Category: Sunday Commentary

REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR

THE SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER, YEAR B

Acts 4:32-35;  Psalm 117:2-4,16b-17,22-24;  1 John 5:1-6; John 20:19-31

 

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In the passage from the Acts of the Apostles today, we read one of Luke’s three great summaries of the ideal life lead by the early Church in Jerusalem ‘who were united heart and soul’ and shared their possessions, so that there should be neither rich nor poor.  Such a community life of sharing had deep roots in the Judaism of its time, for example in the Qumran sect, where every member gave his property to the community.  Rabbinical writings often speak of brotherly love, as in the following story:  ‘A certain Abbah Judah in Antioch had lost all his property and was in despair because he had nothing left to give to the poor.  Then his wife remembered that they still owned a field; joyfully he went, sold half of it and gave it to those in need.’   A midrash (rabbinical story based on a scriptural text) on v.19 (‘Open to me the gates of holiness:  I will enter and give thanks’) of Psalm 117, some verses of which we read today, says:  ‘In the future world, a person will be asked, “What was your occupation?”  If he replies, “I fed the hungry”, then they will reply, “This is the Gate of the Lord;  he who feeds the hungry, let him enter.”’   There is a ‘new’ element, however, in the words of Jesus about love:  ‘Love one another as I have loved you’ [John 13:34].  The passage in Acts describes Jesus’ commandment being put into practice.  

 

The verses of the reading today from the First Letter of John link the passage about the commandment to love which precedes them with the passage about faith which follows them.  Belief in Jesus as the Christ, like love, is the mark of the one born of God:  love of the begetter (God) entails love of the one begotten.

 

While Acts show the consequences of faith, the Gospel speaks of the absolute necessity of faith in the risen Christ.  John’s Gospel dates from the end of the first century, by which time Christians already assembled on Sunday, the Lord’s Day.  Thomas, in his final confession, uses the terms ‘my Lord and my God’, which the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures) reserves for God alone.  Here, then, John’s Gospel points towards an already more developed Christology, with the early Church beginning to understand better the divinity of Christ.  The story wants to drive home the point so that later generations who had not met Jesus are not at a disadvantage.  In the preaching of his word, in the celebration of the liturgy, Jesus is as truly present among us as he was during his earthly life.   The giving of the Spirit is closely linked to the Resurrection, even though the Church celebrates both events at different times.  In Acts, the Spirit is seen at work in the life of the community;  in John’s Letter, the Spirit causes faith;  John’s Gospel adds that it is thanks to the loving Spirit of God in Christ, shared by humanity – ‘he breathed on them’ – that sins are forgiven.

 

The response to Psalm 117 should be our ongoing, daily response to all that God has done for us:  ‘Give thanks to the Lord for God is good, for God’s love has no end.’

 

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Sr Margaret Shepherd, NDS, London, UK

margaretashepherd@gmail.com

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol.  Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

Easter Sunday (April 1, 2018)

Acts 10:34a, 37-43; Ps 118:1-2, 16-17, 22-23; Col 3:1-4; John 20:1-9)

Theme: Tell the Good News

 

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Alleluia! Today, all over the world, the Church once again echoes the good news: “Jesus is risen!” In the Gospel by John, we learn about the discovery of the empty tomb and the reactions of those who first know about it.

 

It is the first day of the week while it is still dark, Mary Magdalene visits the tomb of Jesus.  Identifying the first day of the week has been interpreted to the “dawning of a new creation, or to the eschatological time of fulfillment,” according to Bergant (2008).  She also says that referring to darkness, rather than the dawn of a new day, may be John’s way of incorporating the light/darkness symbolism. Lack of  faith is a life in darkness.

 

Seeing that the stone has been moved, Mary Magdalene, had a  natural reaction.  She thought the body of Jesus had been stolen; it was  a case of theft and robbery. She seems not to have any thoughts of Jesus’ resurrection.  But Mary has been a follower of Jesus and a brave one at that. She was one of the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee to take care of his needs. She was also a witness to Jesus’ death  (Mt. 27:56; 43:49) and burial (Mt. 27-61; Lk 23:55).

 

She ran off to tell Simon Peter (hinting of his privileged status within the community). Also known as Cephas (John 1:42), Simon Peter was one of the first followers of Jesus Christ. He was an outspoken and ardent disciple and was one of Jesus’ closest friends.  But in the passion narrative, he denied Jesus three times. And in the account of the discovery of the empty tomb, he was not the one who believed in the resurrection of Jesus.

