GOD’S WORD

JULY 04 14th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

REJECTED BY HIS OWN

In today’s Gospel Jesus visits his hometown of Nazareth with his new family of disciples. Much has happened since he last was at home. He has shown his authority over demons, illness and death. Many have come to faith in him, especially in Capernaum where he now lives. However, it was in Nazareth that members of his own natural family had believed he was insane and had tried to stop his mission. Has anything changed? Will they and the other Nazarenes now believe in him?

As is his practice, he goes to the synagogue to preach. But the locals aren’t impressed. They ask pointed questions. They want to know the source of his words and deeds.

JULY 11 15th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

MISSION POSSIBLE

Today’s Gospel points to something fundamental about the church: it is the new family of Jesus which has been entrusted by him to preach the Gospel. It is only successful when it travels light and discards any baggage which gets in the way of its mission.

Since the time of Jesus there have been periods when the church has travelled 'light' and has been truly prophetic in proclaiming the Gospel. There have been other times when, weighed down with wealth, power and preoccupation with status, it has failed the Gospel.

The same positive and negative patterns can be seen in the history of the church in this country. We can only hope that the deep crisis our church is going through will lead it to discard anything that gets in the way of Jesus’ mission so that the Gospel may be proclaimed anew with prophetic courage and integrity. They question the wisdom that has been given to him.

Jesus’ townspeople are limited by their own narrow experience and fixed ideas. They know his family and where he came from and simply cannot believe there is anything significant about him. They describe him using the Greek word téktōn, which is traditionally translated as 'carpenter.' The word means a craftsman who works with wood or metal. Jesus and his family would probably have been well to do, but would have been regarded as socially inferior to the educated class of religious leaders. In simple terms, the local people think that Jesus is getting above his station with all the recent publicity and that there is really nothing to it or to him. He is no different to themselves. They believe that in trying to move beyond his social standing he is bringing dishonour to his family, and so they take offence at him.

The effect of their rejection is that Jesus isn’t able to work any significant miracle in Nazareth. Jesus’ miracles require faith and this is lacking in Nazareth. Mark is refreshingly direct. He says that Jesus “could not” work miracles in Nazareth. Yet, once said, Mark softens this conclusion and says that Jesus touched some people and brought wholeness into their lives. The overall effect on Jesus is that he is “amazed” at the Nazarenes’ lack of faith. “Amazement” is often people’s faith response to Jesus’ miracles. Now Jesus is “amazed” at unbelief in Nazareth.

Today’s Readings

Ezk 2:2-5; Ps 122; 2 Cor 12:7-10; Mk 6:1-6

Today’s Readings

Am 7:12-15; Ps 84; Eph 1:3-14; Mk 6:7-13

JULY 18 16th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

GUT INSTINCT

Today’s Gospel describes the return of the Twelve whom Jesus sent out on mission. Mark calls them 'apostles.' The word comes from the Greek verb apostéllō, which means 'to send.' They have been sent by Jesus and now are reporting back. But they seem not to have fully understood what has happened. Notice that they tell Jesus about “all that they had done and taught.” They have conveniently forgotten that they had gone on mission equipped with Jesus’ authority, not their own. They simply haven’t understood what it means to be sent by Jesus on a mission. Acting on the basis of their own authority, they have not operated as followers.

This may seem harsh, but it is part of Mark’s hypercritical assessment of their discipleship. Yet he reports them as enthusiastic about the huge response they have received from the people.

Jesus’ response to this popular enthusiasm is to invite them away to a deserted place. Jesus is always cautious about popular demonstrations of enthusiasm for his message, because they have the capacity to take his mission in the wrong direction. Time apart in a deserted place will help the disciples to understand more fully the mission they now share with him.

So Jesus and his disciples set out across the Sea of Galilee by boat. But the plan fails spectacularly. Seeing the boat, people recognise the passengers and race around the lake to meet Jesus and the disciples when they reach land. Mark says that the people came “from all the towns” around the lake. This is his way of letting us know just how popular Jesus was.

