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Lectionary Notes: Feeding The Hungry

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Things have been a bit non-stop this last week, so I’m afraid these notes are late, slightly shorter than usual and a little bit rushed, but as GK Chesterton said, “If something is worth doing, it’s worth doing badly”…

18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 31st July, 2011

Reading 1: Isaiah 55:1-3

After Jeremiah, Isaiah is my favourite prophet. This book is often called “The Fifth Gospel” and, with a passage like this, it’s easy to see why. Here, God gives a beautiful invitation to His people to come and be satisfied, to return to Him, to come and be filled free of charge! Why settle for anything less?

When we recognize our hunger and our dependence on God, He will fill us and give us life.

Thus says the LORD:

“All you who are thirsty, come to the water!
You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat;
Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk!

Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy?
Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare.
Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life.
I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David”

Suggested Questions:

  • What is the general invitation of this passage?
  • What does this food and drink cost? What does this say about God?
  • What do you think the “water” here represents?
  • What do you think the “grain” here represents?
  • What do you think the “wine” here represents?
  • What do you think the “milk” here represents?
  • In what way do we “spend [our] money on what is not bread”?
  • Why do we do spend our “wages for what fails to satisfy”?
  • What is promised together with this food?
  • What was the promise God made to David?
  • How do we experience the invitation of this passage today?

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Best Statue In Rome

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I just saw on Facebook that one of my friends is currently visiting Rome.

About a year and a half ago I also went to Rome. During my stay, my senses were flooded with beautiful architecture, paintings and statues, one of the highlights of which was Michelangelo’s Pieta found in St. Peter’s.

Now, no offense to Michelangelo (he is,  after all, my favourite Ninja Turtle), but the Pieta was’t my favourite statue. Rather, it was this statue found outside the “Ospedale Santo Spirito”:

“We are taught from the very first moment to discover Christ under the distressing disguise of the poor, the sick, the outcasts, Christ presents Himself to us under every disguise: the dying, the paralytic, the leper, the invalid, the orphan. It is faith that makes our work, which demands both special preparation and a special calling, easy or at least more bearable” (Mother Theresa, No Greater Love, 166)

Lectionary Notes July 24th

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Sorry it’s a bit late – it’s been a hell of a week…

17th Sunday in Ordinary Time: July 17, 2011

Reading 1: 1 Kgs 3:5, 7-12

Scripture:

The LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. God said, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.” Solomon answered:

“O LORD, my God, you have made me, your servant, king to succeed my father David; but I am a mere youth, not knowing at all how to act.  I serve you in the midst of the people whom you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted.  Give your servant, therefore, an understanding heart to judge your people and to distinguish right from wrong.  For who is able to govern this vast people of yours?”

The LORD was pleased that Solomon made this request.  So God said to him:

“Because you have asked for this— not for a long life for yourself, nor for riches, nor for the life of your enemies, but for understanding so that you may know what is right— I do as you requested. I give you a heart so wise and understanding that there has never been anyone like you up to now, and after you there will come no one to equal you.”

Suggested Questions:

  • Who was Solomon?
  • What does God tell Solomon to do?
  • What does Solomon ask for? What would you have asked for?
  • Why is Solomon’s reason for asking for wisdom?
  • How does God respond? Why do you think God responds in this way?
  • What lesson does this have to teach us in our own petitions to God?
  • Have you read any of the Bible’s wisdom literature? Maybe read a proverb or two each day?

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Lectionary Notes: Kingdom Comparisons

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My notes are a little shorter this week because we’re going to be spending less time on the readings this week in the JP2 Group.

16th Sunday in Ordinary Time: 17th July, 2011

Reading 1: Wis 12:13, 16-19

Scripture:

There is no god besides you who have the care of all, that you need show you have not unjustly condemned. For your might is the source of justice; your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all. For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved; and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity. But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.

Suggested Questions:

  • What does this reading say about God’s character?
  • What are the similarities and differences between the way we act and the way God acts? What should we learn from this?

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Lectionary Notes: The Seed of Life

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15th Sunday In Ordinary Time: 10th July, 2011

Each week I produce notes for the upcoming Sunday Gospel for the Bible Study at St. John’s.

It’s a mixture of my own random thoughts, combined with what I’ve found in commentaries, sermons. I’m toying with the idea of publishing them here each week, so this is a bit of a test-drive…

If you think you’d find it helpful if I posted this each Monday evening, please let me know.

The Readings for this week focus around Jesus’ “Parable of the Sower”…
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Thumbnails in Facebook

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As you know, I write my blog entries a while before they actually get posted. Since writing this entry I have found better ways of achieving the desired effect using WordPress Plug-ins. However, I decided to post it anyway since I think it’s still quite a neat exercise in tricking computers to do what you want… 🙂

Today is purely a technical blog for my fellow bloggers.

I’ve had a problem that has been bugging me for some time.  If I post a link to a blog entry on Facebook which contains no images, then no thumbnail image is displayed:

I’ve noticed that when I don’t have a thumbnail image, the web traffic generated by people visiting my blog from Facebook seriously declines.

This is particularly problematic for my “Friday Frivolity” posts. Since these entries are usually just a few lines of text and a YouTube video, they have no thumbnails when shared on Facebook.

Tonight, I found a fairly simple solution to this problem…

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Polycarp – Something I didn’t initially notice…

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I was looking at my post from a couple of days ago and noticed something about the icon of Polycarp that I didn’t initially notice…

If you look carefully, you will see on the left the emblem of a bird, peaking out from underneath Polycarp’s robes. I believe this bird is the Phoenix. If you don’t know the mythology surrounding the Phoenix, it is described in the letter of St. Clement of Rome to the Corinthians (96 AD):

“Let us consider that wonderful sign [of the resurrection] which takes place in Eastern lands, that is, in Arabia and the countries round about. There is a certain bird which is called a phoenix. This is the only one of its kind, and lives five hundred years.

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