As near as historians can tell the first generation of the followers of Jesus called themselves “the Way.” Outsiders looking at them called them “Nazarenes,” after Jesus’ home town of Nazareth. When they were no longer limited to the territory of Palestine they were given a new name. It was in Antioch that the disciples… Read More »
MAY92022
The people of the Bible, like people nowadays, tended to divide the world into us versus them. For the Jewish people “them” was anyone who wasn’t Jewish. The gospel broke down the barriers that separated so that everyone was recognized as a child of God and part of the family. This caused no little tension… Read More »
MAY82022
Have you ever met a shepherd? My guess is that most of us don’t know any shepherds personally. Somehow the Biblical image of shepherd is one that we relate to instinctively. Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want” is the favorite of many, used frequently at funerals, sung often at Mass… Read More »
MAY72022
You can almost hear the heartbreak in Jesus’ voice when he asked his chosen twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Some who had been following him found his teaching too much for them so they went away. What would happen if Jesus asked that question to a confirmation class today? According to statistics 85%… Read More »
MAY62022
The conversion of St. Paul was a big deal for the early church — such a big deal that St. Luke tells the story three times in the Acts of the Apostles. I wonder, though, if that story has given us a distorted idea of how conversion works. For most of us conversion is not… Read More »
MAY52022
The gospel readings for the days immediately after Easter tell of the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples. This week the readings were taken from John 6, usually called the Bread of Life Discourse. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven … and the bread that I will give is my… Read More »
MAY42022
After the martyrdom of St. Stephen, there broke out a severe persecution of the Church in Jerusalem and all were scattered. The persecution produced “loud lament” among those first believers. But God uses everything, even seemingly negative things. The scattering of the early Jesus movement was the occasion for missionary activity, spreading the Word out of… Read More »
MAY32022
I find Jesus’ exasperation with Philip not “getting it” consoling. “Have I been with you for so long a time and you still do not know me?” Even three years with the greatest catechist ever and Philip still needed to grow in faith. Not surprising that I also need to keep working at “getting it.”… Read More »
MAY22022
They presented false witnesses who testified, “This man never stops saying … that this Jesus the Nazorean will … change the customs that Moses handed down to us.” The preaching of Stephen caused a violent reaction among the population of Jerusalem. While St. Luke claimed that “false witnesses” slandered Stephen, they actually named accurately the… Read More »
MAY12022
St. John adds an appendix to his gospel where he places the dramatic scene of Jesus reconciling with Simon Peter after he had denied him three times. I had envisioned that Jesus would have pulled Peter aside to do this but the way St. John tells the story the other disciples were standing around when… Read More »
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