Mark says that Jesus “had compassion on them.” In Greek the text reads that “he was moved with compassion for them in his inward parts.” In the Hebrew way of associating feelings to parts of the body, compassion was always associated with the womb. In the case of men, it was the intestine. It means that when Jesus sees the people, he has such compassion for them that he feels it in the pit of his stomach. It’s a really strong statement of the degree of feeling Jesus has for the people.

His reason for such a strong feeling is that the people “were like sheep without a shepherd.” This phrase is used in the Old Testament to describe the people of Israel whenever they suffered from failed or negligent leadership. But Jesus will not fail and he will not neglect God’s people. He will be the true shepherd.

Today’s Readings

Jr 23:1-6; Ps 22; Eph 2:13-18; Mk 6:30-34

JULY 25 17th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

GIFT FOR THE HUNGRY

For the next four Sundays we read from the famous 'Bread of Life' chapter in the Gospel of John (Jn 6:1-69). Today’s text is John’s account of the feeding of at least 5,000 people in the wilderness.

Jesus is on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The people have gathered because they have seen him work a healing miracle or “sign,” as John likes to call such miracles. Jesus retreats with his disciples to a mountain. John then adds that the Feast of Passover is near. As you will recall, Passover is the Jewish liturgical celebration of the Exodus event when God liberated the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Exodus themes dominate much of John Chapter 6.

When Jesus sees the crowd approaching, he knows that they are hungry and asks Philip where they could buy food. He is testing Philip. Jesus knows exactly what he is going to do, but he wants to see if Philip does. Philip does not and neither does the other disciple, Andrew. They fail to understand that Jesus is the one who will satisfy the people’s hunger. Philip and Andrew try to come up with practical but conventional solutions. There are 5,000 men present, not counting women and children. According to Philip there is not enough money to feed such a crowd. According to Andrew, there is insufficient food in the five loaves and two small fish that are offered by a little boy. Conventional solutions will not feed the people; only Jesus can. Jesus then works the miracle.

Notice something very important. It is Jesus himself who shares the food with the people, not the disciples. He is the source of the gift for these hungry people. The miracle produces so much food that 12 baskets of leftovers are gathered. Jesus’ command to gather up the leftovers and to waste nothing echoes the Exodus story. On the Exodus trek Moses had commanded the people to do the same with the manna or miraculous bread from heaven given by God in the wilderness.

As always the people are ecstatic about the miracle. They identify Jesus as a prophet and want to make him king. As we have seen before, Jesus is cautious about such enthusiasm based on his miracles or “signs.” He is truly a king, but not in the way the people think. His response is to withdraw by himself to the mountain. He will not be their kind of king.

Today’s Readings

AUGUST 01 18th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

THE BREAD OF LIFE

The people do not know where Jesus has gone. They think he might have returned to Capernaum and so they head there. They find him and ask when he had arrived in the village. He doesn’t answer their question, but talks about why they had been looking for him in the first place. Whenever he works a miracle it is always a “sign” of his power and authority which invites people to believe in him. The crowd have followed him to Capernaum because they witnessed the miraculous feeding told in last Sunday’s reading. But it has not resulted in faith – only in full stomachs. The problem is that the people seek ordinary food that “perishes.” Jesus, the Son of Man, offers food that “endures for eternal life.”

Jesus tells the crowd that he will give food that endures for eternal life. It is Jesus’ gift and as such it is to be received. But the crowd have missed the point, because they ask what they have to do. In replying, Jesus picks up on their words and uses them in a very different way. The people tell Jesus that they will only do God’s work if Jesus first does so by working a miracle. This is an amazing statement! He has just fed at least 5,000 people and the crowd now want another miracle if they are going to believe in him. They want a manna-miracle. God had given their ancestors bread in the wilderness. Could Jesus not do something similar? This is hugely ironic as their request follows on from Jesus’ feeding miracle!

