Br. John R. Barker, OFM

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

In the coastal town of Caesarea lived a Roman named Cornelius who was “devout and God-fearing.” He had received a vision from God, instructing him to summon Peter, who, for his part, has been instructed by God to go (10:1–33). His speech is the kerygma in a nutshell: Jesus was anointed by God to go about “doing good and healing.” Nevertheless, he was condemned to death. Yet God raised him from the dead, after which he appeared to witnesses who could testify with certainty that his resurrection was real. Peter affirms that Jesus’ mission is being extended through himself and others, who are preaching in order to bring God’s forgiveness of sins to everyone— Jew or Gentile—who believes (trusts) in Jesus.

Colossians reminds the baptized that, like Christ, they have died to earthly things, those aspects of the world that are opposed to Christ. Now “raised,” believers actually live “above” with Christ, and must act accordingly. When Christ appears again, this new life, now “hidden” (accessible only by faith), will be revealed in all its glory. Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians has a simple point: you are now new people in Christ, so act like it. In preparation for Passover, all yeast and leavened bread is cleared out of the house; after the feast new leavened bread is prepared. The Corinthians have failed to do the necessary “house cleaning” both in their own hearts and within their community and are therefore not properly celebrating the Paschal feast, begun with the sacrifice of the Paschal Lamb.

When Mary Magdalene sees the empty tomb, she thinks at first that perhaps Jesus’ body has been stolen. The Evangelist spends some time, however, describing the empty linens, something thieves would not take the time to leave behind. We remember that when Lazarus (who would die again) was raised, he came forward in his linens. Jesus, who will not die again, has left the linens, like death itself, behind. When the Beloved Disciple sees the empty tomb and the linens, he believes that Jesus has been raised from the dead, not stolen, but he does not yet fully comprehend the meaning of the Resurrection. Understanding only comes when one encounters the resurrected Lord.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

Scripture makes it clear that serving God almost inevitably brings hardship, rejection, and pain. Moses experienced it, as did Jeremiah and other prophets. People are often resistant to seeing the world from God’s perspective and living accordingly because it involves conversion and sacrifice. In this respect, Israel was no different from anyone else. In this passage from Isaiah, God’s servant experiences that typical rejection, even though he is speaking a word to the weary. The fact that he is bring good news to the people does not protect him from their violence. Yet the servant remains faithful, firm in his trust in God and sure of the divine goodness of his mission.

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul addresses a tendency among this community to seek their own interests or form “parties,” forgetting that they are all of to be “of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart” (2:2). They can do no better than to look to Christ himself as a model of humility and selflessness. It was Christ who, rather than relying on his “equality with God,” humbled himself, undergoing a shameful and painful death for the good of others. It was Christ’s humble love and obedience to God’s will for all creation that led to his glorification by God, who established him as Lord of all in heaven and on earth. In the same way, the Philippians should “shine like lights in the world” (2:15) by imitating the humble Christ who served others rather than himself.

Two unique aspects of Luke’s Passion account, both at the Last Supper, are worth briefly mentioning. The first is the placement of the quarrel among the apostles about who is the greatest. In the context of the Last Supper, the argument takes on a particular poignancy as Jesus prepares to perform his greatest act by becoming the least. There remains among the apostles, even now, a failure to grasp what Jesus is about. Shortly after this, Jesus warns the disciples that going forward they will need to carry protection (swords) because they will be “counted among the wicked [Jesus].” In response, someone points out there are two swords in the room already, after which Jesus abruptly ends the dinner (suggesting that perhaps he was speaking truthfully about the danger but not literally about the swords?). The warning here is that, far from being regarded as among the greatest, the apostles will be condemned and threatened for even speaking Jesus’ name. There will be no glory for the followers of Christ, only danger and misunderstanding.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

This portion of Isaiah stems from the late exilic period and points toward God’s imminent deliverance of Israel from exile, returning them to the land promised to their ancestors. The return from exile thus represents a new Exodus. Isaiah makes this clear by drawing on images from the original Exodus. Note the present tense of the verbs: God “opens a way in the sea” and “leads out chariots and horsemen.” The past is not simply the past, but an expression of what God habitually does. Every new act of deliverance is simply an extension of the Exodus, such that that original act of deliverance is not “an event of the past,” but the beginning of God’s unending providential care.

This week’s reading from Philippians is the prelude to the reading from the second week of Lent. Paul is recounting his own move from seeking righteousness by conformity to the Law to receiving righteousness (justification as a prerequisite for salvation) from conformity to Christ, especially to his death. For following Christ requires one to give up many things, including the desire to ensure our own righteousness through observance of the Law. Paul knows that having faith that Christ accomplishes what we cannot feels risky. Accordingly, the life of faith is never finally finished in this life but must be continually renewed and strengthened as Paul (and his audience) continuously and strenuously strive toward conformity with Christ, which is perfect maturity and “God’s upward calling.”