 

It was the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, who saw and believed.   This disciple is nameless in John and is not even mentioned in the other gospels.  According to John, this was the disciple who leaned on Jesus during the Last Supper, and the only male disciple present at the crucifixion.  And though his identity is one of the biggest mysteries in biblical scholarship, it is clear in John’s account that he is the only one who believed with little evidence. 

 

Like Peter, he saw the linen wrappings lying there,  and the cloth that had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen wrappings but rolled up in a place by itself.  We are not told what Peter thought about what he saw. But John says the beloved disciple saw and believed, making him unique for having resurrection faith from only the experience of the empty tomb rather than the appearance of the Risen Lord. He is the ideal disciple.  

 

The reading ends with a sad note on the unbelief of the disciples, “They did not understand the scripture, that he must rise from the dead.”

 

But in the rest of John 20, we learn that later in the day Jesus first appears to Mary Magdalene  (vv 11-20) who only believed after hearing his voice and in the evening Jesus appears before Peter and the disciples except Thomas (vv 19-23)  and a week later  Jesus appears before  all the disciples including Thomas (vv 26-29). All believed after seeing Jesus. An empty tomb is not enough to believe; they had to see to believe.

 

The different reactions of those who were close followers of Jesus tell us of their humanity and of the human need to see more proofs to believe.  From the reading in Acts, we learn that like the apostles, we have to  preach and give witness to Jesus’ victory over sin and death. We are to testify too that the Risen Christ, as stated in our Apostle Creed, is the one appointed by God as judge of the living and the dead.  But how do we bring the light of faith in an all too human world?

 

For Reflection and Discussion:  1. As Christians today with the challenge to tell and share the good news, do you need to learn more about your faith and undergo formation?  If so, what do you need and what do you plan to do. 2). Share on how to tell stories of God’s love and being a witness so others may believe. 3) In your experience, what has been a good witnessing?

 

Bibliography: Bergant, Preaching the New Lectionary Year B (Manila, 2008); Harrington and Donahue, Sacra Pagina: The Gospel of Mark (Minnesota, 2002); Almazan, OFM, “Welcome to Our Bible Study: Passion Sunday B” (unpublished) 

 

 

This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by

Minerva Generalao, Philippines Bat Kol Alumna July 2014

Email: may_neer@gmail.com

Copyright 2018

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible  within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

 

 

Palm Sunday 25th March 2018

Readings: Is 50:4-7. Ps 22:8-9, 17-20, 23-24. Phil 2:6-11. Mk 14:1-15:47

Theme: What she has done will be told as well in memory of her. (Mk 14:9)

 

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Mark begins the first eleven verses of the Passion narrative by using a framing technique. Framed between the plotting of the chief priests and the scribes to arrest Jesus (v1-2) and the betrayal of Judas (v10-11) is the extraordinary story of an unknown woman who anoints Jesus. The framing adds pathos and poignancy, highlighting the abundant generosity of the woman, sand-witched between the trickery of the chief priests and scribes and the betrayal of Judas. In exploring the story of the un-named woman we are in fact entering into the essence of the Passion and for that Jesus wants her remembered.

 

The story is set in Bethany in the dining of the house of Simon, who suffered from leprosy. The entry of a woman carrying an “alabaster jar of ointment, pure nard” (v3), is followed by two dramatic actions on the part on her part. “She broke the jar (an irretrievable act) and poured the ointment on his head”. (v3-4) It is worth noting that the jar is made of alabaster, which is translucent, hinting at the light that is being thrown on the whole Passion narrative through the translucent container and the actions that follow. The woman never utters a word but her actions convey a deep sense of being intuitively in touch with what is about to happen.

 

Her actions bring an indignant response from some of those present. “Why this waste of ointment?” (v4-5) Jesus acknowledges their concern, mindful of Deut. 15:10-11, “Of course, there will never cease to be poor people in the country, and that is why I am giving you this command: Always be open to your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in need.” His audience, apart from the woman, misses the point that the poor brother is there in front of them, since “no one is so poor as the one about to die”. (Flowers in the Desert p151).