The people have chosen to use the manna story to make their point; now Jesus uses it to make his point, directly and assertively. It is not Moses who gives the gift of bread; it is Jesus’ Father in heaven. The bread that he has been speaking of is not some kind of manna-substitute; it is the “true bread from heaven” that God gives to them. The bread that Jesus is talking about is bread which “comes down from heaven” and “gives life to the world.” This is exactly the same kind of language used in the Fourth Gospel to describe Jesus. He is the Word of God who has come down from heaven and who gives life to the world. We now know what Jesus is talking about. He is talking about himself as the true bread which God the Father is giving the world from heaven. But the crowd still do not understand. They are still thinking about full stomachs! So Jesus has to state it boldly: “I am the bread of life.”

Today’s Readings

Ezk 16: 2-4,12-15; Ps 77; Eph 4:17.20-24; Jn 6:24-35

45

AUGUST 08

19th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

LIVING BREAD

The Gospel readings on these Sundays are from Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. The text is a rich tapestry of highly complex theological concepts and biblical allusions. It is challenging to understand.

Yet when we get past the conceptual complexity and the wealth of biblical allusion, the text says something that is both simple and profound. God, whom we have never seen, loves us. The consequence of the Father’s love is his desire that we live forever in his presence. It was out of this amazing love for us that God sent Jesus into the world. All we have to do is come to Jesus in faith and receive what he offers with trust, and that which God desires for us will happen.

Today’s Readings

1 Kg 19:4-8; Ps 33; Eph 4:30-5:2; Jn 6:41-51

AUGUST 15 FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION

MARY’S RADICAL YES

In today’s Gospel we hear Mary’s Magnificat. It is a joyful hymn of praise to God who has not forgotten his lowly handmaid and has done such great things for her. But it is also a subversive hymn, and it shows Mary to be a radical woman who hungers for justice for the poor and the little ones. Mary presents an image of God as one who pulls the mighty from their thrones and raises up the lowly, as one who fills the hungry with good things and sends the rich away empty. She voices God’s opposition to oppression, injustice and inequality of whatever kind.

Mary’s Magnificat hymn shows that she is no gentle, passive, silent woman. She is, rather, a voice of the voiceless, and mother of all who are oppressed and overlooked and weak. Mary’s preferences and her hopes for our world are our preferences and our hopes too.

Today’s Readings

Apoc 11:19;12:1-6.10; Ps 44; 1 Cor 15:20-26; Lk 1:3956

AUGUST 22 21st SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

DEAL OR NO DEAL

In today’s first reading, Joshua puts a direct challenge to the people of Israel. Make up your minds once and for all, he says. “If you will not serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve.” It’s decision time. In today’s Gospel, Jesus puts a similar direct challenge to his followers. Because of his teaching about the Living Bread, many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. They found his teaching too difficult to live by, too hard to stomach. So Jesus asks the Twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?”

Jesus puts the challenge directly to each of us too: Do you also wish to go away? Or do you wish to stay? Either way, why?

Before you answer, listen to the answers of the Israelites to Joshua and of the twelve apostles to Jesus. The Israelites say: “There is no way that we will forsake the Lord to serve other gods. Look at all God has done for us.” And Simon Peter takes it on himself to answer for the Twelve: “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

Today’s Readings

AUGUST 29 22nd SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

IT’S WHAT’S IN THE HEART THAT COUNTS

The Pharisees and scribes gather around Jesus and his disciples. The mood is ominous and conflict is not far away. The Pharisees were a group of very devout Jews who observed relentlessly all the commandments of the Law in the Book of Leviticus where the laws on what is clean and unclean are to be found, and the scribes were the Jewish theologians or scripture scholars. They get into an argument about the fact that some of Jesus’ disciples eat with unwashed hands.

Because of its special relationship with God, Israel considered itself to be holy and should therefore keep away from that which was unclean or profane. The Pharisees were extremely concerned that all Jews would remain holy, especially since Palestine in the first century AD was a mixed society of Jew and Gentile and contamination by 'uncleanness' was always possible. The Pharisees based their practice not just on Leviticus but also on an ancient unwritten tradition called the 'tradition of the elders.' In effect, the Pharisees are checking out the attitude of Jesus and his disciples to these ancient practices.

