Br. John R. Barker, OFM

Dec 09 2024

Scripture Study for

The priestly prayer in Numbers is a threefold blessing, invoking God’s protection, peace, and kindly attention. These three elements capture well the main contours of the story of God and Israel, even all of humanity, beginning already at the beginning of the divine-human story. In the early chapters of Genesis we see God protecting Adam and Eve and their son Cain, a sign that God’s protection extends even to those who fall on the wrong side of God’s will. God’s graciousness is manifest in the multiple promises God makes to Israel, beginning with Abram and Sarai. And the ultimate desire is for all of God’s creation to exist in harmony, shalom, peace.

In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul emphasizes that through Jesus Christ, humanity has been released from its slavery to sin. Whereas once all humans were slaves, now they who choose to accept the divine gift are heirs along with Christ. It is important to Paul that Jesus is known to be a fully human Jew, who was born subject (like all Jews) to the Law, because it was only from “within the Law,” so to speak, that Jesus was able to “ransom” all under the Law by removing them from their dependence on the Law to be justified. The important point, of course, is not how Jesus accomplished this, but that he did—and because he did, all who believe in him are children and heirs of God.

The Gospel of Luke places considerable emphasis on the fact that in Jesus, God has visited in a special way the materially poor of the earth. Many poor, powerless, and socially despised people (whom today we might call “marginalized”) feature prominently in his account. It is not surprising, therefore, to find poverty marking the birth scene of Christ. He is born in a shed or something like it and placed in an animals’ feeding trough, and he is first visited by shepherds. Although their low social status is sometimes exaggerated by commentators, shepherds were not especially well-off or powerful, and so it is fitting that it is to them first that the Good News of the Savior is announced.

Dec 09 2024

Scripture Study for

The story of Hannah is one of many in the Bible in which a child who will be significant in Israel’s history is born to a previously “barren” woman. Hannah eventually became pregnant after praying fervently to God for a male child, promising to “give him to the Lord” as a consecrated person, a Nazirite (1 Samuel 1:9–11). God heard her prayer and she bore a son, who would become the prophet Samuel. Now she is fulfilling her promise to God and is bringing the child to the sanctuary at Shiloh. The story of Hannah illustrates both God’s providential care and the devotion of a mother to the God who answered her prayer.

A central theme in the First Letter of John is the love of God, which “begets” God’s children. Those whom God has loved and who respond in love “may be called children of God.” This is all effected through and in Christ. To be a child of God is not merely to be loved by God but to be assured of an inheritance, which is to abide or remain in Christ—and therefore in the Father—and thus to obtain eternal life. The way to show that one is a child of God is to reflect the nature of the parent, which means in effect to imitate and obey God’s Son. Jesus manifested above all God’s love, which is why all children of God must “love one another.

As the Son of the Most High (1:32), Jesus is eager to claim his identity and the work associated with it. Thus we have the story of the child who is drawn to the temple, the house of God, and who already is able to speak and teach there. While one might consider any other child disobedient or at least thoughtless in remaining behind without telling his family, in the case of Jesus this is perfectly justified—he is exactly where he needs to be, which is with his heavenly Father. At the same time, he honors his human parents and respects their authority. The person and role of Jesus is thus shown in this short vignette to be unique and, well, rather complicated.

Dec 09 2024

Scripture Study for

The oracle of salvation in Isaiah stems from the late exilic period, which the prophet announces is coming to an end. This part of Isaiah makes clear that many in Babylon were doubtful either of God’s intentions toward Israel or God’s ability to achieve those intentions. Thus the prophet assures the people that God is indeed announcing the “glad tidings” (in Greek euangelion) that God is the sovereign King, and thus able to carry out the divine will. In fact, “sentinels” can already see that God is doing this by restoring Jerusalem and bringing the people back. As God’s holy city, and something of a representative of God’s people, the restoration of Jerusalem is in fact the restoration of God’s people.

The Letter to the Hebrews opens with a majestic announcement that, after centuries of partial and imperfect revelation, God has at last been perfectly revealed in the Son. Drawing on later, Greek-inflected theology of the book of Wisdom (7:23–27), the author describes Jesus Christ as the perfect reflection of the divine glory and power through whom all things were created, and which sustains them in being. This Son, although far above all natural and supernatural creatures, nevertheless took on human flesh and offered himself once and for all for the sins of humanity. Thus in the perfection of God’s revelation we see the extent of God’s gracious will for the salvation of all.

