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The other day I was having lunch with a friend and, out of the blue, she asked me: “What’s the most important quality you look for in a wife?” 

Americans! Sheesh! Whatever happened to polite conversation about the weather?!

I did have to chuckle a bit though… You see, at the moment I’m spending some time reassessing and discerning again my vocation – married life, priestly life, religious life or consecrated celibacy. Therefore, questions regarding the qualities of a future wife may well be, at this point, moot.

“She is worth far more than rubies…”

But I also laughed because of the various texts which flashed through my mind when she asked this question. One such text was from the Book of Proverbs:

“Who can find a worthy woman?” – Proverbs 31:10 (ESV)

Who indeed?! 😉

I can still remember when, at university, I was asked to be a Reader one evening and I encountered this scripture for the first time. I had to read this passage at Mass without sniggering. I won’t lie, it was kinda hard…

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Lectionary Resources

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A few people have recently asked me where I get the material for my “Lectionary Notes” posts. Here’s the process I go through each week:

1. After we conclude our Bible Study in the JP2 Group, we all go to the church next door for adoration. In the presence of the Blessed Sacrament I read the Lectionary Scriptures for the following week and spend a little bit of time praying through them.

2. When I next have some time, I read through the texts again using my NIV Study Bible.

Regarding Bible translations, translators have to make a choice between translating from the original language word-for-word (“formal equivalence”) or providing a looser translation but which attempts to better convey the thought expressed by the original writer (“dynamic equivalence”). This essentially results in a trade-off between readability and fidelity to the original words of the text. I quite like the NIV in that it falls somewhere between formal and dynamic equivalence, but with a leaning more towards dynamic equivalence.

The NIV is not a Catholic Bible and unfortunately therefore is missing the books of Wisdom, Sirach etc. Some of the study notes also have a non-Catholic skew, but on the whole it has excellent cross-references and always at least offers an interesting point of view.

3. The next book I reach for is my Ignatius New Testament Study Bible. I can’t say how much I love this book. It’s the RSV translation, which follows the “formal equivalence” approach. I would not-so-humbly suggest that it is a far superior translation to the NAB which is used in the Lectionary. Ignatius Press have produced a superb resource here, with excellent notes, maps and word studies. Every Christian should own a copy – it’s a bargain at $16. I will wait here while you click on the link and go and order a copy from Amazon. Seriously, I’ll wait…Done? Okay, let’s continue!

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Lectionary Notes, August 14th

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August 14, 2011: Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The readings this week focus around the Gentiles (those of non-Jewish ethnicity) and their place in salvation history. In the First Reading we hear the Lord proclaim through the Prophet Isaiah, that His house will be a house of prayer “for all peoples” and in the Psalm we sing about God’s glory being proclaimed “among all nations”. In the Second Reading, St. Paul gives us some insight into the relationship between the Jews and Gentiles in God’s plan for salvation. Finally, in the Gospel we read about Jesus’ encounter with a Canaanite women who, although a Gentile, is granted her request by the Lord because of her great faith.

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