 

Jesus defends her actions and acknowledges that what “she has done for me is a good work”. (v6). The New Jerusalem Bible comments on “a good work” by pointing out that it “may possibly be in a Jewish technical sense, the works of compassion being ranked as superior to the duty of almsgiving…”. Michael Crosby in his book Repair my House – becoming a Kindom Catholic states that the woman’s “good deed” can be seen as “a religious activity and linked to the divine action and cosmic action of God’s ‘good deed’ at the beginning of the world…” (p93)

 

Why does Jesus state that this story is an essential part of the gospel? By the woman’s actions of breaking the alabaster jar and the prodigious pouring of the ointment, she has enacted what Jesus is about to do through his passion. His body will be broken and what is most precious, his blood will be poured out in self-giving love, in his role as the Anointed One of God. Her compassionate resourceful presence has prepared him for his burial.

 

Reflection: What if we were more aware of the cosmic significance of our “good deeds”?

 

Bibliography: Crosby, Michael, Repair my House – Becoming a Kindom Catholic (Orbis Books –Box 302, Maryknoll, NY 10545-0302, 2012). Dumm D. Flowers in the Desert (Paulist Press NY/Mahwah 1987. The New Jerusalem Bible (Standard version), (London, Darton, Longman &Todd, 1985)

 

 

This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by

Moya Hegarty os, Sligo, N. Ireland

Bat Kol Alumna, 2007/2015

moyaosu@eircom.net

[Copyright 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

…………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

Website: www.batkol.info gill@batkol.info

 

The Fifth Sunday of Lent (18 March 2018)

Lectionary readings: Jer 31:31-34; Ps 51:3-4. 12-15; Heb 5:7-9; Jn 12:20-33

Theme: Father, glorify your name.

 

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To what feast is verse 20 referring? John’s public life of Jesus stretches over three years – three Passover Feasts. This is the third and last and Jesus will be the Passover Lamb.

 

The first Passover is at the time of Jesus’ cleansing of the Temple (Jn 2:11-22). This action would have reached many Jews because of the feast. This narrative follows the changing of the water into wine where Jesus tells his mother that his “hour has not yet come” (2:4). We are also told that his disciples began to believe in him.

 

The second Passover takes place when Jesus gives bread to the crowds (‘manna’ – Jn 6:1-15); walks on the water (‘Exodus’ – Jn 6:16-21); and promises his body and blood as food and drink (vv. Jn 6:22-65). Many disciples walked away while the Twelve, through Peter say: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (v. 68)

 

Back to our reading for today: the Greeks come to Philip and he goes to Andrew with the request to see Jesus (12:21-22). The message of Jesus is extending beyond his disciples and the Jews. Verse 23 speaks about the hour that has now come for “the Son of Man to be glorified”. In case the disciples and we are thinking it is going to be without suffering, Jesus speaks about the importance of the grain of wheat needing to die before it can bring forth fruit (v. 24). If we love and want to protect our own lives we will lose them in “eternal life”. The people who wish to follow Jesus to “eternal life” must be like the grain of wheat (v. 25).

 

‘Service’ is the hallmark of being a follower of Jesus. As the Father honors the Son, so those who follow the Son will also be honored by the Father in “eternal life” (v. 26).

 

Jesus calls on his Father to save him from the hour for which he has come into the world (v. 27). It is the humanity of Jesus that is shrinking from the suffering and abandonment. This echoes what the Synoptics have Jesus cry to his Father in Gethsemane: Matthew 26:39 is an example.

 

Jesus calls on his Father to glorify his name. The Bat Kol is heard answering Jesus. This voice was heard at the Baptism of Jesus and at his Transfiguration. This is God’s assurance of his love for and pleasure in his Son. God answers his Son but it seems that only those who truly listen or whom God has chosen hear the voice (vv. 28-29).

 

Jesus then speaks of the judgment on the world when “the ruler of this world will be driven out” (v. 31). The battle between darkness and light, blindness and true sight is about to take place when Jesus is “lifted up from the earth” on the cross. The seeming disgrace and failure of Jesus hanging on the cross is actually the triumph of the Son of God where he will save all of creation by drawing all to himself in obedience to the Father for the salvation of all (vv. 32-33).

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Be with Jesus in this passage as he looks towards the final Passover. Allow yourself to feel what he is feeling. What is the Bat Kol saying to you?

 

Bibliography: Kee, Young & Froehlich. Understanding the New Testament (New Jersey: 1973); King, N. The New Testament, (Great Britain: 2004); The African Bible, (Nairobi: 1999).

