REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING 25th November 2018

 REFLECTIONS ON THE READINGS FOR THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING

25th November 2018   CYCLE B

Daniel 7:13-14;     Psalm 92:1-2,5;     Apocalypse 1:5-8;     John 18:33-37


 

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Each of the readings chosen for today originated in a situation of suffering.  The first and second readings are examples from the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament of ‘apocalyptic’ literature that emerged in times of persecution.  Like the prophets, the authors point the reader to God who guides history towards the establishment of God’s universal rule, and gives assurance of final victory to those who remain faithful to the Eternal One.

 

The Book of Daniel was written around 167 BCE to inspire courage and perseverance in the Jewish people who, because of their adherence to the God of the Covenant, were violently oppressed by Antiochus IV, who tried to destroy Judaism.  Chapter 7 describes a series of visions in which four successive world powers (Babylon, Medes, Persians and Greeks) are represented as beasts which will be destroyed.  The vision we read today contrasts the beasts with one like a son of man – that is, a human being – who will receive a universal kingdom which will be everlasting.  This son of man is identified with those who are  righteous, and the kingdom which they will inherit is the final goal of all their suffering.

 

 

The image of God as king is found in early biblical texts.  Indeed, in ancient Israel the institution of the monarchy was opposed because it seemed like a denial of God’s kingship.  The celebration of God as King is a prominent theme of the Jewish New Year liturgy during which our psalm today, Psalm 92, is sung.  The faith and hope of the believer is expressed in the words of Zechariah 14:9:  “The Lord shall be king over all the earth:  in that day the Lord shall be one and God’s name one.” 

 

The Apocalypse/Book of Revelation from which the second reading is taken, was written to encourage Christians in a time of great distress when persecution was expected in Asia Minor.  The titles given to Christ link him both with the Father and with believers on earth.  The reference to “one coming on the clouds” is influenced by our first reading from Daniel and the twofold “Amen” suggests that the text was used in the liturgy of the early Church.  The reading ends with a proclamation of the sovereignty of God who is the beginning and the end of all creation.

 

In contrast to the other three gospels, John extends the examination of Jesus by Pilate to include this private conversation inside the Praetorium, where there were no witnesses.  Through it, John elaborates the meaning of the proclamation of Jesus as king – which is also present in the other gospels.    It becomes clear that political kingship – which is the only one Pilate understands – is not in question here.  Jesus speaks of his kingdom rather than of himself as king (the Jerusalem Bible translation is misleading here).  Although this is not “of this world”, it does make demands on men and women in their lives on earth, demands which are spelt out in the answer to Pilate’s second question.  Only those who “hear” can understand.  Pilate is not among these.

 

At the end of the Church’s year, it is fitting that our attention is focussed on what lies at the heart of our lives and will be our final destiny –  the vision of God and eternal happiness.  To acknowledge the sovereignty of God should make a difference to the way we live.  The feast of Christ the King was instigated by Pope Pius XI to emphasize the importance of social action.  The criterion of our relationship with God will always be loving service of our neighbour.  It is clear in the gospels that Jesus, far from assuming the title of king, preferred to call himself “servant”.  He told the apostles that in order to be his disciples, they too had to be servants of each other.

 

And at the end of our liturgical year, when we celebrate God’s kingdom, proclaimed and lived out by Jesus, let us recall a prayer from the Jewish liturgy of the Day of Atonement with which Jesus would have been very familiar:  “Our Father and King, we have no king but You.  Our Father and King, have compassion on us and on our children.  Our Father and King, may we be inscribed for blessing in the Book of Life.”

 

This week’s Sunday Readings 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

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Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Sunday (4 June 2017)

Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13; John 20:19-23

Theme: You make the winds your messengers, fire and flames your ministers.

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The liturgy of Pentecost is sheer celebration! The solemnity of this feast cannot restrain the amazement, astonishment, even the bewilderment that the reading from Acts proclaims. Yet, in a delicate balancing act, the combination of readings for this Pentecost (in cycle A) reflects a process of growth, which begins in an experience, then moves through reflection / understanding, toward a conviction in faith that is permeated by profound joy. In today’s liturgy the trilogy of Incarnation – Resurrection – Outpouring of the Spirit enters its final act that knows no boundaries of time or place.

The early Christian community’s conviction about receiving the Spirit holds creatively in tension two theological traditions; the contrast between Acts and John reminds us of that. Jesus breathes on his disciples the gift of the Spirit [Jn 20:23-24]. Yet, in Luke 24:49, Jesus states, “ I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” From such texts, the Nicene Creed derives its affirmation: I believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

We might see creative tension too in Paul’s effusive description of the variety of gifts, services and activities held in the unity of the Spirit, and his marvelous image of the one body of Christ encompassing all of us, in all of our diversity.

Jesus missions his disciples with a gift of the Spirit for a ministry of discernment and forgiveness. In contrast, the experience in Acts is an outpouring of the Spirit, oblivious to language barriers and symbolically accessible to the whole then-known world. In seeking the meaning of that experience, the community saw it as the realization of God’s promise articulated by the prophet, Joel, around 400 BCE, in post-exilic Jerusalem: “I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visions. Even on the male and female slaves, in those days, I will pour out my spirit” [2:28-29].

It was Shavuoth (the Feast of Weeks), called “Pentecost” by Hellenistic Jews like those in the community of Acts, the fiftieth day after Pessach. As awareness of the relation of Shavuoth to Exodus and Pessach grew, the feast became a commemoration of the Sinai Covenant, especially its Matan Torah, the gift of God’s word, forming the children of Israel into the people of God. Luke subtly captures the significance of this moment in Acts in two images: a sound like the rush of a violent wind and tongues as of fire carry the impact of other theophanies in Jewish tradition: the ruah (wind, spirit) that swept over the waters in creation [Gen 1:2], the burning bush [Ex 3:2], the wind that dried a path through the Sea of Reeds [Ex 14:21-22], the fire in which God descended on Mt. Sinai [Ex 19:18], the pillar of fire that guided the desert journey [Dt 1:33], to name just a few. Unfortunately, in Ps 104, vs. 4 has been omitted; in its simplicity, it tames those powerful images: “you make the winds your messengers, fire and flames your ministers.” What is their message; what is their ministry? They signal the presence and action of the Spirit of God who enables, in the nascent Christian community, the integration of the most distinctive strand of its identity, its witness to Jesus as Lord and Christ (Anointed One, Messiah).

For Reflection and Discussion: : 1. Recall a personal story of growth: from experience, through reflection / understanding, to conviction marked by joy, and the “Word of God” that leads you to the deeper meaning of that experience. 2. What is your affirmation of faith about Jesus now?

Bibliography: Amy-Jill Levine & Marc Zvi Brettler, editors, The Jewish Annotated New Testament (2011), pp. 197-202, 306; Raymond Brown et al., The Jerome Biblical Commentary (1968), pp. 171-2.

This week’s Sunday Gospel Commentary was prepared by

Sr. Diane Willey, NDS, M.A. in Theology, Jerusalem, Bat Kol Alumna 2005, 2006

dianewilley@hotmail.com

[Copyright © 2017 ]

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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

1983-2017

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

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