tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-154165092009-02-21T00:24:52.303-08:00Pastoral, Liturgical, Teaching, and Social Justice Moments brought to you by www.DignityUSA.org.DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comBlogger164125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-12794789765118681792008-09-24T05:58:00.001-07:002008-09-24T05:58:56.094-07:00

Readings:Ezekiel 18:25-28Philippians 2:1-11Matthew 21:28-32After teaching Scripture as a Catholic priest for over 40 years, I’m convinced one of the reasons relatively few Catholics are turned on by Scripture springs from a disconnect between what the “official” church expects of us and what our sacred authors expect.I grew up learning my only purpose in life was to get into heaven, and I was

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-25886737312732319442008-09-17T04:23:00.000-07:002008-09-17T04:24:11.944-07:00

Readings:Isaiah 55:6-9Philippians 1:20c-24,27aMatthew 20:1-16aWe can’t properly understand our Christian gospels unless we appreciate how each evangelist takes his community beyond the comfort zone it’s already achieved in its faith.Last April’s death of Krister Stendahi has prompted me to reflect on some of his valuable insights into this phenomenon. “Christians,” the famous scholar once

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-69494401678827444332008-09-10T15:47:00.000-07:002008-09-10T15:48:24.914-07:00

Readings:Numbers 21:4b-9Philippians 2:6-11John 3:13-17Meaningful symbols of faith force us to go deeper into our faith. A good sign always leads us beyond the sign itself. And especially when it’s a faith sign, it leads us to explore the contradictions which true faith brings to our life.The only problem we have with today’s feast is to surface the actual “sign of the cross” which our celebration

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-35413422332197490242008-09-03T05:10:00.000-07:002008-09-03T05:11:30.000-07:00

Readings:Ezekiel 33:7-9Romans 13:8-10Matthew 18:15-20Our biblical authors deliberately choose their words. Before the rise of redaction criticism 50 years ago, translators weren’t always too scrupulous in rendering identical terms used in two different passages by the same author in the same way. For instance, though John employs the same Greek word in Jesus’ chapter 2 statement, “My hour has not

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-45873156423685492712008-08-27T05:38:00.001-07:002008-08-27T05:38:42.379-07:00

Readings:Jeremiah 20, 7-9Romans 12:1-2Matthew 16:21-27As we know from many of the late George Carlin’s comic routines, coming into contact with organized religion is part of almost every person’s faith experience. Nothing the matter with it, as long as the organized religion we encounter helps us accomplish what it supposedly was created to do: have an experience of God working in our daily lives

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-27490795355601449202008-08-20T06:11:00.000-07:002008-08-20T06:12:26.009-07:00

Readings:Isaiah 22:19-23Romans 11:33-36Matthew 16:13-20My recent encounter with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma has given me a deep appreciation of the medical discoveries and advancements we’ve achieved throughout our history. Those, for instance, involved in my chemotherapy have assured me, “This isn’t your parents’ chemo. Treatment has changed drastically in just the last 10 years.” It doesn’t take

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-51892941424907772222008-08-13T06:08:00.001-07:002008-08-13T06:08:46.881-07:00

Readings:Isaiah 56:1, 6-7Romans 11:13-15, 29-32Matthew 15:21-28In hindsight, we humans have a knack of turning past complicated subjects into simple black and white issues. Through the centuries questions become clearer, answers more evident. This is certainly the case with the history of how biblical Jews related with non-Jews, and Jewish-Christians with Gentile-Christians.Many of us presume

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-59631986443895576342008-08-06T05:32:00.000-07:002008-08-06T05:33:18.758-07:00

Readings:I Kings 19:9a, 11-13aRomans 9:1-5Matthew 14:22-33Over the last 20 years, more and more students of Scriptures have replaced the familiar, pejorative terms Old Testament and New Testament with Hebrew Scriptures and Christian Scriptures. This switch, as we see from today’s liturgical passages, was prompted by biblical, not political correctness.Obviously the historical Jesus never referred