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Bernadette Chellew, Durban, South Africa, Bat Kol Alum 2008
Email address: btrnchellew@gmail.com

 

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome

………………………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

The Fourth Sunday of Lent – March 11, 2018

2 Chronicles 36: 14-16, 19-23 Ps. 137:1-6 Ephesians 2:4-10 John 3: 14-21

 

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Today we hear a brief review from the perspective of the Chronicler of the entire history of Israel which begins with Adam and concludes with the declarations of Cyrus the Persian.

 

Through the ages, the priests and leadership often failed to be faithful to G-d and the people followed them. Prophets and messengers were sent to call them back to a G-d who showed compassion and mercy over and over. These voices were often met with mockery and hatred. Some were even killed for bringing this message. Because of the blindness of the Israelites, other rulers dominated them and they lost their homeland, their temple, their lives. In the end those remaining were taken captive to Babylon until finally released to return home some 70 years later by Cyrus the Persian. Ps. 137 reflects the loss and pain they experienced in this dark time caused by their lack of faithfulness. “By the streams of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion.” It took Cyrus to listen to the prophet Jeremiah and offer the people another chance in their own land. This hope and their return ends the final chapter of “the TaNak,” the Hebrew Bible.

 

Paul’s letter to the Ephesians continues the theme of calling the people to remember the mercy of G-d and to live now in the light by the grace and kindness of Christ Jesus. From the beginning we witness a G-d who has always yearned to be in a loving relationship with each person created. How quick we are to forget this. We are daily reminded in our liturgy to “REMEMBER”…a very Jewish plea.

 

The Gospel of John is explicit in connecting G-d’s Ahavah love for creation and each one of us. From the beginning of creation there has been a movement toward light, truth, goodness. Jesus the Christ is the Light of G-d, the Word made flesh. The connections throughout religious history reflect this love and Jesus becomes human to live our reality and to lead us to a more intimate knowledge of how precious we are to our Creator. Too often we lose our way and choose darkness over light. We are often blinded by false images of “light” – power, money, fame, etc. None of this leads to true peace, freedom of spirit or love that is constant and lasting.

 

So today we are reminded again that no matter the sin, we are continually called to “come back to G-d with all our heart”. We are never forgotten. G-d walks with us through whatever darkness we may face. Each day provides a new beginning for us to be the “face of G-d” to a world so in need of mercy and love. No matter where we live in this world, we are bombarded by the pain and misery of sisters and brothers around us. We are also all connected to one another in many ways. The recent Olympics in South Korea were a great example of the possibility of unity in diversity and appreciation of gifts.

 

We witnessed spectacular moments of LIGHT, HOPE, CREATIVITY and SKILL. Young and old from many nations mingled together in joy and gratitude. If only we could continue this Spirit “ back home.”

 

For reflection: Where do you find prophetic voices around you? Do you take seriously your call to be a prophet by your Baptism? With what is happening here in the USA, I think of the passage from Isaiah 11: 6 ~ And a little child shall lead them. Are the young our prophetic voices today?

 

This week’s teaching commentary was prepared by

Mary Louise Chesley-Cora, MAT in Religious Studies

Hockessin DE USA

Bat Kol Alumna 2001

Email: chezcor@msn.com

[Copyright © 2018]

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

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 ~~1983-2018~~

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

Website: www.batkol.info gill@batkol.info

REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR

THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT, 04 March, 2018, CYCLE B

Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm 18:8-11; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25

 

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For the last two Sundays, our readings have recalled God’s covenant with Noah and with Abraham. Today, in our reading from Exodus, we are with God’s people at Sinai, hearing ”the Ten Words”, God’s covenant charter between God and God’s people, whom the Eternal One has redeemed from slavery in Egypt. These Words, accompanied by the sound of thunder and trumpet, are heard for miles around, and are the prime expression of the covenant demands.

 

The part of Psalm 18 which we read today is a hymn in praise of Torah, the Law, given by God to give us life, in which we rejoice, as we try to respond wholeheartedly to it throughout our lives. God’s ”Ten Words” are words which sustain us and so ”are more to be desired than … the purest of gold and are sweeter than the sweetest of imaginable honeys”.

