OPENING PRAYER: Isaiah 24

Isaiah 45:1, 4 – 6

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 45, we know that it is from Deutero-Isaiah. We recall that Deutero-Isaiah prophesied 587 – 539BC, during the Babylonian exile.   During this time, the political scene in the Ancient Near East changed dramatically as a result of the rise of Cyrus II (the Great).  Until he came into power in 559BC, the great powers controlling the Ancient Near East were usually Semites, originally of the […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Isaiah 25:6-10a

This Sunday, we will again hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 25, it would be understandable if you were to conclude that it is from Isaiah himself.  There is lively debate among scripture scholars, however, as […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.  I hope you find it helpful!

Isaiah 5:1 – 7

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Since it is from chapter 5, we know that it is from Isaiah himself.  The prophet Isaiah prophesied from around 742 until 686BC, from the reign of King Azariah, […]

Ezekiel 18:25-28

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel.  Let’s remember the “who, what, when, where and why” of this book.  You will notice that the reading picks up from last Sunday’s Gospel issue of fairness.  It will also provide us with a perfect introduction to this Sunday’s Gospel.  The chapter begins, however, with a very interesting recanting of what we see attributed to God in the Decalogue.  Let’s look at 18:1-4 and compare that with Ex 20:5 and Dt 5:9.  To make his point, the […]

Isaiah 55:6 – 9

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.  Seeing that it is taken from chapter 55, we know that it is part of Deutero-Isaiah, dealing with Israel during its Babylonian exile.  It is at the very end of the Babylonian captivity and we should read the opening verses of the chapter since they speak in anticipation of how the Persians would allow the exiles to return.  The Book of Ezra opens with the decree of Cyrus that called the exiles to return to […]

Sirach 27:30 – 28:9

This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Sirach, one of the very last books of the Old Testament.  It was written between 200 and 175BC by a man who identifies himself as Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sira (cf. 50:27).  Some of your Bibles identify the book as The Wisdom of Ben Sira.  This is actually the earliest title of the book; the “ch” was added when the book was translated into Greek.  It is an excellent example of Wisdom literature, filled with moral […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.

Ezekiel 33:7 – 9

This Sunday, we will hear from the prophet Ezekiel.  As you will recall from our previous encounters with this book, he is a most exciting prophet, the first to prophesy in Babylon; his prophecy is directed to the Jewish community still in Jerusalem.  As you see from […]

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.

1 Kings 19: 9a, 11 – 13a

This Sunday, we will hear again from the first book of Kings, as we did two weeks ago.  You will recall that it is one of the historical books.  1 Kings was written before the fall of Jerusalem and finally edited shortly after its […]

Opening Prayer:  Prov. 9: 1 – 6

Isaiah 55:1 – 3

Welcome to my annotated commentary on Sunday’s readings.  The purpose of my commentary is to give you the background for each reading, a little better understanding of its message and the message that all of the Sunday readings together provide us.

Over the past few Sundays, we’ve heard the Gospel of Matthew speak in various ways about the kingdom of God.  This Sunday, we experience a taste of God’s kingdom in action.  I hope you found last week’s discussion about the Kingdom […]

1 Kings 3:5, 7 – 12

Over the past few Sundays, we’ve heard the Gospel of Matthew speak in various ways about the kingdom of God.  Five weeks ago, on the 12^th Sunday, we heard Jesus assure those who acknowledged him would be acknowledged before God in his heavenly kingdom.  The next week, we heard Jesus declare that “whoever loves father or mother, son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”  But, “whoever receives a prophet…will receive a prophet’s reward” which is, ultimately, union with God in heaven.  […]