As with last week’s story of the prodigal son, this week’s Gospel from John highlights the priority God places on mercy rather than condemnation, while nevertheless refusing to ignore or condone sin. As we find over and over in the Old Testament, God does not seek the death of sinners, but that they repent and live (Ezekiel 18:23). The scribes and Pharisees, trying to trap Jesus into denying the Law, want to know what Jesus thinks of the command to stone the woman caught in adultery. Rather than answer directly, Jesus reminds each of them that they are none of them without sin (and possibly deserving of the same punishment). Which of them is in a position to condemn her? Even though Jesus is in such a position, he refuses to do so, giving her another chance while exhorting her not to make the same mistake again.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

The story of the promises to the ancestors continues with the triumphant entry into the land promised to them and their descendants. Moses has died (Deuteronomy 34:5); his successor Joshua now leads Israel. His first act in the land (which they reached by crossing the Jordan “on dry ground,” reenacting the deliverance at the Red Sea [4:4–24]) is to celebrate the Passover, which commemorates God’s redemption of Israel. The Lord had been sustaining Israel in the wilderness with manna; God now sustains them with the produce of the land. God’s providential care for Israel takes different forms, but it remains nonetheless the hallmark of God’s relationship with the children of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Paul has been exhorting the Corinthians to remember that they have received an imperishable gift by dying with Christ (and being raised again in baptism). Those who now live in Christ live not for themselves but for Christ (5:14–15). This new life is a full transformation, not just a continuation of their previous life, a transformation that begins with reconciliation with God. This has many implications, including the obligation to share this gift with others. To live for Christ means, among other things, to be his ambassador, announcing on his behalf the gift of reconciliation and inviting others to be reconciled to God in Christ. Those who are now in Christ will want what he does, beginning with new life for all by being reconciled with God.

The Pharisees and scribes have assumed, observing Jesus “welcoming” sinners and eating with them, that he condones their sins. Rather than disabuse them of this notion directly, he challenges them to look at things from God’s perspective. Even a human father is capable of grieving over an ungrateful and dissolute son who runs off and comes crawling back in fear and shame. Rather than stand imperiously waiting for the son to reach him with his rehearsed apologies, the father runs to meet him, overjoyed that he has returned. The Pharisees and scribes seem to assume a God who waits for sinners to come crawling back to him, perfect and perfectly contrite, rather than running out to greet them “while they are still a long way off.” Jesus welcomes sinners, we are meant to understand, because this is how God is.

Dec 10 2024

Scripture Study for

As time has gone on, the promise made earlier to Abram that his descendants would inherit the land remains unfulfilled, with Israel now languishing, enslaved, in Egypt. Moses has fled to Midian to escape punishment for killing an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11–15). There he encounters the God of Israel, who affirms that he has not forgotten Israel or divine promises. God remains the “God of the fathers,” and faithful to them and their descendants. Now Moses has been charged with being God’s instrument for fulfilling those promises. Two names of God are given here: I AM, which comes to represent the infinite being of God, and “Lord,” a euphemistic rendering of the divine name that is forever to be remembered in connection with the ancestors: this God is a faithful God.

Paul is warning his Corinthian audience to be wary of falling into a spiritual complacency, in which they presume they have attained salvation simply because they have been baptized. Paul points to the example of Israel, all of whom were delivered from Egypt and thus “baptized.” They all received the same gifts from God in the wilderness, manna and water (here he refers to a rabbinic tradition that the rock from which water sprung “followed” them around so that they always had water). Just as many of that generation nevertheless despised God’s gifts or failed to trust in him, so Christians must be careful not to make the same mistake and reject or deny the gifts God has given to them and fall back into their former ways.

The Gospel reading for this week takes place in the context of Jesus warning his disciples to observe the signs of the times, beginning with his own advent. Now is the time to repent and turn back to God (Luke 12:54–59). In response, some mention certain Galileans who died a terrible death, which Jesus takes as a suggestion that the Galileans were a special kind of sinner more deserving of their death than his audience. Using the story of the tower of Siloam, he points out that no one is sinless and all theoretically deserve to die in the same way. There is no room for complacency. Yet God is patient, albeit not infinitely so. Each of us is like a fig tree that refuses to bear good fruit. Although we deserve to be cut down, God allows Christ (or his ministers) to help the tree to bear fruit. But if it still fails to do so, judgment does await.