 

Unlike Matthew, Mark and Luke, who place the controversy about the Temple immediately before Jesus’ Passion, John places it at the very beginning of his ministry. It gives us a point of entry for understanding Jesus’ life – and is directly related to the cause of his death. We see here the characteristic Johannine device of having Jesus say something which others only understand at one level, giving John the opportunity of explaining the true meaning, which is on quite another level entirely. The threat of destroying and the promise of rebuilding the Temple was deeply embedded in the early Christian tradition. As was the case with the prophets of the Hebrew scriptures, prophetic actions at the time of Jesus were highly dramatic ways of conveying God’s will and purpose. The deeply significant episode concerning the Temple is related to his prophetic sayings which refer to the crisis and disaster which Jerusalem and the Temple faced. In the early decades of the first century, some Jewish groups did expect that in the ”last days” God would provide a ”new temple”, thus restoring the purity of Israel. While there was certainly an element of protest in the actions of Jesus, they are better understood as a prophetic gesture against the Temple itself. In this context, it is not surprising that Jesus adopted such a radical stance. But his words and actions against the Temple may have been the immediate cause of his downfall. Jesus seems to have expected that in the ”last days”, which he believed to be imminent, the Temple would be destroyed and replaced by a new and perfect Temple, built by God. In the eyes of the Jerusalem Temple establishment, these views were provocative and outrageous. It is hard to overestimate the importance of the Temple for the religious and political life of Jerusalem. Any serious threat to it would have been opposed vigorously both by the Temple authorities and by the local inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are certainly recalled during Jesus’ trial.

 

The words remembered by the disciples, ”Zeal for your house will devour me” are from Psalm 68, which begins, ”Save me, O God, for the waters have risen to my neck”. It is the cry of an innocent sufferer, in deep distress and the reference to it is poignant. The passage from John has a clear reference to Jesus’ death and resurrection, and this is the heart of our reading from Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians today: ”Here are we preaching a crucified Christ”, proof of God’s ”foolishness” being ”wiser than human wisdom”, and God’s ”weakness” being ”stronger than human strength”.

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Sr Margaret Shepherd, NDS, London, UK

margaretashepherd@gmail.com

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

…………………………………………..…………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

Second Sunday of Lent Year B (25 February 2018)

Gen. 22:1-2, 9a, 10-13, 15-18; Ps. 116:10, 15-19; Rom. 8:31b-34; Mark 9:2-10

Theme: Listen to Him

 

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Mark has placed his transfiguration story in the very center of his Gospel. It is part of the middle section, the story of Jesus and his disciples on “The Way” from Galilee to Jerusalem [Mk 8:22-10:52]. This section includes three passion predictions and represents a major turning point in the Gospel. The transfiguration story, in some sense a preview of the resurrection, emphasizes “God’s creative, transforming, transfiguring power to restore life” [Sabin, 97].

 

The story is replete with Old Testament echoes: six days, mountain, dazzling white, Elijah, Moses, dwellings, being terrified, cloud and voice. It is firmly anchored in Israel’s scriptures and particularly in stories about Mt Sinai (Horeb).

 

Bright light is a symbol of God’s presence. The coming of God on Mt Sinai is accompanied by lightning [Ex 19:16], and Moses’ face shines after speaking with God [Ex 34:29]. In some Jewish mystical literature angels are bathed in light: “The angel had in its hand a shining robe, which gave off a light as pure and bright as the angel’s” [Schwartz, 141]. Mark says that Jesus’ clothes became “glistening, intensely white” (RSV) or “dazzling white” (NAB), “such as no gnapheus on earth could bleach them”. The Greek gnapheus means ‘fuller’, whose job it was to whiten raw wool and tease it out (or ‘full’ it) to prepare it for spinning. Because the word is not in common use today many translations have ‘such as no one or no launderer …’ The color white symbolizes heaven so Jesus’ clothes are an external manifestation of his identity. White is also a sign of joy and feasting.

 

The dwellings (also translated shelters, booths, tents or tabernacles) that Peter wants to build in v.5 recall the annual Feast of Tabernacles that commemorated the past event of the exodus, but also looked forward to the time of the Messiah [Zc 14:16] that would be a time of joy and feasting when “every cooking pot…shall be sacred to the Lord of hosts”[Zc 14:21]. Peter’s suggestion seems to be that this is such a good experience let’s make it permanent. However this is not Jesus’ idea, as the following story of going down the mountain to heal the epileptic boy shows. There is still work to do.

