Dianne Bergant, C.S.A.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

The procession of returnees seems to be retracing the very path taken when the people were exiled to the land in the north. They had left their cherished homeland in tears, but they would return amid shouts of joy. Jeremiah states that only a remnant will return, and this remnant will consist of the most vulnerable of the people. It will include those who are blind or lame, who are mothers or who are pregnant, all people who are utterly dependent upon God. It will be through them that the nation will be restored. Restoration is a work of God, not of human endeavor.

Patterned after the model of Aaron, the prospective high priest must be able to empathize with the frailty of the people, and he must have been called by God. Jesus did not trace his ancestry to a priestly family, and there was no need for him to make sin offerings for himself. Therefore, his right to function as high priest had to be explained. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews does this by referring to him as Christ, and then reinterpreting two very familiar biblical passages that have messianic significance. Since both kings and priests were anoint ed, the title Christ, or “anointed one,” carries both royal and priestly connotations. To call Jesus by this title is to make a claim about his messianic identity.

The faith of the blind man in the Gospel is both demonstrated by his actions and explicitly recognized by Jesus. When he hears that it is Jesus of Nazareth who is passing by him, he cries out to him using a title that has strong messianic connotations. Son of David identifies Jesus not only as a descendant of this royal figure, but also as the long-awaited one who was to fulfill both the religious and the political expectations of the people. The man who was blind already had eyes of faith and he acted on this faith, publicly proclaiming it.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

The role that God plays in suffering has long plagued religious people. The misfortune of sinners may be just punishment for their offenses, but the suffering of the righteous is always disturbing. In the reading from Isaiah, the servant gives himself as a sin offering; he endures his agony so that others can be justi fied. His death will win life for others, and in this way he will accomplish God’s will. The violence inflicted upon him is accepted, embraced, and put to rest. With the offering of this innocent scapegoat, reconciliation with God is accomplished.

In order to demonstrate Jesus’ preeminence, the author of the second reading compares him to the high priest. Just as the high priest passed through the curtain into the presence of God in the Holy of Holies, there to sprinkle sacrificial blood on the mercy seat, so Christ, exalted after shedding his own blood, passed through the heavens into the presence of God. His sacrifice far exceeds anything that the ritual performed by the high priest might have actually accomplished or hoped to accomplish. Unlike previous high priests who approached the mercy seat alone and only on the Day of Atonement, Christ enables each one of us to approach God, and to do so continually.

James and John seek places of prominence in Jesus’ kingdom and Jesus informs them that real prominence is found in service, not in wielding authority over others. The proclaimed willingness of the sons of Zebedee to accept the cup that Jesus will eventually drink and be baptized in his baptism is another example of their misunderstanding. Even if they had grasped the meaning of his words, they could hardly have imagined their implications. Since they believed that Jesus would reign in glory, they could certainly not conceive of his ignominious suffering and death. Jesus assures them that they will indeed face what he must face, but they will not do so willingly as they now presume they will.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

Wisdom is personified as a woman and she is praised as a priceless treasure beyond compare. The speaker is depicted as a king who prayed for wisdom that would enable him to rule judiciously. He proclaims that he prefers her to riches, to health, to beauty, to everything that women and men normally cherish. Of all the wonders that life has to offer, in his eyes Wisdom is the most precious treasure. In fact, in comparison with her, other riches are of little value. Though he has spurned riches, in the end he received them along with the wisdom he sought. The word of God is extolled in the Letter to the Hebrews for both its creative and its juridical force. It is living and effective, because it is the expression of the God who is living and effective. As performative speech, it accomplishes what it describes; as juridical speech, it passes judgment on what it discovers. God’s word is incisive and probing, sharper than a sword that cuts both ways. It can pierce the inner recesses of a person, cutting cleanly amid soul and spirit and body, and penetrating the most secret thoughts of the heart. God’s word has both a comprehensive and a profound effect; nothing can escape it. The initial exchange between Jesus and the rich man raises an important theological question: Can one gain eternal life, or is it a gift from God? The man’s question implies that he believes that he can do something to deserve eternal life. Jesus argues that it is a gift. However, a particular way of living is indeed called forth for those who desire eternal life. The man is not putting Jesus to the test; he has approached him with great respect. This is an honest and upright man, one who has been observant from his youth, but who realizes that there is still something missing in his life. Jesus recognizes his goodness, and he loves him.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

In the second creation account no animal was found fit to serve as a suitable partner for the human being. The word for partner (’ezer) denotes a source of blessing after some kind of deliverance. It is not good that the human creature be alone, but the other animals are not suitable partners, so God creates the woman. The detail that she was built from one of the man’s ribs stems from an ancient source in which the word for “woman of life,” comes from the same root word as “woman of the rib.” Since she is united to him in “bone and flesh,” a typical way of expressing comprehensiveness, the man now has a suitable partner. Jesus’ solidarity with the rest of the human family is outlined in the second reading. While in his human nature, Jesus shared the status that human beings enjoyed. However, assuming human nature was for him a humbling experience. In accepting the human condition, he emptied himself of his divine privileges, and if this were not humbling enough, he did so in order to empty himself radically in death for the sake of us all, thus reconciling the human race with God. Jesus’ self-emptying death shows that he is not ashamed of the human nature that he shares with all humanity.

The Pharisees test Jesus with a question about divorce. They were probably probing to see if Jesus would disagree with Moses, who allowed it. They challenge Jesus: Is divorce ever acceptable? If so, on what grounds? Jesus does not undermine the authority of Moses, but he points out its concession to human weakness. He insists that in God’s original design the couple become one flesh and should not be separated. Jesus’ teaching does not make the demands of marriage easier, but it does place the marriage partners on an equal footing. Speaking of the reign of God, he states that one can only enter it with the unpretentiousness of children.

Jan 30 2025

Scripture Study for

Moses is portrayed as a prophet, a spokesperson of God. The spirit of prophecy that was upon him was bestowed as well on some elders so that the burden of prophecy would not be so heavy on his own shoulders. Despite the fact that Eldad and Medad had been preordained to receive the spirit, Joshua felt that their absence from the group disqualified them. Moses questioned the sharpness of Joshua’s opposition. Was he concerned with probity or was he protecting the privilege that official prophesying often brought with it? Moses believed that the work of God took precedence over the institutional ordering of the community.

According to James, the wealthy have foolishly and ravenously hoarded the treasures of the earth. They have been busy accruing money rather than sharing it with the poor, and this selfish attitude will be a testimony against them. Some of the rich have even gained their wealth at the expense of those in their employ. Such victimization is particularly loathsome in Israel, since the very event that shaped them into a people was their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. The author depicts the unscrupulous people foolishly enjoying their wealth and comfort, oblivious of the fact that they are really being fattened for the day of slaughter, the impending day of judgment.

The Gospel reading is a collection of pronouncements of Jesus on the topics of acceptance, hospitality, and scandal. Jesus authenticates the right of a man to cast out demons. It is important that the work of the reign of God be done; it is not important who does it. Jesus justifies all works of mercy that are performed in his name. He then warns against giving scandal. Those who cause others to sin will be severely punished. Jesus instructs his disciples to take even drastic means if necessary as a precaution against falling into sin. Nothing should jeopardize the possibility of enjoying life in the reign of God.