Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

The prophecy of salvation that is read today includes a call to worship and a call to conversion. The prophet describes the sinfulness of the people. There is a pattern of sin here, not merely isolated offenses. Still, the prophet assures them that God will be compassionate toward them. On the one hand are wicked thoughts and the way of the scoundrel; on the other hand are compassion and forgiveness. This oracle both exhorts sinners to turn away from their evil lives and assures them that having turned away they will enjoy the salvation of God.

Paul shares his own inner struggle regarding life and death. Although the decision to live or die was probably not in his hands, it is his attitude toward these options that is of importance here. Paul does not consider death a way of escaping the misfortune that he may be suffering. Rather, he weighs the religious and ministerial advantages of both living and dying. At issue is the extent to which Christ will be glorified through Paul’s continued life or his death. Though he prefers dying and being with Christ, he can see advantages for himself either way. Still he is willing to postpone the joyful union with Christ for the sake of his ministry.

The parable read today is particularly startling. It does not seem fair to pay all of the laborers the same wage regardless of the amount of time they put into the work. Still, all received exactly the amount for which they had contracted. The paradox of the narrative is seen in the payment policy of the owner of the vineyard. The justice with which he pays the laborers is superseded by his generosity. What is almost scandalous here is the fact that he is most generous toward the workers who were unwanted by others. The parable shows that the reign of God is based on generosity, not merely on human standards of fairness.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

The tone of the passage from Sirach is set in the first verse. Wrath and anger may be instinctive responses to situations in life, but they are abhorrent if they are permanent dispositions of mind and heart. The certainty of death should prompt us to set aside anger or wrath. Life is too short to bear attitudes that can undermine our spirits. Sirach insists on the need to forgive others, for we too need to be forgiven. The basis of this teaching is not forgiveness by others, but forgiveness by God. We must be willing to extend to others the same gracious compassion that God has extended to us.

Paul maintains that Christ, by virtue of his death and resurrection, exercises power over life and death. In like manner, those who are joined to Christ are joined permanently. Nothing, neither life nor death, can separate them from the love of Christ (see Romans 8:38). He further insists that in every aspect of life and even in death, Christians are under the lordship of Christ. Having conquered death by means of his resurrection, Christ has gained lordship over all. Whether they live or they die, they belong to Christ and are accountable to Christ. This understanding is the bedrock of Christian ethics.

The rabbis taught that the duty to forgive was fulfilled if one forgave an offender three times. Peter must have thought that he was being extraordinarily generous if he forgave seven times. However, Jesus indicates that not even this is enough. He insists that we must be willing to forgive seventy-seven times. In other words, there must be no limit to our forgiveness. The radical nature of Jesus’ parable illustrates this. With one simple statement Jesus draws a connection between the generosity of the king and that of God. If God is willing to forgive the exorbitant debt we owe God, surely we can forgive the paltry debts owed us.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

Today’s first reading is an oracle of appointment, a personal message to the prophet himself. Ezekiel is called to be a watchman. He is entrusted with keeping watch over the entire house of Israel. He fulfills this role when he proclaims God’s words of warning, and God will hold him responsible if he does not protect the people by means of his proclamation. The wording of the oracle implies that there is still time for the people. The sinner can still be called back from sin. However, in a very real sense this all depends upon the prophet’s fidelity to his call to be watchman.

Paul tells the Christians of Rome that on the one hand they should owe nothing, while on the other hand they should owe everything, for love requires total self-giving. The debt of love is not an obligation that can be paid once for all. It is more like interest for which we are always liable. Love will take different forms, depending upon circumstances. When we truly love others, we desire only what is good for those we love. Following the teaching of Jesus, the love that Paul exhorts is to be extended to all people without exception. According to Paul, love is the fulfillment of the law.

Reconciliation within the community is such a pressing concern that its maintenance is a matter of church discipline. The Gospel reading describes the procedure to be followed in achieving it. The importance of the community in this process is apparent. First, it is the entire group of disciples, not merely its leader, that exercises disciplinary power. Second, Jesus declares that any agreement arrived at by two members of this group will be heard. He is not here talking about prayer in general, but prayer for guidance in coming to a decision that will affect the community’s well-being. Jesus promises to be present in his church if the members turn to him for guidance.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

Jeremiah is caught between fidelity to the vocation that is his as God’s prophet and his own natural inclinations. He was called to deliver a message of violence and destruction to his own people. It is his nation that will be racked with violence and that will face destruction, and he recoils from this responsibility. He can no longer endure the burden so he decides never again to speak in God’s name. However, like a roaring fire, the words seem to burn within him. He cannot restrain their fury. He must speak. Jeremiah is indeed a man of sorrows.

Paul appeals to the mercies of God as the basis of his admonition when he asks the Christians of Rome to offer themselves as a living sacrifice. He is calling them to a disciplined life, not a sacrificial death. He insists that they have entered into the final age of fulfillment. Saved through the blood of Christ and filled with the Spirit of God, they are being transformed into Christ. They have put aside the standards of this world in order to take on the standards of Christ and of the reign of God. This is the transformation and renewal of which Paul speaks.

Jesus predicts his own suffering, death, and resurrection and then discusses the need for the disciples to bear their own suffering. The idea of a suffering mes siah did not conform to the expectations of the people, at least not to Peter’s. He rebukes Jesus. Jesus then addresses Peter as Satan, the one who acts as an obstacle to the unfolding of God’s will. Then, turning to the other disciples, Jesus says that those who follow him must, like him, deny themselves any self-interest and self-fulfillment. Those who selfishly save themselves from sufferings lose in the arena of eschatological judgment, while those who unselfishly offer themselves are saved from this judgment. This is what following Jesus means.

Jan 15 2025

Scripture Study for

The role of leadership among the people of God is very important. In ancient Israel, those in office had religious as well as political responsibilities. Today’s first reading narrates the transfer of authority from one man to another. This investiture symbolizes the man’s being clothed with authority. Even if this passage does not reflect an actual historical occasion, the picture it sketches is significant. The oracle promises a person who will provide the order and stabil ity that the kingdom of Judah must have needed. If the man being clothed with authority is not himself a messianic figure, he ensures that the kingdom—one that will produce such a figure—will survive.

Paul speaks of the mysterious ways of God in the plan of salvation. Even though human beings cannot grasp God’s plan, it has meaning and purpose, and God’s plan for all creation will unfold in God’s way. Paul extols God the creator, the source of all that is; he acclaims God the sustainer, through whom all creation continues to be; he celebrates God the goal for whom all things were made and to whom all things proceed. Paul is certainly grounded in a very Jewish understanding of God. What is unique, however, is the way he has interpreted this theology. It is here that Christ holds a constitutive place.

Jesus asks the disciples what people are saying about him. Some believe that he is John the Baptist; others, that he is Elijah; still others, that he is one of the other prophets. Simon Peter speaks in the name of the others when he proclaims that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one of God, the Son of the living God. With a play on Greek words, Jesus declares that Peter (Petros) is the rock (petra) upon which Jesus will establish his church. Although the image of a rock suggests stability and endurance, we will soon see that these characteristics are not natural to Peter.