 

The word ‘cloud’ (Heb arafel) appears nearly 50 times in the Five Books of Moses as a symbol for the presence of the Lord. The voice from the cloud proclaims “This is my Son, the Beloved”. Brendan Byrne sees the whole of Mark’s Gospel resting as it were on three pillars, three statements that Jesus is God’s Son: near the beginning (at the baptism in 1:11), in the middle (9:7), and towards the end (by the Roman centurion at the crucifixion in 15:39). The Hebrew scriptures are convinced that God communicates with us and this conviction carries through into the Talmud: “R. Abba says it is the divine voice as it has been taught: After the later prophets Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi had died, the Holy Spirit departed from Israel, but they still availed themselves of the Bat Kol” [Sotah 9b]. The voice continues “Listen to him”, something that Peter and the disciples had obviously not been doing. Finally, they find there is no one else with them “but only Jesus”. Do they need anyone else?

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Have you experienced anything you would describe as a ‘mountain-top’ experience? What effect did it have on you? 2. What might “listening to Jesus” mean for you? 3. Where do you think the Bat Kol is heard today? 4. Is Jesus enough for you?

 

Bibliography: Byrne, A Costly Freedom (Strathfield NSW, 2008); Sabin, ‘The Gospel According to Mark’ in Durken, New Collegeville Bible Commentary (Collegeville MN, 2009); Schwartz, Gabriel’s Palace: Jewish mystical tales (Oxford, 1993).

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Br Kevin McDonnell cfc, PhD., Australia, Bat Kol Alumnus, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Email address: klmcdonnell@edmundrice.org

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

……………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

 

First Sunday of Lent Year B (18 February 2018)

Gen. 9:8-15; Ps. 24:4-9; 1 Pet. 3:18-22; Mark 1:12-15.

Theme: The Spirit drives Jesus into the Wilderness

 

 

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That the Spirit immediately drove Jesus into the wilderness [Mark 1:12] connects his stay there with the story of his baptism that has immediately preceded it. This connection is vital to understanding Jesus. The baptism story emphasizes his special father-son relationship with God while the wilderness story emphasizes his real humanity, his identification with us.

 

Nearly all English versions use the past tense ‘drove’, but the Greek word ekballei is present tense, so ‘drives’ is closer to the original. Perhaps Mark is saying that being in the wilderness is a permanent condition, both for Jesus and for us. It certainly must have seemed so to his first audience, persecuted and oppressed as they were by the power of imperial Rome.

 

The extent to which the wilderness impressed itself on the Jewish religious imagination is illustrated by the fact that words like ‘wilderness’ and ‘desert’ appear more than 300 times in the Hebrew Bible and about 450 times in the Talmud [e.g. Mas. Sanh. 99a (11) “just as they were afflicted forty years in the wilderness, so shall they rejoice forty years under the kingship of the Messiah”]. Primarily the wilderness is a place of testing, as in the Exodus story, “Remember the long way that the Lord your God has led you…testing you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commandments” [Deut 8:2], but it is also the privileged place of meeting with God, e.g. Moses on Mt Sinai [Ex 19:20-24], also Elijah [1Kg 19:9-14]; it is the place where God will speak to the heart of his beloved Israel [Ho 2:14]. For Jesus, too, it was a place both of testing and of reassurance.

 

The number ‘forty’, whether days or years, is also a symbolic term. It represents a lifetime, and was possibly the average life expectancy in biblical times. Even today in poorer countries in Africa it is only in the 50’s. Which raises the question as to how long Jesus was tempted – tempted to use possessions, wield status and exercise power in ways that were not in accordance with his Father’s will [see Mt 4:1-10]. The answer has to be for his whole lifetime! This is the position taken by the Letter to the Hebrews, “we have one (Jesus) who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin”. The Vatican II document The Church in the Modern World says likewise when it says of Jesus that he was “like to us in all things, except sin” [#22].

 

Jesus was not alone in the wilderness. He was “with the wild beasts” and “the angels waited on him”. Mary Healy suggests that the presence of the wild beasts that do no harm evokes Isaiah’s picture of harmony in creation at the coming of the Messiah [Is 11:1-9], though Robert Stein disagrees, seeing the wild beasts as part of an evil environment. The angels ministered to Jesus just as they had done to Israel during the exodus [Ex 14:19], and to Elijah before his forty-day journey to meet YHWH at Horeb [1 Kg 19:5-7]. In the Elijah story ‘angel’ and ‘the angel of the Lord’ are used interchangeably, and in the annunciation to Gideon in Judges 6:22-23 ‘the angel of the Lord’ is synonymous with ‘the Lord’. So the God of Jesus is with him through all the trials of his life, ministering to him and caring for him.