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-60759416768631338442008-07-30T07:15:00.000-07:002008-07-30T07:16:04.099-07:00

Readings:Isaiah 55:1-3Romans 8:35, 37-39Matthew 14:13-21One of the most difficult aspects of studying Scripture is to develop the knack of hearing the text as the author originally wrote it, not as it's been falsely interpreted through the centuries.Perhaps the classic example of the misread is the disciples' statement in Matthew's 19:10 no-divorce passage, "If that is the case of a man with his

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-23515561102886079062008-07-23T06:22:00.001-07:002008-07-23T06:22:59.187-07:00

Readings:1 Kings 3:5, 7-12Romans 8:28-30Matthew 13:44-52The late Fr. Roland Murphy always taught the key to understanding biblical wisdom is found in today's I Kings pericope. Our sacred authors, concerned their readers live the life God wants them to live, define the "wise" person as the individual who's able to pull that off. That's why all people of faith are listening intently to how Solomon

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-553536503370720492008-07-16T06:45:00.001-07:002008-07-16T06:45:39.200-07:00

Readings:Wisdom 12:13, 16-19Romans 8:26-27Matthew 13:24-43One of the most misunderstood gospel terms is the phrase "kingdom of God" or kingdom of heaven." It's a very significant concept. Jesus begins his public ministry with the proclamation, "The kingdom of God is close at hand!" To misunderstand the kingdom of God is to misunderstand the historical Jesus' ministry.Scholars tell us this

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-50115440909630641642008-07-09T08:30:00.001-07:002008-07-09T08:30:44.459-07:00

Readings:Isaiah 55:10-11Romans 8:18-23Matthew 13:1-23Perhaps today we should switch our first and second reading. Paul surfaces a problem with which all people of faith must deal. But Deutero-Isaiah and Matthew's Jesus give the same basic answer to the problem, even though they ministered more than 500 years apart.The Apostle states the question: How do we know the things we hope for in faith

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-1733037539904360452008-07-02T04:55:00.001-07:002008-07-02T04:56:02.694-07:00

Readings:Zechariah 9:9-10Romans 8:9, 11-13Matthew 11:25-30A popular saying of the 70s stated, "When you're up to your waste in alligators, it's hard to remember your original plan was to drain the swamp.”Often it's difficult to keep our original plan in front of our eyes. We often give in to the immediate problem, even when the solution to that particular need runs counter to our original plan.

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-16671427982431021292008-06-25T06:08:00.001-07:002008-06-25T06:09:01.408-07:00

Readings:Acts 12:1-4II Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18Matthew 16, 13-19Though at times we can see the necessity for the axiom, "Ignorance is bliss!" there are occasions when ignorance might also stop us from appreciating things which could help us better understand ourselves and the situations we face in life. This is certainly the case with today's three readings.On face value, each passage provides us

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-59039694949428220892008-06-25T06:06:00.000-07:002008-06-25T06:07:35.167-07:00

Readings:II Kings 4:8-11, 14-16Romans 6:3-4, 8-11Matthew 10:37-42Growing up Catholic in the 40s and50s, I don't remember being encouraged to imitate Jesus' dying and rising. I never thought of myself as another Christ. That title and ministry was reserved only for members of the hierarchy. We laity were simply expected to pick out a special saint or two and imitate their holy life-style.When

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-18821906891010783082008-06-18T06:47:00.000-07:002008-06-18T06:48:07.301-07:00

Readings:Jeremiah 20:10-13Romans 5:12-15Matthew 10:26-33Whenever I'm teaching a course on Jeremiah and we come to chapter 20, I always encourage those who are suffering from clinical depression to leave the room. This is by far the most depressing part of the Hebrew Scriptures. I don't want to be responsible for pushing anyone over the edge.There are two important points to understand about

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-19798721876781450312008-06-12T06:15:00.001-07:002008-06-12T06:15:43.362-07:00