The Prologue to John’s Gospel focuses not just on the person of Jesus Christ, but also on the significance of his coming into the world. Jesus himself, as God, is the source of everything in creation; nothing exists apart from him and thus everything is “his own.” Yet not everyone will welcome the one who brings light and life. Already at the beginning of this Gospel we encounter the gracious will of God for the world (3:16), but also the darkness that the Light will encounter when he comes. John challenges the readers of his Gospel to decide whether or not they will accept the “grace and truth” offered or remain in the dark.

Dec 05 2024

Scripture Study for

The prophet Micah, along with Isaiah and other prophets, expected that one day God would raise up a righteous ruler in the line of David. (Before the end of the monarchy, a long line of “bad kings” gave rise to this hope. Later, this hope remained alive after the destruction of the monarchy.) David’s ancestral home was the insignificant and tiny Bethlehem, which was part of the clan of Ephrathah (Ruth 1:2; 1 Samuel 17:12). Davidic rulers were representatives of God and thus the ideal ruler would be a righteous and caring shepherd of God’s people, protecting them against foreign and domestic enemies that threatened their well-being and peace. As such, the Davidic ruler is the agent of God’s own care for the people in times of weal or woe.

In his exploration of what God has accomplished in Christ, the author of the Letter to the Hebrews draws extensively on the Jewish scriptures to make the case that Jesus has been sent to fulfill God’s will completely and perfectly. Here the author draws on the Greek version of Psalm 40 to argue that Jesus came into the world (with a body) to do away with inadequate sacrifices and replace them with the sacrifice of his own body, thus accomplishing perfectly God’s will: behold, I come to do your will. This will is not specifically that Jesus should sacrifice himself, but that through his sacrifice all people would be “consecrated” to God in him.

An overarching theme throughout all of scripture is the divine desire that human beings learn to be able to trust in God, specifically that God has their welfare in mind and desires what is good for them, all of them as individuals and as a single people. This trust also entails believing God’s promises of future blessedness for all of creation. Such trust, or faith, is difficult for humans to “achieve,” which is why God and then Jesus emphasize it so much. It is not surprising, then, that Elizabeth rejoices that Mary believed—trusted—that what God had announced to her would come to pass. It is Mary’s trusting faith that prepares her to give birth to God’s Messiah.

Dec 05 2024

Scripture Study for

The book of Zephaniah is marked by a strong and graphic emphasis on the destructive consequences of Israel’s infidelity to their relationship with God. One gets the clear impression from the rhetoric of the first part of the book that this relationship has come to a definitive end. This dire scenario nevertheless gives way to an ebullient oracle of hope, in which the divine protector of Jerusalem assures the holy city that God remains committed to the relationship. Indeed, God will rejoice over this people with gladness and joyfully renew them in love. The divinely ordained response: “shout for joy,” “be glad and exult,” “be not discouraged.” Judgment, as merited as it may be, is never final in God’s intentions.

Despite the troubles Paul has found in Philippi, which largely stem from the inability of some in the community to overcome their differences and to be united in Christ, the Apostle urges all of them to “rejoice,” and again, “rejoice.” Human troubles and infidelities must be attended to, but in the end, they must not be allowed to bring anxiety, because “the Lord is near.” While the Philippians, along with all Christians, await the consummation of God’s promises, they should ground themselves in trust in the Lord, turning to God for all their needs. If they can do this, then instead of anxiety they will experience God’s peace, which will keep them safe in Christ Jesus.

Although all four Gospels feature John offering a baptism of repentance, only Luke gives us a sense of what such repentance looks like, and it is unsurprising to anyone familiar with Israel’s scriptures. When the crowd asks what they should do to prepare for the coming of the Messiah, John reminds them of God’s expectation that those who have should take care of those who have not (Deuteronomy 15:10–11; Tobit 4:7). Tax collectors, who made their fortunes by collecting more than the Romans required, should stop, and soldiers (and everyone else) should likewise obey the Law and avoid greed. When the Messiah comes, John insists, he will bring salvation to those who have reformed their lives, but judgment to those who have not.