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!
PALM SUNDAY OF THE LORD’S PASSION (Year A)
We begin on Sunday the week that we appropriately call Holy Week, when our Lord Jesus, the Holy Son of God, comes to Jerusalem where he is first hailed as the Son of David, and the Prophet and then is tried as a criminal in a sham trial orchestrated by the Jewish leaders, only to be scourged and crucified. For the Jewish leaders of his time, it was just to get rid of a trouble maker. But, as I hope you have come to learn, this was all part of [...]
FOURTH SUNDAY LENT (Year A)
1 Samuel 16:1b, 6 – 7, 10 – 13a This Sunday, we hear the very interesting account of the selection of David to replace Saul as king of Israel. First of all, we remember that 1 Sam is part of the Historical Books of the Bible, presented in its final edited form probably at the end of the 7th century BC. It is called Samuel because it focuses on Samuel, the last judge of Israel, who was called by God to anoint both the first and second kings of Israel. [...]
THIRD SUNDAY LENT (Year A)
Exodus 17:3 - 7 This Sunday, we hear the well-known account of God providing water from the rock for the disgruntled Israelites in the desert. As we recall from the first 14 chapters of this book, they had escaped the Egyptians and had spent a little over a month in the desert before they complained about having no food. In chapter 16, we hear them complain about having no food and how God provides them with manna and quail (cf. 16:1 – 3, 13 – 15). Then, they moved [...]
SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME (Year A)
Sirach 15:15 – 20 We don’t often hear from the Book of Sirach. It is always the first reading on the Feast of the Holy Family but, other than that, we only hear from this book two or three times over the course of the year. It is one of the very last books of the Old Testament. If you look in your Bible’s Table of Contents, you will find it listed under The Wisdom Books. It is, in fact, an excellent example of Wisdom literature, filled with moral teachings. [...]
SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME Year A
Isaiah 49:3, 5 – 6 As we return to Ordinary Time, this Sunday we will hear the second of the four "Servant-of-the-Lord" oracles (over the years, we have heard the First Song – 42:1-4; Second – 49:1-7; Third – 50:4-12; Fourth – 52:13-53:12). Since it is found in chapter 49 of the Book of Isaiah, we know that it is from Deutero-Isaiah which dates to the time of the Babylonian Captivity. As I have explained in the past, these servant songs never name the servant and, as we will see [...]
SECOND SUNDAY OF ADVENT (Year A)
Isaiah 11:1 - 10 This Sunday, we will hear, once again, from the Book of the prophet Isaiah; last week, it was from chapter 2, this week, it will be from chapter 11. The passage we will hear on Sunday is, perhaps, one of the best known prophecies of the coming of Jesus. Since it is in the early part of the Book of Isaiah, we know that it is part of the prophecy of Isaiah himself, who prophesied 742 – 685BC. Chapters 1 – 12 probably address the time [...]