Zechariah speaks of Yahweh returning all of His people to Jerusalem, where they will be happy, but this is a promise that the Lord does not seem to have kept, at least not yet The prophet is responding to the fact that the Lord sometimes seems so extremely distant from us, a problem that has […]
God Is Nearer Than We Think – “Finding All Things In God,” Even Us Read More »
Today we take a short break in our Ordinary Time to celebrate the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, Archangels. We live in an age of what some call “scientism.” It is the belief that all things that we can know must be known scientifically. So, when a couple falls in love, we might
The Three Archangels – Lord, I Cannot Take This Anymore Read More »
We all remember the Golden Rule from our kindergarten days: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Generally, we all learned this in response to our demonstrating some selfish impulse. We took someone else’s toy, or made fun of them in front of others, without a shred of empathy as to how
Live Outside Yourself – Love Your Neighbors As Yourselves Read More »
Continued In our modern age, it is difficult for us to imagine what the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, at the time of the Babylonian Exile, meant for the Jewish people. We might be tempted to equate it with the recent destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, or, God forbid, of St. Peter’s
Rebuilding The Temple – Rebuilding Of That Temple In Three Days Read More »
In today’s first reading (Haggai 1:15-2:9), we have another exhortation from the prophet to the returned exiles in Jerusalem. It is a message from God through the mouth of the prophet and directed especially to Zerubbabel, the governor of the city, and to Joshua, the high priest. It begins: “In the second year of King
Rebuilding The Temple – Messianic Hope, A Hope Realized In Jesus Read More »
Today’s first reading (Haggai 1:1-8) is attributed to the little-known prophet Haggai. If Haggai is a part of Scripture with which you are unfamiliar, you are not alone. Haggai is among the “minor” prophets. His book is only two chapters long and has only one goal: to begin rebuilding the “Temple of Yahweh.” Little is
Consider Our Ways – The Rebuilding Of God’s Temple Read More »
This week, our Old Testament readings are taken from the Book of Ezra. After seventy years in exile because of their sinful rejection of God, the people of Israel are returning home, returning to their foundation. God has inspired the new Persian emperor, Cyrus, to decree that they return to Jerusalem and that they
The Remnant – Rebuilding The Temple; And Rebuilding The People Read More »
As we continue through the Book of Ezra, The Babylonian Captivity is over, and a remnant of God’s People is back home in the Promised Land (Ezra 6:7-20). Ezra could be forgiven for thinking that God has kept his promise. But God is not done, the story is not over. Maybe out of this
The Temple Rebuilt – We Are All Exiles And Captives Read More »
As I promised way back on August 25, today we return to the Old Testament for our First Readings, starting with the Book of Ezra. Ezra is one of eleven “historical books” in the Hebrew bible. Ezra is set at the end of the Hebrew disgrace we call the Babylonian Captivity. The Babylonian Captivity
Ezra And The Lampstand – They Were Still God’s People Read More »
When asked to give a title to today’s Gospel (Luke 16:1-13), most of us are comfortable calling it, “You Cannot Serve Both God and Mammon” (material wealth).” But is that really what this reading is all about? Any commentator will tell you that this Gospel reading is a difficult text. The story itself sounds quite
The Dishonest Steward – No Slave Can Serve Two Masters Read More »