Br. John R. Barker, OFM

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

Just before today’s reading, Ezekiel speaks a prophecy about the divinely ordained exile of the Davidic king to Babylon, in which a great eagle plucks the crest of a cedar and transplants it (17:1– 4). But now the new Davidic king has appealed to Egypt for help against Babylon, attempting in effect to circumvent the divine plan of judgment against Judah. Now God affirms that divine power alone “will take from the crest of the cedar” and plant it. In other words, not the Davidic kings but God will rebuild the dynasty, and only after the time of judgment ends. It is God, not the kings, who raises up and brings down, who withers and who restores life. The oracle both affirms God’s plans for restoration and warns that only God will carry it out.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is pondering the fact that discipleship brings with it many trials, yet these same hardships “produce for us an eternal weight of glory” (4:17). While we are in our earthly bodies, we can only groan in anticipation of this glory (5:1–5). This is why we must be courageous; although we are now “away from the Lord,” this is only temporary, a truth that can only be discerned in faith. This distance from the Lord must not lead us to falter in our discipleship, because in time we will appear before Christ, who will judge us precisely on what we have done during our time “in the body.”

Jesus gives two parables to explain the mysterious nature of the kingdom of God, both drawn from the natural world and focusing on the hidden process by which plants grow, which human beings cannot control. There is something inherent within the grain and the mustard plant that allows them to grow, in their own time and manner, independent of human will or power. At the same time, humans are involved in the process by sowing the seeds in the first place. The parables suggest that while the kingdom is indeed God’s, and cannot be manipulated by humans, human action is nevertheless part of the dynamic of the growth of the Kingdom.

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

As Israel enters into a covenant relationship with the God who has delivered them from bondage in Egypt, Moses calls upon the people to affirm that they will be faithful to their God, which means— among other things—to be loyal and obedient, observing all of the covenant expectations (especially the Ten Commandments). In the ancient Near East, and so also in ancient Israel, solemn covenants were sealed by sacrifice and blood from the sacrificed animal was sprinkled on both parties. Here, the people are sprinkled with blood along with the altar itself, which represents God. This blood, which binds the two parties into a relationship of mutual loyalty, is thus the “blood of the covenant.”

The central theme of the Letter to the Hebrews is the priesthood of Christ. Formerly, the high priest, as representative of the people, would enter the tabernacle to offer sacrifice to God. This earthly tabernacle was considered an analog to the divine, heavenly dwelling. Some of the sacrifices were instituted to cleanse Israel of the effects of sin through the sprinkling of the blood of the sacrificed animals, an act that had to be repeated regularly. Christ, the eternal High Priest, has rendered all of this obsolete by entering into the actual heavenly sanctuary, offering himself in sacrifice, and cleansing away sin with his own blood. Because he is the Son of God, this action surpasses all others in quality and effect.

In Mark, the Last Supper is held on the evening ushering in the feast of Passover, when the lambs were slaughtered. The blood of the Passover lamb in Exodus protected the Israelites from death, and the lamb itself was eaten. Here, Jesus offers his own body to be shared by the disciples and his own blood as “my blood of the covenant,” a reference to the blood of the sacrificial animal of the covenant at Sinai. Thus he draws on two traditions of sacrifice, both closely related to the Exodus, to articulate the meaning of his own imminent death, which both saves from death and seals a new covenant between God and humanity.

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

Deuteronomy is one long speech by Moses to Israel as they prepare to enter the Promised Land, the point of which is: Be faithful to God, who has been faithful to you. The great temptation Israel will face is to worship other gods, which Moses addresses by reminding Israel that the God whom they encountered in “the midst of the fire” at Sinai has treated them exceptionally well in rescuing them from Egypt. Two things flow from this. First, God’s mighty acts have demonstrated that there is no other god than the all-powerful God of Israel. Second, that God is consistently faithful and can be counted on. Israel must reciprocate by being faithful to the God who has done so much for them.

In his letter to the Roman Christians, Paul has been outlining the fundamental difference between their lives before and after baptism. Before, they were subject to the law of sin and death, and they lived entirely “in the flesh,” that is, in mindset and behavior at odds with God. But in baptism they received the Holy Spirit, who delivered them from the realm of sin, death, and the flesh, and made them children of God through “adoption.” Thus it is the Spirit that allows them to address God as “Father,” and this same Spirit unites them to Christ as “co-heirs.” This means, however, that they must be willing to share the sufferings of Christ so that they may also enjoy his glory.

