Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time
The setting of this Sunday's gospel reading is Jerusalem. Jesus is sitting in an outer court of the temple. He and those with him were watching people drop contributions in chests set up to receive them. Some of those around Jesus made comments about the offerings of faithful Jews, and also of the...Read full story »
Wednesday, November 09, 2016
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
After Jesus' encounter with Zacchaeus (last Sunday's gospel reading) in the city of Jericho, Luke points out that the end of the Journey to Jerusalem is almost at hand. Then he inserts the parable of the talents as a final teaching before Jesus enters Jerusalem. Luke writes, "He proceeded to speak...Read full story »
Thursday, November 03, 2016
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
The longest section of Luke's gospel, called "The Journey to Jerusalem," is almost ended. The journey began at Luke 9:51, where Jesus "set his face to go to Jerusalem." The journey became a framework for Luke's catechesis - including difficult material for his Christian Community to absorb. Even th...Read full story »
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Another parable - this one aimed at a fault common to many, and not just in the time of Jesus or the time of Luke. The parable addresses "those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised others." The probable meaning of "their own righteousness" in this context: reliance on one's ow...Read full story »
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The next item on Luke's catechetical agenda is prayer. The instruction begins with a parable "about the necessity for them to pray always without becoming weary." The parable describes a judge "who neither feared God nor respected any human being." Hardly the kind of character we would want to occu...Read full story »
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Once again Luke reminds us that Jesus & Co. are "on the way to Jerusalem." It is amusing and well known among scholars that Luke had problems with Palestinian geography, and so he writes, "Jesus was passing along between Samaria and Galilee." No one has ever deciphered where to locate "between...Read full story »
Thursday, October 06, 2016
Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
On this Sunday both Luke and the liturgy give us a break from the theme of Christians and wealth. The author seems to have returned to miscellaneous material which does not fit any particular context. This part of Luke's gospel is still under the framework of the "Journey to Jerusalem," a long sect...Read full story »
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The major theme of last Sunday's gospel was Christians and wealth. Luke presented his teaching on this theme through a story about a crooked manager who got caught and fired. Following that story, Luke gathered sayings attributed to Jesus about the honest and dishonest use of wealth. The final sayi...Read full story »
Thursday, September 22, 2016
TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
After a half century and more of studying, teaching, and writing about the gospels, it should be possible to some extent to observe at work the mind of the author of a given gospel. The authors are not writing biographies of Jesus but catechetical instruction about Jesus. They use oral and written...Read full story »
Thursday, September 15, 2016
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Chapter 15 of Luke's gospel is the "Lost and Found" chapter. The headline: "Tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to Jesus to listen to him, but the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" Tax collectors were among the most despised of...Read full story »
Thursday, September 08, 2016