Jesus’ response is highly confrontational as he questions the ancient traditions by quoting from the Old Testament (Isaiah 29:13). Jesus is highlighting what is most important in a person’s relationship with God. It is the person’s “heart” (or moral centre from which everything comes) that is important – more important than mere “human traditions.” Jesus also uses the quotation from Isaiah to declare that the Pharisees have turned God’s commandments into mere human rules and regulations. In doing so, they have reduced the Jewish religion to vain worship of God.

Now Jesus gathers the people together who have been following the confrontation. It is almost like he is offering them a parable as he begins with “listen to me, all of you and understand.” He gives them his own teaching on what is “clean” and “unclean.” Nothing that goes into a person (food) creates uncleanness.

The Pharisees and scribes most certainly hear this as a provocation as Jesus seems to be setting aside their traditions around kosher (ritually fit) food. For Jesus, it is what comes out of a person’s heart (evil intentions) that makes a person unclean.

It is moral impurity that defiles a person, not ritual impurity. Jesus is not rejecting the Jewish scriptures. Rather, in the best tradition of the prophets, he argues that holiness is a matter of the “heart.” If you want to know if people are holy, then check out what comes out of their hearts.

Today’s Readings

SOLUTIONS CROSSWORD No. 4 ACROSS: 1. Venial, 5. Medici, 10. Peeling, 11. Resolve, 12. Grit, 13. Torah, 15. Roux, 17. Nun, 19. Tallow, 21. Ushers, 22. Wonders, 23. Temple, 25. Naiads, 28. Ark, 30. Role, 31. Jesus, 32. Talc, 35. Netsuke, 36. Amended, 37. Hazard, 38. Tokens. DOWN: 2. Ezekiel, 3. Iris, 4. Legion, 5. Marian, 6. Dusk, 7. Calzone, 8. Spigot, 9. Xerxes, 14. Rudders, 16. Cowls, 18. Assam, 20. Woe, 21. Urn, 23. Tyrant, 24. Militia, 26. Abandon, 27. Secede, 28. Aeneid, 29. Kuwait, 33. Cuba, 34. Teak Winner of Crossword No. 4 Herman Mullers, County Galway.

ACROSS

1. Economise, be frugal and thrifty. (6) 5. Take great enjoyment from a savoury sauce. (6) 10. Common medium-sized mammal of North America. (7) 11. Beet soup of Ukrainian origin. (7) 12. Profoundly immoral and wicked. (4) 13. Biblical character with a dreamy ladder. (5) 15. The evangelist Apostle. (4) 17. Nervous or timid in the company of other people. (3) 19. Carrying something substantial, a gun perhaps. (6) 21. Prejudice and discrimination based on colour or ethnicity. (6) 22. French town where the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubiros (7) 23. Dirty, stained. (6) 25. City best known for Kublai Khan. (6) 28. Machine for bank withdrawals. (3) 30. Major Empire of pre-Columbian America. (4) 31. In Greek mythology she is a nymph who lives in a tree. (5) 32. The overthrow of an existing government by a small group. (4) 35. Country in a suit. (7) 36. A person who verifies the accuracy of financial records. (7) 37. Winged female with snakes instead of hair. (6) 38. Organised military forces. (6)

DOWN

2. One who rides a bike. (7) 3. A painting of Jesus or other people considered holy, especially in Russia and Greece. (4) 4. Chinese bears with black-and-white coats. (6) 5. Famous Scottish outlaw and folk hero. (3,3) 6. Traditional knowledge or belief. (4) 7. Female demons. (7) 8. An ordained minister of the Catholic Church. (6) 9. A small, narrow river. (6) 14. The voluntary giving of help to those in need. (7) 16. A small arm of a lake or river. (5) 18. Pastoral and hunting people of Kenya and Tanzania. (5) 20. The supreme being. (3) 21. A Roman king. (3) 23. Persons recognised as having an exceptional degree of holiness. (6) 24. Perfumed substance burned in a thurible. (7) 26. Each of the twelve chief disciples of Jesus Christ. (7) 27. When you are on these you are broke. (6) 28. A fleet of warships. (6) 29. Ancient fortress where the first JewishRoman War ended. (6) 33. He sold his birthright in the Bible. (4) 34. The original man. (4)

Entry Form for Crossword No.6, July/August 2021

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