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. What do you find (a) challenging, and (b) reassuring, about this passage from Mark? 2. How do you respond to Mark’s picture of Jesus being tempted all through his life? 3. In what ways might this story of Jesus in the wilderness shape your approach to Lent this year?

 

Bibliography: Healy, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids MI, 2008); Robinson, Change of Mind and Heart (Revesby NSW, 1994); Stein, Mark (Grand Rapids MI, 2008).

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Br Kevin McDonnell cfc, PhD., Australia, Bat Kol Alumnus, 2003, 2004, 2005.

Email address: klmcdonnell@edmundrice.org

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

…………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B (11 February 2018)

Lev. 13:1-2, 44-46; Ps. 32:1-2, 5, 11; 1 Cor. 10:31-11:1; Mark 1:40-45.

Theme: Jesus touched him.

 

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Jesus has scarcely begun his tour of the villages of Galilee to announce the new Reign of God when he is confronted by the leper in today’s Gospel story. What happens next spells out for the reader one of the defining features of that Reign.

 

‘Leprosy’ in the Bible covers a range of skin diseases and need not be equated with Hansen’s disease. In NT times there was a connection between ‘leprosy’ and poverty. In his study of poverty in Roman Palestine Gildas Hamel quotes the Greek physician Galen (2nd century CE) who says that in times of food shortage, during the winter or in times of famine, country people were reduced to eating twigs of trees and bushes, wild herbs and even grass. As a result they suffered vitamin deficiencies that caused a variety of ulcerating skin diseases.

 

The leper in the story begs Jesus not for a cure but for cleansing, “…you can make me clean”. His greatest trial was not the physical ailment but expulsion from his community [Lv 13:45-56] and ritual uncleanness that would have excluded him from Temple worship.

 

Jesus’ response is often translated “Moved with pity”, sometimes “with compassion”. The Greek splagchnitzomai however is much stronger, and less polite. It is related to the word for intestines or guts, which suggests that Jesus was moved to the depths of his being. Perhaps he had this gut-wrenching feeling that “Things should not be like this!” and out of that deeply felt compassion he acted. Nicholas King in his commentary on Pope Francis’ proclamation of the Year of Mercy in 2015 says Jesus felt ‘gutted’ when the leper came to him.

 

Some ancient manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel have a different Greek word instead of splagchnitzomai. It is a word that means ‘anger’. If this was the original reading, some scholars suggest that it might have been prompted by Jesus’ “very stern warning” in 1:43, or that Jesus was angry because of the apparent doubt of the man that Jesus could cure him. It seems to me much more likely that if Jesus was angry it would have been at the system that further punished a man who was already a victim of poverty and disease. The weight of opinion however is that splagchnitzomai was most probably the original wording.

 

Jesus’ world-view was no doubt shaped by his familiarity with the Hebrew scriptures. Compassion is one of the attributes of God highlighted particularly in the Wisdom literature and the Prophets: Psalm 145:9 for example, “The Lord is good to all and has compassion over all that he has made”, and Isaiah 54:10 “…my steadfast love shall not depart from you…says the Lord, who has compassion on you”. Here the compassion of God towards Israel is an expression of his hesed, steadfast love. In both cases the Hebrew word translated ‘compassion’ is related to rehem = womb, another word that evokes the deeply felt nature of compassion.

 

In the closing verse of the story Jesus, who has touched the leper, is now the one who is marginalized. As Mary Healy observes: “He has healed the man with leprosy at a cost to himself—just as later in the Gospel he will take on Barabbas’ status as a condemned criminal, while Barabbas goes free (15:15)”. Jesus models the self-giving love of a compassionate God.

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. Have you experienced a deeply moving reaction to some situation of distress? How did it affect you? 2. In what way(s) does your own society marginalize some people? 3. Recount examples of selfless compassion that you know about.

 

Bibliography: Hamel, Poverty and Charity in Roman Palestine (Oakland CA, 1990); Healy, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids MI, 2008); King, ‘From the Beginning’, The Tablet 269, 2130, 10-11 (2015).

