Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The book of Jonah is an unusual story of conversion. Nineveh was Israel’s mortal enemy. It was also a symbol for wickedness in the ancient world. Yet when Jonah preached repentance to it, the people heeded the message of the prophet, believed in God, and proclaimed a fast. Jonah was not happy that his enemy repented, but this story demonstrates the universality of divine compassion. It shows that God is willing to forgive even a nation that had been brutal toward Israel, the chosen people. All the people of Nineveh, great and small, put on the garments of penance.

Paul teaches about the endtime. Unlike the regular measure or unfolding of time (chronos), this is a different notion of time, kairos, a time of greatest sig nificance for God’s divine plan. It refers to decisive moments, those that are ordained by God, those that mark the inbreaking of God’s action. It is considered the time of fulfillment, of divine revelation. It denotes critical moments in the life of Jesus, his inauguration of the reign of God, his passion and death, his return at the endtime. Paul insists that the kairos is fast approaching and so the Christians must live in the present age as though it had already come.

Jesus inaugurates his ministry with this bold declaration: The kingdom of God is at hand. This is an extraordinary time (kairos), the time of fulfillment of all expectations. After the initial announcement, Jesus calls for repentance. Just like the prophets of old, he calls for a change of heart, a return to God. This announcement is followed by an account of the call of the fishermen Simon, Andrew, James, and John. The abruptness with which these men leave their familiar lives and all of the relationships and obligations associated with them is a final indication of the radical nature of life in the kingdom of God. This is truly a new way of living in the world.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The vivid and dynamic account of the call of Samuel is both a call narrative and a theophany or manifestation of God. There is a clear difference between Samuel’s relationship with God before this experience and his relationship after it. Though pious, the young Samuel did not know God well; he had received no revelation. His encounter was transformative; a bond was forged between him and God. His responsiveness opened him further, enabling him to receive the word of God and, presumably, to speak it to others. Samuel’s influence is attributed to God’s direction in his life. It was God who made Samuel’s words effective. Paul furnishes the Corinthian community with instruction on the sanctity of the human body. Since it is through our bodies that union with Christ is possible, this same body is to be revered. God highly values the human body, as evident in the bodily resurrection first of Christ and then of others. Paul goes on to assert that our bodies are temples of the Spirit, the same Spirit with whom we are one through our union with Christ. Paul’s final admonition is brief but quite revealing. He calls upon the Corinthians to glorify God in their bodies, which are the means by which we touch the mysteries of God.

There are times when intermediaries play important roles in the lives of others. The Gospel reading describes two such instances of this. John directs two of his own disciples to Jesus. He identifies Jesus as the Lamb of God, a title that may be based on an interpretation of the description of the Suffering Servant found in the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 53:7). Later in the story, Andrew recognizes something in Jesus and becomes convinced that he is the long-awaited one. Andrew then brings his brother Peter to Jesus. In both instances, the faith of an associate begins another’s own journey to discipleship.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

Isaiah speaks of enlightenment. He cries out to Jerusalem, “Arise!” “Shine!” Jerusalem is not only delivered from its misfortune by God, but also it is reestablished as a thriving city. Its dispersed inhabitants return, its destroyed reputation is restored, and its despoiled prosperity is reconstituted. This is not a promise to be fulfilled in the future; Jerusalem’s salvation is an accomplished fact. It is happening before the city’s very eyes. Such good fortune is evidence of God’s favor. This good favor is another reason why the city is summoned, “Arise and shine forth!”

The Letter to the Ephesians declares that in Christ the Gentiles are coheirs, comembers and copartners with the Jews. According to the author, the status of the Gentiles had to be revealed because it had been secret until now. The apostles and prophets constituted the foundation of the church. Now, it is through this appointed messenger that the Spirit reveals a new revelation to that established church. This new revelation contains a startling message. It claims that in Christ the Gentiles are coheirs, comembers, and copartners with the Jews. This is a radical insight for a church with Jewish roots and traditions.

The story of the Three Kings or Three Wise Men was probably a kind of haggadah or popular Jewish story fashioned from diverse biblical material intended to make a spiritual rather than historical point. This does not mean that the story is not true. It means that the truth of it is more in the total story and its meaning than in any or all of its details. The point of the story is that these men were not Israelite, but they were nonetheless open to and in search of God’s plan. The story illustrates that people of good will, regardless of their ethnic or religious background, can be responsive to the revelation of God. These men searched for and found the child, and they did not go away disappointed.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

Often referred to as the Aaronic priestly blessing, the reading from Numbers illustrates various roles, one played by Moses and another played by Aaron and the priests. YHWH, the personal name of God, is repeated three times, demonstrating the power of that name. God is called on to bless with good fortune and to keep from harm; to look favorably toward and to be gracious toward; to look upon and to grant peace. These petitions all ask for the same thing, namely, the blessings that make life worth living. However, they are really all asking for peace, the condition of absolute well-being.

Christ’s mission in the world is the major focus of Paul’s teaching. “The designated time” refers to that time in history when God brought the messianic expectations to fulfillment by sending the Son into the world. Referring to Christ as God’s Son establishes his divine nature; acknowledging that he was born of a woman establishes his human nature. The Christology in this passage is rich and complex. Paul contrasts servitude under the law with freedom in Christ. Still, his attitude toward the law is really not negative. He sees it as a necessary guardian that carefully watches over minors until they are mature enough to take care of themselves.

The Gospel narrative is set within the context of the family. However, the focus is really on the observance of religious practices. Circumcision was the ritual that initiated the males into the community of Israel. As observant Jews, Mary and Joseph fulfilled all of the prescriptions of the law, seeing that the child was circumcised as custom dictated. This was also the time of naming. The child is given the name told to Mary by the angel at the time of his conception. Most of what the angel had announced has now come to pass. But we all will have to wait to see how her son will acquire the throne of his father David and rule the house of Jacob forever.

Jan 29 2025

Scripture Study for

The proclamation of good news is dramatically portrayed in the scene of the messenger running swiftly over the mountains with the message of peace and salvation. There is excitement here, for the message holds a promise of peace, good news, and salvation. In a second scene, the arm of God is bared, revealing the source of the divine power that brought about the deliverance that the city now enjoys. Just as the messenger heralds peace and salvation to Zion, so the deliverance of the city heralds the mighty power of God to the ends of the earth.

The confessional hymn in the reading from Hebrews celebrates Christ as the agent of revelation, creation, and salvation. As the reflection of God’s glory and an exact representation of God’s being, Christ is the perfect revelation of God. The author reinterprets the wisdom tradition, where we find that it was through Wisdom that God created. Since Christ is indeed the Wisdom of God, it stands to reason that all things were created through him. The author of this letter has used ancient Israelite religious understanding to illustrate and develop his Christological faith. Jesus is indeed the Son of God, the Wisdom through whom all things came to be and remain in being.

John’s lofty presentation of Christ is comparable to that found in the reading from Hebrews. Both characterize Christ as pre-existent; both depict Christ as an agent in the creation of the world. In a free-flowing manner, the author ascribes life-giving power to the Word, the kind of life that gives light. While the Word is the true light that comes into the world, John is merely the witness who testifies to the authenticity and superiority of this light. The Word has entered human history and now dwells in the midst of humankind. Women and men have been greatly enriched by this divine presence, transformed by the love that first prompted God’s revelation and Christ’s incarnation.