Readings:Exodus 19:2-6aRomans 5:6-11Matthew 9:36-10:8Accustomed to thinking about our church's hierarchy when we hear lists of the Twelve, we often ignore what Scripture scholars have been telling us for a long time about this specific group. The historical Jesus traveled with the Twelve not to show his intention to divide his followers into clergy and laity, but to demonstrate his passion to

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-11328256546062370952008-06-04T05:58:00.000-07:002008-06-04T05:59:09.951-07:00

Readings:Hosea 6:3-6Romans 4:18-25Matthew 9:9-13Paul constantly has to defend himself against conservative Christians who vehemently object to his ministry to Gentiles. They don't mind his preaching Jesus to non-Jews as long as he converts them to Judaism before he baptizes them into Christianity. These "Judaizers" insist that only after Gentiles agree to keep the 613 Mosaic laws can they even be

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-49856015314284523422008-05-28T07:04:00.000-07:002008-05-28T07:06:13.640-07:00

Readings:Deuteronomy 11:18, 26-28, 32Romans 3:2-25, 28Matthew 7:21-27We Christians have never quite recovered from the third basic change in our faith: the switch in the second century which transformed our church from a Semitic to a Greek thinking community. Most people today regard the other three fundamental changes as steps forward in our imitation of Jesus. Scholars and historians don't

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-68399278475597692592008-05-21T06:32:00.000-07:002008-05-21T06:34:01.377-07:00

Readings:Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16I Corinthians 10:16-17John 6:51-58The first step in correctly understanding any Scripture passage is to hear it within the context in which the sacred author originally placed it. Just as the individual actions of our lives make sense only against the background of our entire lives, so we can't take just a verse of two of Scripture out of the writer's work and

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-3164008431735532852008-05-14T06:05:00.000-07:002008-05-14T06:06:36.156-07:00

Readings:Exodus 34:4-6, 8-9II Corinthians 13:11-13John 3:16-18In their popular college text Christian Foundations, husband and wife team Kathleen Fischer and Thomas Hart set aside lots of space for the Trinity.They begin by going back to Karl Rahner's difficulty with the English word "person." The late theologian was convinced it originally didn't describe "an independent center of consciousness

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-48091701859553720332008-05-07T08:30:00.000-07:002008-05-07T08:35:45.338-07:00

Readings:Acts 2:1-11I Corinthians 12:3-7, 12-13John 20:19-23Those who believe the true church never changes know nothing about first century Christianity.The late Karl Rahner often reminded us that there have been only four basic changes in our Christian faith, and that two of them happened within fifty years of Jesus' death and resurrection.The first was a switch from a short term faith to a

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-40859730599062201272008-05-04T10:10:00.000-07:002008-04-30T10:11:16.135-07:00

Readings:Acts 1:1-11Ephesians 1:17-23Matthew 28:16-20One of the most fascinating aspects of today's celebration of Jesus’ ascension is that the gospel we employ for our liturgical reading mentions nothing about Jesus' ascension. Though most of us presume the next thing Jesus does after he assures his disciples, "I am with you always, until the end of the age," is to start rising into heaven,

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-9008863101665600822008-04-27T10:00:00.000-07:002008-04-23T10:01:43.498-07:00

Readings:Acts 8:5-8, 14-17I Peter 3:15-18John 14:15-21The authors of today's first and third readings believe the role of the Holy Spirit in our everyday life of faith is more significant than some of us modern Christians acknowledge.Our I Peter author mentions something that applies to all of us. "It is better to suffer for doing good, if that be the will of God, than for doing evil." The writer

DignityUSAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03991851949285231958noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15416509.post-30227206920006238822008-04-20T09:41:00.000-07:002008-04-16T09:42:32.189-07:00

Acts 6:1-7I Peter 2:4-9John 14:1-12If our only contact with organized Christianity has been limited to a hierarchical structured church, we'll find it difficult to appreciate the message our three sacred authors are trying to convey today. They're not interested in encouraging us to look to a higher rung on the authority ladder in order to discover God's will in our lives. They're concerned with

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