When Jesus appears to the Eleven in Galilee, they immediately worship him, but the text notes that they “doubted,” which suggests an incomplete comprehension of the reality and meaning of the Resurrection. Having been given “all power,” or authority, Christ is now the ruler in the reign of God, the scope of which he begins to extend by sending his apostles to make more “disciples of all the nations.” Although there is no developed trinitarian theology in Matthew, the “formula” for baptism reflects an identity among the Father, Son, and Spirit—as seen in the fact that Jesus tells the disciples to baptize in “the name” of all three, rather than in three names.

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

Before the church can begin its work after the Ascension, it must replace Judas. Since Jesus had declared that the apostles would rule over the tribes of Israel (Luke 22:28–30), there must be twelve of them. Peter begins by noting that Judas’ betrayal was already anticipated in scripture, perhaps referring to Psalm 41:10 (see John 13:18), meaning that his act had been folded into the divine plan. Scripture also points out the next step, which is found in Peter’s citation of Psalm 109:8. The choice of Matthias is likewise guided by God. The throwing of lots was a divinely sanctioned way of discerning God’s will in ancient Israel (Leviticus 16:8; Joshua 18:6–8).

The second reading picks up the idea being developed in the reading from the Sixth Sunday. There John emphasized the divine love made manifest in the sending of the Son (4:7–10). As adopted children of God, Christians must take on the image of their heavenly Father, showing the same love for one another that God has shown for all humanity. Just as those who saw Jesus saw the Father (John 14:9), now those who see Christians should be able to see the Father, who “remains” in them. In effect, through the power of the Spirit, Christians come to enjoy much the same relationship with God the Father as Jesus does. This incredible status is the work and sign of God’s love.

The Gospel reading comes from Jesus’ extended farewell prayer for his disciples. A key feature of this prayer is the distinction between those who are “consecrated in truth” and those who “belong to the world,” or that sphere of human society that is hostile to God. The prayer acknowledges that Jesus’ disciples must continue to live among those whose values and actions are opposed to the divine will, and even overtly antagonistic to it. They cannot be taken away from the world; in fact, they are sent to it to continue Jesus’ mission. Jesus’ prayer is that they will remain safely “in the truth,” which means in effect to “remain” in Jesus. This, and only this, will protect them from the evil one, whose realm “the world” is.

Jan 27 2025

Scripture Study for

Luke’s account of the period between the Resurrection and the Ascension is marked by a strong sense of continuity with Jesus’ work and words while on earth. Even during this interim period, Jesus continues to proclaim the kingdom as he reminds his disciples of the promise of the Spirit. The disciples’ question about the kingdom is quickly set aside by Jesus as the business of the Father, not the disciples. Their mission is instead to be his witnesses, empowered by the Spirit. As Jesus’ witnesses, they have a twofold mission: to proclaim that Jesus is the Christ and to continue his work of teaching and healing, the twin focuses of the rest of the book of Acts.

The beginning and end of the reading from Ephesians emphasize the unity of the church, which is grounded in the “unity of the spirit” and the “unity of faith,” which is to say that the every member of the church, no matter how they differ in gifts or ministry or temperament, has been brought together by the one God and they all share the same faith (belief and trust) in Christ. The central section is related to the topic of Christ’s formation of the church. Very likely, “the lower regions of the earth” refers here simply to the earth (ancient cosmology considered the “atmosphere” part of the earth). Christ could only ascend far above the heavens if he had descended to earth. The dynamic of descent and ascent establishes Christ’s identity as universal savior.

Mark’s account of the Ascension contains uniquely the reference to the ability of those who believe in Jesus to speak new languages and even to be immune from deadly snake bites and poisons. It is impossible to know if those who first articulated this tradition understood this claim literally, but the powers given to the disciples point toward the apostolic mission, which continues the work of Jesus even beyond Israel. Just as Jesus encountered opposition to his healing work and the proclamation of the kingdom, the disciples can expect the same when doing anything “in my name.” The protection from snakes and poisons is perhaps a hyperbolic expression of the protective power of Christ that will accompany them as they continue his work.