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Br Kevin McDonnell cfc, PhD., Australia, Bat Kol Alumnus, 2003, 2004, 2005.
Email address: klmcdonnell@edmundrice.org

[Copyright © 2018]

 

………………………………………………………………….

PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

…………………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info

The 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time (04 February 2018)

Job 7:1-4,6-7; Ps 147:1-6; 1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23; Mk 1:29-39

Theme: Our צבא

 

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Who among us would like to suffer or struggle in this life? I suppose no one. Today’s readings point to this human reality of צבא (tzaba): warfare, struggle, battle, hardship or service. Almost the entire book of Job deals with understanding human suffering, and many of us can identify with him. His struggle is so intense that the way he described is triply-troubled, “days of emptiness, and nights of misery.” By the sound of it, he is tired, in pain, wasted and sees an “end without hope.” Just like him, we long wait for a צל(tzel: shadow), a sort of relief from the struggles we encounter. In the 1st letter of Paul to Corinth, he told them that he accepts his weakness, his pain, because it is through it that he can be one with those who go through hardships. Similarly, Jesus, in the beginning of the gospel of Mark, never had second thoughts of being with people who are inflicted with bodily sufferings. We might have that orthodox belief that Jesus provided a צל (tzel), a relief by curing or solving their daily “battles”. If we remain with this notion, there is a possibility that Jesus might become irrelevant today, because in reality, not all illnesses, deformity and other “battles” we face can be cured or simply solved. Perhaps, we could look at Jesus in a different angle in the gospel, in order to make him relevant to the reality that besets Job, and us.

 

Recently, biblical scholarship took notice on disability, deformities and bodily concerns in the scripture. Many of the scholars present alternate interpretations on the healing narratives in the gospels. One of them is Dr. Jin Young Choi, who used a postcolonial reading in the gospel of Mark. She suggests that when Jesus touched the people, it is possible that he is likewise touched by the one being touched. She calls this a “somatic engagement”, that is, bodies encounter each other, inside and out. Metanoia is possible in bodily encounters, and Jesus is not immune to metanoia as well. Never forget his humanity. In Jesus daily bodily encounters, especially to those infirm, he could have been touched by their stories, their lives, and their struggles, and so on. He learned not only bodily frailty, but more so, life’s limits. In his “somatic engagements” with peoples, he saw and sensed, inside and out what צבא (tzaba) is. Touching them, he too was touched by them.

 

Let us give the gospel a concrete context. Have you met someone who is diagnosed with HIV/AIDS, or PLHIV (Person Living with HIV)? Up to this date these people are stigmatized by society, and this makes them צבא (tzaba), suffer all the more. There is no automatic cure for HIV just as yet, but we can lessen their “night of misery”, sense of “emptiness”, compounded troubles when we allow ourselves to encounter them. Let us remove our (homo)phobic tendencies, and listen to these people. Just like Jesus, let us not be afraid to be touched by the people who this society excludes and stigmatizes. Many people suffer not merely because of bodily frailty, but because we stigmatize their condition. We blatantly isolate them, making them alone in their sufferings. Abandoning them is an ultimate pain – it’s rejection.

 

Perhaps, Jesus’ compassion grew through his constant bodily engagement with peoples. He was not selective; he was and is inclusive, and so should we be. It is only when we overcome our sets of stigma against peoples that we can chant with the psalmist, “Hallelujah! The L-rd heals their broken hearts, and binds up their wounds. The L-rd gives courage to the lowly.” That in the end, there is hope.

 

For Reflection and Discussion: 1. What are my internalized stigma against people who differs from me? What brought me to this stigmatization? 2. What am I afraid to lose or give whenever I encounter someone in need? Why? 3. When was the time in my life that there was a reversal of things, that is I was touched by the least person or event I expect to challenge my beliefs in a pleasant way? 4. Days from now is the beginning of Lent, how could Jesus’ bodily encounters with the frailty prepare him for his ultimate experience of rejection on the cross?

 

Bibliography: Choi, Jin Young. Postcolonial Discipleship of Embodiment: An Asian and Asian-American Feminist Reading of the Gospel of Mark. New York: Palgrave Macmillian, 2015.

 

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Kristine Meneses, Ph.D., Philippines; Bat Kol Alumna 2016

Email address: krstn.rw@gmail.com

[Copyright © 2018]

 

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Gospel commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Sunday Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

………………………………………………………………

 

Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem

1983-2018

“Christians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.”

gill@batkol.info Website: www.batkol.info