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!
FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT Year B
Isaiah 63: 16b – 17, 19b, 64:2 – 7 We begin Year B in the Sunday Liturgical Calendar this Sunday. The Gospel featured this year is Mark; the oldest Gospel and the shortest. And, as we do in year A, we will hear for the next three weeks from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. This Sunday, it is from the chapters that are often called Trito-Isaiah (56 – 66) and most scripture scholars assign to the time after the people have been allowed to return to Jerusalem. But, as [...]
THIRTY-THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
As you may have noticed, I usually begin our Bible Study/Faith Sharing with the first reading and then review the Gospel; if there is time, I then reflect on the second reading. I do this because the first reading is usually selected to prepare us for the principal message for the week which is found in the gospel. This week, however, I would like to start with the second reading because it is through the lens of this reading that the other two readings make most sense. As we approach [...]
THIRTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
Wisdom 6:12 - 16 This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Wisdom. Again, the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel. We need to seek wisdom in our lives in order to prepare for the time when God calls us to his heavenly banquet. It has been awhile since we heard from Wisdom, so let’s review. This book is not part of the Hebrew Masoretic collection but is included in the Septuagint manuscript; there, it is known as the Wisdom of Solomon and is [...]
THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
Malachi 1:14b – 2:2b, 8 - 10 This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of the prophet Malachi. The last time we heard from Malachi was on the 33rd Sunday of Ordinary time last year (in fact, it’s only these two Sundays that we hear from this prophet), so let’s look at its origin. The work itself has no dates to give an indication of when it was written or what period of time is being addressed. Since it addresses abuses that Ezra (priest from Babylon who returned to [...]
THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
Exodus 22:20 - 26 This Sunday, we will hear from the Book of Exodus. Although it is just a small part of a long expansion of the Decalogue (cf. 20:1-17 and 21:1 – 23:33 and finally the mention of Moses writing down these laws in 24:4) the passage was clearly chosen to prepare us for the Gospel. It speaks in very practical terms what it means to love your neighbor as yourself. The passage we will hear on Sunday is a small section of the three chapters in the Book [...]
TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
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, [...]